Witness

Witness by Karen Hesse is a 2001 middle-grade novel written from multiple characters’ perspectives. The protagonist, Leonora Sutter, is a 12-year-old Black girl living in a rural Vermont town during the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in 1924. The violence and racism that erupts after the Klan’s arrival threatens to destroy the town, and Leonora finds herself caught up in the center of the storm. Through the friendship of a six-year-old Jewish girl (who is also a target of the Klan) and the mentorship of an old Civil War veteran, Leonora learns to recognize her own biases and sets the example that allows the town to heal.

The novel is written in free verse (poetry without rhyme or meter), with different narrators presenting different poems periodically. Hesse writes predominantly from the first-person limited perspective for each narrator, but there are 11 narrators of varying ages and genders who share their unique versions of events in poetic form, often through interior monologue. This narrative method exposes the narrator’s hidden biases, and the reader can judge the nature of the character.

The narrative poems present the plot in five acts, a structure that makes Witness uniquely appropriate for Reader’s Theater. The story focuses on children under duress, and the two main characters, Leonora Sutter and Esther Hirsch, are the focal points of the bubbling hatred and racism that will edge the town into violence. The novel explores themes of the vulnerability of children, coming of age, and the importance of taking a stand against injustice. Witness is a winner of the Christopher Medal, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, ALA Notable Children’s Book, and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.

Content warning: This guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the n-word, and the novel contains instances of murder, sexual predation, and racist abuse.

This study guide references the 2001 Scholastic paperback edition of Witness.

Plot Summary

Leonora Sutter and Esther Hirsch are both outsiders in the rural Vermont town where they live in 1924. Leonora’s classmates persecute her for being Black, but Esther, a Jewish child new to the town, is oblivious to the color of Leonora’s skin. Esther came with her father to live with the farmer, Sara Chickering, initially as part of the Fresh Air Fund program, which offered free summer vacations in the country to low-income children in New York City. Both Esther and Leonora are motherless and live with their fathers, which creates a further bond between the two.

Murmurs arise that the Ku Klux Klan are recruiting members from among the townspeople. Each of the novel’s 11 narrators initially have different views on the Klan’s appearance in their town. Quick to join the Klan are Merlin Van Tornhout, an 18-year-old boy; Harvey Pettibone; and Johnny Reeves, a preacher. Merlin is attempting to navigate the difficult journey to adulthood and must determine the difference between right and wrong, but Johnny is a hypocrite and a zealot, railing against the immorality of women and the “negro problem” even as he lures young girls into the bushes and abuses them. Spouses Harvey and Viola Pettibone are shopkeepers who present opposing viewpoints on the Klan; Harvey thinks the Klan is good for business, but Viola deplores its violence. Percelle Johnson, the town constable, and Reynard Alexander, the town newspaper reporter, are determined to remain neutral. Sara Chickering quickly becomes a target of the Klan due to her housing Ira and Esther Hirsch. Iris Weaver, a bootlegger and restauranter, is a proponent of women’s rights, which also puts her in opposition to the Klan’s platform of “American values.” Leonora, of all the narrative voices in the novel, most feels the effects of the Klan’s arrival, as her classmates, particularly Merlin, torment her verbally.

A murder case breaks national news—and both victim and perpetrators are ethnically Jewish. The media sensation stokes the town’s already considerable antisemitic sentiments, and the townspeople begin to solidify their positions on the Klan. After Johnny leads a group of townspeople to burn a cross on a hill during Independence Day, the racism and antisemitism escalate. An unknown person throws a rock through Sara’s window, with a note warning her against harboring the Jewish father and daughter, and a Klansman steals Merlin’s car at knifepoint. Meanwhile, when Esther wanders onto some train tracks, Leonora saves her from being crushed by a train, which leads town reporter Reynard to herald Leonora as a hero in the newspaper. In return, he receives a letter from the Klan threatening to kill him if he prints any more unacceptable stories.

In a cascade of events, the Klan’s violent agenda comes to a climax when the Klan members decide that both the Sutter and the Hirsch families should be run out of town. Johnny shoots Esther’s father, Ira, through a door keyhole, narrowly missing Esther who was sitting on her father’s lap; Ira survives and is taken to the hospital. The same night, Harvey, who has risen in the Klan’s ranks, asks Merlin to poison Leonora’s well; Merlin refuses and leaves town out of fear of the Klan’s retribution, setting himself up to be blamed for the attempted murder of Ira.

The shooting galvanizes the townspeople to resist the Klan. Mr. Fields—the old blind Civil War veteran whom Leonora takes care of—chases Klan members off the courtyard lawn when they attempt to place a wreath there on Armistice Day. Johnny orchestrates his own death; he is terrified of the Klan because they’ve recently discovered his rapist history and are enraged. When Merlin returns home, Constable Johnson arrests him for shooting Ira. However, Leonora provides Merlin an alibi, telling Constable Johnson that she saw Merlin in her backyard at the time Ira was shot. Only Esther saw Johnny shoot her father through the keyhole, and the only person she tells is God, who she knows will do what’s needed to punish Johnny.

Hesse presents her story through many eyes, and while readers may find it uncomfortable to read the voices of racism and hate, the author’s use of varied perspectives offers unique glimpses into the origins of bias and racism. Rather than dwell on the hatred, however, Hesse is careful to ensure that it is the voices that shine with goodness and equality that capture the spirit of the town. Through the examples set by Mr. Fields and Esther, Leonora learns to judge people individually by their actions rather than by their race. This denouement is the catalyst that allows her to forgive Merlin and provide the alibi that exonerates him. It also frees her to see the good in the town instead of enduring the crushing loneliness.