The Courthouse

The courthouse is one of the novel's primary settings. This is the location where the first half of the novel takes place. After Abel receives his jury summons he reports here and remains in the facility throughout the selection process. The inside of the courthouse is largely depicted as a sterile space. Its light is "too bright for human eyes" (7). The place is "so squat and pitiless, so endless, repetitive, fluorescent" that there is "nothing sexual to be found there" (10). The courthouse's sterility is intended to erase emotions. Indeed, inside the courthouse the prospective jurors are treated not as individuals with private experiences and emotions, but as numbers. The setting thus affects a cold, unwelcoming, and sanitized atmosphere.

The Repeat Room

The repeat room is the mysterious room in the courthouse where the trial takes place. The characters reference the repeat room throughout the first half of...