Justice and Her Brothers by Virginia Hamilton
"Justice and Her Brothers" is a novel by Virginia Hamilton that centers around the protagonist, Justice Douglass, during a challenging summer week marked by personal and supernatural turmoil. The narrative primarily follows Justice's perspective, but it occasionally shifts to other characters, adding complexity to the story. As Justice grapples with her changing relationships with her brothers, Levi and Thomas, she faces loneliness and conflict, particularly with the antagonistic Thomas, who exhibits both aggressive behavior and supernatural control over Levi.
The plot intertwines Justice's quest to find the fastest snake for the neighborhood's Great Snake Race with her burgeoning psychic abilities, which she learns to harness through guidance from Mrs. Jefferson. As she discovers her powers, Justice ultimately confronts Thomas in a climactic psychic battle, leading to her acceptance of her uniqueness and connection with her brothers. The novel concludes with unresolved tensions but highlights Justice's maturation and sense of belonging within her family.
Hamilton's work is notable not only for its engaging storytelling but also for its contribution to children's literature and science fiction, particularly as it reflects African American experiences. "Justice and Her Brothers" is the first in a trilogy known as the Justice Cycle, which explores themes of growth, responsibility, and dystopian futures, further solidifying Hamilton's impact in the literary landscape.
Justice and Her Brothers by Virginia Hamilton
First published: 1978
Subjects: Coming-of-age, family, and the supernatural
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction
Time of work: A summer in the 1970’s and the future
Recommended Ages: 10-15
Locale: A rural midwestern town, probably in Ohio
Principal Characters:
Justice Douglass , an eleven-year-old girl coping with her mother’s absence during the dayThomas Douglass , Justice’s thirteen-year-old brother, a drummerLevi Douglass , Thomas’ identical twinMrs. Douglass , their mother, a college studentMr. Douglass , their father, a stonecutterDorian Jefferson , a boy in the neighborhood who also has psychic powersMrs. Leona Jefferson , Dorian’s mother, the Sensitive who teaches Justice about her psychic abilities
Form and Content
Justice and Her Brothers, which takes place during a hot summer week, is told primarily from the point of view of Justice Douglass, the protagonist. Virginia Hamilton does, however, occasionally reveal the point of view of other characters, a move that sometimes seems abrupt or startling but that adds more depth and complexity to the novel than Justice’s limited perceptions could provide. While the action of the plot can be sketched fairly simply, the novel focuses on Justice’s changing relationship to her brothers, on both the supernatural and the domestic level.
Mrs. Douglass has begun taking college classes during the day, and Justice and her brothers are left alone for the first time. It is a lonely and difficult time for Justice, and much of the emotion of the novel comes from her turmoil. Levi helps take care of Justice—he cooks for all three children and intercedes with his brother for her occasionally—but Thomas is antagonistic and angry, frequently calling her names or shouting at her. In the opening scene of the novel, Justice sees one of Thomas’ drumsticks move on its own and is frightened; this incident establishes both the supernatural aspects of the novel and the tension between Thomas and Justice.
The events of the novel move on two parallel tracks, one toward the Great Snake Race, which Thomas has organized for all the boys in the neighborhood, and one toward Justice’s realization of her psychic powers and potential. Justice practices stunts on her bicycle and looks for snakes near the strange and somewhat sinister Quinella Trace. She is determined to find the largest snake that can race the farthest and fastest. At the same time, she notices that Thomas seems able to control Levi mentally, and her growing fear of Thomas drives her to the home of Dorian Jefferson and his mother, Leona. There Mrs. Jefferson teaches Justice to use her own psychic powers to protect herself from Thomas and to move objects with her mind. At first, Justice does not remember the visits—Mrs. Jefferson is shielding her—but as her power grows, so does her knowledge of it.
After she has caught her snake, Justice learns that the object of the Great Snake Race is to collect the most snakes, rather than to race them. She is sure that she will lose, but when the snakes are counted the next day, she and the boys discover that her large snake was pregnant and has had offspring; she wins instead of Thomas. When they take the snakes back to the Quinella, Thomas probes Justice’s mind and attempts to control her. She and Dorian battle psychically against Thomas, with Levi caught in the middle. When Thomas has been defeated, the four children link minds, and Justice transports them briefly into the future. Her power as the Watcher fully awakened, Justice realizes that the four of them are the “first unit,” a new kind of human. The novel ends with the tension between Justice and Thomas not entirely resolved, but Justice has accepted her difference because she no longer is lonely.
Critical Context
Virginia Hamilton’s career began in 1967, and since then she has written numerous books and won the Newbery Medal for M. C. Higgins, the Great (1974). Her work draws on a variety of African American experiences and spans a range of genres; in addition to novels and fiction for children, she has written biographies of W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and the fugitive slave Anthony Burns, and she has also published several volumes retelling folktales and myths. Justice and Her Brothers has two sequels, Dustland (1980) and The Gathering (1981), both of which have a more extensive future setting, a world of dust caused by the depletion of rain forests and nuclear catastrophe. The Gathering concludes with the children’s power gone for the moment but all of them more mature and Thomas free of both his aggression and his stutter. The three novels together (known as the Justice Cycle) belong both to the tradition of children’s literature in which supernatural powers lead to maturity and responsibility and to the science-fiction literature of dystopia (oppressive future societies). The Justice Cycle has significance outside the genre of children’s literature because Hamilton is one of the few African Americans writing science fiction.