ENGL 112B

FALL 2004

 

EXPLORING DISCRIMINATION THROUGH

DRAMA AND ROLE PLAY

 

Kelsey M. Sollitt

 

            The years of adolescence are a significant time for young adults, in which they are exposed to and analyze discrimination, prejudice, and cultural differences.  Often during their teenage years, young adults are still forming their perceptions, views, and morals.  Therefore, young adult fiction authors that present in their books themes such as diversity in race have the opportunity to open the minds and perceptions of their readers.

            Despite the attempts made by young adult literature, it may be difficult to influence the attitudes of some youth by the text in the book alone.  Coming from a very different generation than the last, many young adults have been exposed to prejudices of their elders.  I myself have grown up hearing the occasional racist comment slip from the mouths of my grandfathers and even, in some cases, my parents.  In some situations, youth are exposed to prejudices from their elders so often that they may inherit their racist views.

            In these cases, simply reading of experiences in literature may only influence the attitudes of young adults on one level.  When literature is only read, and problems are discussed, the issues at hand have a greater chance of becoming abstracted.  If young adults read the text in a passive manner, there is a smaller chance that they will connect the material to their own views. 

            By using drama and role-play to act out a story of racism--in this case Karen Hesse�s Witness--and following up with the discussion of ethic and/or racial issues in that story, students are more likely to connect with the issue at hand.  By actually �being� the characters in a story, students in a sense experience the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the people in the given circumstances.  By using dramatics, teachers can help their students become connected with sensitive and complicated issues with understanding and compassion.

�Witness tells the story of the Klan's attempt to recruit members in a small town in Vermont in 1924. Over the course of many months, residents are affected in many ways by pressures that build in the community, leading up to a climactic moment of violence. In the voices of eleven residents of the town, we experience this series of events from many different points of view, in the form of a poetic play in five acts. As the characters speak directly to the reader and relate the juxtaposition of acts of hate and love, violence and peace, terror and kindness, they illuminate the full range of human strengths and weaknesses in one small town.�

-Connie Rockman, children's literature consultant and adjunct professor of literature for children and young adults

                                                           

            Witness is an exceptional book to be read aloud in the classroom.  There are eleven different roles for students to act out, each character playing a significant part in the story.  Additionally, the book is a quick-read, therefore leaving adequate time for discussion and reflection upon its theme of racism.

 

Launching The Unit:

            Before reading aloud and discussing Witness, use one or more of the following as an anticipatory activity.

  1. Read to the class the following statistics, provided by www.tolerance.org:

�Somewhere in America:

Every hour ...
someone commits a hate crime.

Every day ...
at least eight blacks, three whites, three gays, three Jews and one Latino become hate crime victims.

Every week ...
a cross is burned.

Open discussion with students, asking them if they knew prejudice is still this evident today.  Ask if they have ever witnessed or read about a recent hate crime.

  1. Ask class to dig into their memories and try to recall a time in which they felt outcast from others.  Possible events could include:
    1. Having an opinion different from others and being teased/undermined because of it.
    2. Being outcast due to a difference in appearance, age, or interests.
    3. Being the new person in a school, job, or community in general

Have students write about how the experience made them feel. 

Were they able to overcome the challenge?  If so, how?

How did the adversary(s) behave; were specific characteristics evident?

  1. Bring to class �The Traveling Trunk�*.  Explain to the class that the trunk was created by educators and citizens concerned about hate violence existent in our society, and its purpose is to raise awareness of hate crimes committed throughout history.  The trunk contains various artifacts of hate, for students to see the visual results of bullying, racist behavior.  Items in the trunk include:

�A noose representing the untold story of African Americans hung to death for the "crime of being black"; a charred cross, made notorious by the KKK and others to strike fear in Blacks in the name of religion; a yellow Star of David, a symbol of anti-Semites' hatred of Jews and artificial legs and arms to depict physically challenged persons.  Some will see the bar of soap and lampshade - symbols of the Holocaust when bodies of Death Camp victims were turned into products for their Nazi captors.�

-http://www.korrnet.org/knohate/trunk.html

 

Discuss with the class the various items in the trunk.  Have open discussion with class (or an open writing) about their reactions to seeing items in the trunk. 

