Skim by Mariko Tamaki

I just finished reading Skim’s Journal with words by Mariko Tamaki and drawings by Jillian Tamaki and found myself feeling elated I was no longer a teenager.  The teenage years are some of the most difficult years to go through but this short novel seemed to only emphasize the negative aspects of being young.  I realize that the novel was meant to be a reflection of the life of Kimberly Keiko Cameron, better known as Skim, but I found it very depressing.  Depression and suicide seemed to be the focus of the book and there seemed to be little hope.  In fact it was not until the last few pages of the book that the reader sees Skim smile and laugh.  Perhaps this is meant to give the reader hope that things will get better.  But for this reader it was too little too late and I found myself still left with the thought of how depressing the book was.

If I were an English literature teacher I would not use this book as an all class read, mainly because I believe it is too depressing.  As I was reading this novel, I couldn’t help but think of the article “Reflections on the “Problem Novel” by Barbara Feinberg.  Feinberg talks about the books in her son’s room and how easily it is to discern the worn, well read books, from the school required reading books that virtually look untouched.  I feel Skim would fall into the latter category.  Just as Feinberg’s son Alex prefers to read books filled with humor, I believe most teens would rather have a book that is enjoyable to read rather than one that brings them down like this book would do.

In today’s world it is often felt that for a book to be worthy to be studied in a literature class it must teach a lesson.  As a result “problem” novels became very popular.    However, according to Sheila Egoff, a Canadian specialist in children’s literature, these types of novels tend to be:  “narrower in focus, less rich in narrative scope, and at time feels ‘as if the writers had begun with the problem rather than the plot or characters.’”  I feel this description fits Skim.  While I felt sorry for the characters in the book, I never really felt engaged in the book.  To me it was because there did not seem to be a strong plot.  The book lacked a climax and the majority of the characters remained flat.  It seemed like the whole story line was basically driven by teenage depression and suicide.

According to Egoff the characteristics of a “problem” novel include:  the protagonist is alienated and hostile toward adults; some relief from unhappiness comes from a relationship with an adult outside the family; the story is often told in the first person, and is often confessional and self-centered; the narrative is told from the point of view of an ordinary child, often in the vernacular; vocabulary is limited; tone is flat, and emotionally detached; dialogue predominates; the settings are urban, usually in New York or California,; sexuality is openly and frequently discussed; and parents are absent, either physically or emotionally.  Skim fits the majority of these descriptions.  Skim finds some happiness, at least for a short time, from her English teacher Ms Archer.  Although the book does not go into specifics about the relationship, you know there is something going on.  For example, in the top panel on page 31 the dialogue says; “Ms Archer and I have this thing now.  When we sit for our talks, Ms Archer holds my cast.  On page 41 the two are shown kissing in the woods.  The book often focuses on Kimberly and how others actions and reactions impact her.  A few times during the diary entries, the reader sees where Skim had put in a diary entry only to cross out some of her original thoughts to replace them with others.  I feel this shows a sense of apology.  Despite the fact that the subject matter of suicide and depression is a heavy one, the tone of the book is generally flat.  There seems to be no difference in tone when discussing John Reddear’s suicide as when discussing the school dance.  The artwork in the book also reflects that with Skim having the same facial expression throughout the majority of the novel.  The only character that seemed to show more affect was Katie Matthews.  In drawings of Katie you saw anger (p 130), sadness (p 135) and happiness (p 138). True to a “problem” novel, sex was frequently discussed in Skim with much of the discussion revolving around homosexuality and prejudices associated with it.  As a result, words considered offensive were part of the book’s vocabulary.  As for the parents in this novel, they were for the most part absent.  Kim’s parents were divorced and even though Kim lives with her mother little interaction occurs between them.  Katie refers to her mom as a “wreck” (p 138) which tells the reader she is too tied up in her own life to be there for Katie, and Lisa’s mom once told the girls “all relationships leave a scar” (p 125).  Lisa claims the scar was VD.  Again it appears here is another parent who is too busy dealing with her own problems that she is not there for her daughter.  All in all, there is much evidence that proves that Skim is a “problem” novel.

