Themes of tragedy and blame are incredibly prevalent in The Sweet Hereafter and when something tragic happens, it affects the people injured or killed in it but it also affects the community that the tragedy happens in. This tragic event is even more profound and has a more intense and lasting effect when it happens in a small community. Such is the case in the novel entitled The Sweet Hereafter written by Russell Banks, when the so called “accident” happened in the small town of Sam Dent the pain is felt significantly more than in the setting such as a city where it is less personal. Once people are done grieving they look for someone to blame again this is the case in the town of Sam Dent as their children we’re their future until they got killed in the accident.
After this accident the people affected by the bus accident look for someone or a group of people to blame. An emotional flurry followed this accident people are awestruck in the simple fact that they believe that this could not happen to their children. As this flurry was at its peak a storm of eager lawyers came out of their offices and presented with the emotionally unstable parents and relatives with business cards and grandiose schemes of how they are going to make them millionaires and have there wildest dreams of wealth and riches come true. This peaks the interest of the citizens and they are incredibly keen to sue who ever they can serve papers to for the death of their children; some for valid reasons others for nothing but greed like the Walkers as the only thing holding their marriage together was their son Sean who had died in the accident.
There was a lawyer that stood out of the crowd to the townspeople of Sam Dent his name is Mitchell Stevens. He is introduced by Billy Ansel as “the ultimate top-dollar ambulance chaser” making a living of other’s pain but this is a misrepresentation of his character as he is driven by the loss of his daughter Zoe it is his so called “personal...