Witness by Karen Hesse
About the Author
Karen Hesse
- Leanora Sutter- a 12 year old colored girl, moved to Vermon with family, saves Esther, mother died
- Merlin Van Tornhout- 18 years old,
Klansman, told by Harvey to poison the Sutter's well, ran away, sees Reeves, Mary
- Esther Hirsh- 6 years old, Jewish, with dad Ira, both moved in with Sara, father was shot
- Percelle Johnson- 66 years old, town Constable, doesn't blame himself for Sutter's wife's death
- Sara Chickering- 42 years old, farmer, against the KKK, houses the Hirshs
- Johnny Reeves- 36 years old, clergyman, Klansman, was branded, jumps off of a bridge
- Iris Weaver- 30 years old, restaurant owner, rum runner, doesn't want to settle down
- Fitzgerald Flitt- 60 years old, doctor, against KKK, wise
- Harvey Pettibone- mid-50's, restaurant owner, husband of Viola, Klansman, wa told to poison the Sutter's well but got Merlin to do it
- Viola Pettibone- mid-50's, restaurant owner, wife of Harvey, against KKK
- Reynard Alexander- 48 years old, newspaper editor, talks about Calvin Coolidge
Characters
Setting
- Born on August 29, 1952, in Baltimore.
- Worked as a librarian, a typesetter, a proofreader and more.
- Went to Towson State College in 1969 majoring in theater then moved on to Maryland University to earn two minors in Psychology and Anthropology
- Now lives with her husband with two daughters in Vermont
- 1924
- Small town in Vermont
- Ku Klux Klan
- against Jews, Catholics, and Blacks
Awards
- Newbery Medal - Out of the Dust
- National Jewish Book Award for Children's Literature - Letters from Rifka
- MacArthur Fellows Grant in 2002 - Stowaway and Aleutian Sparrow
Other books Hesse has written
- Out of the Dust
- Letters from Rifka
- The Music of Dolphins
- Just Juice
- Stowaway
- Wish on a Unicorn
Plot
Theme
Climax
- Things start to heat up with the Klan
- Ira Hirsh gets shot
- Merlin runs away after almost poisoning the Sutter's well
- People start to think Merlin shot Ira
Change
Falling Action
- the government has rejected the K.K.K.'s petition an kicked them out of Vermont
- Merlin comes back after running into Iris
- sees Johnny Reeves
Exposition
- almost all of the character's points of view are presented
- the main problems are presented
- K.K.K., racism
Resolution
- Johnny Reeves jumps off of the steel bridge claiming the he is scared of the Klan
- Leanora helps clear Merlin's name
- Merlin learns of Reeves's death
- Merlin feels unsafe about his status with the Klan
Almost all of the characters at the beginning of this story believe in one thing.
- Merlin and the Klan
- Harvey
- Leanora
END