Witness

Hesse, Karen. 2001. WITNESS. New York: Scholastic Press.
ISBN 0439271991

*Plot Summary

In a small Vermont town, community members interact with one another and deal with the issues at hand. Of these people, eleven are featured as the speakers in the poems throughout the verse novel. Issues they encounter include, racism and the Ku Klux Klan, death, murder, and unlikely friendships, which all reflect the historical setting of 1924. In WITNESS, author Karen Hesse combines an intriguing plot and poetic verse to tell a memorable story with a conclusion that doesn’t disappoint.

*Critical Analysis

Hesse tells this realistic story of a small American town through a series of free verse poems, each named for the character who is speaker in the poem. At the beginning of the book is a two page spread showing a photograph to represent each character along with their name and occupation. Overall, the tone and mood of the book are serious and dark. The poetry comes in various lengths and styles, but all the text is written in lower case letters (except for the capitalization of God).

Divided into five acts, the poems convey a plot which becomes more intense as the characters are revealed and change and the novel progresses. For example, by the fourth act Merlin van Tornhout, an eager young man with racism in his heart in act one, is unable to put poison in the well of an African American family despite the Klan’s orders and his intentions. In act five he says of Leanora Sutter, a young black girl who might have been harmed by the poison, “and she was still a colored girl / but she wasn’t just a / colored girl, / and i couldn’t poison her well, / so i ran.” Hesse does incredible work of creating eleven unique and convincing personas.

To strengthen the development of these eleven characters, Hesse uses great imagination to reveal the thoughts, opinions, joys, and fears unique to each one. Each character becomes even more convincing as readers begin to recognize unique patterns of speech or thought. For example, most striking is young Esther Hirsch who uses “did” before most verbs and ends many words in “-ings.” Esther reports of the town preacher: “and we did have a good game of yellings and shakings.” Another pattern repeated throughout the novel is that of married couple Harvey and Viola Pettibone who often appear in the same poem having a conversation. Along with a stirring plot, these patterns add to the interest of the novel.

Other poetic elements include figurative language and sensory details. Leonara Sutter describes her elderly friend Mr. Field saying, “…his bald head the brightest / spot in the room. / he’s thin as a broomstick / gangling tall. / his eyes cloudy.” In another poem, Esther’s father has just been shot, and Hesse uses sensory language to convey Esther’s impression of the situation. Esther Hirsch
says, “…but he had bad kinds of breathings / and all the blood kept / rushing out of my daddy / and the bullet went clink in / the water pail.” This particular poem paints a vivid picture of the tragic scene and Esther’s perspective.

With the combination of interesting characters, poetic use of language, and an intriguing community of people, WITNESS is full of reader appeal. Although the tone is consistently serious, the many perspectives and personas telling the story add variety to the verse novel. Because the book contains eleven different points of view, readers become familiar with all the characters, both good and evil. This creates opportunities to see things differently and perhaps paints a more well-rounded picture of characters than some traditional novels portray. Another unique feature of WITNESS, is the short quick insights which seem almost like puzzle pieces to the ‘big picture” of the plot. This element creates suspense and adds to the overall appeal of the book.

*Personal Response

I found this book to be interesting and enlightening. The look it gives into the lives of each character made me hungry for more details about each of them. In fact, at the conclusion of the book, I was still interested in where the story would go next and what the characters would do. I would like to read WITNESS again because I’m fairly certain there are details I would enjoy more in a second reading. Literature circles or book clubs seem to a good venue for this novel. I’m hoping to use it in a book club eventually. Until then, I will recommend it to some of my more advanced readers.

*Review Excerpts

“…Hesse’s spare writing leaves space for readers to imagine more about that time and about their own.”
BookList *Starred Review*

“Easily read in one sitting, this lyrical novel powerfully records waves of change and offers insightful glimpses into the hearts of victims, their friends and their enemies.”
Publishers Weekly

*Connections

-Select a favorite poem or persona from the novel and discuss reasons for selection.
-Use WITNESS as an example for effective voice in writing and discuss how distinctive use of voice affects the overall appeal of the novel.
-Research a major historical reference from the book, the Ku Klux Klan.
-Write a sequel in verse or narrative form.
-Discuss the roles of prejudices and racism in our nation’s history.
-Make connections to other works of literature with similar themes.
-Compare and contrast this novel with a traditional novel.