Present Epithetical Books Witness
| Title | : | Witness |
| Author | : | Karen Hesse |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 161 pages |
| Published | : | March 1st 2003 by Scholastic Paperbacks (first published July 5th 2000) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Poetry. Young Adult. Fiction. Childrens. Middle Grade |
Interpretation During Books Witness
The Barnes & Noble ReviewKaren Hesse's Newbery Award-winning skills are put to great use in Witness, a poetic tale about friendship, fanaticism, and the deadly undercurrents of racial prejudice. The story takes place in a small Vermont town in the year 1924, revealing the devastating impact of the Ku Klux Klan on this pastoral, insular community. At the heart of the tale are two motherless girls who come to the attention of the newly formed Klan: 12-year-old Leanora Sutter, who is black, and 6-year-old Esther Hirsch, who is Jewish.
Hesse tells her story, which is based on real events, through the eyes of 11 different characters. Each point of view is expressed in poetic form, but with a stark clarity of difference that makes the voices unique and identifiable. There is a fire-and-brimstone preacher whose sermons reveal him as a zealot and whose actions brand him as a hypocrite. There is a middle-aged farm woman named Sara who takes Esther under her wing despite the warnings of her neighbors, trying to help the child understand why the Klan has marked her and her widowed father as targets for their hatred. Esther's only other friend is Leanora, who is about to learn some harsh lessons on tolerance and hatred herself at the hands of the Klan. And linking them all together is 18-year-old Merlin Van Tornhout, a young man struggling to fit in with the adult world and determine for himself the difference between right and wrong. The remaining characters who circle the periphery of this core group reflect the various mind-sets and biases that were common during this era of fear and persecution, even in a setting as bucolic as the Vermont countryside.
Hesse weaves real historic events into her tale, such as the murder trial of the infamous kidnappers Leopold and Loeb, giving the work a definite period flavor. Using prose that is both sparse and powerful, she builds the tension with a slow crescendo of inevitability that ends in violence, but also offers up an unforgettable lesson on the true power of friendship and acceptance. (Beth Amos)
Details Books Toward Witness
| Original Title: | Witness |
| ISBN: | 0439272009 (ISBN13: 9780439272001) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Vermont,1924(United States) |
| Literary Awards: | Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award (2002), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2003), Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2004) |
Rating Epithetical Books Witness
Ratings: 3.72 From 5007 Users | 779 ReviewsArticle Epithetical Books Witness
3.5*** Eleven residents of a small Vermont town in 1924 reveal what happens when the Ku Klux Klan moves in. Neighbors turn against one another and no one is safe, particularly two children: twelve-year-old Leonora, an African American girl, and six-year-old Esther, who is Jewish. The residents of the town bear witness to the events of 1924 in haunting free verse. Ive read several of Hesses works now, and am in awe of how much she can convey in so few words. Despite using free verse for theWitness by Karen Hesse is an amazing book. It takes place in 1924, where racial hate is a big topic in the town. Life is hard for everyone in the town, especially six year-old Esther Hirsch, who is jewish, and Leonora Sutter, who is black. The town has many different people in it, all telling their stories through poems and sometimes even one paragraph. In this book, Leonora and Esther both live with their father and have no mother. They form an unlikely friendship when Esther stands on train
Witness by Karen Hesse is a book written in poetry form telling the story of different people through different perspectives. I find this book very interesting and fun to read because of its description and syntax. The book tells one story told by different people and what they think about it. It shows how diverse people can be. The poetry form of this book gives it a different style making it easier for the story to flow. The divergent character and stories add on to the description and make
3.5 stars.Historical fiction usually isn't quite my thing, but I really enjoyed this. It's written in verse, which made everything feel more close and real to me. The characters were all very vivid to me and I especially loved little Esther and the newspaper editor.The one thing that bothered me about this book was that it was too short. I felt like the plot didn't have enough time to develop and grow. *sighs*Overall though, I really *did* enjoy this book.
this is the way this conversation should have gone down."so, i want to write a kid's book about the KKK coming to town and the town's reaction to it from all different perspectives""okay, i am listening""it will be set in vermont...""wait - what?? vermont?? not in the south??""no, in vermont. the green mountain state""okay, your call. keep 'em guessing, i like it. why pick on the south all the time, sure. everyone thinks vermont is so liberal - we will show them!!""okay - and i am going to have
this is the way this conversation should have gone down."so, i want to write a kid's book about the KKK coming to town and the town's reaction to it from all different perspectives""okay, i am listening""it will be set in vermont...""wait - what?? vermont?? not in the south??""no, in vermont. the green mountain state""okay, your call. keep 'em guessing, i like it. why pick on the south all the time, sure. everyone thinks vermont is so liberal - we will show them!!""okay - and i am going to have
I just finished reading this book of poems about a community in Vermont and the KKK... it was very interesting... my favorite line - "persecution is not american. it is not american to give the power of life and death to a secret organization. it is not american to have our citizens judged by an invisible jury. it is not american to have bands of night riders apply the punishments of medieval europe to freeborn men. the ku klux klan must go."
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