Witness by Karen Hesse focuses on characterization and the personalities. All novels have a point of view. Hesse shows personality by writing the book in first person limited, but she also shows every character’s thoughts and feelings by making every character the narrator. Every character in the book gets their chance to show their feelings and thoughts by telling the reader through their eyes what they think about the current situation. Merlin Van Tornhout is one of the main characters in Hesse’s book, therefore he gets many opportunities to share his thoughts and feelings, allowing the reader to be able to characterize him. Merlin has many different traits, but throughout the book he goes from being racist and with the Ku Klux Klan to being
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Very early in the book Merlin tells the reader what he thinks about Leanora Sutter, who is black. Merlin makes very racist and judgmental remarks about her. Throughout Hesse’s book superstition is an underlying theme. Merlin is superstitious, he talks about Leanora putting a spell on him after he thinks of her as a witch. Merlin is easily persuaded. He is very much in love with Mary. Mary wrote a note to Merlin telling him to break her out of wherever she is, and Merlin listens to her, and it gets him in trouble with the law. His boss Reynard Alexander bails him out of jail. Merlin is very loyal to Reynard because he had the chance to give the keys to the Ku Klux Klan, but he did not and kept the keys to himself because he does not know what the Klan will do with the keys. Merlin slowly starts turning against the Klan throughout the book, at the beginning of the book Merlin was racist towards Leanora Sutter and by the end of the book he disobeys the Klan and does not poison Sutter’s well and runs away in case the Klan comes after him.
Merlin Van Tornhout is one of the main characters in Witness. At the end of Hesse’s book Merlin appears much more than at the beginning because he stood up to the Klan and ran away. This book gives us his many feelings and emotions throughout the book because of all the controversy about the Klan and who shot Mr.
Very early in the book Merlin tells the reader what he thinks about Leanora Sutter, who is black. Merlin makes very racist and judgmental remarks about her. Throughout Hesse’s book superstition is an underlying theme. Merlin is superstitious, he talks about Leanora putting a spell on him after he thinks of her as a witch. Merlin is easily persuaded. He is very much in love with Mary. Mary wrote a note to Merlin telling him to break her out of wherever she is, and Merlin listens to her, and it gets him in trouble with the law. His boss Reynard Alexander bails him out of jail. Merlin is very loyal to Reynard because he had the chance to give the keys to the Ku Klux Klan, but he did not and kept the keys to himself because he does not know what the Klan will do with the keys. Merlin slowly starts turning against the Klan throughout the book, at the beginning of the book Merlin was racist towards Leanora Sutter and by the end of the book he disobeys the Klan and does not poison Sutter’s well and runs away in case the Klan comes after him.
Merlin Van Tornhout is one of the main characters in Witness. At the end of Hesse’s book Merlin appears much more than at the beginning because he stood up to the Klan and ran away. This book gives us his many feelings and emotions throughout the book because of all the controversy about the Klan and who shot Mr.