So what is the merit in reading such a book?  For some teenagers who may be experiencing depression it may be a comfort knowing that they are not the only one who feels this way.  But for many others it may be too depressing to really benefit them.  The book does raise issues about major teen concerns, but because of the detached manner in which the book deals with these issues it offers little benefit to the reader.  As for teaching this book as part of a literary class, I know there is no way my school would allow it.  The book contains too many taboo subjects that would get the parents up in arms.  The book deals with witchcraft and the use of tarot cards, homosexuality, depression and suicide.  In addition to that, it shows Lisa sneaking alcohol from a cupboard at home and the girls are seen smoking cigarettes on a regular basis.  Although these might be reflections of the real life of teens, parents will see the book as condoning smoking and drinking.  This book might be best left as a personal selection for the student.

Maus I and Maus II by Art Spiegelman

I have never been a comic book fan so when I first saw the format of Maus I and II and thought about having to read a series in this format I was far from thrilled.  However, I soon found that I really enjoyed reading these comic novels by Art Spiegelman.  Not only were the stories engaging, but the graphics added a new dimension of meaning.  Spiegelman would indicate the tone of particular parts of the story through his use of black and white.  When the action of the story was revolving around Artie in everyday discussion with his father or Mala, the comics contained a lot of white.  An example is the discussion that was taking place on pages 20-21when Vladek is preaching to Artie about not using up his wooden matches to light his cigarettes.  The tone of action in this point of the story is much lighter as the subject matter is much more trivial and Spiegelman reflected this through his use of more white space.  However, when the focus of the story shifted to the events that took place during the Holocaust, Spiegelman’s increased use of black in each panel showed the darker tone of the subject matter.  The darker the story, the darker the comic frames became with little or no white in the background.  One example can be found on page 95 when Vladek is telling about his bout with Typhus and how he had to walk on the bodies of dead people who covered the restroom floor.  So even before the reader has looked at the dialogue in the comic box, they already have been provided with a strong visual clue as to the tone of that portion of the story.

In addition to the use of color to communicate the tone and mood of the scenes, throughout the story readers were given an insight into the emotions of the various characters through the facial expressions Spiegelman gave to his characters.  For example in the comic strip on the bottom of page 50 a German guard is brutally beating a man for complaining.   The facial expression on the guard shows the contempt the guard had for the Jewish prisoners. 

Spiegelman’s use of facial expression in his drawings was just one of many details he incorporated into this series.  It was these details that made the pictures tell the story in a way dialogue alone could not.  For example, in the same comic strip discussed in the previous paragraph, Spiegelman not only drew the prisoners in the background but also the brick wall of the building and most importantly the shadow of the guard.  We all know shadows are often larger than the object they are silhouetting, yet the shadow of the guard in this panel is greatly exaggerated to reflect the imbalance of power between the guard and the prisoner.  Another example of the detail included in this work can be found on page 65.  In the top right-hand panel there is a drawing of the fence that surrounds the camp.  Rather than just draw the wires of the fence. Spiegelman includes detail such as the knobs on the fence that lets the reader know that the fence is hot with electricity.

What I found ingeniously refreshing about Spiegelman’s artwork in this series was his clever use of animals to represent the various races in the book.  Since the holocaust was founded on racial discrimination of the Jewish people, it seemed fitting that Spiegelman chose to represent them as mice since rodents are considered to be the lowest and most despicable of the animal species. A universal concept is that a mouse’s greatest enemy is a cat so it was equally fitting that Spiegelman chose this animal to represent the Germans who were the most threatening race to the Jews during World War II.  The Russians were depicted as pigs, a fitting choice since pigs are intelligent creatures that are not given the full respect they should be given.  Then there were the Americans who in this novel were seen as the heroes, liberating the surviving Jews from the concentration camps.  So it was no surprise to see that Spiegelman drew this species as dogs, man’s best friend.  For to the Jewish prisoners they liberated, the Americans were their new best friends.  But what was most interesting about the use of various animals was the ironic statement they made.  By drawing each race as a different animal it made it easy for the reader to quickly identify the character’s race.  This is ironic in the fact that if people look beneath the physical features of a race, there will discover the truth that all human beings are basically the same.  Spiegelman covertly indicates this when he shows scenes where Jewish people are pretending they are German and the Germans do not see through this facade.   Spiegelman communicates the fact that the character is successfully pulling off the charade by drawing the character wearing a mask that represents the other race.  I also believe that Spiegelman is making a statement that if everyone was able to take off their mask and accept each other as equals, prejudice would cease to exist.  However, despite the horrible lessons the world learned about prejudice through the memories of the holocaust, prejudice is still thriving today, even by those who have been on the receiving end.  Spiegelman indicates this through the addition of a scene where Vladek, Art, and Francoise are returning from the grocery store and Francoise pulls over to give a ride to a hitchhiker who happens to be black.  Vladek was furious and he ranted about how this Shvarster was going to steal his groceries (p 98-99).

