December 10, 2012
October 30, 2012
October 26, 2012
September 25, 2012
Forum 2: Storytelling in the secondary classroom
Since we have gradually started dealing with storytelling in the context of young adult education, I think this is the right moment to open a thoughtful and honest discussion about this issue. The idea is that you share ONE POINT ONLY for or against storytelling in the secondary Argentine classroom. What's your opinion? Let's get this discussion started!
September 14, 2012
Dead like me: A tool to reflect upon the influence of social pressure on identity development
Students: M.A. and Camila Chaves
To what extent are adolescents willing to renounce to their own essence in order to belong to a certain group of peers? How much of their identity is lost when nurturing that sense of belonging?
Dead Like Me is a zombies’ story by Adam-Troy Castro, in which the main character loses his own human identity pretending to be a Living Dead. This allows him to belong to the group of zombies which have taken the city where he lives in order not to be literally devoured by them. In this way, the story explores how social pressure makes people lose their own identity in order to fit in a particular social group. Thus, the aim of this paper is to prove that Dead Like Me constitutes a good narrative source for teachers to discuss with teenage students how peer pressure influences their identity.
During adolescence, human beings experience a series of physical, cognitive and social changes which lead to what Erik Erikson called identity crisis (Erikson: 1994). He defined this crisis as a turning point in adolescents’ sense of self, and considered identity formation as the “developmental task” of adolescence. This developmental task is shaped by the choices that adolescents make during their identity crises and among these there is one that is crucial: that is the selection of peers that teenagers make. Since during the teen years people spend more time with their peers than with their family, it is during this period that teens are more susceptible to be influenced by their friends. This external influence can lead them to adopt the norms and standards of the group at the expense of their own, causing the loss of their sense of self (Erikson cited by Saul McLeod: 1998).
It follows that this denial of one’s self does not only take place in the world of adolescents but also in the fictional world of zombies described in Dead Like Me. In the story, the main character adopts the zombies’ norms and customs, renouncing to his Living identity. This is shown through some of the narrator’s descriptions of his zombie-like behaviour:
Now find a supermarket that still has stuff on the shelves. You can if you look hard enough; the Dead arrived too quickly for the Living to loot everything there was. Pick three or four cans off the shelves, cut them open, and eat whatever you find inside. Don't care whether they're soup, meat, vegetables, or dog food. Eat robotically, tasting nothing, registering nothing but the moment when you're full.This change in behaviour allows the main character to be “accepted” by the zombies that surround him and, in that way, to belong to their group. The same applies to teenagers. Most frequently, adolescents are victims of peer pressure. This means that in order to fit in a social group, they are profoundly influenced by their peers and they are forced to restrict their own identity development. Thus, this restriction they imposed on themselves is intended to belong to a certain group of people, and in that way, to feel they are part of it. “The sense of belonging is the most salient aspect that pushes adolescents to conform to a group and share thoughts and believes that sometimes harm the youths’ identity” (Haynie, 2002).
All in all, this paper makes it possible to draw inevitable connections between the peer pressure phenomenon and a specific piece of writing, Dead Like Me. Besides, this essay helps us to see literature as a tool to be used in the classroom. It is important to bear in mind that literature, and more precisely storytelling, promote the identification of readers with the characters or with the situations described, and that “...Conflicting values and roles can be explored through stories, because storytelling is a problem-solving activity” (Gall de Vos: 2003).
Therefore, Dead Like Me can be a valuable tool for teachers to debate with students about the role of social pressure in the construction of their identity. This can be done by establishing a comparison between the loss of identity of the main character in a zombies’ world, and the adolescent’s loss of identity in their own social context. In the same way the main character in Dead like me adopts a fake zombie-like behaviour and renounces his human identity, adolescents often adopt the behavioural patterns of a group, putting at risk their own identity. Research has shown that adolescents often engage in false self behaviour (acting in ways that are not the true self), particularly when among classmates and in romantic relationships. (Harter et al 1996 cited by Steinberg and Morris: 2001). Dead Like Me can be used in the classroom to reflect upon identity concerns and, in that way, to help adolescents withstand the peer pressure they may be victims of.
REFERENCES
- Brown, B. Bradford; Lohr, Mary J. (1987) Peer-group affiliation and adolescent self-esteem: An integration of ego-identity and symbolic-interaction theories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=1987-15208-001 Accessed 09/07/12
- de Vos, G. (2003) Storytelling for Young Adults: A Guide to Tales for Teens. Westport, CT Libraries Unlimited.
- Erikson, E. (1994) Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York, W.W. Norton & Company.
- Haynie, D. (2002) The Relative Nature of Peer Delinquency. Quantitative Criminology. http://cooley.libarts.wsu.edu/soc3611/Documents/Haynie_network.pdf Accessed 09/07/12
- McLeod, Saul (2008) Erik Erikson. Simply Psychology http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html Accessed 11/07/12
- Steinberg, L; Morris, A. (2001) Adolescent Development. http://www.colorado.edu/ibs/jessor/psych7536-805/readings/steinberg_morris-2001_83-110.pdf Accessed 09/07/12
The Good Parts: Reading it may cause parental unrest. Please, proceed with caution.
Student: Valeria Niell
Read “The Good Parts”, by Les Daniels, at your own risk.
It is important to bring a variety of books to the classroom not only to engage the interest of each young adult student but also to expand the school library. But having “The Good Parts” to be read in class may be matter of controversy and clash among parents and teachers.
Young Adult Literature (YAL) is the umbrella term for stories, books and novels meant for adolescents that include the features proposed by Robert Small Jr., (cited in S. Herz & D. Gallo, 1996):
• The main character must be a teenager
• The events and problems must be related to teenagers
• That main character must be the centre of the plot
• The dialogues and points of view must reflect adolescents’ way of speaking and thinking
• The main character must be sensitive, mature, intelligent and independent
• The story is short and simple
• The main character’s actions must affect the outcome of the story.
Also, the topics dealt with in the story must be attractive to adolescents. “The Good Parts” is about zombies, cannibalism, violence, sex and single parenting. It narrates the story of a zombie who enjoys pornography and eating living human’s genitalia. The knowledge he got from porn magazines and movies led him to impregnate a female zombie. They both end up being parents of a non zombie baby girl and the main character has to take care of her.
Even though the narrator of the story does not mention this male zombie’s age, “The Good Parts” seems to have a teenager as the main character because he spent most of his time watching porn movies and reading porn magazines and he was still a virgin when he “undied” (when he became a zombie). While he enjoyed such a repertoire of pornographic elements, he ate and ate. His obesity did not allow him to move when he was alive but it did not seem to be a problem when he turned into a zombie because he hunts by crawling.
Adolescents see zombies in movies, television series, videogames and comics. They are used to the gore, flesh eating and violent massacres that zombies and the humans that fight them display. “The Good Parts” is not an exception in the zombies’ universe. This story is filled with iniquity and butchery. The nameless main character seems to be the typical undead, always craving and searching for food. But this zombie is not like the others. He maintains the vice he had when he was alive: he was a consumer of pornography.