*Be aware that certain items in trunk may not be appropriate for certain age levels.  The trunk can be rented for free.  Contact the Knoxville Project Change at 522-7111 or email at prj.chg@korrnet.org.

           

  1. Explain to the class the different characters they will be playing. 

 

Leanora Sutter- A young black girl who feels isolated by racial prejudice and her mother's recent death.

Esther Hirsh- A younger Jewish girl, whose innocence and natural optimism provides a sharp contrast to the other characters.

Merlin- A teenager helping to voice The Klan's hate-filled message of white supremacy

Johnny Reeves- A minister in the town who also becomes a member of the Klan.

Other characters- the town constable and newspaper editor � try to walk a careful line of neutrality until they realize the importance of taking a stand.

Viola and Harvey Pettibone- Storekeepers representing two opposing reactions to the Klan's methods as they discuss the issue in their own home.

Iris Weaver- Character reflects a new freedom for women who had just gained the right to vote.

 

Encourage the students to get �into character�, whether through an accent, emphasis of certain words, projection of voice, and/or facial expression.

During the in class readers� theatre presentation of �Witness�, consider the following activity/discussion questions:

  1. In-Class Activity:  Between acts, have students break into groups of 11.  Have each student in a group take on role of one of the eleven narrators.  Groups will form open discussion (can pretend to be characters or simply analyze them) about the personalities of their characters, their characters� feelings about the Ku Klux Klan, and what each person believes their character may do in the next act.
  2. Discussion Points:
    1. Style and Theme:

Why did the author choose to tell the story in many different voices? How would your experience of this story be different if it were only told from the point of view of Leanora? of Esther? of Merlin? of Sara Chickering?

The characters speak in a series of free verse poems, each having his or her own distinctive voice. What makes this style effective? How is this book similar to, or different from, Hesse's Newbery Award-winning Out of the Dust?

Sara Chickering says of the Klan: "There's a kind of power they wield, a deceptive authority." What does she mean by a deceptive authority? Why does the Klan burn crosses and hide their identity behind hoods and sheets?

 

    1. Characters and Setting:

Consider the characters of Leanora and Esther. In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?

What part does Iris Weaver play in the story? What is the importance of her character?

Why do we never hear the voices of Mr. Sutter, Mr. Hirsh, and Mr. Field, but only hear about them from other people?

When does Merlin begin to change his feelings about Leanora? What causes him to begin to fear the Klan rather than be drawn to it?

What part do Viola and Harvey Pettibone play in the story? Why do you think we hear their two voices together, while all the other characters speak alone?

Discuss the differences among these characters in the way they react to the Klan: Johnny Reeves, Reynard Alexander, Percelle Johnson, Harvey Pettibone, Mr. Field. What does the Klan represent to each of them? What does it represent to you?

What is the connection between Sara Chickering and Esther? Why is Sara so protective of Esther? In what ways have Esther � and her father � made a difference in Sara's life? What other characters are changed during the story because of their connection to another person in the town?

c.  Conflict and Resolution:

 

While there are some residents of the town who respond to the Klan's hate message, there are others who find themselves exhibiting new-found courage in resisting the Klan. Which of the characters do you feel exhibits true courage? What would you do if faced with the Klan's presence in your community?

What lessons do we learn from Witness about ways to counteract prejudice and mistrust of people who are different from us? How did Sara overcome her prejudices? How did Leanora overcome hers? Will Merlin overcome his? How do you overcome yours?

            Source:  Connie Rockman, Witness Discussion Guide

Extending The Unit:

Young Adult Literature Selections:

Books to Compare and Contrast to Karen Hesse�s Witness:

Bat 6, by Virginia Euwer Wolff. Scholastic, 1998
The tradition of a sixth-grade girls' softball game between two rival towns � narrated in the voice of all eighteen girls on the two teams � is disrupted in the late 1940s by a prejudice born of World War II.

Circle of Fire, by William Hooks. Atheneum, 1992
In the tidewater country of North Carolina in 1936, three children try to thwart the plans of the Ku Klux Klan to destroy an encampment of Irish tinkers.

Give a Boy a Gun, by Todd Strasser. Simon & Schuster, 2000
Peer pressure, cliques, bullying and teacher apathy all lead to a climax of violence in one high school of today as told in the voices of many participants and an outside reporter.

