Amir Burris
1st Period
October 18, 2010
“NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH”
WRITTEN BY
AVI
The Plot:
In the classic novel “Nothing but the Truth” by Avi, a young boy at Harrison High School finds himself in a
serious predicament. In the exposition of this story, the main character, Philip, is a talented runner and
is determined to be on the high school track team. Philip is only in the ninth grade, but he is a “shoo-in”
to make the team. The one thing holding him back is his “D” in language arts class which makes him
ineligible for sports. Miss Narwin is Philip’s language arts and homeroom teacher and he believes she’s
out to get him.
The rising action of this story occurs when Philip gets in trouble for breaking a school rule to be silent
and deliberately hums during the national anthem in Miss Narwin’s homeroom. After the incident, he
tells his parents about how angry he is with Miss Narwin for yelling at him. Trying to be a supportive
parent, Philip’s father tells him he should stick up for his rights and he’ll stand by him. This advice gives
him the motivation to hum again and he repeats his actions the next day. This time, he is sent to the
office. Philip tells the assistant principal, Dr. Palleni, that he is just being patriotic, but Dr. Palleni warns
him to follow the rules. This doesn’t stop Philip from trying Miss Narwin’s patience again. Now Philip
must make a choice, apologize to Miss Narwin or get suspended. Philip refuses to apologize and gets a
two day suspension. Mr. and Mrs. Malloy believe Philip is right for standing up for himself and his right
to be patriotic. They are unaware that he was just trying to get out of Miss Narwin’s class. One of their
neighbors, Ted Griffen, is running for a spot on the school board and Philip’s parents advise him to tell
Ted about the situation. This is the climax because when Philip speaks with him, Ted invites Philip to
come and talk with a reporter about his problem and she investigates the situation. Once the story is
published, a lot of negative publicity begins to come to the school about the patriotism punishment and
Philip and Miss Narwin find themselves in the middle of a national debate.
The Setting:
The story takes place in the present, sometime during the 1990’s. Although the author does not give a
specific year, he does specify that it takes place from March 13th to April 9th. The time period is
significant because it occurs not only during track season, but also election time. The primary location
of the story is in Harrison, New Hampshire at Harrison High School. The fact that this story took place in
America explains why people were concerned with the right to show patriotism. Another impact of the
story being in America is the First Amendment and people’s freedom of speech. This is what gave Philip
a chance to challenge Miss Narwin.
The Characters:
One of the main characters is Philip Malloy, a ninth grade student at Harrison High School. He is a track
fanatic and will do anything to run for the school track team. Philip is disrespectful, dishonest, and
manipulative. Another vital character is Miss Narwin, Philip’s homeroom and language arts teacher. She
has a passion for literature and teaching and takes education seriously. She is strict, but a fair teacher.
Most of the students enjoy her class. Mr. and Mrs. Malloy are Philip’s parents. They are not very firm
and are too lenient with Philip. They support their son and encourage him to stand up for his rights.
They have trust in Philip and believe his story about Miss Narwin. Ted Griffen, one of the Malloy’s
neighbors, is a candidate running for the school board. He introduced Philip to the reporter and is the
main reason the story went public. Jennifer Stewart is the reporter for the “Manchester Record” that
published the first story about the patriotism punishment.
The Theme:
The main theme of “Nothing but the Truth” is seeing different versions of the same story develop. Some
think Philip is right and some think Miss Narwin is right. Throughout the story, the reader can see the
events being twisted to fit the interests of the people. For example, when interviews were made only
certain quotes were used to make the story sound like something it wasn’t. “According to Harrison
School superintendent Dr. A. Seymour, there is no rule against singing the anthem. Indeed, in every
other class Philip did just that. His new homeroom teacher, Ms. Margaret Narwin, however, changed the
rules. Every time Philip lifted his voice to sing she threw him out of class, insisting a disturbance was
being created.” This quote, from the “Manchester Record” article, shows how the truth is not being told.
The memo in the beginning of the book, states that there is a rule to be silent during the national
anthem. Miss Narwin was following that rule. Therefore, this article is suggesting that Miss Narwin
caused all of this commotion.
The Tone:
The tone, I believe, is tension, conflict, and dislike throughout the story. There was a lot of tension for
Miss Narwin regarding the attack from the media. More tension was building up at Harrison High School
with the students and Philip. Students that enjoyed Miss Narwin were very upset with Philip because he
made her look so awful. There was even more stress with the budget votes and their school getting all
this negative publicity. This also concerned Miss Narwin and her reputation as a fair teacher. The
conflicts were between Philip and Miss Narwin, the media and the school, and the media and Miss
Narwin. Philip also had conflict within himself because he knew what he was doing was wrong. Dislike
was apparent with Philip against Miss Narwin and also with many of the students against Philip.
Why is it a classic novel? :
“Nothing but the Truth” is a classic novel because it contains a good plot, storyline, and descriptive text.
The storyline of this classic novel contains human characteristics that involve life lessons that can be
applied in day-to-day life. The storyline can also be rewritten in any other context while keeping the
same moral. One of the morals of “Nothing but the Truth” is that telling a lie can get you more than
what you bargained for. Another reason this novel is considered a classic is because future generations
can enjoy this book. Its theme can be found in schools across America and many students can relate to it
(including myself). Finally, this novel has a unique format of writing. The author uses different methods
such as diary entries, memos, and letters to tell the story.
My Opinion:
“Nothing but the Truth” is an engaging and interesting novel. I admired the structure of the book and
how it was written similar to a play. I could read the conversations as if they were happening right in
front of me. It was very creative how Avi told the story through memos, letters, and other various
documents. This classic novel has a very good storyline and plot and kept me in suspense because I felt
like the truth could come out at any moment. I enjoyed how descriptive the book was about what was
happening during the whole story.
Recommendation:
This classic novel is a must read for middle school students. I would recommend this book to my
classmates because of its great structure and storyline. Students might even be able to relate to the
story. Relating to the story usually brings better understanding of the book. Students will also enjoy the
quick start of the storyline. It doesn’t take long for the tension to build so students will stay interested. I
would also recommend that we read the novel like a play with students acting out the characters. The
author makes it easy because it’s structured in manuscript form and acting out the story would bring it
to life.
Best Scene:
The best scene in the novel is when Philip gets in trouble and is sent to the office for humming during
the national anthem for the third time. Homeroom had started and Philip was in the class he hated
most, Miss Narwin’s class. After the announcements, a tape of the national anthem started to play and
Philip began humming again. The day before, the same incident had happened so Philip knew that it was
wrong, but he did it anyway. Miss Narwin asked if that was Philip again. He ignored her and just kept on
humming. Miss Narwin found out it was him a few seconds later and yelled at him for being extremely
disrespectful. Philip exclaimed that he was just being patriotic. Philip Malloy was sent to the office yet
again; this time to be suspended.