He hunts not only to quench his hunger for food but also to slake his hunger for porn. He continues getting pornographic magazines and admires them as he did when he was alive. In fact, when he eats a living human, he takes care to eat the “good parts”, i.e. the body parts he sees in his magazines and movies. The story is not explicit in the sense of stating clearly the words “pornographic videos and magazines” or “vaginas”. The author provides innuendos that lead the reader to “see” those words. For instance, for “Romancing the Bone” or “Ballin'” the reader has to infer that those words or phrases refer to pornography. When the narrator says “good parts”, he describes:
“(...) His favourite food tasted like a fish and cheese casseroles basted with piss (...) His yellow teeth were matted with pubic hair and mucous membrane; he never brushed.”The reader can guess what that refers to.
Teens are not unaware of sex and pornography. They discover them on their own, thanks to the Internet or to their peers, when they can’t find answers from adults. Sexuality takes a new role in their life. Their curiosity turns into instinct and they react to what their bodies feel. Like the main character of “The Good Parts”. When a female follows him to his shelter, he just obeys his instincts and they have sex. Of course, the reader has to infer this because the author never wrote it explicitly. After the sexual encounter, the female zombie gets pregnant and disintegrates sometime after the childbirth, leaving the zombie as a single father. At first he wants to eat the baby, who was a girl, but he realized that her “good parts” were not ripe. He decided to raise her in order to eat her later on. He fed the baby with canned food and protected her from other zombies. When the child grew, he was too weak to take care of her, so she had to feed him and read his magazines with him. This shows some kind of growth or maturation in the zombie’s life because he lets his baby live just to eat her later, but, eventually, he became a good and responsible father.
Many adolescents end up in the same situation as the main character of “The Good Parts” (single parents) and it can be enlightening to the teenagers who read this story to know that even a zombie can be a father... and a good one.
Going back to what R. Small defined as Young Adult Literature, for a story to be labelled as such, it has to include as the main character an adolescent and the events in the story should be related to them or be of their interest. Having stated this, it can be said that “The Good Parts”, by Les Daniels, is an example of YAL because the main character is a teen zombie, interested in porn and food and his instincts led him to be a single parent.
However, belonging to the field of YAL does not mean that a story or book is appropriate to be read in class. As stated before, “The Good Parts” can cause controversy among parents and teachers. The themes that this short story deals with may be regarded as taboo: violence, pornographic articles, sex and single parenthood. Some school authorities even designed lists of banned topics that should not be dealt in class and tested in order to prevent conflicts. The Department of Education of New York composed the following list:
Banned words and topics:
• Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological)
• Alcohol (beer and liquor), tobacco, or drugs
• Birthday celebrations (and birthdays)
• Bodily functions
• Cancer (and other diseases)
• Catastrophes/disasters (tsunamis and hurricanes)
• Celebrities
• Children dealing with serious issues
• Cigarettes (and other smoking paraphernalia)
• Computers in the home (acceptable in a school or library setting)
• Crime
• Death and disease
• Divorce
• Evolution
• Expensive gifts, vacations, and prizes
• Gambling involving money
• Halloween
• Homelessness
• Homes with swimming pools
• Hunting
• Junk food
• In-depth discussions of sports that require prior knowledge
• Loss of employment
• Nuclear weapons
• Occult topics (i.e. fortune-telling)
• Parapsychology
• Politics
• Pornography
• Poverty
• Rap Music
• Religion
• Religious holidays and festivals (including but not limited to Christmas, Yom Kippur, and Ramadan)
• Rock-and-Roll music
• Running away
• Sex
• Slavery
• Terrorism
• Television and video games (excessive use)
• Traumatic material (including material that may be particularly upsetting such as animal shelters)
• Vermin (rats and roaches)
• Violence
• War and bloodshed
• Weapons (guns, knives, etc.)
• Witchcraft, sorcery, etc.
As it can be seen, “The Good Parts” treats some of the topics that are included in that list. Therefore, this story will be regarded as polemic by New York’s Department of Education.
However, some teachers, like Timothy Dalby, encourage the use of taboo topics in the classroom to
“Allow the practice of skills such as debating, critical thinking, negotiation, agreeing, disagreeing, explaining opinions and justifying. It also opens up language areas such as euphemisms, slang, formal and informal language, double meanings, body language and politically correct terminology.”But parents cannot be forgotten. They also have a say. Some of them share their concerns about what their children study at school. The following is a letter to the headmaster of a Catholic School sent by a mother who is disturbed about contraception to be taught. The letter was found in Concerned Catholic Parents of Ottawa:
“Dear Mr. Hanlon,
I am writing to express my disappointment with your responses to my concerns. Since my first contact with you on October 20th I have yet to receive an explanation that addresses the questions raised about Free the Children's family planning advocacy.
As mentioned before, the following statements can be found in their community reports,
"The women's groups also learned the importance of family planning and how to best prevent sexually transmitted infections." (Free the Children's Enelerai Community Report)
"Mamas in the community also bring their families to the clinic to receive immunizations and for weekly family planning sessions." (Free the Children's Pimbiniet Community Report)
"They also learned about family planning and how to prevent HIV/ AIDS." (Free the Children's Motony Community Report)
"the provision of health workshops and family planning" (Free the Children's India Fact Sheet)
As a Catholic parent and ratepayer I wanted to know what family planning methods were being promoted by Free the Children. In your responses to me you acknowledged that you did not know. Rather than leveraging the partnership our board has with this charity and pushing for answers, you instead provided me with a contact at Free the Children if I wanted to learn more. I definitely did want to learn more, but was surprised to learn that you also didn't want more information given your duty to preserve the school board's Catholic identity.
The contact you referred me, Scott Baker (Executive Director), also said he didn't know and was too busy to find out. I then asked him if Free the Children had any policies in place that prohibited the promotion of contraception as a legitimate method of family planning. As of the date of this letter, he has not replied to this question.
In your letter to me on November 22nd, you asserted that Free the Children does not promote contraception. Given that both yourself and Mr. Baker have both admitted to not knowing which methods are being promoted in the communities mentioned in the excerpts above, it is difficult to understand how you could have come to this conclusion.
The concerns being raised about Free the Children and contraception are new. The excerpts from the Free the Children community reports I have provided were not made available to other school boards in the past and were definitely not available when the decision was made to feature this charity in the Fully Alive program. As a result, it is not acceptable for you to abdicate your responsibility in this matter by simply saying that Free the Children must be 'ok' because other school boards also partner with them and they are featured in the Fully Alive program.
I am asking you to require Free the Children to provide detailed information with regards to the family planning methods they promote as a condition for the continuation of the existing partnership with our school board. Transparency should be a cornerstone of all partnerships the board engages in, whether charitable or not, and in particular when the questions being raised relate directly to Catholic morality.
To decide to do otherwise would seriously undermine any claims the OCSB makes about the importance it places on preserving the Catholic identity of our schools.
Sincerely,
AP
I encourage all readers to contact your trustee or the Director of Education and ask them to do their job and find out what kind of family planning work Free the Children engages in.
