Szklarski- The Witness

The title clearly refers to little Samuel Lapp. However, in a sense, John Book is a witness as well. He bears witness to the deep community bond and lifestyle of the Amish. John Book is witness to what violence dos to the soul. He gains a greater understanding of what it means to lose the meaning. He also becomes more understanding of the Amish community selflessness. Being a witness refers to an outsider who has a visual of some event. In the court room, the witness’ testimony is crucial in the decision making process of the jury. The witness is supposed to be on the outside looking in. John Book is a hero because of his actions and because of his personal growth. "The most rewarding aspect of the film is not the crime story---which is a rather predictable affair populated by standard cop-movie characters (i.e., the corrupt superior officer, the partner who turns out to be the film's sacrificial lamb, the black gangster who is mistakenly rousted by cops in their obsessive search for the murderers). Rather, what makes Witness unique is its painstaking and loving depiction of life among the Amish"(Pfeiffer, 151). John Book’s change in his understanding of the Amish is the poster for this appreciation that the audience gains by the end of the film.

John Book has a propensity for violence. He is a cop in a city with crime and police corruption. His world is full of people looking out for themselves and climbing to the top by any means necessary. It is ingrained in his ways just as much as the peaceful life in ingrained in the Amish. The tendency for violence does not make John Bok any less venerable of a character. No matter what he does, he has not lost ‘the meaning’ as Schaefer has in the timeline of the movie.

There is a huge difference between understanding and actually changing. John Book does not belong in the community. Rather, he understands the value of every part of it. It does not mean that it is better than his life in Philadelphia. It simply means that John Book as a person has grown and that too much of a change would just result in a different person. There’s a reason that most of the population of the world does not totally drop everything and enter a new way of life. People are shaped by their world around them. Our experiences do not make up every single possible part of who we are. There’s obviously more to a person than the things he or she does every day. But it can’t be ignored that experiences and decisions are a large part of who a person is. As John Book experiences the world of the Amish, he deepens his scope of what justice is. The rural lifestyles are actually more ‘sophisticated’ than the supposed civilization of the city. The value of life is held to a much greater height in Lancaster than it is in Philadelphia. John Book also does not force anything between him and Rachel. He respects her ways and her world. John Book becomes a more caring person. John Book used to respect authority, however he changes to now respect people and the law above authority.

John Book retains his pride; an aspect looked down upon in a society based on simple living. John is proud of being a carpenter signified in his restoration of the birdhouse. John Book does not change in this way, a further point that he does not belong in such a community. The unwelcoming nature of pride can also be seen in the way that Samuel Lapp responds to his toy gift.

Emily Szklarski