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Connie Graff and Brody represent two different generations of law enforcement. What are some differences between Connie Graff and Brody? What are some similarities? How do they complement each other on the case?
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Both men are veterans of war. Connie seems more healed from that experience than Brody. Connie seems more a letter of the law guy while Brody seems to walk in more gray areas. Connie Graff is Brody’s former boss. “As a widower, Graff had seemed a little lost, uncertain what to do with himself. But Brody had found the older law officer to be full of sage advice and helpful in so many ways that he annually budgeted a significant sum to ensure Graff would continue to be a presence on the force when needed.” Connie is very thorough in his questioning, but had an idea about Inkpaduta Bend and about Quinn. From the very beginning, he thought Quinn had been murdered and Bluestone was the killer. Connie also thought that Bluestone or Brody would kill given the right circumstances because they had all killed in various wars. Graff thinks Brody is trying too hard to see Quinn’s death as anything other than murder. Connie feels responsible for his wife’s death because he smoked and she died of lung cancer. Neither man sleeps well. For Brody, it is the nightmares of war, but also “the knowledge, always there like a knife in his heart, that he was not what he seemed, not what people thought, not at all the man he wanted to be.” To Graff, wars were always about the land and wanting more of it. Both men are kind and help others in Jewel. Graff begins helping Kyoko with farmwork because if he had had a daughter, he’d want someone looking out for her. He resigns as deputy to avoid any conflicts and to better look out for Kyoko.
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I see more similarities than differences, the biggest similarity being a code or center that tells them they are responsible to seek justice, to serve others in the cause of decency and fairness. And there are certain standards one meets, like Connie Graff resigning as a deputy when he begins to stay with Kyoko. And Brody asking him to do that, even though he values Connie’s friendship and counsel.
I am doubtful Connie Graff would have destroyed evidence by wiping Quinn’s truck of prints. I believe Brody had a clearer view of the extent of prejudice among the people of Jewel. As Nancy mentioned, Brody is willing to walk in the grey areas.
Both Brody and Connie believe Noah Bluestone killed Quinn, even Charlie considers it likely until she talks to Fiona and Marta. When it becomes obvious that their assessment is incorrect, Brody and Connie are both willing to set aside their conclusions and follow the facts. Their different points of view and understandings of their priorities eventually lead them to the same place and to working together to prevent further harm.
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I agree with Jane and Nancy. I couldn’t picture Connie wiping the fingerprints off the crime scene like Brody did. The other thing I couldn’t see Connie doing is having an affair with his brother’s wife. I think Connie has too much guilt about harming his wife with his second hand smoke that I couldn’t see him putting his wants and needs ahead of his brother’s. I’m not saying Brody doesn’t value his family relationships (it’s clear he loves them all), but at the beginning of the novel he is emotionally removed from them. I liked how both of the men emotionally heal through the new relationships they make.
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Good points, all. I love your thorough analysis, Nancy! I agree, Tara and Jane, that I don’t think that Connie would have wiped those prints. He struck me as an honorable, straight-arrow man, more of a throwback to previous generations, where the “good guys” weren’t supposed to walk into those grey areas. There were fewer anti-heroes being celebrated in his day, but when the world got so turned around, as it did when they went through the world wars and beyond, people were perhaps more willing to admit to themselves that there was more to a situation than just absolute right/absolute wrong. I know that some of the literature post-WWII explored these things– for instance, Del’s favorite book, The Naked and the Dead, which exposed some harsh realities about war in a graphic way, and not everybody acted with perfect heroism. It was messy, and raw. Similar themes began to be examined in the cinema as well. People of Connie’s generation were often given a censored, more genteel, whitewashed view of war. I think people began to more openly question a lot of things previously accepted as norms, and Connie and Brody are representative of that change in attitude. Connie thinks more carefully about his actions, and then follows his conscience; Brody sometimes holds back a bit about examining his conscience, and acts, then considers later (his affair with Garnet, for example; his split second decision to smother his friend and escape to freedom; his wiping of those prints and pocketing that ring — he acted, then tortured himself to varying degrees about those actions later). Part of the differences in these two men could be explained by youth versus experience, too. With age comes wisdom, (sometimes)! It works for these two, though, when they work together— they both share common decency at their core, and good hearts. Connie’s presence as a former mentor helps stabilize Brody; it allows him to be the boss and call the shots, but it also is a comfort and a touchstone for him. Having an experienced coworker that you can trust and rely on is a great comfort during tough times, and Connie provides that.
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