In the end, what's the point of having a Catholic School Board if the ones in charge of ensuring its Catholicity don't really care about what the Catholic Church teaches.”
And those concerned and disturbed parents can even force authorities to remove certain themes or material from the schools. The following extract was found in a homophobic parent’s blog, “El Científico Juan”. (The original article can be found at Diario El Siglo Web Argentina)
“La Red de Padres de Tucumán denunció que el Ministerio de Educación de la Nación distribuyó en todas las escuelas y colegios del país seis millones de ejemplares de una revista de educación sexual destinada a las familias cuyos contenidos eran altamente cuestionables. Al mismo tiempo se invitó a que sea rechazada.”Therefore, if a teacher brings “The Good Parts” to his classroom with the idea of creating a debate about contraception for example, there is a chance that some Christian students, or even their parents or school authorities, may feel offended because the Church bans contraception. As the following article found in the BBC Religions states:
“Since these churches (Less liberal churches) regard sex outside marriage as morally wrong (or if not wrong, as less than good), they believe that abstaining from sex would be morally better than having sex and using birth control.”A discussion about sexuality in the classroom can cause unrest in the students. A teacher narrates her experience when dealing with Shakespeare and how her students reacted to homosexuality in “Teaching Tolerance. Controversial Subjects in the Classroom”:
“Three students in a college Shakespeare course I taught accused me of trying to make them say two female characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream were lesbians. Since my lesson plan involved Shakespearean diction and close reading, I didn't take them seriously.Therefore, belonging to Young Adult Literature does not necessarily imply that a story can be appropriate to be read in class. It is necessary to weigh up its pros and cons in order to be sure whether to read it or not. It is important to take into account the context in which the story is going to be read so as to know if it contains any taboo topic that may cause controversy or problems within the classroom. “The Good Parts” is a good example of this. The topics it deals with are cannibalism, pornography, sex and single parenthood, all of which may cause a storm of angry parents... especially if the teacher is open minded and attempts to explains to his class what “romancing the bone” means. The decision of reading “The Good Parts” or any other story that may include polemic themes, thus, should not rest on the teachers’ shoulders only. It would be necessary to count with the opinions of the students, their parents and the school authorities to prevent an outbreak of tension and altercations within the classroom.
I laughed.
My response made the students even angrier, and they stormed out of the room, one gliding defiantly out on roller blades.”
REFERENCES:
• Concerned Catholic Parents of Ottawa (2012) http://concernedparentsottawa.blogspot.com.ar/ (Accessed 07/12/12)
• Contraception: Christian teachings on contraception and birth control - a contentious subject particularly in the Catholic Church and in countries with high incidence of HIV. (2009) http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/contraception_1.shtml#top (Accessed 07/12/12)
• Dalby, T. (2007) Using Taboos to Bring Cultural Issues into the Classroom https://sites.google.com/site/timoteacher/usingtaboostobringculturalissuesintothec (accessed 07/09/12)
• Dwyer, L. (2012) Testing Taboos: The 50 Topics Banned From Standardized Exams
http://www.good.is/post/testing-taboos-the-50-topics-banned-from-standardized-exams/(Accessed 07/09/12)
• “El científico Juan” (A concerned and homophobe parent) (2012) http://elcientificojuan.blogspot.com.ar/2012/04/doctores-defienden-ante-el-parlamento.html (Accessed 07/07/12)
• Herz, S & D. Gallo (1996) From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press.
• La educación sexual impartida a los niños genera polémica en la provincia (2011)
• http://www.elsigloweb.com/nota.php?id=80714 (Accessed 07/12/12)
• Teaching tolerance. http://www.tolerance.org/activity/controversial-subjects-classroom (Accessed 07/11/12)
• Una revista del Gobierno nacional que promueve las relaciones homosexuales y la masturbación. (2011) http://www.contexto.com.ar/nota/56299/una-revista-del-gobierno-nacional-que-promomueve-las-relaciones-homosexuales-y-la-masturbacion.html (Accessed 07/10/12)
“Even homeless shelters turn us away”: An Analysis of Sense of Belonging and Social Identity in the Short Story “A Zombie’s Lament”
Students: Gisela Mendez & Nadina González Nomi
This paper will base on psychological theories of sense of belonging, social identity and exclusion. The main character of “Zombie’s Lament” tries to build his sense of belonging and his social identity along the story. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the short story “A Zombie’s Lament” by Browne can be used by teachers to make adolescents reflect how young adults might suffer from a lack of sense of belonging.
As Kiesner, Cardinu, Poulin, Bucci (2002) and Stone and Brown (1999) suggest, sense of belonging is a psychological construct. They have agreed that the sense of belonging is something that is built or made. Other exponent as regards this topic is Tajfel, who defines social identity as people’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s). Other relevant term, which will be used in this paper, is social exclusion. According to MacDonald and Leary (MacDonald & Leary, 2005), it refers to the perception of being excluded from desired relationships or devalued by valued relationship groups.These definitions fit the experiences of sense of belonging, social identity and exclusion that are shown in the story. Complaining about not to be considered part of society, Andy starts looking for people like him and, in this way, he begins to construct his social identity.
The story “A Zombie’s Lament”, published in 2009, is included in ‘Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead’, an anthology of thirty-two short stories about the living. Although the story appears at first to be about a zombie fighting the system for his rights as an individual, an analysis of the story will explore the adolescent’s need for a sense of belonging and a social identity. The main character suffers from lack of sense of belonging and this situation affects his identity. How can he belong to the dead if he is not really dead? How can he belong to the undead if he is not really alive? This situation raises questions about his identity, about who he is, where he belongs to. Although the main character is a man in his early thirties, he can resemble any adolescent because of his way of trying to belong to any group. For instance; trying to belong to the living group, Andy has “taken dozens of showers and even soaked in a tub filled with disinfectant” and he has also “ tried to learn sing language”. In essence, this might be a story about the way in which adolescents must make connections with people.
Adolescents participate in a complex social environment populated by friendship groups. There are lots of benefits to being a member of a group. Teens feel more secure when they know that they have others around them who share their goals and care about their progress. The desire to belong to a group may influence an adolescent's behaviour well before the adolescent is actually a member of the group. Individuals may change their behaviour in order to gain peer acceptance. This is what actually happens in the story when the main character explains that a famine zombie had to pose as a breather in order to get a hotel room. She had to wear bracelets and jewelry in order to hide scars pretty well, had to add sunglasses, a little make-up, a couple bottles of cheap perfume before a room was given to her.
As it has been explained, the desire of being part of a group is something important for teenagers, but why? Tajfel proposes that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team etc.) which adolescents belong to are important sources of pride and self-esteem. Groups give teens a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world. In the story, the main character shows a deep sense of unease:
“I get bored, like a dog left alone in the house who starts chewing on things in frustration- shoes, couches, pillows. And like a dog, I’m starting to feel anxious and frustrated”In order overcome this situation, he decides to be part of a group, the local chapter of UA-Undead Anonymous. By doing this, he has the opportunities to feel better about himself, “less estranged from society, more human”. Having peer relationships is positively correlated with popularity and good social reputation (Cauce, 1986), self-esteem (McGuire & Weisz, 1982), and psychosocial adjustment (Buhrmester, 1990). This is what the main character of “A Zombie’s Lament” perceives inside the group. Inside UA, the members protect each other against the breathers and help each other to feel better about their nature.
