Witness follows the lives of 12 people in a town in Vermont in 1924. The story starts with the arrival of the Ku Klux Klan and shows the effects it has on the characters, among them a 6 year old Jewish girl named Esther, a 12 year old black girl named Leanora, a white 18 year old boy named Merlin, a white constable, and a white clergyman. The characters have mixed feelings towards the Klan- some, like Merlin, join it, some hate it, and some show indifference. Many of the characters start the novel with racist attitudes, like the constable who indirectly caused the death of Leanora's mother and Merlin who speaks with obvious anti-Semitism. Despite threats from the Klan, Leanora and Esther's families stay in town and begin to change the townspeople's attitudes, most notably when Leanora saves Esther from being hit by a train. This trend continues as the Klan's crimes throughout the U.S. are uncovered, and respect for the Klan turns into a fear that drives Melvin out of town when he refuses to poison Leanora's well and pushes the clergyman to shoot Esther's father. Apart from the themes of racism and anti-Semitism, the novel explores the growing feminism of the era through 2 single and 1 married woman as well as law issues such as the death sentence.
This book would be great for teaching middle schoolers. It's written in poem-like vignettes at a fairly easy reading level- it took me less than an hour to read. A lot of themes can be introduced and explored, and the way the book switches between different characters' perspectives will keep students interested. It may appeal more to girls than boys considering the feminist themes explored and that Leanora and Esther are both girls. However, Melvin's character provides a male voice middle school boys could relate to and many of the other characters are men. Overall, middle school students would relate to this book and you could come up with great lesson plans for it, so I highly recommend teaching it.
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