Lawyer From the Cole Mine

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Lawyer From the Cole Mine

In the second episode of NBC's The Firm, Mitch McDeere reveals information about his childhood. He tells his wife Abby McDeere about his Father's death . In doing so he reveals that he was born into a working class family. A very interesting comparison is drawn between individuals who are pre-disposed to following rules, and those that aren't. An example of the former is Mitch McDeere, and an example of the later is Ray McDeere.

Mitch McDeere is shown as an individual who operates under a strict moral code. He is always shown to be a law abiding citizen. If the mafia wasn't chasing Mitch, the audience would assume that he would be a sucsessful lawyer, and a fufilled individual. Ray McDeere is framed as being the opposite of Mitch. Ray is employed by his brother, and is an ex-convict who may in different circumstances have encountered difficulty finding employment, and making a living. Ray is always shown as wanting to do what his gut instinct tells him to do, regardless of the legal implications of those actions.

In Mitch's story, he explains a rule that his mother made. The rule was that the two boys were not allowed to get into their Father's car. The reason for this being that the condition their Father kept the car in was awful. The boys would be at fatal risk if they were to get into the vehicle with their Father. One day, their Father invited them into the truck for a ride. Ray went along, but Mitch desiring to obey his Mother's rule stayed home. On that day Ray was dropped off, and their Father went back to work and died in an mine explosion. Ray didn't follow the rule but because of his actions he was able to spend more time with his Father. Mitch did follow the rules, but as a consequence missed the last chance he received to spend time with his Father. In the long run Mitch's style is framed as being the correct one and he turns out better in terms of sucsess if we can forget he is being chased by the mafia.