The Witness Leonora Sutter Analysis

The “Witness” is a fascinating story, but I believe the author gave it the wrong title. I will agree that a lot of witnessing went on throughout the plot, but the reactions from the characters made the story much more interesting. I have given you some background information from the story so you can understand why the character reactions were so important. When writing this argument, I focused on the person who made the biggest difference with her reactions, Leanora Sutter. All of our reactions to the events that happen in our lives affect what happens next. They open new paths and lead us in different directions. In order to change and influence the world around us, we must take action in our situations and not sit on the sidelines watching

Due to the nationality of Leanora and her father, the organization was able to form a community prejudice against them. Many difficult decisions hung over Leanora as she reacted in fear. Her responses became more personal and they gave the audience a better perspective of the hardships of a young black girl in the 1920’s. Leanora faced terrorizations from many of the community members, including some of her classmates, as the story stated, “Willie said: at the Klan meeting last night the dragons talked about lighting you and your daddy up to get them some warmth on a cold day. You’d be cheap fuel, they said. They liked the smell of barbeque, they said. I turned my back on Willie Pettibone and walked out of school. I didn’t know where I was going. I just walked out, without my coat, without my hat or rubbers” (Witness Page 10). Leanora couldn’t even escape the horrors of the KKK at school. This proves the community was being strongly controlled by its discriminative views. It also shows that our decisions influence what paths open for us. The example given led to Leanora growing in friendship with the little white girl, Esther. Many of the Klan’s threats and actions hit Leanora on a personal level. In the story she said, “in that dark and narrow place I opened a hole for myself, but no matter how I turned, the light from the cross curled its bright claws under the door” (Witness Page 54). The threats Willie shot at

Her thought process inspired her actions and changed the outcome of many events. Leanora had formed a prejudice against white people after her experiences with all of the ridicule. She spoke with passion when expressing her anger towards the white people surrounding her and was always willing to let the readers know what she was thinking. When she went to work with Mr. Field, a white man who needed some assistance, Leanora had very strong prejudice views. After considering Mr. Field’s personality and taking some time to think about her beliefs, Leanora made the decision to open up to him. She listened to his stories and took his ideas to heart, “I made a pie for Mr. Field. He kept talking. I don’t know if he could see well enough to judge the color of my skin” (Witness Page 41). She thought about Mr. Field’s friendliness and reacted with the willing attitude of change. Unfortunately, not everyone viewed the racial difference as Leanora did. In her situation she was forced to face many unjust consequences. She was always cautious when making her decisions so she could stay out of the spotlight. Even the simple task of walking home with a typewriter could have raised questions and required a suitable decision. Leanora said, “I would have liked a machine like that to write on but if I went carrying a big old typewriter home from Dickenson Street all the way to Mather Road, Constable Johnson, he’d get ten calls