Parable of the Sower

I found the novel the Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler to be a very interesting and yet haunting read because of its subject matter.  The futuristic view of the world that Butler portrays in the story is filled with action that keeps the reader on edge to find out what happens and who survives and how they are able to do so.  What is haunting to me about the story is how believable the storyline is.  When I look at the current status of the world today I see how Butler’s imaginative future world could become potential reality in the world.  One of the reasons I feel this way is just the change that has occurred with the human race.  People have become much more selfish and less concerned about their neighbor.  Examples of this can be seen on the highways with road rage, in communities with drive-by shootings, and with a fear of harm that keeps the Good Samaritan from stopping along a roadside to help a distressed motorist.  In addition communication between people is beginning to break down as influence of today’s technology pushes texting, twittering and facebooking ahead of face-to-face communication.  With the multitude of video games out there that deal with killing, today’s youth are becoming desensitized to violence.  Add that with other situations in the world such as rising food and fuel prices and it becomes easy to see how the world we live in has similarities to the world Butler created.  Thus as I read this book I got the unsettled feeling that the world describe by Butler could at a future time potentially become reality.

As was the case with other novels we have read, the importance of education was once again stressed.  It was Lauren’s persistence to learn about seeds and how to grow them as well as other survival skills that she learned that helped her to be a survivor in her crazy world.

Although I believe teens would take a real interest in this book, I would not make it a required read in an English Literature class but rather an optional book they could choose to read.  My rationale for this is the fact that much of the book has to deal with the subject of faith and therefore use of this book as part of the required curriculum might face resistance from some parents or even administration.

 

World War Z

Of all the books we have had to read this semester for this class, World War Z by Max Brooks has been the densest one for me to get through.  I grew up in the era when zombie movies were popular on late Friday night movie channels.  However, I have never been fond of this genre.  So when I began to read this book, I found it very slow going.  This is not a book I would ever choose for pleasure reading, but if it had been, it is one I would not have finished.  I think for me part of this was the way in which the book was organized.  I realize the author was trying to show the action that was occurring at various places throughout the world to show the invasion of the zombies was a global epidemic but the format to me read too much like a log of occurrences to be documented and lacked the personal attachment I would expect from a journal which is what I believe the author was trying to develop.  Because the story would jump from one site to another it would be easy to put this book down after one scene and not pick it up again.  There was nothing to compel me to continue reading other than it being a required book for a class.  However, with that being said, from the interest other students in class had for this book, I do think there would be students who would really enjoy this book.  When I was reading this book I saw no value in teaching it. But then during class students gave some great ways in which this book or parts of it could be used in studying this genre so that made me seriously rethink my ideas.  If I were to teach an English Lit class I still would not teach this book to class but rather have it as an option students could choose.  The reason is I do believe there would be some students like myself that would have a difficult time getting into the book.  This book is also very dense and could turn off students who already struggle with reading.

There were parts of the book that did engage me.  For example the boy who is a computer junky who seems to live in his technical world rather than the real world who finally is forced to face reality when a zombie tries to break into his apartment.  This begins his three-day climb from his 19^th floor apartment to the ground below.  Another story that also grabbed my attention was the story of the female airline pilot who is using the bathroom when the plane gets in trouble and she has to parachute to safety only to wander through zombie territory.  She is guided by a woman on a radio, but upon her rescue when she wants to thank the woman, there is no record of a cabin or a woman in the area.  So it left an open question as to whether the woman ever existed, if it was all part of a hallucination on the part of the female pilot or if the helpful woman was some kind of divine intervention.  If all of the stories in the book would have been this interesting I would have enjoyed the book more.

Normally they say a book is much better than the movie and I tend to agree with that.  However, since this story takes place in so many different settings, I wonder if the movie would be an exception.  Perhaps by seeing the various settings, I would have more interest in the plot than I did while reading the book.  I know that I enjoyed the interview we listened to class much more than I did the book.  The author was witty and I found myself laughing and wishing the episode had been longer.

Post on Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes

One of the things I enjoyed most about Nikki Grimes’ novel Bronx Masquerade is the theme of the book - the desire everyone has to be accepted but their fear that they lack the qualities needed to achieve that acceptance.  Sheila Gamboroni sums up that need to connect to others in her poem “Private Puzzle” on pages 137-138. She uses descriptive words such as scrape and crushes to show the pain of trying to fit in but the comfort of finding her place in “someplace that feels like home”.

Through the introduction of Open Mic Fridays, Mr. Ward’s students were able to get a more intimate glimpse of fellow classmates.  To their surprise they found that despite their differences they each shared the same insecurity and lack of self-worth.  The poems allowed the characters to shed their daily masks (thus the title) that they hid behind and let classmates see the real person.  As a result, it was discovered that all had talents and worth that they just needed to recognize.  During this journey of self actualization some took a detour prior to acceptance.  For example, Lupe Algarin envied Gloria Martinez because Gloria had a son.  However, later in her poem “Message to a Friend” Gloria is able to express to Lupe that her lifestyle is far from ideal as she juggles the responsibilities of being a teenage mom with her school homework (p 43).

