THE BRIMSTONE JOURNALS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Koertge, Ron. 2001. The Brimstone journals. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. INSB 9780763617424

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

THE BRIMSTONE JOURNALS is a free verse novel by Ron Koertge. Through the eyes of fifteen students, we learn about the realities of Branston High School, Class of ‘01. There is white supremacy, broken romance, bullying, anorexia, obesity, sexual abuse, black pride. There is also communication and peer support, albeit fragile. And, most importantly, there is problem solving.

The narrative arc of the poems surrounds the character of Boyd, a white supremacist who is developing a “hit list.” As his list develops and his weapons stockpile, his plan for a school shooting at Branston give the story an urgency. As each character interacts directly or peripherally with Boyd, the puzzle pieces merge into a coherent set of poems which have the reader desperately imploring the students to intervene. We, too, know Boyd.

As the reader, we are omniscient. The imagery in the poems spurs us to create compelling mind movies, such as when the character of Lester writes These jocks come down the hall like / a tidal wave of muscle. On a good day / they only knock me into the wall once. At times, it’s the conciseness of the inner dialogue which presses deeply on the heart of the reader, for instance when Allison shares I swear to God if my stepfather comes / into my room one more time / I AM GOING TO KILL HIM. These three lines are the entirety of the poem on page 34.

The poems are organized into six Roman Numeral sections. Each section is a fragment of time. As the sections progress, we move forward in the school year. Prior to Section I, there is a signature page with each student’s handwritten name. This same signature appears above each poem told from that character’s point of view. Initially, it’s a bit complicated to track the characters. There is no specific order. The characters speak at varying intervals and some have more poems in the story than others, which forms a primary versus secondary character schematic that might present a challenge for a struggling reader. Because the nature of the text is compelling, even the struggling reader will be motivated to sort through the narratives, so that characters and roles are matched correctly.

The cover art is especially compelling once you’ve read the poems. Student portraits are shown, yearbook style, with faces scratched out. Presumably, these kids made Boyd’s hit list. Directly  above the title is a photo of an unsmiling white boy. Could this be Boyd? His portrait is reddened, which spoke to me of bloodshed. It caused me to question just how close some kids are to  breaking. How many kids are living on the edge of danger, like Boyd, waiting for someone to notice? This cover art begs for a moment of reflection.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND LESSON

This lesson idea is designed for teens 8th grade and up:

To introduce the poem, I would ask students to write a journal entry about their experience with bullying. They could share their entry with a neighbor or choose to keep it private. I would then read aloud the poem on page 36 by the character of Lester.

Lester

page 36

I’m about half sick to my stomach all

the time because I’m scared.

Those jocks come down the hall like

a tidal wave of muscle. On a good day

they only knock me into the wall once.

The time Damon smashed a Twinnkie

in my face I went to the office and

ratted him out.

I could see Mr. Newman look at his

calendar and think, The game’s tomorrow

night.

But e said, “I’ll talk to him, Lester. We’ll

make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Next time it was a Ding Dong instead

of a Twinkie. Damon said if I opened

my big mouth, I was a goner.

After reading the poem, I would ask them to describe how they would feel as Lester, then as a bystander. What is a bystander? What are their suggestions for how to react as a bystander? Then, create a list in their journal of the best suggestions to become a helpful bystander.

To wrap the lesson up, read the poem by Lester together and then visit the website Erase Bullying for further tips about how to react as a bystander. Students can add more ideas to their helpful bystander list.