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The F-It List and Empathy
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 16:15:17 -0500
Well, KT's and my messages crossed paths, and we both were writing about the potrayal of grieving, but I want to go back to Alex's nature, where the two of us may disagree:
I wrote:
"She is grieving her father?s death, but this is deeper; this is about who Alex is and how she relates to those around her. She isn?t broken; she doesn?t need to be fixed, but she does need to see and acknowledge when she has hurt someone because of it."
KT wrote: "I'm not sure I agree with this, Megan. I don't think Alex is broken, but I do think a lot of her toughness is the result of grieving her father and, possibly, the loss of her best friend. (She had already lost her friend long before Becca was diagnosed with cancer.) I think she's afraid of being hurt so she keeps people at a distance."
I don't disagree that part of her reason for being the way she is may be that she's afraid of being hurt, but I don't see it as being the result of her grief at all; I see it as she has always been like this, though perhaps it is magnified by her grief.
As I read this book, I was so happy to see a character who is like some of the kids I know--who really has hard time being empathetic and showing her feelings. I agree that vulnerability is part of the reason for Alex being like this, but I also, quite frankly, think it's about the way her brain is hard-wired.
That's how I interpreted Alex anyway, and I thought it was great to see a character like this in a young adult novel that had so many other strong points as well!
Megan
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 16:15:17 -0500
Well, KT's and my messages crossed paths, and we both were writing about the potrayal of grieving, but I want to go back to Alex's nature, where the two of us may disagree:
I wrote:
"She is grieving her father?s death, but this is deeper; this is about who Alex is and how she relates to those around her. She isn?t broken; she doesn?t need to be fixed, but she does need to see and acknowledge when she has hurt someone because of it."
KT wrote: "I'm not sure I agree with this, Megan. I don't think Alex is broken, but I do think a lot of her toughness is the result of grieving her father and, possibly, the loss of her best friend. (She had already lost her friend long before Becca was diagnosed with cancer.) I think she's afraid of being hurt so she keeps people at a distance."
I don't disagree that part of her reason for being the way she is may be that she's afraid of being hurt, but I don't see it as being the result of her grief at all; I see it as she has always been like this, though perhaps it is magnified by her grief.
As I read this book, I was so happy to see a character who is like some of the kids I know--who really has hard time being empathetic and showing her feelings. I agree that vulnerability is part of the reason for Alex being like this, but I also, quite frankly, think it's about the way her brain is hard-wired.
That's how I interpreted Alex anyway, and I thought it was great to see a character like this in a young adult novel that had so many other strong points as well!
Megan
--
Megan Schliesman, Librarian
Cooperative Children's Book Center
School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
600 N. Park Street, Room 4290
Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503
schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
My regular hours are T-F, 8-4:30.
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Received on Tue 25 Mar 2014 04:15:56 PM CDT
