CCBC-Net Archives
Re: How much...?
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Claudia Pearson <pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:42:35 -0600
Grace Oliff writes, regarding Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic:
"There is no suggestion that this was "all a dream"- in the tradition of ti me travel fantasy, she has actually made this journey, actually experienced this- and she returns to the present having experienced the necessary epip hany. Of course people did not wake up from the Nazi experience- but this book was about trying to explain that experience to a generation that thank fully did not have to live through it, and was often confused by the fact t hat those who had were reluctant to speak."
Maggie writes:
I agree. I don't think Hannah/Chaya's experience comes off as a dream at a ll--it is a time travel experience, and the message of the book is the impo rtance of remembering. There is no sense of unreality--in fact, the whole point of the novel is to show that the holocaust was real, did happen, and should not be forgotten, and I believe it does that as effectively as any h olocaust novel for children. In addition, Yolen's book is a departure from the many holocaust novels written from the point of view of Christians sav ing Jews. For that reason too, it is a particularly noteworthy and importan t book, and one I highly recommend to my middle school students.
IMO, there are still issues with the structure of Yolen's novel, which Eve Tal explores in her book. It is not merely the "dream" ending which results in her return to the future, but Yolen's use of paratext and other techniq ues which tend to distance the reader from the reality of the Holocaust and may generate some confusion. This is not to say that I think Yolen is not an excellent writer or that it is not an excellent story, only that there a re things people should be aware of when using it to teach young readers ab out the Holocaust.
I would also note that there are similar problems in writing historical fic tion for young readers about any difficult subject. For example, I applaud Christopher Paul Curtis for dealing with the horrors of what happened to mo st runaway slaves (Elijah of Buxton) and the worst elements of racism (The Watson's go to Birmingham) in a way that both addresses the all too horrib le historical realities and still offers readers hope -- but didn't the maj ority of runaway slaves die violent deaths? Do we misrepresent history when the only books we write and teach tell the stories of the few who escaped? Where are the stories of the Freedom Riders' ghosts? Is Emmet Till's story simply too horrible to tell, or do we need to tell it in order to expose t he psychology of the perpetrators so we will better understand them and how they came to be so influenced by hate? I do not understand why it is okay to write about vampires ripping humans apart, but not okay to write about h umans doing the same thing to one another, especially when it is a truth which needs to b e taught and explored with the hope that it could be prevented from ever ha ppening again.
I'm reminded of the recent discussion of morality and good defeating evil and the use of scapegoats such as Jack's Giant (who never did anything to J ack) who die horrible deaths so that the heros can ascend to their rightful place. Does this encourage children to find scapegoats? I'm currently wor king on a paper that explores the use of this theme in picture books publis hed during the Nazi ascendency. A similar trend could be identified in the plethora of anti-Arab/Moslem movie and TV show themes that emerged after 9/ 11 leading up to the invasion of Iraq.
My 2 cents.
Claudia
Received on Sat 19 Nov 2011 10:42:35 AM CST
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:42:35 -0600
Grace Oliff writes, regarding Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic:
"There is no suggestion that this was "all a dream"- in the tradition of ti me travel fantasy, she has actually made this journey, actually experienced this- and she returns to the present having experienced the necessary epip hany. Of course people did not wake up from the Nazi experience- but this book was about trying to explain that experience to a generation that thank fully did not have to live through it, and was often confused by the fact t hat those who had were reluctant to speak."
Maggie writes:
I agree. I don't think Hannah/Chaya's experience comes off as a dream at a ll--it is a time travel experience, and the message of the book is the impo rtance of remembering. There is no sense of unreality--in fact, the whole point of the novel is to show that the holocaust was real, did happen, and should not be forgotten, and I believe it does that as effectively as any h olocaust novel for children. In addition, Yolen's book is a departure from the many holocaust novels written from the point of view of Christians sav ing Jews. For that reason too, it is a particularly noteworthy and importan t book, and one I highly recommend to my middle school students.
IMO, there are still issues with the structure of Yolen's novel, which Eve Tal explores in her book. It is not merely the "dream" ending which results in her return to the future, but Yolen's use of paratext and other techniq ues which tend to distance the reader from the reality of the Holocaust and may generate some confusion. This is not to say that I think Yolen is not an excellent writer or that it is not an excellent story, only that there a re things people should be aware of when using it to teach young readers ab out the Holocaust.
I would also note that there are similar problems in writing historical fic tion for young readers about any difficult subject. For example, I applaud Christopher Paul Curtis for dealing with the horrors of what happened to mo st runaway slaves (Elijah of Buxton) and the worst elements of racism (The Watson's go to Birmingham) in a way that both addresses the all too horrib le historical realities and still offers readers hope -- but didn't the maj ority of runaway slaves die violent deaths? Do we misrepresent history when the only books we write and teach tell the stories of the few who escaped? Where are the stories of the Freedom Riders' ghosts? Is Emmet Till's story simply too horrible to tell, or do we need to tell it in order to expose t he psychology of the perpetrators so we will better understand them and how they came to be so influenced by hate? I do not understand why it is okay to write about vampires ripping humans apart, but not okay to write about h umans doing the same thing to one another, especially when it is a truth which needs to b e taught and explored with the hope that it could be prevented from ever ha ppening again.
I'm reminded of the recent discussion of morality and good defeating evil and the use of scapegoats such as Jack's Giant (who never did anything to J ack) who die horrible deaths so that the heros can ascend to their rightful place. Does this encourage children to find scapegoats? I'm currently wor king on a paper that explores the use of this theme in picture books publis hed during the Nazi ascendency. A similar trend could be identified in the plethora of anti-Arab/Moslem movie and TV show themes that emerged after 9/ 11 leading up to the invasion of Iraq.
My 2 cents.
Claudia
Received on Sat 19 Nov 2011 10:42:35 AM CST
