Prejudice

The author uses the theme of prejudice to demonstrate how the root cause of prejudice can remain in spite of evolving cultural perceptions.

Kenny is able to see that Satku’s murder is only a small part of the puzzle of what is going on in “a small American town rife with racial and cultural prejudice, now dealing with a murder” (91). The police do not frame Satku’s murder as a hate crime, instead swaying public opinion to look away from the crime as drug-related because that could allow the community to think it does not impact them. Andrea’s investigation begins to piece together how prejudice may play a role. Satku’s murder is not a hate crime, per se, but it is a murder to assist in covering up a previous hate crime. Still, it remains clear that there is a bias against the...