I really enjoyed this series and the wit and creative genius Spiegelman brought to the novels.  I must say that after reading Maus I and Maus II, I now have a new deeper respect for the comic format and will look forward to reading other comic novels with a m

Night by Elie Wiesel

A person only has to Google the term Holocaust to find that there are a number of books that fall into this genre that a teacher could choose to use for a holocaust unit for either a social studies class or a literary class.  The fact that the protagonist in Night by Elie Wiesel is only 14 years old when World War II began makes this an appealing book for teens to read.  What makes this book unique from other books with a young protagonist is the relationship Eliezer Wiesel has with his father.  For the majority of the story, the father and son remain together and it is their relationship and support of each other that helps Eliezer to survive.

One of the most interesting aspects of this novel is the way in which it explores the human condition and how human perception is colored by the trauma one endures.  Prior to World War II the earthly possessions the Jewish people owned were things they took pride in.  However, when the Jews were forced to evacuate their homes, they were forced to leave their valuable items behind.  In the days and months ahead, however, when they thought of valuables, their mind was no longer reflecting on the materials possessions they left behind but on a piece of bread or a portion of soup.  Water and food had become their most valuable possessions.  So much so they were willing to fight for it.  The guard had recognized the survival instinct that had overcome the prisoners and used it as a form of amusement.  It began with a worker throwing a piece of bread into a wagon filled with Jewish prisoners.  “In the wagon where the bread had landed, a battle had ensued.  Men were hurling themselves against each other, trampling, tearing at and mauling each other.  Beasts of prey unleashed, animal hate in their eyes.  An extraordinary vitality possessed them, sharpening their teeth and nails” (p 101).  This scene caught the attention of other people who were passing by and they soon tossed more bread into the wagons to watch the prisoners battle for the food as if it were some game.  But it was far from a game as the instinct for survival had caused a man to kill his own father over a crust of bread, even when his father was willing to share.

As the suffering in the concentration camps continued, family relationships became burdened.  Often the fathers did not fare as well in the camps as their young sons and for a son to continuously assist their father could mean greater potential of loss of life for the son as well.  As a result, one father, Rabbi Eliahou, found himself separated from his son during a march.  The son no longer wanted to be responsible for the welfare of his weak father and had purposefully left his father’s side.  In the concentration camp, personal survival triumphed over everything, including family.  When Eliezer’s father lay dying in the barracks a guard reminded Eliezer of this fact.  “Listen to me, kid.  Don’t forget that you are in a concentration camp.  In this place, it is every man for himself, and you cannot think of others.  Not even your father.  In this place, there is no such thing as father, brother, friend.  Each of us lives and dies alone.  Let me give you good advice:  stop giving your ration of bread and soup to your old father.  You cannot help him anymore.  And you are hurting yourself.  In fact, you should be getting his rations…” (p 110-111).  Although Eliezer agreed with the guard, out of guilt he retained his empathy for his father and even ran to bring his father some soup.  However, later that evening when a guard was beating his father for calling out to his son for water, Eliezer lay silently in his overhead cot and did not intervene.  In fact when he father died, Eliezer did not weep but in fact thought “Free at last!” (p112).

