Research Paper

I have been putting this blog off because I am not sure of what I'd like my research topic to be. As of yet, I haven't found a thread in my books that is concise enough to write a paper on. At first I was playing around with the idea of "hope." In almost all of the books there has been a theme of hope and hopefulness in the main characters. For example, Esperanza hoped for a better life in America, Harry hoped to make friends and live well at Hogwarts, Bella hoped to marry Edward and live in love forever, and Ameri hoped to escape slavery. The books that I have read independently for my book reviews have shown this theme as well: in "Oh The Places You'll Go" there is a hope to achieve greatness in the future, in "New Moon" Bella still hopes to marry Edward, in "Terabithia" Jesse hopes that the imaginative land and Lelie will last forever, and in "Part-Time Indian" there is a hope that prejudice will end and Indians can be seen as equals. There are more instances of hope in each of these, as well as specific lines and situations that refer to the theme directly.

It seems that "hope" is a favored theme in the Young Adult genre of literature, perhaps because it directs the many developments of main characters. In a religion class I took last semester, the professor often stated that "religion is the vehicle of hope." In many works belonging to the literary canon, religion is the common thread. In real life, too, religion can be a common thread among people. For many people, religion is the way that they can find reasons for things that happen and still hope that life will work out as they planned. I may try to tie "religion" into my research paper topic along with "hope." But as of now, nothing is set in stone.

Esperanza Rising

Once I finished reading Esperanza Rising, I felt as though I had been enlightened about the Mexican culture through the reading. The text describes Esperanza's life in Mexico as something of a fairytale. Just as I was beginning to enjoy reading about the young girl's carefree life, all that she had is taken away from her. I began to sympathize with her condition, and I felt for her and Ramona as they crossed the border and searched for work for the first time. The work that Ramona and Esperanza did was demeaning to them because they had lived such a privileged life in Aguascalientes. I can't imagine being as strong as thirteen-year-old Esperanza was in the situations that she faced. In hardships she endured and did not resist to learn. She was even very eager to learn English.

The idea that a story like Esperanza's is true for many Mexican Americans today is eye-opening. I think that especially for a young audience, it is shocking to know that all the things you love can be so easily taken from you. It is important for the readers to see that people from other cultures lead fragile lives, and also to see that living as an American is a dream in itself. Esperanza Rising is a book that belongs in an English classroom for more than it's cross-cultural qualities. It is a heart-warming tale with historical context that allows the reader to put himself into the shoes of someone struggling to survive. As is stated in Dong's article, it is necessary that English teachers expose students to "varied ways of living and knowing." The way that Esperanza lived her thirteenth year on the run is something that I, for one, have never experienced before. Although I hope to never be uprooted from my home like Esperanza was, I am glad for the knowledge that I have gained about a young girl in such a situation. Reading Esperanza Rising gave me a true insider's view on coming to America and changing your way of life.

Harry Potter and Twilight

With the article “But Is It Good Enough To Teach?” in mind, I would label the three works that we have read so far as worthy. Between the three books Copper Sun, Harry Potter, and Twilight, an adolescent literature class would be exposed to different genres, writing styles, and authors if the books were taught. I would predict that fighting to include the book Copper Sun would be the easiest of the three battles. It’s true that the author Sharon Draper is not on the famous 5-foot-shelf. She isn’t a name that an intellectual would drop at a cocktail party either, but she is highly knowledgeable about African American literature and I think that she does the genre justice. Copper Sun fulfills the cross-cultural awareness necessity in a curriculum, but would not be included for that reason only. I think that Draper’s novel belongs in the classroom because it creates historical awareness written from a different point of view. Also, her work cannot be denied on the basis of merit because Copper Sun won the Coretta Scott King Award for spreading non-violent social change.

In adolescent literature, it is most important that students are interested enough in the reading to actually do it. One of my professors told a story last week that relates: he was a moody and angry eighth grader who didn’t have the least interest in doing his school work. His English teacher acknowledged that he was a smart kid who was simply rebelling, and so she took a special interest in helping him out. She assigned him a separate book from the rest of her class – he promised her that he would read the first chapter of Catcher in the Rye while the other students read Gatsby. My professor said that he finished the book the same day that he began it. He identified with the main character Holden and was intrigued by the unusual story. In my professor’s case, he would have never read a book like Gatsby or another ‘great work’ because it bored him, and, while Catcher is a famous work as well, he only took an interest in it because of the subject matter. With this same argument, a teacher could fight for the inclusion of books like Harry Potter and Twilight, even though they are less well-known for their literary merit. Their subject matter interests adolescents, hence the current national phenomenon of witches, wizards, and vampires on television, in books, and in movies. In order for an adolescent to become a lifelong reader, he needs to be lured in by literature that he likes.

Copper Sun

While reading Copper Sun, I couldn’t help but put myself in Amari’s position. All of the hardships and sadness that she endured throughout the story felt real to me, and I think that Draper should be praised for her ability to make the reader relate to the character. Especially in the first section of the book, when Amari’s village is attacked, I was extremely emotional because the character’s life as she knew it was coming to an end. It was hard for me to realize that all of Amari’s hardships were a result of the cruelty of the white men. It makes me angry to know that the whites got away with such horrible treatment of others – they acted as though God wanted them to use the blacks to their personal benefit. In class we discussed the opinion of some Americans who do not recognize slavery as cruel. When I heard this I became even more enraged at my own culture’s history and ignorance.

The book reminds me of Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns. The two are similar because they are the accounts of young woman’s capture and mistreatment in a time of national turmoil. I find the main characters of both novels easy to relate to, and as a young woman, I felt especially moved by their stories. I think that both Copper Sun and A Thousand Splendid Suns impact the reader in more than one respect: the books help to break prejudiced feelings that many Americans have (against African Americans and against Muslims) due to conflicts that the cultures have had in the past; both books tell the frightening stories of rape and abuse that hit home for many female readers. I think that both novels would be appropriate in the classroom because they fit the Adolescent Literature genre, they educate the reader about a particular time in history, and they create cross-cultural awareness. Overall, both books were very enjoyable and I would recommend them very highly.