It seems that if a teen successes in being part of a group, this teen will probably raise his self-esteem. However, what would happen if this teen would not achieve his goal of being part of a group. The truth is that the development of adolescents’ identity emerges thanks to the connection a teenager achieves in society ( Aloise- young, Graham and Hansel, 1994) . Participation in the social world of adolescent peer relationships can have its costs. Social exclusion has been systematically associated with problems in adjustment to society. Although the main character tries to be accepted by society, the fact that he does not belong to any group is perceived from the very beginning. There are two clear examples of this social exclusion:
“The undead, however, have more grief to deal with than southern blacks in the 1950's. Talk about civil rights issues. The undead can't vote, get a driver's license, attend public schools, apply for unemployment, go to cinemas or theaters, and find a decent place to live or get a job.”
“My parents let me stay in the attic, but they avoid me, and none of my old friends want anything to do with me.”Exclusion and social isolation are perceived as painful and are associated with a variety of negative affective experiences including anxiety, depression, anger, and shame (MacDonald & Leary, 2005). This is clearly expressed by the main character of the story when saying the following:
“…When I get lonely I get bored. When I get bored, I get anxious. When I get anxious, I get frustrated. And when I get frustrated…”In some ways, adolescents’ lack of sense of belonging can be reflected in “A Zombie’s Lament”. The way Andy tries to be part of a group resembles the way teens tries to belong to a group of friends. Groups give teens a sense of social identity, a sense of belonging to the social world. One of the most common places, where adolescents might spend most of their time, is school. Adolescents who have positive sense of peer group belonging might have significantly fewer behavior problems at school than those who do not have positive sense of peer group belonging. Loneliness might be the central reason why some adolescents are unhappy and distraught (Buhrmester, D. 1990) It is important for adolescents to be aware of the relevance of being part of a group because of the benefits this means, such as improvement in self-steem.
REFERENCES
• Aloise- young, Graham & Hansel.(1994) “The Role of Self-monitoring in Adolescents Susceptibility to Passive Peer Pressure”, Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 37, Issue 8.
• Browne, S (2008) http://sgbrowne.com/bio/
• Buhrmester, D. (1990) “Child Development”, Volume 61, Issue 4.
• Cauce , M (1986) ‘Social Networks and Social Competence: Exploring the Effects of Early Adolescent Friendships’, American journal of community psychology, Volume 14, Number 6
• Jeff Kiesner, Mara Cadinu, François Poulin & Monica Bucci (2002) ‘Group Identification in Early Adolescence: Its Relation with Peer Adjustment and its Moderator Effect on Peer Influence’, Child Development Vol. 73, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb., 2002) Published by: Blackwell Publishing Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3696439
• Lieberman, S. Importance of Building a Classroom Community. http://stefaniemckoy.com/BuildingCommunity/CommunityImportance.Html (accessed 1/7/12)
• MacDonald, G & M, Leary. (2005) ‘Why Does Social Exclusion Hurt? The Relationship Between Social and Physical Pain’. Psychological Bulletin, Vol 131(2)[ Journal Article ]
• Mc Guire, K & J, Weisz.(1982) ‘Social Cognition and Behavior Correlates of Preadolescent Chumship Ghild Development’ http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~jweisz/pdfs/1982a.pdf (accessed 1/7/12)
• Stone, M & B, Brown (1999). ‘Descriptions of Self and Crowds in Secondary School: Identity Claims and Projections’. The role of peer groups in adolescent social identity: Stability and change San Francisco. In Jeffrey McClellan (Ed.)
• Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behaviour. Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Chicago, S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.)
• The Columbia World of Quotations © 1996, Columbia University Press
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"Dog, what's it like outside?”: An analysis of motivation in “The emissary”
Students: Ricchezza Betina and Vellere Laura Paola
“And lying there, Dog told as he always told. Lying there, Martin found autumn as in the old days before sickness bleached him white on his bed. Here was his contact…”What happens when adolescents have to face problems in life? Are they mature enough to solve problems by themselves? Or do they need any stimulus from the outside world? Motivation is the key word when adolescents need to pursue goals or dreams. In “The emissary” by Ray Bradbury, motivation appears to drive a young boy during a critical period of his life. The main character is a sick boy who is lying on a bed and his loyal friend and his contact with the world is Dog.
Martin, the character in this story, is confined to bed because of his illness. Dog brings him flowers and objects from the streets. He tells Martin about the weather and the seasons by the way his fur feels and smells. In addition to the dog´s company, Miss Haight is another important character that incentivises Martin. She is his teacher from school. She visits Martin every day. She bakes Martin orange-iced cupcakes, brings him library books and they play dominoes and chess together. They talk and never stop talking. Above all she can read and interpret Dog. Miss Haight is Martin´s favourite visitor. In this way, Martin finds the motivation to start a new day despite of his situation.
According to Maslow´s theory of motivation (motivation and personality, 1987), lack of motivation brings lack of confidence, lack of problem-solving, low self-esteem and no achievement. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that “The emissary” can be used to carry out a debate among adolescent students about how motivation helps them to explore and learn more and more every day.
Students and experiments in human beings have shown that motivation is one specific personality factor in human behaviour. But what is exactly motivation? and what are the subcomponents of motivation?. As Maslow suggests, motivation is thought as an inner drive, impulse or emotion that moves one to do something. More specifically, human beings universally have needs or drives that are more or less innate, yet their intensity is environmentally conditioned. According to Ausubel (1968), six desires or needs of human organisms are commonly identified which undergird the construct of motivation:
• The need for exploration (for seeing, for probing the unknown)
• The need for manipulation (for operating on the environment)
• The need for activity (for movement)
• The need for stimulation (to be stimulated by the environment and others)
• The need for knowledge
• The need for ego enhancement (to be accepted and approved by others)
The six needs listed above are especially relevant for human beings in order to be motivated. To what extent can an adolescent, who is confined to bed, fulfil all this needs?
As regards the short story, Martin fulfils his needs such as the need for stimulation and knowledge when he learns about the world through his dog. He explores the unknown; he is able to touch and smell the environment discovering the weather and seasons:
“And Dog settled to warm Martin's body with all the bonfires and subtle burnings of the season, to fill the room with soft or heavy, wet or dry odors of far-traveling. In spring, he smel-led of lilac, iris, lawn-mowered grass; in summer, ice-cream-mustached, he came pungent with firecracker, Roman candle, pin wheel, baked by the sun.”Martin finds the stimulation he needs and he is eager to know and learn things not only because of Dog but because of the love and company he receives from his teacher, Miss Haight, who tells what is left untold by Dog about the world. Martin feels that everything he is and his own world is going to disappear when his mother warns him she will lock up the dog. Dog is always digging places. Martin´s mother is upset because she is always receiving complaints from her neighbours because Dog digs holes in their gardens.
