Defending Jacob 3

Throughout the entire book Andy Barber does not want to face the reality that Jacob might be guilty of the murder of Ben Rifkin. He lies to himself and denies all the facts that are presented against Jacob. Laurie Barber is able to face reality and realize that their son might be a murderer and together they must think of any signs that Jacob might have shown as a child that something was wrong. Laurie begins to recall times that other kids have gotten injured while playing with Jacob, but Andy gets extremely upset as his wife begins to tell the doctor about possible warning signs that Jacob portrayed. Mr. Barber also does things to protect his son, even though he claims his son has nothing to do with the murder. He throws Jacob's knife away after he learns that it fits the description of the knife that Ben Rifkin was murdered with. He claims he is trying to protect his son from the public's opinions, however if he believes that Jacob has nothing to do with the murder he should not have done those things to help him.