3. Patrick Ducharme
Patrick Ducharme is the sole detective on the Sterling police force. Like Alex and Josie, Patrick is also under pressure to exceed expectations and fulfill high standards. He does the same exact thing as Josie when he studies himself in the mirror after taking a shower. This may be the authors way of symbolizing and illustrating how vulnerable the characters are when they are alone and assessing themselves.
Like Alex, he is swamped with work and has an endless to do list. Although he loves his job as a detective, he frequently has self doubt that he is not doing enough to live up to his potential. "He did not remember the proven successes-only the potential failures...He was a detective, but he didn't detect anything. It fell into his lap, already broken, every time (Picoult 12)." Patrick reveals that he too is dissatisfied with his life and actions. He does enjoy the benefits of providing comfort to the victim by doing his job. Patrick strives to do everything in his power, but in his current position, he can only do so much and this is not completely fulfilling him.
Patrick relies on his morals when he disregards commands and goes directly into the chaotic school to provide assistance. He disregards his training in order to achieve his sole purpose of stopping the shooter. Patrick is very strong minded and makes a bold move to further make his own decisions when he carries Josie out of the school. He appears to be very heroic and blames himself for things he cannot control. This quality is good because he is striving for excellence, yet he invokes a lot of pressure when dealing with crimes that cannot possibly be prevented.
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