Nothing But The Truth

Philip initiates the conflict with Ms. Narwin by humming along to the national anthem loudly during the morning announcements, despite the instructions students have been given to listen in “respectful, silent attention”(1). Although he merely hums the song, Philip tells the adults to whom he complains that he actually sang the song. At the end of the novel, Philip reveals that he does not know the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” so he is unable to sing it.

For the school district and its employees, silence represents respect for the rules created by the administration and for the national anthem. Students are expected to show respect by not expressing themselves out loud. For Philip and adults at the school, humming indicates his defiance of authority; for adults outside the school, Philip’s sounds, misidentified as singing, represent his patriotism and his right to free expression, while silence represents repression and lack of respect for the country’s values. Finally, Philip’s inability to sing the actual words of the anthem shows that he lacks awareness of the impact of his actions on others until it is too late.

The national anthem appears on covers of several editions of the novel and its lyrics appear in the novel itself. The national anthem is first mentioned in the memo on how morning announcements are to be conducted at Harrison High. The song is based on the events of a battle between Great Britain and the United States during the War of 1812, which confirmed the independence of the young country from the empire that had once ruled it. Different characters have different perspectives on the meaning of the song.

For Ted Griffen, Jake Barlow, and many of the people who send letters and telegrams, the song is a symbol of patriotism and respect for traditional American values. For Philip, who does not actually know the words of the song, the anthem represents his defiance of authority. For some of the letter and telegram writers, the song represents respect for the personal sacrifices of soldiers who fight to support American interests.

An important part of the context of the conflict between Philip and Ms. Narwin is an upcoming vote on the school budget. A previous vote to provide additional funding for the school failed, and as Dr. Seymour makes clear, the failure to gain a vote of approval the second time around will results in job and program cuts. Over the course of the novel, politicians like Ted Griffen and potential voters such as the Malloys use the administrators’ fear of the loss of funding to exert pressure on the school to punish Ms. Narwin. On the other hand, the school budget is also the source of money for training for teachers like the band teachers or Ms. Narwin.

Ultimately, the school budget represents the power of the community to exert control over the actions of the school system. The failure of Harrison to pass a budget with adequate levels of funding implies that the community does not place a high value on public education.

A memo is, at its most basic, a means by which authority figures in an organization communicate policies and procedures to people subject to the authority of that organization. Memos are formal in nature and typically are presented in objective language designed to reinforce the legitimacy of the institution. In the novel, administrators write most of the memos, although Ms. Narwin does write a memo to request funding for a graduate course.

A careful reading of the memos, especially those that are written during the most intense moments of the conflict, shows that memos are used to advance a version of the truth that benefits the administration of the school. Memos are therefore symbols of authority and of the partial nature of truth.