My Thoughts: Act 5

I just finished the book this week so I will be sharing my thoughts on the last act. I was a bit confused when I finished it but, in my class, we talked about all of the possible interpretations of the ending. Feel free to discuss in the comments below or go to one of the discussion links that I have provided at the sidebar.

WARNING: If you are possibly going to read the book in the future or have not gotten to this point in the book, I highly recommend that you do NOT read any further.

Summary:
Everyone is wondering where Merlin went.
Esther talks about how she saw the person that shot her dad. She doesn't tell anyone.
Sara and Doc Flitt mention how Ira Hirsh was sitting when he was shot and where it hit him. They also say that it was probably Merlin.
Iris Weaver sees Merlin when she was driving to deliver her illegal alcohol. She tells him to go to his family but he denies that he is Merlin.
Merlin says that he felt like he was being followed by Johnny Reeves and goes back to Vermont because he gets too scared. When he gets back to Vermont, they immediately arrest him for attempted homicide. Merlin says that he would never hurt Mr. Hirsh because he made some shoes for his girlfriend.
Leanora knows that Merlin was innocent because she saw him at her well the time of the murder. She doesn't tell anyone until he was arrested.
The Klan sends Johnny a letter that says that they were coming for him. He was confused because he 'redeemed himself' already. Later, the Klan does come for him and they torture him. He comes out with the 3 Ks branded on his back. Percelle asked him what happened but Johnny was not able to explain his condition.
Johnny Reeves climbs on a bridge and Percelle and Sara are trying to get him to come down. Percelle gets a ladder and tried to get him to come down. Leanora witnessed him say is last words, "I am afraid of the Klan." He then jumps right off the bridge into the fast-moving creek. Doc Flitt searches for his body but it is nowhere to be found. Some people in the town think he might of survived. Doc says that he probably didn't.
Merlin explains to Leanora that he came back because he was being followed by Johnny Reeves. Leanora says that he killed himself a few days before you came back. Merlin "looks like he had seen a ghost".

Thoughts
This act was really dark. As people wonder about Merlin's disappearance, I worry more.
It must be terrifying to know who shot your father. She is only 6 so I don't blame her about the 'not going to tell anyone' part (Note: At the end of Act 4, I knew who the criminal was).
When I was reading this part, I was confused why they put how he was sitting in the story. My teacher explained that if you imagine how he was sitting with Esther in his lap, you can see that the criminal was trying to shoot Esther instead of her dad. I had a moment of realization and thought about how people would have been so crushed if Esther was shot. Her little body probably wouldn't be able to survive until Sara got help. Now don't get me wrong, shooting Ira was not any better that shooting Esther. But the idea of attempting to shoot an innocent child sends anyone into shock. The way the author wrote this part was absolutely brilliant. She didn't spell it out for you, but she provided a visual aid for you to ponder the subject.
At this point, it was pretty obvious what Johnny had done to 'redeem himself'. Maybe he could have told the Klan, "I shot Ira Hirsh and he is in the hospital. I did that so I can join the Klan again." There was a little issue of communication on his part. If he had done that, he would have not been branded with the Klan's logo. He definitely deserved it, but he could have avoided it.
See Johnny? If you make poor choices, it will have a ripple affect on the rest of his life. Since he made that mistake with the child, he kills himself. By now, Johnny was my least favorite character. But 'least favorite' does not even cover the hatred that I have. If I had a 'Hit List', he would be on it. That sounds a bit serious, but when I read books I will be immersed in their world as if I am a character in the book. It is a habit of mine that can be a curse or a blessing.
As I was on the last two pages, I got a little bit scared. By a little bit, I mean a lot. Even though Merlin could be hallucinating, the thought of having someone following you scares me (as I said, I feel like I'm a character in the book). As I was recalling those last two pages for the summary, I felt I was being followed too!

Thanks for reading the end of 'My Thoughts'! If you liked this one make sure to read the rest of them! :)
Have any thoughts to share? Leave them in the comments!