“Nothing But the Truth” is one of my favorite novels by Avi. Written in documentary style, with none of the traditional introspective narrative to take the reader into the minds and hearts of the characters, we are presented with just the facts and are left to make up our own minds.
Our character is Phillip Malloy, a freshman in high school. Each morning in school, “The Star Spangled Banner” is played over the loudspeaker, and Phillip hums along. His teacher tells him that he’s causing a disturbance, but he continues to hum each and every morning as the music is played. He’s already known for being a class clown, and his teacher sees this as just another example of how incorrigible he really is.
At first, Phillip’s humming is just an issue in the classroom, but soon it becomes a school issue, and then a national scandal as a neighbor with political aspirations seizes upon the situation and turns it into a huge media production, accusing Phillip’s school of being unpatriotic and denying his freedom of speech. Phillip becomes a martyr for the cause, gains a lot of respect, but also is the catalyst for negative change, as well – his teacher faces being fired from her job.
The evidence mounts on both sides until we reach the conclusion, when Phillip is given total freedom to sing, hum, or dance to the song if he wants to, and is, in fact, asked to sing. He announces, “I don’t know the words.”
The reader is left to wonder, did he hum because he felt patriotic and wanted to show it, but didn’t know the words? Or did he hum to be a goofy kid, causing trouble in class, and did he let it escalate out of fear or cockiness? There is no conclusion drawn in the novel. The reader is left to decide for themselves, which is a great jumping-off point for discussion about freedom of speech and patriotism. This book will keep you thinking long after you’ve closed the covers.
(This book was published in 1991 by HarperTrophy.)
Related Blogs:
Family Home Evening: Patriotism
Pledge of Allegiance Protected for Our Children