House Rules (novel)
House Rules
a fictional novel by Jodi Picoult[1]
Plot Summary
In the novel by Jodi Picoult, House Rules is spilt up into different chapters and are written from five of the main characters’ point of view.
Jacob Hunt is 18–years-old and is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome[2], which is a form of highly functioning autism. Jacob lives with his mother and brother, Emma and Theo Hunt. [3] Jodi Picoult[4] goes on to explain that like most people with Asperger’s Syndrome, he has to have a structured schedule for every day of the week and also has one area of interest, forensic analysis. It is explained in the novel that this topic consumes his life and is also known as his “hobby”. [5] He owns a police radio, and shows up at the scene of crimes, helping the detectives figure out manner, mechanism and cause of the victims’ death. There are several parts in the book where Jacob sets up false “crime scenes” for the rest of his family to solve. Part of Jacob’s schedule is to watch the show The Crimebusters everyday at 4:30 P.M. After arresting and then letting go the first suspect, Mark Macguire, Detective Matson asks to talk to Jacob. After getting the boy to admit he moved Jess Ogilvy's dead body, Jacob is arrested, and put on trial for murdering his social skills counselor. In court, prosecuter, Helen Sharp, points out how all of Jacob's symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome are almost identical to the characteristics of those who are guilty. Also, it is proven in court that most of the evidence found relates back to Jacob being the murderer (ex: Jacob's fingerprints on the scene of the crime, an unlabeled crime scene evaluation identical to Jess's found in his notebook, and her backpack he retrieved from her home). At the end of the trial, Jacob testifies that he found Jess, dead in her bathroom and lying in a pool of her own blood. He admits to cleaning her, dressing her and placing her outside then cleaning the original scene up and creating a new one that will lead investigators in a different direction.[6]
Emma Hunt, single mother of Jacob and Theo Hunt, is a columnist for their town’s local newspaper. She has devoted herself to her eldest son, Jacob, and his disability. She creates “House Rules” [7] which are:
- Clean up your messes
- Tell the truth
- Brush your teeth twice a day
- Don’t be late for school
- Take care of your brother; he’s the only one you’ve got
When Emma sees the quilt wrapped around Jess, she realizes that it is Jacobs and calls Detective Matson. After this, Matson interviews Jacob, ultimately arresting him for admitting to moving Jess's dead body.
Theo Hunt, the younger brother of Jacob, claims himself to be independent and rebellious. He breaks into stranger’s houses and takes items such as games and food. In the novel, he runs away to see his father, since he claimed to feel unwanted. . [8] In another part of the novel, Theo states that he realizes he will have to take care of Jacob on his own someday, but wanted to know “why God couldn’t have asked him first”. [9] It is later revealed that he broke into Jess’s house, saw her in the shower, then saw her slip and fall. He claimed he was scared so he ran. Jacob explains that this is why he went into Jess’s house, cleaned his brother’s mess, and created a new crime scene with new evidence.
Rich Matson. [10] is the head detective on Jess’s case. He is the first to interview Jacob and get him to confess he was at the scene of the crime and moved Jess’s body from upstairs in the bathroom, to outside the house. However, the evidence collected from the interview cannot be used because Detective Matson did not correctly read off Miranda Rights to Jacob before the interview took place.
Oliver Bond is Jacob Hunt’s attorney. He helps Jacob throughout the case by asking the judge for a sensory break every fifteen minutes and Emma Hunt to sit with Jacob to keep him calm. Later in the novel, Bond is granted a Suppression Hearing since Jacob was not read his Miranda Rights correctly by Detective Matson. Bond and Emma share romantic feelings as the trial goes on, but are forgotten when Emma's ex-husband returns to help support Jacob through the murder trial.
Character List
Jess Ogilvy - Jacob’s social skills counselor, murdered. Cause of death: subdural hematoma
Mark Maguire - Jess’s boyfriend
Judge Cuttings - judge presiding over the murder case of Jess Ogilvy
Helen Sharp - Prosecutor
References
- ^ http://www.jodipicoult.com/
- ^ http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/tc/aspergers-syndrome-symptoms
- ^ Jodi, P. (2010). House rules. NYC, NY: Atria.
- ^ http://www.jodipicoult.com/
- ^ Jodi, P. (2010). House rules. NYC, NY: Atria.
- ^ Jodi, P. (2010). House rules. NYC, NY: Atria.
- ^ Jodi, P. (2010). House rules. NYC, NY: Atria.
- ^ Jodi, P. (2010). House rules. NYC, NY: Atria.
- ^ Jodi, P. (2010). House rules. NYC, NY: Atria.
- ^ Jodi, P. (2010). House rules. NYC, NY: Atria.