“I want to try to live like you. Do what you would do. See where it gets me” (Stone 13) What do you think Justyce means when he says he wants to live like Martin Luther King Jr. and do what he does? Why do you think Justyce looks up to Martin Luther King

Throughout Dear Martin, Justyce writes letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Justyce feels close to this historical figure and earnestly tries to find guidance by writing him letters and, through that, imagining his response. In the first letter to Martin, Jus wonders if he would mind that they are addressed to "Martin" rather than "Dr. King": "First and foremost, please know I mean you no disrespect with the whole 'Martin' thing. I studied you and your teachings for a project in the tenth grade, so it feels most natural to interact with you as a homie. Hope you don't mind that" (10). The fact that Jus includes this prelude to the letter tells us that he knows a lot about Dr. King's teachings and feels close to him, as if he and Dr. King are "homie[s]." Throughout the novel, Dr. King (for obvious reasons) never responds to Jus, which means that as a character he mostly exists inside of Jus's head. Despite this, the Dr. King in Jus's head carries with him the messages and teachings from when he was alive. This means that Jus's letters are not completely one-sided. Through Dr. King's legacy, Jus and Dr. King have a conversation about the current events of Jus's life as Jus tries to process these events himself. Dr. King becomes Jus's confidant and role model. He tells Dr. King, "I wanna try to live like you. Do what you would do. See where it gets me" (13).