“… If he doesn't behave he'll be locked up."This passage shows that Martin feels he will lose his contact with the outside world. Due to this fact, he will lose his need for exploration, for manipulation, for knowledge, that is to say, he will lose his motivation and if a person is not motivated he will not be able to continue pursuing his goals or dreams. Furthermore, Miss Haight dies in a car accident and Martin realizes that the world is untouchable for him. He loses any kind of connection with the outside world. He loses his need for stimulation; to be stimulated from the environment and others.
Martin looked at this woman as if she were a stranger."Oh, you wouldn't do that! How would I learn anything? How would I find things out if Dog didn't tell me?"
According to analysis made about “The emissary”, it is possible to use this story in order to carry out a debate among adolescents and let them express critically what they think about motivation in their lives. As a consequence, they not only will be able to analyse motivation in Martin´s complex case, but they will also be able to emphasize with the character and analyse how motivation is present whenever they have dreams or goals to be fulfilled.
References:
Ausubel, David. Theory about motivation. Accessed 05/07-/2012 http://es.scribd.com/doc/27043905/Ausubel-Theory. http://education.gsu.edu/ctl/FLC/Foundations/Overview.pdf
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003. Accessed =5/07/2012. http://www.thefreedictionary.com
Maslow, Abraham. (1987) Motivation and personality. http://www.chaight.com/Wk%2015%20E205B%20Maslow%20-%20Human%20Motivation.pdf. Accessed 05/07/2012.
Maslow, Abraham. Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Accessed 05/07/2012http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs.
“A ZOMBIES´ LAMENT: An analysis about important issues that are present during the adolescent stage”
STUDENTS: NIETO, OLAZABAL, BARROCA
“I don´t really understand it. I mean, it´s not like we´re any different than we were before we died. We crave security, companionship, and love. We laugh and cry and feel emotional pain.”The previous extract has been taken from the science fiction story “A ZOMBIES´ LAMENT”, written by S. G Browne. This story is about Andy, who has a car accident and dies. He loses his wife, Sara, in the accident and consequently, their daughter goes to live with Sara´s sister. Andy becomes a zombie and he tries to adjust his new life as one of the undead. In this world, zombies are second class-citizens.
During the adolescent stage one of the most important issues adolescents go through is the development of a sense of personal identity and the sense of belonging to a group.
This essay will be the analysis of the science fiction story “A ZOMBIES´LAMENT ” written by S. G Browne. Throughout the story teenagers can reflect upon some important issues that are present during adolescence such as: searching for identity and sense of belonging.
Identity
One of the most important tasks that teenagers confront during adolescence is the search for identity.
According to Erikson (1979) “identity is a new way of thinking about oneself that emerges during adolescence. Identity involves a sense of self-unity, accompanied by a feeling that the self has continuity over time. A firmly established identity also provides a sense of uniqueness as a person. Moreover, Sprinthall and Collins (1984) mention that the process of establishing an identity involves “integrating into a coherent whole one´s past experiences, ongoing personal changes, and society´s demands and expectations for one´s future.”
By reading “A ZOMBIES´LAMENT”, young adult readers can reflect upon their own search for identity since the main character of the story, Andy, is trying to look for a new identity as a zombie and which is not an easy task for him.
The following quotation shows us how Andy is searching for a new identity since he can´t recover his past life.
“To be honest, I don´t know what I want. I know what I´d like-I´d like to have my life back, to be married again and sitting on the couch in the family room with my wife and daughter, watching a movie while our two cats chase each other around the house.”
Here the character is expressing his feelings in this new stage. He is wishing that his new life was similar to his past life in many aspects and he is trying to recognize those positive phacets as a zombie.
Teenagers are constantly looking for their own identity in the manner as the main protagonist of the story is doing with his new life after the accident.
Sense of belonging
Another important task that teenagers have to face during the adolescent stage is that they need to belong to a group in their society.
James Gilmore (2005) suggests that “adolescents want to feel they belong. All humans desire a connection with someone who cares and feels they are part of something bigger than themselves. Teens are not the exception, in fact, since adolescence is such a radical time of change, the need may be even more prevalent.” Kanopka (1973), in her study of the conditions necessary for healthy development of youth, states that “young adults need to have a sense of belonging both to their own age group and among adults.”
Taking into account that in the story Andy needs to belong to a group of zombies, young adult readers may feel identified with the main character of “A ZOMBIES´LAMENT” and they can reflect upon their need to establish a sense of belonging since during adolescence, teenagers need to belong to a group of peers as it happens with Andy in the story.
This can be appreciated in the following extract where the character of the story decides to join to a zombies´ group.
“After a while, I get bored, like dogs left alone in the house who starts chewing on things in frustration-shoes, couches, pillows. And like a dog, I´m starting to feel anxious and frustrated. Except I don´t think I´m going to be satisfied with chewing on pillows.
I´ve joined a support group, the local chapter of UA-Undead Anonymous.”
As it can be seen in the previous extract, Andy is alone and frustrated, he does not know what to do and he needs to belong to a group, a group where he can feel identified with. With his life as a zombie, he can not be with his daughter, parents, friends or his dead wife, This is the reason why he joins to Undead Anonymous group.
Young adults may feel identified with Andy since during adolescence, teenagers desire a connection with someone who cares and feels they are part of something bigger than themselves.
As regards the sense of belonging, groups offer teens the opportunity to share ideas and interests, to demonstrate their abilities and to gain a personal recognition, all of which contributes to increase self-steem. When teens feel like they fit in a group that promotes their likes and values, they become stronger in their own attitudes and convictions. (James Gilmore, 2005)
Throughout this analysis, it has been demonstrated that “A ZOMBIES´LAMENT” can make adolescents reflect upon some important issues such as: searching for identity and the sense of belonging. This story can help adolescents to reflect about their own lives.
References
• Browne, S. G. ( 2009 ) “A ZOMBIES´LAMENT”. United States, Black dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
• Erikson ( 1979 ) Erikson´s stages of development.
• Sprinhall, N. A & W. Collins ( 1984 ) Adolescent psychology: A development view.
• James Gilmore ( 2005 ) Contemporary Educational Psychology.
July 6, 2012
This zombie does not smell like a teen spirit
by Camila Cháves
Zombies' curious existence calls teens' attention as much as death does. For some reason, teenagers usually feel attracted to zombies' rotten bodies. They seem to be fascinated about the fact that these people, who are neither alive nor dead, eat the living and enjoy scaring them. Since mortals usually affirm that a story about a zombie is a story for teens, this would be enough to store A Zombie´s Lament in any young adult's bookshelf. However, there are other important characteristics that, according to Small (cited in Herz & Gallo, 1996), make a story a case of Young Adults Literature (YAL). An example that appears to be out of this category is A Zombie's Lament, since despite being a short story about zombies, could not be considered YAL.
