In the Heat of the Night (novel)
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In the Heat of the Night is a novel by John Ball published in 1965 about an African American police detective named Virgil Tibbs who is brought to a small town in the Southern United States during a time of bigotry, where prejudice was taught, to help investigate a murder.
Virgil Tibbs, a detective specializing in homicides... however, when the police met him, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was brought into custody and questioned solely because he was African American. This, in the opening chapter of the novel sets the mood for the novel, and tells the reader of the struggle and the prejudice he puts up with.
This novel is a great realization factor that we all are the same, and appearance is only skin deep. This is why many junior high schools, and high schools are employing this book as a novel study project as it challenges critical thinking skills, important values, and also in junior highs, where many are teased and "tortured" for being of different racial backgrounds, or being overweight, underweight, having acne! it is a great metaphorical teaching tool to help the students realize that in the end, it doesn't matter. It is what's inside that counts.
The novel is also the basis of the 1967 film In the Heat of the Night. The novel is followed by The Cool Cottontail (1966), Johnny Get Your Gun (1969), Five Pieces Of Jade (1972), The Eyes Of Buddha (1976), Then Came Violence (1980) and Singapore (1986).
