Today, I am asking my students to reflect on their favorite narration. We will start to read Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain. It's a great family story, but it is unique in the sense that it is told from the point of view of the family dog. Their favorite narrator can be a first person narrator that is a character in the novel, or it can just be a novel whose third person perspective is unique or clever. 1. Who is your favorite narrator? What is your favorite narration? 2. Tell readers about the novel and the narration. 3. Why is this your favorite? Why might others appreciate it as well?
Last year, I wrote about Budo, from Matthew Dick's Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, who narrates the story of him and his human Max. Budo sets the record for longest living imaginary friend because Max relies on him so much. Max has autism. But when Max gets kidnapped, Budo has a decision to make. Does he choose to keep things as they are so he can exist longer? Or does Budo help Max fend for himself inevitably ending his own existence? It's a great read, and I highly recommend it.
Today, I would like to talk about John Dowell from Ford Maddox Ford's The Good Soldier. In this novel, Dowell tells the story of his encounters with Edward Ashburnham, the "good soldier" from World War I that the title references. Throughout the story, Dowell describes his family life with his wife abroad, how he meets the Ashburnhams, and how they become close friends. However, reads come to find that Dowell might not be the most reliable narrator. Through a series of flashbacks, readers discover inaccuracies and inconsistencies with overlapping tales. What happens in that Dowell is not given all of the information. He tells the story of this perfect English life, only to have readers realize that not everything is as perfect as Dowell believes (or makes himself believe). There are affairs, suicides, and more. John Dowell is one of my favorite narrators simply because he is just so bad at it. Almost everything he says is wrong by the end of the story. I liked it so much because that style of storytelling really stood out to me as new and unique. The idea of an "unreliable narrator" is such a fascinating way to piece together a novel. It really makes you think instead of just mindlessly glancing over the pages. And think in a good way that makes it fun, not hard.
Having finished reading their first novel of the semester for this course, it is now time for the students to write their first book review. The students will review Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. Each book review will start with a summary, include two parts of the novel to evaluate (not just analyze - evaluate), and finally give their overall recommendation. The evaluation part seems to be the hardest for my students because they are not used to using stuff like theme and characterization to express their opinion, only literary analysis. To help, I created one body paragraph that might serve as an example for my students. (FYI: I do not agree with this evaluation, but I thought it would be fun to branch outside of my comfort zone.)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone suffers because of its negative theme for children. When tracking
down a rogue professor who means to steal a magical item that promises eternal
life, the main characters Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger follow
him down a trapdoor. This path leads them to a series of challenges that guard
the stone. The first task is a strangling plant known as the Devil’s Snare.
Harry and Ron are trapped, but Hermione is free to help. She remembers that
this plant hates light, but she does not have the resources to start a fire.
Ron shouts, “ARE YOU MAD? ... ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?”(278). Hermione remembers
she has a magic wand, makes some fire and saves the day. The lesson here,
obviously, is that no one needs hard work because magic will always be there to
save the day. This is a horrible lesson to teach the youth of America because
it will only create a generation of lazy individuals who wait around for a
Hogwarts letter instead of actually trying in school and getting into a good
college. Humans need to face their problems head on in this life, and thinking
that there is a magical resource to come and save you is dangerous. Humans need
to be in control of their own life and do what it takes to achieve goals in the
real world. The unrealistic message of this book to its readers makes it a poor
choice.
I used theme as one of my main topics to evaluate this novel. Yes, I had to analyze the theme and say what the author's main message was, but I continued to use that as an evaluation tool for whether the book is good or bad. This extra step is crucial in writing a book review. For more information, please check out the directions on Moodle and the grading rubric included in the directions.
I used to
think a millennial was an unmotivated teenager, technology-addicted, glued to
their screens, and unwilling to put in an ounce of hard work. That was until I
became one.
During my three-year seminar
program in Ignatian leadership, we spent a specific afternoon discussing
workplace conflicts that could arrive due to generational differences. Having
experienced some of these conflicts personally, I was eager to see what the
session had in store. Our leader, Bill, passed around a booklet describing
various generation names and their characteristics. I flipped through to see
what Generation Y had to say about me, only there was no Generation Y. It just
didn't exist. I flipped back to check the birth years. Maybe I was bunched into
Generation X? No. Worse. 1988 was now part of the Millennial Generation.
Through my education program,
"millennial" was a dirty word used to describe un-teachable students
who would rather play with an iPad than interact with humans. Questions were
constantly being asked about what to do with this wayward generation. I am one
of the most driven people I know. How could I get lumped in with this group? I
wasn't a millennial; I was teaching them... right?
My friend Trish was the only other member of the seminars
around my age. We were outraged. How could a pamphlet take away our identity in
one swoop? Immediately, she whipped out her tablet and I my phone. This had to
be a mistake. I opened the web browser and typed out what I was searching for.
While the site loaded, I answered a text from my mom about how my trip was
going. I double tapped the home button, and I was back to my web results. While
most sites agreed that Generation Y was now part of the Millennial Generation,
there were some that disagreed. Hadn’t I seen something on Facebook about
millennials recently? Another double tap and I was off to the social media app
scanning the newsfeed. Red dots told me I had some friend requests and
notifications, so I quickly checked those out before continuing my quest for knowledge.
Trish and I came up with the same Internet facts. Some had joined Generation Y
with Millennials while others kept them as distinct groups. Another double tap
switched me to Twitter where I used one of my three accounts to send out my
confusion and annoyance into the universe.
A woman completely content with her Generation X designation
turned to us and commented, “You kids, always on your devices.” Trish and I
looked up in horror. We dropped our technology with disgust. Had we really
become the thing we hated? Everything I had done in the last five minutes came
flooding back: my social media distractions, my innate skill at multitasking,
my desire for immediate information when I wanted it. Oh, no. The booklet might
be right.
Eager for more, I continued to read Bill’s booklet. What I
found was the opposite of the negativity society had hammered into me.
Millennials are driven by new challenges. They think outside the box. They’re
flexible and can adapt easily. They are quick to learn new things. They are
constantly looking to move forward. Slowly, I was starting to realize that
being a millennial wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Then, I realized all
of the millennial stereotypes I had used to look down on my students who were
younger than me. I knew what it was like to have other people think you were
less capable because of your age. I didn’t want that for my students. And I don’t
want that for my fellow millennials trying to make their place in the world.
It’s time to reclaim the word “millennial” for good. I
believe in millennials.
For other examples of Contemporary Literature "This I Believe" blog posts, check out:
