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Dear Martin Essay Topics & Writing Assignments

Essay Topic 1

This quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. begins the novel, “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” What does the author seem to imply by using that quote in the epigraph? Is that quote revealed to be true or false in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Justyce choses Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a mentor. Why would Justyce choose Dr. King as a role model?

Essay Topic 3

Justyce tries to help his ex-girlfriend, Melo, but is arrested. Why is Justyce arrested? What does the incident communicate about racial inequality?

Essay Topic 4

The novel is told through a narrator with letters and transcripts from news stories inserted into the narrative. What is the main point of view of the novel? How does the point of view affect what readers know about events and characters?

Essay Topic 5

Justyce has...

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Dear Martin

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Privilege, Entitlement, and Implicit Bias

One of Nic Stone’s strongest messages in Dear Martin is that white people in positions of power ought to recognize the socioeconomic factors that have contributed to their success. Because Justyce is one of only several black students at his prep school, he’s mostly surrounded by wealthy white teenagers who have never had to think seriously about race. This, in turn, gives the majority of Justyce’s white peers the false impression that racial inequality is…

Appearances and Assumptions

In Dear Martin , a novel about racial profiling in the United States, Nic Stone demonstrates that skin color has no bearing on an individual’s personality or moral character. The fact that Justyce , the novel’s protagonist, faces police brutality despite his credentials as a model student and upstanding citizen suggests that young black people are in danger of discrimination regardless of who they are. When Officer Castillo violently arrests Justyce without cause, readers see…

Support, Acceptance, and Belonging

In Dear Martin , Nic Stone demonstrates how beneficial it is for people facing discrimination to have supportive relationships. Searching for guidance, Justyce addresses his diary entries to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , wanting to fortify himself against the hatred and insensitivity all around him by emulating Dr. King. Unfortunately, though, this proves quite difficult, since the deceased Dr. King can’t respond to his entries. As a result, Justyce seeks out real-life allies like…

Opportunity and Upward Mobility

Nic Stone makes it clear in Dear Martin that—generally speaking—the average black person has to work harder than the average white person to attain upward mobility in the U.S. Furthermore, she examines how difficult it is for black Americans to continue on an upward trajectory, illustrating that even the most successful people still face adversity despite their accomplishments. For instance, it’s quite impressive that Justyce attends Braselton Prep, since he wouldn’t be able to go…

The Media and Public Discourse

In Dear Martin , Nic Stone portrays the media as something that has a tremendous amount of influence over the way people talk and think about current events. Because Justyce ’s encounters with violent police officers are related in a third-person narrative voice, readers know exactly what has happened—in both cases, Stone makes it clear that Justyce has done nothing to deserve the violent treatment he receives from the police. This makes it all the…

Dear Martin Lesson Plans

5 Essay Questions for Dear Martin 5 Essay Questions for Dear Martin

Dear Martin Dear Martin by Nic Stone takes readers on an emotional journey, and it forces students to consider the effects and implications of heavy issues including micro-aggression, police profiling, and institutional racism. These issues require deep discussion and thought to get a handle on, and when it comes to ...

10 Creative Projects for Dear Martin 10 Creative Projects for Dear Martin

Dear Martin by Nic Stone is undoubtedly deals with serious issues, and your lesson plans for the novel will surely include lots of reflective and persuasive writing assignments; however, Dear Martin also provides lots of opportunity for students to show their understanding and insight through creative activities and projects. You ...

7 More Dear Martin Lesson Plans 7 More Dear Martin Lesson Plans

Here are 7 more lesson plan ideas for Dear Martin by Nic Stone: 1. Racial Bias and Microaggressions Students can explore the theme of racial bias and microaggressions in the book and how it affects Justyce and his friends. They can also discuss the impact of these experiences on their ...

Dear Martin Author Interview Dear Martin Author Interview

Nice Stone’s novel Dear Martin has been banned in some school districts in the United States. The author, Nic Stone, discussed the novel with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, and share her thoughts about why some people have such averse reactions to it. The Interview The interview is a conversation between Alie ...

Dear Martin Research Project Dear Martin Research Project

Assignment: Civil Rights Leaders Research Project Objective: To research and analyze the impact of a significant civil rights leader on the movement for racial justice and equality. Instructions: Criteria: Due Date: [Insert due date] Grading: The project will be graded based on the above criteria, with a focus on the ...

17 Dear Martin Discussion Questions 17 Dear Martin Discussion Questions

When teaching Dear Martin by Nic Stone, start by establishing a safe space in your classroom. Make sure that students understand why and how to express themselves respectfully. If you have the proper environment in your classroom, you can use Dear Martin as a terrific jump-off point for many important ...

10 Quick Dear Martin Lesson Plans 10 Quick Dear Martin Lesson Plans

Dear Martin by Nic Stone is a fantastic novel to teach with middle and secondary school students, especially if you want to explore issues related to racism in America. You will find some helpful lesson plan ideas for Dear Martin below, but if you want a full unit plan with ...

Dear Martin

101 pages • 3 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-4

Part 1, "September 18"-Chapter 7

Part 1, "December 13"-Chapter 10

Part 1, "January 19"-Chapter 14

Part 2, "Transcript from evening news, January 26"-"VP Released for Rabble-Rousing!"

Part 2, Chapter 19-"Four Months Later"

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

Dear Martin by Nic Stone was originally published in 2017. It is a work of realistic fiction that provides a frank depiction of identity, racism, and adolescence in contemporary America. The New York Times bestseller also gained attention when it was named as a finalist for the William C. Morris award. The version used for this guide is the trade paperback of the Ember imprint by Random House Children's Books.

Plot Summary

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The novel follows Justyce McAllister, a 17-year-old ambitious, black student who struggles with being a minority with a difficult family background in a predominantly white prep school. Despite his different identity, he integrates well into Braselton Prep, becoming especially close with a fellow black student Emmanuel "Manny" Rivers . Justyce’s expectations are suddenly upended when he is wrongfully arrested for a crime based on his race. When his community villainizes him, he copes with his status as a scapegoat by reading and responding to old letters written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His resonance with the famous activist provides the necessary therapy for moving on.

Dear Martin begins days before Justyce’s arrest. A senior on scholarship at the elite school Braselton, he excels in his studies and is slated to become class valedictorian. In addition, he already has a standing offer to attend Yale University. Though Justyce is quiet about it, his motivation to excel originates in his struggles at home: His family is poor, living in a low-income neighborhood with a high crime rate. He confides some of his background in Manny, largely overlooking the racial micro-aggressions and prejudices of his white peers, clinging, for his own assurance, to the idea that they are all on a level playing field.

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Not long before graduation, Justyce and Manny go driving in a predominantly white area and are stopped by an off-duty cop. The tension between the two reaches a tipping point when Justyce expresses his resentment that Manny can more easily pass as “normal” at Braselton because of his wealthy father. Distracted by their fight, and blasting music from the speakers, they get the attention of an undercover cop. Upon seeing that they are black, the officer suspects them of committing a crime. Justyce accidentally triggers the cop’s racial bias, which causes the cop to draw his gun. Making an abrupt movement in reaction to the threat, Manny is shot and killed.

The murder of his best friend stirs a profound change in Justyce’s mindset about race. No longer does he view social signifiers like wealth as things that make black people invulnerable to hatred and bias. Moreover, he witnesses directly the inequity of the American justice system when the cop is not hit with the murder felony charge he deserves. Instead, Justyce is brought to court over his best friend’s death. Though he is eventually exonerated, this traumatizing gauntlet of obstacles causes Justyce to turn to the writings of Dr. King. Much of the remainder of the novel covers the rhetorical letters he writes to the activist (for King is long dead), reflecting on the similarity of their problems and how little the arc of history has changed for the better. These letters form a private discourse untouchable by the distortion of the racially-biased local media which demonizes him.

Justyce manages to move beyond the most difficult event of his life, making it to Yale the following fall. Dear Martin ends on an optimistic note, suggesting that its protagonist’s shift in consciousness is exactly what prepares him to take on the world beyond adolescence with a sharpened perspective of how racial bias impacts society. Stone suggests that an integral part of one’s coming-of-age is to learn to weigh progress toward social justice more highly than any personal aspiration.

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Dear Martin

By nic stone, dear martin quotes and analysis.

So many guns. Just like the one Castillo kept his hand on while treating Jus like a criminal. One wrong move, and Jus might've been the next Shemar Carson. Chapter 2, page 15

In this passage, Jus is put on edge by the violent video game that he is playing with Manny. It reminds him too much of the violence he faced when Officer Castillo arrested him. Jus knows that he very easily could have been shot by Officer Castillo, who kept his hand on his gun at all times. For Jus, the violence within the fantasy world of the video game has become all too real as he realizes that he is not exempt from having to face it. That night, his fate could have easily been like that of Shemar Carson, a seventeen-year-old Black boy from Nevada who was shot by a white police officer earlier that year. At this moment in the novel, Jus is coming to the realization that violence is not just the stuff of video games—it is all around him. However, unlike the world of video games, in real life Jus has no control over his own outcome. He is subject to the abuses of an unjust and racist society, something he never really had to think about before Officer Castillo so easily took his rights away in the previous chapter.

Jared: Right here, right now, on these red hills of Georgia, a son of former slaves and sons of former slave owners are sitting down at the table of brotherhood, dude. The Dream has been realized! Tyler: Damn, bro. That was really poetic. Manny: That's from the I Have a Dream speech, T. Jared: Remember, bro? I had to memorize that shit for our eighth-grade Heritage Play. Blake: That's right! Token black guy over here got sick or something, right? Chapter 4, page 32

In this passage, Jus is overhearing Manny and his friends talk about the class discussion from Doc's class in the previous chapter. Prior to this moment, Jared has insisted that inequality no longer exists in the United States. He enters the conversation angry and threatens to have his father call Bras Prep to get Doc fired from the school. Right before the moment detailed above, Jared asserts that Manny's parents are evidence that everyone is equal in the United States. As in the previous chapter, he is using Manny's life to back up his point, despite the fact that this makes his friend uncomfortable. Finally, Jared alludes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech, reminding his friends that he had to memorize it for the eighth-grade play. This passage is significant for several reasons. First, it offers a different kind of relationship to Dr. King than the one that Jus has with the historical figure—while Jus deeply admires Dr. King and sees how his teachings are still relevant today, Jared uses Dr. King's teachings to make a point that has the tone of a joke and dismisses them as the stuff of the past. Finally, Blake's line at the end of the passage suggests something about how Manny is viewed by his white group of friends. Evidently, Blake means the words "token black guy" as a joke, which is meant to be brushed off by the other boys. The joke, however, is revealing of how Manny's white friends view his race—it is open to be joked about, because, as they say later, they "don't even see [Manny] as black" (33). They do not realize that racial inequality affects the day-to-day reality of Manny's life or that, in a few chapter's time, Manny will be shot and killed by a racist cop.

Notably, both Manny and Jus are mostly silent throughout this scene and the chapter before, Chapter 3, despite the fact that both times racial inequality is being discussed. Their lack of voice in the conversation speaks to white privilege—Jared, Tyler, Blake, Kyle, and even SJ can use Manny and Jared to back up their respective points but they will never have to face the violent consequences of inequality themselves. It is telling that they do not bother to step back and hear Jus or Manny's opinions on the matter; instead, they would rather take up the conversation themselves.

It's like I'm trying to climb a mountain, but I've got one fool trying to shove me down so I won't be on his level, and another fool tugging at my leg, trying to pull me to the ground he refuses to leave. Jared and Trey are only two people, but after today, I know that when I head to Yale next fall (because I AM going there), I'm gonna be paranoid about people looking at me and wondering if I'm qualified to be there. How do I work against this, Martin? Getting real with you, I feel a little defeated. Knowing there are people who don't want me to succeed is depressing. Especially coming from two directions. Jus's fourth letter to Martin, page 66

This passage appears in Jus's fourth letter to Martin, in which he describes an encounter with Trey after he goes back home to tell his mom that he got into Yale. Jus passes Trey and his friends on the street and makes the decision to tell them about his acceptance to Yale, to which Trey responds, "'You'll be back, smart guy. Once you see them white folks don't want yo black ass at they table. They not down with you bein' their equal, dog. We'll see you soon'" (65). Jus's feelings are hurt by Trey's dismissal of his accomplishments, and he leaves the encounter feeling as if Trey was pulling him down. The above simile—in which Jus imagines himself trying to scale a mountain with negative forces from each side trying to halt his climb—appears as Jus digests this encounter.

Ultimately, this passage reveals Jus's complicated relationship with community—he does not feel like he is truly a part of his community back home nor his new community at Bras Prep. At Bras Prep in Chapter 7, Jared openly questions the validity of Jus's admittance to Yale. Just a few pages later, Trey undercuts Jus's success and suggests that it won't last long. When speaking to his former or his current peers, there seems to be the feeling that his presence in elite educational institutions is a mistake. Jus feels as if he is to make his way in the world, he must do so despite everyone who surrounds him—both from his past and present. Jus indicates that these feelings will have a lasting effect on his psyche, as he thinks he'll feel paranoid about people questioning if he's qualified to be there—an echo of Jared's racist comment in class in the previous chapter (see page 64). This is an example of "imposter syndrome," in which minority students feel as if they "shouldn't" attend or don't belong in elite and selective institutions because there is not a long historical precedent for them being there. At this moment, Jus should be riding the high of his victory—he got accepted into one of the most selective colleges in the world. Instead, he is feeling discouraged and despondent, as he feels he is getting it from all sides.

What would Martin do, Jus? 'Maybe we should turn it down,' Jus says. 'Man, please. This is my car,' Manny says. 'I'm done bending over backwards to appease white people.' He pushes a button on the steering wheel, and the music gets louder. 'YOU WORTHLESS NIGGER SONS OF BITCHES!' the guy shouts. "I know that muthafucka didn't just say what I think he did,' Manny says. Jus's heart jumps up between his ears. What would Martin do what would Martin do what would Martin—? Chapter 13, page 118

In these lines, Manny and Jus are riding in Manny's car. Manny is extremely upset because his parents have just been notified that Jared's dad is pressing charges against Manny for their physical altercation earlier that week. They are playing loud music, and when they stop at a red light, a white man in a Suburban starts to give them trouble. He gets increasingly angrier as Manny and Jus refuse to turn down their music. Jus gets increasingly tenser, but Manny pushes back against the white man's aggression. In the lines above, Jus's question to himself— What would Martin do —repeats like a mantra in his head as he tries to handle the quickly-escalating situation. These italicized lines also show the heightened tension of this moment. Eventually, the white man shoots Manny and Jus, killing Manny and injuring Jus.

"The man was defending himself from thugs," said Tison's neighbor April Henry. "I've known Garrett for twenty-five years. If he says those boys had a gun, they had a gun." A fellow police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, claims the indictment is nothing more than a publicity stunt at Tison's expense. "They're out to make an example of him. Prosecutor pulled the race card, and the grand jury bought it hook, line, and sinker." And many agree. At a solidarity rally held in Tison's honor, picketers wore T-shirts that read 'Race-Baiting Should Be a Crime' while holding signs featuring Tison's face and the words 'Protector not Poster Child.' "Tison Indictment: Step Forward for Justice or Grand Jury Blunder?," page 131

This passage appears in the news article quoted following Chapter 15. The article contains good news for Jus and Manny's community, as it has just been announced that a Georgia grand jury decided to indict Garrett Tison for several charges, including aggravated assault and felony murder. This means that his case will be taken to trial—a stark contrast to the cases of Shemar Carson and Tavarrius Jenkins, in which the officers were not indicted at all.

As the passage above tells us, Garrett Tison's community is in an uproar about Tison's indictment. They believe that Tison is simply being made an example of and that he is being wrongfully accused of these charges. These paragraphs indicate that there is a large population of people who believe that Tison was in the right for shooting Jus and Manny because he felt his safety to be at risk.

On the other hand, we see Jus's community rallying behind the pursuit of justice for Manny and Jus, who were wrongfully shot by Tison. These warring communities have distinct understandings of police brutality and racism. Where Jus's community sees the connection between Shemar Carson, Tavarrius Jenkins, and Manny's deaths, Tison's community believes that police officers who kill others on the job are in the right.

"We've heard about his grades, SAT scores, and admission to an Ivy League school," the anchor says, "but a picture speaks a thousand words. This kid grew up in the same neighborhood as the young man accused of murdering Garrett Tison's partner more or less on a whim." "You gotta be kidding me," Jus says. People all over the country have rallied to the cause, wearing Justice for JAM T-shirts (JAM being Justyce and Manny) and riding with their music loud from 12:19 to 12:21 every Sunday afternoon to commemorate the time of the argument between them and Garrett. But if there's one thing Jus knows from the Shemar Carson and Tavarrius Jenkins cases, it really doesn't take more than a photo to sway mass opinion. Chapter 18, page 148

In this passage, Doc, SJ, and Jus are watching the news where they have just put up a picture of Jus in his "Thug" Halloween costume. They leave out the fact that Jus's outfit is a Halloween costume and instead suggest that it represents something about his identity. Evidently, Jus dressed as a "Thug" puts his innocence into question, as the anchor suggests that because of where Jus grew up he must have been involved in gang activity. In the real world, people all over the country are rallying behind Jus and Manny in nation-wide protests and demonstrations. Nevertheless, Jus is worried that this new media development will turn public opinion against him. He remembers the Shemar Carson and Tavarrius Jenkins cases, in which pictures of each of these boys turned mass opinion against them in favor of the officers who killed them.

Police have apprehended three teenage boys who were seen in the area on the night of the incident. Beverly Tison, Garrett's wife, sustained multiple second-degree burns, leaving her in serious condition. "Transcript from nightly news, May 21," page 174

These lines are spoken by a news anchor during a news segment covering a fire set at Garrett Tison's home. The news segment reveals that the fire was deliberately set and that Tison's wife was harmed. It also reveals that a date has been set for Tison's trial: five weeks from that day. These lines, however, leave us with more questions than answers about the people behind it: Who were the teenagers that were apprehended? Were they actually involved with the arson, or were they profiled, as Jus was in Chapter 1?

The arson at Tison's house is an example of Justyce's community enacting their own justice. In a country where the justice system is seen as broken, in which police officers can get off for killing unarmed teenagers, it is understandable that community members might want to take justice into their own hands. An attempt to destroy Tison's house can be seen as a powerful weapon as well as a way to fight back against the institutional power that he has been given (by destroying some of his wealth). A question to consider, however, is whether or not this truly constitutes justice or whether it is just another violent act in an inescapable cycle of violence.

Tison testified that he feared for his life, citing 27 years of law enforcement experience in support of his ability to detect a genuine threat. Though Tison's claim that the teens had a gun was unsupported by evidence, the surviving teen, Justyce McAllister's, exposed connection to known gang members, including sixteen-year-old Quan Banks, the young man charged with murdering Tison's partner last August, cast a considerable pall over the proceedings. "Garrett Tison: Murderer?," page 193

This passage appears in a news article following Chapter 22. The article tells us the results of Tison's trial and informs us that he has been convicted of every charge against him except felony murder. The jury was split over the felony murder charge, meaning Tison will have to be tried again. In the lines above, the author of the article gives us a hint about why the jury was split regarding the murder charge. We learn in Chapter 22 that the district attorney presents Jus's case as a grave injustice: "By the time Mr. Rentzen finishes his questions, the court has heard the tragic tale of two college-bound African American boys, gunned down at a traffic light by an angry white man who used a racial slur and fired his weapon at them when they didn't comply with his demands" (184).

Tison's defense attorney, on the other hand, tries to reinforce Tison's respectability while at the same time bringing Manny and Jus's characters into question. She does so by having Tison present himself as a competent and experienced professional with 27 years of police work under his belt. She also brings up Jus's (however slight) involvement with Quan Banks and the rest of Black Jihad. As the article above tells us, the revelation of Jus's involvement with these individuals casts a shadow over his testimony in the eyes of the jury.

If nothing ever changes, what type of man am I gonna be? Chewing on that over the past few days, I've started to wonder if maybe my experiment failed because I was asking the wrong damn question. Every challenge I've faced, it's been What would Martin do? and I could never come up with a real answer. But if I go with Doc's thinking— Who would Martin BE? —well, that's easy: you'd be yourself. THE eminent MLK: nonviolent, not easily discouraged, and firm in your beliefs. Jus's final letter to Martin, page 202

In the final lines of Dear Martin, Jus reflects on his "Be Like Martin" project and what might have gone wrong. He wonders what he was trying to get out of it in the first place: "What was my goal with the Be Like Martin thing? Was I trying to get more respect? (Fail.) Was I trying to be 'more acceptable'? (Fail.) Did I think it would keep me out of trouble? (Epic fail.) Really, what was the purpose?" (201). In many ways, Jus feels like he is right where he started. He decides to change his strategy: instead of trying to understand what Martin would do, try to understand what Martin would be like. He resolves himself to find out the kind of person he wants to be.

They settle into a comfortable silence, both staring at the headstone. A cool wind blows around them, and it's like Jus can feel the EJR on his watchband pressing into the skin of his once-swollen wrist. Epilogue, page 208

In this passage, Jus is standing in front of Manny's grave with Jared. It is Christmas Day and Jus is back home. He and Jared reconcile and even make plans to hang out once they are back at Yale. This is a moment of resolution and peace for Justyce. His wrists—which have bothered him ever since his encounter with Officer Castillo in Chapter 1 and which have come to symbolize all that he must navigate—now hold a new symbol: they hold Manny's watch, a reminder of his best friend.

Dear Martin Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Dear Martin is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

what new points does jared bring up to justify his arguement in dear martin chapter 4

Jared is talking loudly about their class discussion and is upset at Doc's suggestion that there is racial inequality in the US today: "What kind of teacher has the nerve to suggest there's racial inequality to a classroom full of millennials?"...

In class, Justyce and his peers discuss affirmative action. Using points made in Justyce's class and any life experience you may have, explain whether or not you support affirmative action.

When Justice is accepted at Yale, his accomplishment is devalued by Jared, who suggests that the only reason that Jus got in was affirmative action. Affirmative action is an attempt by admissions committees to counter the effects of systemic...

Justice comes to believe that the media bases its "facts" on speculation and rumor.

"Problem is there are media people everywhere outside. Based on some 'speculation' he's heard—Manny threatened Garrett Tison, one of the boys threw something into...

Study Guide for Dear Martin

Dear Martin study guide contains a biography of Nic Stone, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Dear Martin
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