If there is something about YAL that Small takes as a must, it is the fact that a story for teenagers should have one of them as the main character. In A Zombie’s Lament, Andy, the protagonist, is a thirty-two-year-old husband and father whose undefined existence would not allow him to sleep if he were able to. It takes him a while to realise he is locked inside a wounded and stinky body. From an extrinsic point of view, he is the typical zombie any teenager may find interesting. He smells like a stale piece of meat and he dresses the clothes he was buried with. Yet, zombies’ archetypes break themselves easily looking at Andy’s emotional side. Although his heartbeat is long gone now, his emotions have not died yet. Perhaps, it is this emotional side what cannot be appealing to adolescents because Andy’s situation does not function as a mirror for their reality. He misses the life that was taken away from him. He is worried about the fact that he has not a social security number and everything that this implies. Andy misses his living daughter and his dead wife. He is not worried about the classmate he has a crush on or about his low marks at school. Besides, Small also considers that, in YAL, the actions performed by the main characters determine the result of the conflict of the story. In this case it is for sure that Andy only wants to have his time again but, he can do nothing to turn back the tide.
In A Zombie’s Lament the zombie does not want to perform the typical occupation society has attached to him. Andy is not starving for human flesh and he will not appear with drops of blood coming out of his dry mouth. Some important issues that are part of adolescents’ concerns, such as drugs and pregnancy, do not fit in this story. The more you dive in the story, the more the characteristics of YAL become diluted. A Zombie’s Lament perfectly teaches us not to judge a book by its cover.
A case of the stubborns: an unquestionable case of YAL
by M.A.
To distinguish what is art from what is not is not a simple task. It involves not only a high level of knowledge on the subject matter but also a high level of subjectivity. Since literature is art, subjectivity also plays an important role when it comes to determine which written texts can be considered to be literature. The aforementioned difficulty and subjectivity also applies when it comes to define what texts can be considered to be examples of Young Adult Literature (YAL). Still, there are certain elements that according to Small, dean at Radford University, should be present in most of YAL and therefore help us decide if a certain piece of writing is addressed to teenagers or not. “A case of the stubborns”, a short story by Robert Bloch, about a teenager whose grandfather is a zombie who does not realize that he is dead, unquestionably includes most of them. Therefore, “A case of the stubborns” constitutes a clear instance of YAL.
To begin with, when adolescents approach literature, they expect to find entertainment. Therefore, the mixture of adventure and horror that is present in “A case of the stubborns” is highly appealing for them. Besides, Jody Tolliver, the main character of the story, tells the whole story himself. This helps young readers to feel identified with him, not only because of a matter of age similarity with the character, but also because the first person narration “presents an adolescent’s interpretation of events and people” (Small, cited by Herz and Gallo:1996). In this way, teenagers may feel that their own point of view is reflected throughout the story. It follows that this type of narration allows readers to “see” and understand events in the story from the main character’s perspective. This makes this story much easier to follow than other kinds of narration, such as the third person.
Among the different characteristics that Small proposes to be present in YAL we find that “the teenage main character is usually perceptive, sensitive, intelligent, mature and independent” and that “their actions and decisions are major factors in the outcome of the conflict.” Definitely these elements are included in “A case of the stubborns”. Jody Tolliver is depicted as a thoughtful, mature teen who is intelligent enough to find the solution for the striking problem that affects his grandpa in an independent way. In fact it is him the only person in his family, and in town, capable of making the right decision that will lead to the resolution of the conflict.
Besides, “A case of the stubborns” is a short story of no more than eleven pages. Hence, its lenght is also appealing for teenagers who, according to Small, prefer not to engage themselves with long stories which demand a lot of reading time.
Thus, although it is not precisely easy to determine whether a text is addressed to teenagers or not, there are some texts that present most of the elements that, according to Small, teenagers expect to find in a good work of literature. That is the case of “A case of the stubborns”, which unquestionably includes most of them. From its very topic, comprising zombies’ adventures, terror, and humour, to the style and lenght of the story, “A case of the stubborns” is undeniably an excellent example of YAL.
Are zombies stories appealing for teenagers?
by Julieta Acevedo
Have you ever read a zombie story? Do you think a 15-year-old boy would enjoy reading this genre? Are these stories appealing for teenagers? According to Robert C. Small Jr., a text must have certain characteristics in order to be considered Young Adult Literature (YAL). Many of the features he mentions are reflected in “The late shift”, a short zombie story by Dennis Etchinson.
Small sustains that identification is an important issue. Teenagers will identify themselves with Maklin, a teenager who is the main character of the story and the centre of the plot. The author also emphasizes that the main character is usually positively portrayed. In this sense, Maklin is described as perceptive, mature, intelligent, and independent.
In accordance with Small, the main character´s decisions are important for the resolution of the story. It is clearly reflected in “The late shift”. Maklin is really involved in the relationship with his friend Whitey and because of that, he starts a journey to find the truth about the mysterious accident that his friend suffers.
According to Small, the dialogues in YAL reflect teenager speech. The conversations that appear in “The late shift” are clear instances of the way adolescents speak. In the beginning of the story, the main character is talking with his friend, Whitey, about a strange situation they perceive in a gas station and says: “Hey, did you catch that action up there?” And then, Whitey is speaking to a cashier from that place and says: “How is it going, man?” Teenagers will feel they are reading a dialogue that is really familiar and comprehensible for them.
Adolescents will enjoy reading “The late shift” since the main character reflects many of the values, interests, slang and characteristics teenagers have and because Etchinson gives a predominant role to Maklin, an adolescent, since he is in charge of resolving the problems presented in the story. As a result, this zombie story is highly appealing for adolescents.
“THE EMISSARY”: A GOOD EXAMPLE OF YAL?
by Nadina González Moni
“I don’t like reading this story. It is for old people, not for me!” These utterances might be said by teens after having been asked to deal with a story. However, this does not mean that those adolescents do not like dealing with literature. Teen readers should need stories that catch their attention and keep them interested. However, the truth is that adolescents might not have been introduced to Young Adult Literature, which includes stories specifically aimed at teenagers. Robert C. Small, dean of the Collage of Education and Human Development at Radford University, points out some characteristics unique to young adult novels or stories. Taking those characteristics into account, there are a huge amount of stories which can be considered cases of YAL. A good case of young adult literature is the story “The Emissary” by Ray Bradbury.
Small suggests that a teenager should be the centre of the plot in a story. And this is what actually happens in the story “The Emissary”. Martin, a ten-year-old boy, is the main character. The story is about how Martin is confined to bed and how he feels as regards his illness.
It is true that Dog, Martin’s loyal pet who does whatever Martin wants him to do, seems to be the main character. However, the whole story develops around Martin. Everything that Dog does depends on what his owner needs or wants. This can be perceived the moment that Dog goes outside wearing a collar that has a message written: “My owner is Martin Smith…ten years old…sick in bed…visitors welcome”.
Other characteristic of YAL found in Bradbury’s story is identification. This means that the reader has the possibility to empathize with the main character. This characteristic could be perceived in “The Emissary”. Most teens can identify with Martin, who is sensitive and mature. His sensitiveness is perceived when Miss Haight dies, which makes Martin feel very unhappy, melancholic and angry with God. His maturity is easily discerned. Although he is just an adolescent, who is supposed to have a busy life, he accepts to be confined to bed. Sensitive and mature are almost certain characteristics shared among adolescents.