Through the character of Tanisha Scott the reader learns that even the life of someone with good looks is not what a person might imagine. Constant stares of envy had once prompted Tanisha to cut off her beautiful hair.  She wanted to be seen as more than “hair.”  Scott also allowed us to see how people’s perceptions of the same thing may be different.  While others complemented Tanisha on her beautiful caramel-colored skin and saw it as an asset, she saw it as a reminder that her great, great grandmother had been raped by her slave master.  Tanisha wanted others to see her pride of black ethnicity as she indicated by her poem “For the Record” (p 79-80).

Many of the characters the reader meets in the book have wonderful talents.  Tyronne Bittings has a way with words, Judianne Alexander is able to sew her own clothes, Raymond Patterson can play the sax, Raul Ramirez is a painter, and Diondra Jordan can draw pictures in charcoal.  But it takes Open Mic Fridays for these students to see the gifts they have.  For Devin Hope seeing the more intimate side of fellow classmates gave him the courage to stand up and say he was more than the jock “Jump Shot”; he was intelligent and interested in literature.  Moments at the mic reading her poems allowed Janelle Battles to forget about her weight, even if the feeling was only lasted while she was at the mic.

I think what makes this book so powerful and why it would be a great read for high school students is the reader is exposed to a variety of people and each person who reads this book can find at least once character among the group that they can relate to. This gives them hope as they strive develop into the person they want to be.  This desire is eloquently expressed in Judianne Alexander’s poem “Cocoon” (p 62-63).  This poem speaks about the pain of judgment by others, but also the determination and hope for improvement.  Study of this novel by youth provides a great example of how the use of literature and the expression of words can give power to youth as a way of creating positive change rather than resorting to violence to make a difference.

Post on Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel Does My Head Look Big In This? By Randa Abdel-Fattah.  The book was as fun and colorful as the cover.  What made the book so colorful were the various characters and their relationships as well as their journey of coming-of-age. 

I begin with the main character Amal Mohamed Nasrullah Abdel-Hakim.  It takes a strong character to have such a long name.  In fact, when she first entered school she was labeled as slow because she was the last student to master the spelling of her name.  What does this say for her teacher’s?  Did they not take into consideration the length of the name?  Anyway, Amal shows the strength of her character as she makes the commitment to practice her religious beliefs full-time, including the wearing of the hijab.  She does not make this decision lightly as she knows the hijab is like wearing a badge of her faith and as a result she will now face even more discrimination than before.  As her relationship with Adam grows she is tested in her resolve to keep her faith practices when Adam wants to kiss her.  She could have easily allowed the kiss to happen but she does not, even though it causes a rift in her friendship with him.  Near the end of the book she realizes it is not enough to change her outer appearance but a true commitment to her faith means the willingness to change her attitude as well.  “But what’s the good of being true to your religion on the outside, if you don’t change what’s on the inside, where it really counts?  “I’ve been kidding myself.  Putting on the hijab isn’t the end of the journey.  It’s just the beginning of it” (p 333).

This brings the focus of this post to Adam.  Through the story Adam befriends Amal and outwardly appears to be open-minded about her faith and supportive of her right to practice it.  However, when it affects him, the rejection of his kiss, he turns his back on her for a time.  This shows that he had not truly supported her decision to follow her religious practices.  However, I believe Adam comes to this realization which is why he later re-establishes his friendship with Amal.  Granted the friendship is not as close as it once was but the fact that he once again accepts her friendship shows he has matured enough to accept her beliefs.

My heart went out to Leila as I saw her constantly being harassed by her mother to commit to a marriage relationship while her brother seemed to be able to get away with everything.  I can understand how Leila felt like she couldn’t handle it anymore and thus ran away.  But I was happy to see how she matured enough at the end of the story to realize that she could not run away from her problems but had to face them head on.  I was also happy to see Leila’s mom willing to compromise and see things from Leila’s perspective.  Prior to class, I only had negative feelings for Leila’s mom.  However after class discussion Monday night, I realized I was not taking into account how Leila’s mom had been raised and she only wanted the best for her daughter so she was raising her the way she had been raised.