Even though the prisoners were being tortured themselves, it did not deter them from inflicting pain on one of their own.  While being transported in a cattle car by train, Mrs. Schachter began to scream about seeing flames.  The rest of the prisoners had no idea the woman was seeing the future and the flames of the crematorium.  Instead they thought she was delusional.  With their own nerves stressed there was no place left for empathy for the woman and her cries and so they attacked her as if she were their enemy.  “Our nerves had reached a breaking point.  Our very skin was aching.  It was as though madness had infected all of us.  We gave up.  A few young men forced her to sit down, then bound and gagged her” (p 26).  A few hours later when the woman broke free from her bondage and began to scream again the group bound and gagged her again and this time kicked her several times in the head while her son clung to her and looked on.  Instead of stopping the perpetrators, the rest of the people in the car cheered on their actions.  Eventually they would all come to see for themselves the flames Mrs. Schachter had alluded to.

With a sense of superiority over the Jews, the Gestapo dehumanized them and treated them as objects rather than people.  If this were not true they would not have been able to commit these actions.  “Without passion or haste, they shot their prisoners, who were forced to approach the trench one by one and offer their necks.  Infants were tossed into the air and used as targets for the machine guns” (p 6).  All of this is horrific but the part about the infants was hard to believe.  Infants are totally helpless and typically if you watch human interaction whenever an infant is present they can usually prompt a smile from even the grumpiest stranger.  So to have the Gestapo treat them as if they were practice disks is really disturbing.  I believe all the inhumane actions that took place during the Holocaust shows the fine veil that separates humans from wild animals for given the right circumstances the empathy for others that distinguishes us from other animals disintegrates.

I would recommend this book for use in a literature class when studying the Holocaust as it gives a vivid account of the ordeals faced by the Jews as a result of racism and hatred for those who are different.  It also provides a haunting reminder that if we are not careful we will lose touch with what makes us human, reducing us to nothing more than wild animals.  Hopefully through the study of novels such as this, future generations will learn to appreciate and respect diversity, thereby insuring that a tragedy such as the Holocaust is never allowed to repeat itself.

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd

 

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd was an interesting book as it contained many story lines including a story within the story.  The main story centered on the life of Fergus McCann.  The reader journeys with Fergus through his senior year at school as he prepares for his finals, deals with his brother Joey’s participation in a hunger strike,  struggles with his decision to be a courier for Michael Rafters, discovers the bog child which he names Mel, and falls in love with Cora O’Brien.  What is interesting is how the story of Mel is handled.  It is through Fergus’ dreams that the reader learns more about Mel and what transpired before her death.  It was sad to see that she had to sacrifice her life when she was truly innocent.  Her only crime was that she was different from the average person because she was a dwarf.  It is also sad that her brother who was the guilty party for killing Boss Shaughn was willing to let his sister pay for his crimes.

One element of the story I really liked was the friendship that developed between Fergus and Owain.  It showed how everyone is a victim of war, regardless of which side they support.  More important, it showed that despite their opposite political views, both boys were basically the same.  They both enjoyed the same things and had the same desires and dreams.  This aspect of the book would provide a good example for teaching respect for and tolerance of others’ differences.

This book was also interesting because it had a few surprises that I did not expect.  One of the surprises came when I learned that what Fergus has been secretly bringing across the border was condoms.  This provided a humorous surprise.  Like Fergus I had suspected that he was delivering substances needed to make bombs.  The second surprise came when I learned that Uncle Tally had been the person responsible for making the bomb that killed Owain and the other soldiers.  He seemed liked the friendly supportive uncle who was teaching Fergus how to drive.  So although his room had a scent to it, I never caught on that he was making bombs.  I also never expected Owain to be blown up near the guard shack but would have expected it happen more how Fergus described it with the band playing at the park.

Dowd did a good job of letting the reader know about the things that were taking place during the Irish “Troubles”.  Events were brought forth in a natural and non lecturing way.  He developed characters that you became drawn to as a reader.  For that reason, I was saddened when I read that Owain died.  I was sad for the bog child Mel that she went to her death an innocent victim of fear of ignorance about those that are different.  And I was even sad at the death of Uncle Tally, even though he had killed others.  This is because before I learned about his willingness to kill others, Dowd had created a character that had already struck a soft spot in my heart.