Summer Battles, by Ann R. Blakeslee. Marshall Cavendish, 2000
Eleven-year-old Kath and her sister are spending the summer with their grandfather, a minister in Peaceable, Indiana, in 1926 when he is targeted by the local Klan for preaching against their message and for employing a black housekeeper.

Nothing But the Truth, by Avi. Orchard, 1991
Many points of view in this documentary novel indicate the various ways of experiencing a conflict when a ninth-grader defies his homeroom teacher and everyone suffers the consequences.

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Harper Collins, 1999, copyright 1960.
Set in Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s, and told by the young daughter of the town's principled lawyer, Atticus Finch, this classic novel is an enduring story of race, class, justice, and the terrible consequences of prejudice.

The Wave, by Todd Strasser. Dell Laurel Leaf, 1981
Based on a true incident that occurred in a high school history class in California in 1969, a teacher demonstrates to his students the powerful forces of group pressure and their devastating effect on individual rights.

Background Reading for Witness:

The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate, by Janice Cohn. Whitman, 1995

Based on a true incident that occurred in Billings, Montana, this story begins when a rock is thrown through Isaac's bedroom window in which a menorah is displayed. Frightened, he removes it. Afterwards, the mother goes on television and to a meeting to talk about hate crimes in the community, and inspired by stories of the Danish people helping their Jewish neighbors during World War II, the whole town puts menorahs in their windows to take a stand against bigotry. Reassured, Isaac replaces the menorah in his window.

The Decade that Roared, by Linda Jacobs Altman. Twenty-first Century, 1997

Discusses the social conditions of the decade during which prohibition was in effect, the results of the legislation, and its failure to preserve traditional values.

 

Hate Crimes, by Laura D'Angelo. Chelsea House, 1999

Discusses the increasing incidence of crimes that are motivated by bias against another person or group, examining the causes and occurrences of such hate crimes and the psychology of those who commit them.


Hoods: The Story of the Ku Klux Klan
, by Robert Ingalls. Putnam, 1979

A history of the mysterious hooded organization from its beginnings during Reconstruction after the Civil War.


The Ku Klux Klan: America's Recurring Nightmare
, by Fred J. Cook. Messner, 1989 Explores the consistent pattern of racial bigotry, religious intolerance, violence, and exploitation by the Klan since its founding in the post-Civil War period.

Concluding Activities:

1.    Have students choose one of the texts listed above, to compare and contrast to Karen Hesse�s Witness.  Assign them a book report, in which they analyze the similarities and differences between the two books, as well the difference between reading the book through Reader�s Theatre as opposed to silently reading this second book on their own.

2.    Have the class do another Reader�s Theatre, this time on the short story The Kind of Light That Shines in Texas.  This story takes place in 1966 (around the time of the Civil Rights Movement), thus providing a portrayal of racism existent later in history.  Also, the story is set inside a classroom, possibly making it easier for the students to relate to.  Consider having five or six students rotate the narrator�s role, while other students play other characters in the story.  Following the reading, ask the students to form groups of 5.  Each group will be responsible for constructing a five-minute skit relative to discrimination.  In terms of theme, the discrimination must be relative to either Witness or The Kind of Light That Shines in Texas.  With the boundaries of appropriate language and content, the students will be able to express their creativity in their skits.  Additionally, a discussion can follow the skits, linking the racism shown in both the two stories and their performances.

Works Cited

Bontempo, Barbara T. R. Jerome. "Exploring Diversity in Adolescent Literature." Workshop Presentation, National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention, Baltimore, Maryland, November 19, 1989.

 

McKnight, Reginald.  The Kind of Light that Shines on Texas: Stories.  Boston: Little Brown and Co. 1992.

 

Rockman, Connie.  Witness Discussion Guide.  New York: Scholastic, Inc. 2000.

Author Unknown.  Knoxville Hate Crimes Working Group. Knoxville, Tennessee.

2002. http://www.korrnet.org/knohate/index.html

 

Author Unknown.  Tolerance.org: Fight Hate and Promote Tolerance.  Montgomery, AL. 2004.  http://www.tolerance.org/index.jsp