Simone seemed to represent many young girls I see in the classroom today.  She has many things going for her but she can’t see them as she is too busy loathing herself.  Of course, her mother definitely does not help the situation as she constantly prods her daughter about her weight.  In fact when she learns Simone is dating Josh she suggests her daughter go on a crash diet so that she not lose him.  Too many girls today already feel the pressure of society to be thin that the last thing they need is to have a parent constantly reminding them that they don’t conform to society’s obsession of beauty.  So here was a mother I disliked even more than Leila’s.  Instead of constantly putting down her daughter why didn’t she offer her daughter support and talk to her.  I am glad to see that Simone decided not to stick with cigarettes as a way of controlling her weight.  I am also glad to see her friends were not afraid to speak up about how they felt about Simone’s smoking.  In fact, it was Josh’s dislike to the smoke that spurred Simone to quit the nasty habit.

Like Bronx Masquerade, I feel this book would be a hit in the classroom.  I think girls especially would find it easy to relate to the various coming of age issues addressed by Abdel-Fattah including:  beliefs, boyfriends, mean girls, body image, relationships with peers, and relationships with parents.

"To Kill a Mockinbird" by Harper Lee

As I read this book, what I found the most intriguing was the wisdom of the youth in regards to behavior toward others.  The innocence of the children in regards to equality for all was so refreshing compared to the ingrained prejudices among the people of Maycomb.  In Chapter 19, Dill is asked to leave the courtroom because he is crying.  His tears are borne out of empathy for Tom Robinson and how he cannot believe how Mr. Gilmer is treating Tom in court by referring to him as "boy".  This is not the only time we see wisdom from the youth in regards to prejudice.  After Tom is found guilty Jem cannot believe it and even asks his father, "how could they do it (find him guilty), how could they? "(p 285).  Atticus' response reinforces that thought that prejudice comes with age:  "I don't know, but they did it.  They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it - seems that only children weep" (p 285).

Along this same subject matter, I also found it interesting how Lee showed actions common among adults in regards to prejudice.  For example, Mrs. Merriweather defends her prejudicial actions because at least she is up front about it and thus not guilty of the sin of hypocrisy (p 313).  She even describes those who do not share her same beliefs about black people are "misguided" (311).

Lee also includes characters in her book who seem to be ignorant of their own prejudices.  For example, Jean Louise's third grade treacher Miss Gates, talks to the class about the atrocities of Hitler and his treatment of Jewish people.  She speaks of "democracy, dictatorship and prejudice" (p 238-239).  Yet despite her teachings about the wrong Hitler was doing, Miss Gates was acting the same way in regards to the black community.  Jean Lousie reflected back to comments she had overheard her teacher say as she was exiting the courthouse following Tom Robinson's guilty verdict.  "I heard her say it's time somebody taught 'em a lesson, they were gettin' way above themselves, an' the next thing, they think they can do is marry us.  Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an' then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home-" (p 331).  Again, Lee shows wisdom coming from the mouths of babes.

As I think about use of this book for teaching, I must admit I have conflicting feelings.  I feel this book includes some great "quotes", addresses the theme of prejudice in a unique way by utilizing the perspectives of the children, has interesting characters that youth can easily identify with, and includes many connectors to the lives of students today.  Yet despite all of its wonderful attributes, I found the book sometimes dragging and a difficult read to get through.  For that reason only, I would be concerned that some students would become bored as they read the novel and as a result be oblivious to the positive things this book has to offer.  In the end, however, I feel the book has more positives than negatives and would use it.  I think if it were read aloud in class and discussion were used to break up the chapters it could make it more digestible for those who may on their own get bored and never finish reading it.

"Kindred" by Octavia E. Butler

I can definitely say that this book held a surprise inside for me.  Before I read the cover of the book I anticipated that this would be a novel about slavery.  However, I expected it to be written in third person and written as a reflection of past experiences.  What I found was an interesting use of time travel to deal with the subject matter with a first person narrator.  One of the main benefits I found from the format that Butler used is it allowed the speaker of the story to not only tell the story but to feel the experiences.  It made the experiences seem that much more real as if I was traveling back in time with Dana.  The time travel also allowed history to suddenly become present time.  In addition, it added more suspense to the story because you never knew when Dana was going to head back home and when Rufus would once again summon her to the 1800s. 

At first I wasn't sure what to think of the ending with Dana's arm becoming part of the wall.  But my copy of the book included a Reader's Guide by Robert Crossly and his explanation of the ending and how the arm represented that Dana could not have gone through all she did in the past era without it having a lasting affect on her definitely made sense.

The novel did leave with with a question regarding the California home that Dana and Kevin were living in when the time travel took place.  Since the story had the couple moving into the home, I am left to think that the house had to have some significance with the story.  If not, the author would not have mentioned they just moved into the house.  So as a result I wondered, had the couple not moved into the house would the time travel still taken place or would it have taken place at a different time and originated from a different location?  It also raised those questions regarding time travel in regards to Dana's actions and could they have affected the future?  For example, had she not traveled back in time is it possible she would have ceased to exist?  If she had not traveled back I was curious which incident would have caused Rufus' death and the fact that she was the one that killed him lead to some of that confusion.  Since I have not read many books involving time travel I wondered if these unanswered questions takes away value of the novel.  I do know that despite the questions that still linger, I really enjoyed the book and found the style in which is was written refreshing.