Apart from identification other characteristic of YAL in “The Emissary” is that the actions and decisions of the main character are major factors in the outcome of the conflict of the story. Apart of being confined to bed because of his illness, Martin faces other two mayor problems. The first one is Miss Haight’s death. Martin cannot conceive that dead people only lie underground. The other problem is the absence of Dog. He feels he cannot stay without him. But, without noticing, Martin solves his problems. The moment Martin says “Dog, come home, and run…” “…good Dog , home, boy, hurry, and bring what you can!”, he is asking Dog to came back home and to take Miss Haight with him, solving the problems.
It is worth clarifying that teens who read and appreciate books will probably feel willing to deal with reading when adults. They will also be parents who encourage their children to read one day. For this reason, if somebody faces adolescents who avoid reading, he should be aware that there is a good way to make them be closer to literature. By introducing them to YAL, adolescents will probably be interested in reading. If they identify with the main character of the story through the main character’s properties and conflicts, adolescents will certainly be engaged to read more and more. Since “The Emissary” allows identification, this story can be taken as a good case of YAL.
“ORANGE", A SCIENCE FICTION STORY WRITTEN BY NEIL GAINMAN THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED A CASE OF YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
by ANDREA OLAZABAL
Choosing reading material for teenagers is not an easy task. In general, adolescents like reading if stories can reflect their needs and interest. Choosing appropriate literature to young adults has become an important task taking into account the development of the concept of adolescence.
Pedak (1978) defines the term young adult as “a member of the public who is in transition from childhood to adulthood, usually between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.”
According to Gail de Voss (2003) “adolescence is the term pshycholinguistics an educator use to identify the developmental stage marked by oneset puberty and the end of structural physical growth”.
Taking into account these definitions and changes adolescents undergo during adolescence stage is that offering appropriate literature to teenagers can engage them in reading.
But the main question for those who choose reading material for young adults is: what do they really prefer reading?
Young adult literature (YAL) is very popular among teenagers and comprehends those texts such as novels, short stories, legends, etc which are appreciated by young adults and may not be appreciated by other public.
In order to catch teenagers´ attention, Small ( 1992) points out in “The Literary Value of Young Adult Novel” that there are some characteristics that are unique to young adult novels. They are the following:
•The main character of the story is a teenager.
•Dialogue reflects teenage speech, including slang.
•The point of view presents an adolescent´s interpretation of events and people.
•The teenage main character is usually perceptive, sensitive, intelligent, mature, and independent.
•The novel is short, rarely more than 200 pages, among others.
“Orange”, a science fiction story written by Neil Gainman, can be a case of YAL since some of the important elements stated by Small are present in the story.
This science fiction story is told from a 17- year- old girl. She tells the story of her nutty scientist mother with a laboratory in the garage and her irritating younger sister, Nerys, who is transformed by one of the mother´s experimental dyes into a glowing orange “immanence” floating above the ground and demanding to be worshipped. When things begin to get out of hand, aliens arrive in a spaceship and take the transformed Nerys away.
There is one particular element that can catch readers´ attention; the story has a very original style since it is composed of answers to questions the reader does not get to see.
“1- Jemima Glorfindel Petula Ramsey.
2- Seventeen on June the ninth.
3- The last five years. Before that we lived in Glasgow(Scotland). Before that, Cardiff(Wales).
4- I don´t know. I think he´s in magazine publishing now. He doesn´t talk to us anymore. The divorce was pretty bad and Mum wound up paying him a lot of money. Which seems sort of wrong to me. But maybe it was worth it just to get shot of him…”
The previous extract shows some characteristics mentioned by Small. One point to consider is that in ORANGE the main character and also her irritating sister are both teenagers. Furthermore, it can be seen that the girl is perceptive, sensitive, intelligent, mature, and independent. This can be appreciated when she speaks about her father, the divorce and the relationship between their parents.
Another point to take into consideration is that the story is composed completely of answers to questions the reader does not get to see and the way of speech the narrator uses reflects teenage speech. In this case, another element stated by Small is present in this point of analysis and young readers may feel the story attractive and interesting.
What is more, ORANGE is short and easy reading and this can be a good point to engage teenagers reading this science fiction story.
To conclude, ORANGE, the science fiction story written by Neil Gainman can be considered a case of Young Adult Literature since it has some important characteristics pointed out by Small. Taking into account what was mentioned before is that young adults may feel the story interesting and this can engage them in reading it.
Literature in adolescents’ world
by Paola Vellere
Is literature out of fashion in the adolescents´ world? Could classics stir adolescents’ interest in the technology era? It is common knowledge that adolescents read less and less (at least they do not read from books). They may read short texts from the Internet or television if they are really interested in a particular matter. But what would happen if they come up against a really literary classic text as “Dead Men Working In The Cane Fields” which does not belong to their generation. This classic short story of horror and fantasy could be a matter of interest of any adolescent because fantasy allows them to dive in a parallel universe.
According to Donelson and Nilsen Young Adult Literature (YAL) is defined as “anything that readers between the approximate ages of twelve and twenty choose to read either for leisure reading or to fill school assignments” . Following this idea “Dead Men Working In The Cane Fields” could be classified as a YAL piecework. This YAL classic short story dating back to the 1900s could have been interesting for adolescents in those days just as it is for adolescents nowadays. Thus, time is not a matter. Throughout time, adolescents have been sharing the same characteristics as well as likes and dislikes. Fantasy is the driving force which leads them to get involved in this story. Therefore, literature is timeless as well as adolescents´ characteristics are timeless too. Adolescents need to identify with their partners; they have a voracious appetite for life and for answers about their own identity. Many of these needs are met through literature where the key themes are developed. Contrary to adults, young people escape from reality easily and they also enjoy it. The unreal world of zombies, wolves and vampires that this YAL short story provides is a suitable journey to the imagination world, a journey to keep adolescents far away from their controversial life.
In terms of adolescents´ fashionable life, classics are never out of fashion since they gather the answers they are looking for and fulfil their expectations. YAL literature consists of any kind of literary text (contemporary works as well as classics) provided that young adults feel like reading them. Under the line of the authors Donelson and Nilsen “Dead Men Working In The Cane Fields” is a clear example of YAL.
Does any piece of science fiction correspond to YAL?
by Jésica Torres
In the last decades, it seems that science fiction has become a popular genre for young adult readers and writers as well. “The Starry Rift”, an anthology of original stories edited by Jonathan Strahan, is a result of this rising market and an attempt to re-invent science fiction for the young adult readers of today. However, I believe that “The dismantle invention of fate”, a fictional short story written by Jeffery Ford, has been mistakenly included within this compilation as I would not consider it a case of young adult literature but as a case of science fiction for elder readers.
