Ringside 1925: Views from the Scopes Trial by Jen Bryant
Released: 2008 / 223 pages
First line:
That morning, Jimmy and me had hiked
clear to Connor’s Pond, halfway up the mountain,
and back again.
Summary (from book jacket): Marybeth, Pete, Jimmy Lee, and Willy never would have believed their small town of Dayton, Tennessee, would play host to one of the most controversial trials in America — that of their own teacher, J. T. Scopes. His crime? Teaching evolution in his high school classroom.
Review: I accepted this offer to review simply because it sounded interesting, and it was – but not in the ways I had expected. First, it is from Random House Children’s Books (I hadn’t realized it was for kiddos). Second, the story is told through poetry, from the perspective of nine narrators, with a few news articles at the end.
Before I begin my review, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I love poetry. My original Master’s thesis was on how poetry is such a suitable genre for the subject and nature of spirituality, and I dragged many, many adolescents through units on Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Williams Carlos Williams… I could go on.
So, please take my primary criticism with this in mind. While the multiple narrators work beautifully (more on that in a moment), the use of poetry is ineffective. The “poetry” is simply narrative sentences with white space. The lines end with words like “got” and “to” (and since our eyes tend to linger at the end of lines, these words should deserve the extra attention), and the story would’ve been easier to read if organized like a story, especially since this is what the sentences were.
However, if you can get past this, there is much to love in this little book. The use of multiple narrators is very effective, especially since the perspectives are so different — from the boys in Mr. Scopes’ class, to Clarence Darrow, to a bigoted Bible-thumper, to an “enlightened” Methodist minister.
With the exception of the Bible-thumper, the narrators are 3-dimensional and thoughtfully portrayed. One of the most poignant narrators is Willy, an African American boy who dreams of one day becoming a lawyer. However, the inclusion of a character supporting creationism who isn’t portrayed as ignorant would strengthen the story, but otherwise the device of multiple narrators is effective.
Now, who would enjoy this? I think a parent-child book club might really find this interesting as a way to get kids thinking about bigger issues. It is pretty easy to read, and would be better read aloud actually, so whenever you think your child might be ready to discuss issues like evolution and creationism, this might be a good choice.
In the classroom, it would also be a nice companion piece to Inherit the Wind — especially since it could be read aloud very quickly. In the classroom I could imagine a two-week unit on the two works, followed up by a project asking students to choose a contemporary trend that is controversial (like cloning or genetic engineering, for example).
Now, if you think you might like a free copy, simply leave me a comment stating what you believe is a current issue that is particularly divisive. I will randomly choose a winner on Sunday night! Good Luck!