"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"

As I read Maya Angelou's novel, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", I couldn't help but think about all the factors that affect a person's life growing up.  Through this novel the reader follows Marguerite and her brother Bailey as they grow from innocent children and move into adulthood. 

Racial discrimination played a major role in this story.  But what surprised me was I found myself thinking that how people respond to discrimination can have as great an impact as the discrimination itself.  The reason I say that is I saw what a strong person "Momma" (actually Marguerite and Bailey's grandmother) was and how her attitude allowed her to create a more nurturing environment for the children than they received when they lived with their parents

Momma provided her grandchildren with a strict religious upbringing.  She took the children to Sunday service, often quoted the bible and prayed daily.  An example of her daily prayer can be found on page 7 in which Momma thanks the Lord for another day and asks his help as she lives out the new day.  She would not allow the Lord's name be taken in vain in her home.  As a result she gave Marguerite (Maya) a whipping one evening because she had used a White folk phrase "by the way", which Momma took to be "an abomination before Christ" (p 102).

Momma showed her love daily by making sure the children had food to eat.  She showed a desire to raise them to productive members of society.  She did this by making them attend school and helping out in the store.

During the discussions that took place in the store, Maya heard of the discrimination of others but she also experienced it first-hand.  One example, early on in the book on pages 18 and 19, she had to assist Uncle Willie in forcing his crippled body into the vegetable bins in an attempt to hide from a possible visit by the KKK.  In chapter 16, Maya dealt with Mrs. Cullinan wanting to change her name to Mary because it was shorter and thus more convenient to say than Marguerite.  She had to put up with the pain of infected teeth longer than necessary because the white dentist refused to put his hand in a "negro's" mouth.  Even her graduation ceremony from eighth grade was tarnished because the speaker who was a white man reminded them of their place in the world. 

All of those experiences had to be difficult to deal with.  But through it all, Momma stood as a shining example of remaining proud of whom you were and standing up for yourself.  When the dentist refused to treat her granddaughter, Momma did not leave with her head down.  Instead, she barged into the dentist's office and let him have it.  As a result, she left the office a respected woman; respected by the dentist, her granddaughter and herself.  Likewise, when the “powhitetrash” kids came to the store to ridicule Momma, she stood her ground.  She refused to let their antics upset her and stood with folded arms singing.  When the girls went to leave, Momma called them each by name, refusing to stoop to their behavior (p 30-33).  Maya did not understand it all but she understood enough to know that Momma had gotten the upper hand.  "Whatever the contest had been out front, I knew Momma had won" (p 33).

When Marguerite lived in Stamp, Arkansas with Momma she saw discrimination daily.  But she also saw how Momma and others around her did not let it defeat them.  During her graduation ceremony, she saw how a simple song, the Negro National Anthem, could pick spirits back up.  She watched people enter the store exhausted from the day’s work and then become revitalized during a revival.  She saw the spirit of her people rise above the pain of discrimination.

So although facing discrimination was not easy, she had role models to help her through.  However, when she lived with her mother or father, she experienced different kinds of pain that were not limited to discrimination.  I couldn't help but wonder if Maya had remained with her grandmother, Momma, if life might have turned out differently for her and if so how.

The first time Maya moved back to live with her mother it was in St. Louis.  During this time, Maya had to endure the physical and emotional pain of being raped at the young age of 7 by her mother's boyfriend Mr. Freeman.  What made this rape even more heart wrenching was Maya's desire to be held and loved.  "He held me so softly that I wished he wouldn't ever let me go."  I believe this statement shows that discrimination was a factor in Maya's life as she grew up but an even stronger factor was her desire to be held and loved.  She had never received this from her father or any other male figure before in her life.  I also believe this lack of a true loving male in her childhood is what left her questioning her sexuality near the end of the novel.  What little attention she had received from males in her life was not positive so it should not be a surprise that she questioned her feelings toward the male gender.

The short time Maya spent living at her father's during summer vacation turned into more of a nightmare.  What she thought would be a fun trip to Mexico was anything but that.  Her father offered to give her in marriage to the border patrol.  Then he became so drunk she had to drive them down the mountain.  Upon returning to her father's trailer she was cut by his jealous girlfriend.  Too ashamed to let her mother know how her relationship with her father ended, she spent the next month living in a junkyard.

If I were to choose a life between living with Momma in Stamp or living with Mother or Daddy, I would have picked Momma.  Although Momma did not often hug Maya, her actions showed her love for her.  Maya's real parents, on the other hand, seemed to be more concerned about themselves than about their daughter.  I think this lack of love can be just more painful, if not more, to live with than racial discrimination.