It has been psychologically proved that teenagers are interested in reading stories that tie in with their own personal experience and life stage. They want to feel identified with the characters and the situations they are living and to place themselves in the hero’s role and fantasize about it. In the case of the story “The dismantle invention of fate”, the main character is an ancient astronaut who, in spite of telling the adventures he has lived when young, he does it from an adult point of view. This fact may give young readers a sense different time and context. It is known that teenagers are not likely to feel identified with old people’s stories that were lived in another time that it is not the days they are living in.
Another feature that supports the idea that this tale should not be included within young adult literature is the fact that it deals with concepts teenagers are not familiar with. Once again, the age of the protagonist is a key element since he reveals the feelings that arouse in him when remembering his youth. As an adult, he manages concepts and has experienced feelings like loss, nostalgia and fate which may not be meaningful for teenagers as they may not have lived or experienced them yet because of the period of life they are passing through.
In conclusion, I believe that the aspects previously mentioned need to be considered when deciding which texts may be interesting for young adults to read or not. It is not that any piece of fictional literature would be attractive for teens just because of its literary genre. Fictional stories need to be appealing for adolescents and to manage concepts and experiences which young people can feel identified with. Only if the literary text fulfils these requirements, it can be considered as young adult literature, which is not the case of “The dismantle invention of fate”.
'The surfer': A science fiction story which may be appropriate for adolescents
by Nancy Nieto
It is interesting to highlight that not all adolescents enjoy reading books, but there are some elements or materials which encourage them to do it. Within literature, adolescents have the opportunity to choose books or stories which may be appealing for them. Young Adult Literature (YAL) gathers many of characteristics interesting for adolescents. Many YAL authors like Small, an academic style in YAL, provide an overview of this type of literature. They incorporate attractive elements in books to engage young readers. The surfer”, a science fiction story written by Kelly Link, can be an example of YAL since it follows some of Small´s characteristics. In this particular story, young characters and themes related to teens are the characteristics that can be identified.
As Small (cited in Herz and Gallo,1996) points out, there are some characteristics which are unique to Young Adult stories, and adolescents feel attracted by them. They are:
-the main character is a teenager
-events and problems in the plot are related to teenagers
-the main character is the center of the plot
-dialogue reflects teenage speech, including slang
Considering these characteristics teenagers may enjoy reading some interesting stories like the surfer. Kelly Link presents a talented soccer-player who plans to be the best athlete all over the world. One day he is kidnapped by his father doctor, when the population suffers a flu pandemic. Dorn travels by plane to Costa Rica, and there he and all the passengers are carried to a hangar in quarantine, until the pandemic ends.
As I have just mentioned, young characters are considered by YAL appealing for teenage readers in “The surfer”. Dorn is a young and selfish soccer-player who thinks about himself and does not care about other people. When he shares his interests and opinions with other people in the hangar, he realizes he should change his mind. Throughout the story, the character gradually changes his personality, the way he thinks and behaves towards other people.
Another important characteristic mentioned in Small´s list is the presence of themes related to teenagers. Future is an important issue developed by Kelly Link. Throughout the story, she presents young characters who plan their future while they are in quarantine. The hangar is a place that helps them to reflect about their lives and plan what they want to achieve in their future. According to Professor Robert Havigurst of the University of Chicago, teens have eleven developmental tasks they must complete to make it to adulthood. One of them is, “begin to consider how they will occupy themselves as adults and which profession they will pursue”.
To conclude, “The surfer” by Kelly Link can be considered a story for adolescents since it fits Small´s characteristics . The presence of these elements are important to engage young readers in YAL. They feel attractive by this type of literature.
HORROR STORIES OR YOUNG ADULT NOVELS
by Betina Ricchezza
Why cannot teachers encourage their adolescent students as readers? Can it be because teachers do not choose appealing adolescent novels?
It is important that teachers read about Young Adult Literature (YAL) in order to become familiar with the literary quality of Young Adult (YA) novels and to appreciate the style of writing they present. Teachers usually choose traditional stories of horror and mystery without taking into account that YA novels are specifically addressed to adolescents. YA authors write these novels having in mind a teenage audience. A horror story can be attractive to adolescents but it is not written to describe their life. This is the case of “The Visitor”, written by Jack Ketchun. This is a short story about zombies which is not a case of YAL.
According to Robert C. Small Jr., there are some important characteristics that are unique to YA books. These characteristics are used to describe and reflect the realities of teenage life. Small points out that in YA novels, the main character is a teenager, who is the center of the plot, and he/she is usually intelligent, perceptive and independent; the events and problems in the plot are related to teenagers and the dialogues reflect teenage speech. These are the characteristics that appeal adolescents as readers because they feel identified.
As regards “The visitor”, the characteristics above mentioned are not present in the story. It is just a horror story about dead people who come back from their graves. The main character is not an adolescent and the plot is not related to realities of teenage life. This story is not specifically addressed to adolescents.
YAL gained popularity among teenagers due to the universal themes it deals with. Some of them are teenage pregnancy, drugs, family conflicts, discrimination and social injustice among others. All these themes are appealing to teenagers because they can experiment them in their everyday life. In the case of “The Visitor”, due to it is not a YA book, adolescents encounter the lack of similarities with their real own world. Teachers can incorporate YA novels to their lessons and adolescent students can benefit from reading them.
May 14, 2012
Travel around (TV show proposal)
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are pleased to write you in order to propose you a project of a Tv show entitled” Travel around”. It has been developed taking into account teenagers´ abilities and interests.The project is based on testing adolescents' general knowledge and their skills. They will be asked about art, music, sports, and they will also prove their abilities through a competition between two groups of teenagers from different schools. They will be evaluated by two judges and the Tv presenter. There will be three series of five questions for each group. After, they will show their abilities in a competition between two groups of teenagers.
There will be a winner group according to the adolescents´ development during the Tv show.
The prize will be about Travel around a place in Argentina chose by the group of teenagers.
We are convinced that this Tv show is appealing to teenagers since they will be able to reflect their general knowledge and get fun with a clear purpose: TO TRAVEL AROUND.
We hope you take into account our project and let us know your response as soon as possible.
Faithfully.
Andrea and Pilar.
Jugate conmigo - revival (TV show proposal)
Mr Yankelevich:
We are writing this letter as a response to your advertisement looking for new ideas for a teenagers T.V show.
Taking into account the characteristics and interests of teenagers nowadays, we are pleased to present you our idea about the revival of one of the most famous entertaining T.V programme of the nineties in Argentina: “Jugate Conmigo”
This show, which will be broadcast weekly, will include different sections in which participants, arranged in two teams, will have to demonstrate their abilities in singing, dancing, acting and playing games. The winner will get a Prize: a trip to Brazil.
As regards singing and dancing, participants will have to recreate a video clips from pop artists chosen by the opposite team.
As for acting, a few members from each team will pick a card where they will find the explanation of the situation they will act out.
Each of the previously mentioned performances will be judged by four celebrities, all of whom have great knowledge about acting, dancing and singing.
Concerning the game section, it will include some ball games, such as “Football Tennis”, general knowledge games such as quizzes, action games such as paintball wars.
We look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
We can be contacted at the above address.
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