Troubled Males Book Talk

Book Talk for grades 9-12


Troubled Males in Popular Fiction Book Talk


Script:
Acceleration by Graham McNamee
How would you handle trying to save a drowning person?  How would you feel if that person died anyway?  Would you feel guilt?  Remorse?  Would you become a troubled youth looking for a chance at redemption?
In Acceleration, the main character, Duncan watches as a girl drowns.  Duncan feels haunted by it.  He gets a job working in the lost and found of the underground Toronto subway.  While in the dusty aisles of the lost and found unclaimed items, Duncan uncovers a strange diary bound in leather.  He is able to put aside his guilt as he reads the terrible things in the diary.
This is where the book turns. Do you like chilling, page turning mysteries? Duncan believes he has found the diary of a serial killer.  There are entries describing all kinds of evil:  arson, animal torture, stalking.  The diary writer has been stalking women on the very subway where Duncan works.  Duncan takes the journal to the police, but they could care less.  He wants a chance at saving another person’s life and redemption.  When he figures out the killer is trying to decide between three women, 17 year old Duncan takes initiative.  He and his friends decide to track and try to trap the murderer before he gets his next victim. When the killer comes to the lost and found to pick up his diary, Duncan follows him home and takes him on without a plan or backup. Smart . . . or stupid?
This is a fast-paced trip into the mind of a cold-blooded killer.  The hunt will keep you on the edge of your seats!  Would you do what Duncan did?
What would you do if you found a journal like this?

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
How many of you have seen “Grease?”  Can you picture a “greaser?”  Why do you think Danny was called a “greaser?”  What do you think Seth Rogan’s all time favorite book is?  It is The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, the ultimate “greaser” book.  Ponyboy Curtis is a 14 year old “greaser” who tells readers about the violence and conflict going on between the “greasers” and the preppie “Socs,” (Socials) two groups of troubled boys.” Ponyboy tells of rumbles, beatings, fires, and pointless deaths.  Ponyboy is sensitive, though.  He struggles with the hatred between the two groups.
Guess how old Hinton was when she wrote this book.  16!  The same age as a bunch of you!  She wrote about the world around her in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  In her world people were defined by their jobs and their looks.  The Socs were the West-side rich kids: preppies driving new sports cars. Do you know anyone like that? The greasers were the East-side wild poor boys wearing jeans and white tees. Do you know anyone a little wild? I don’t know about you, but I would want to be a hybrid:  rich, driving a new sports car but cool in jeans and a tee shirt.
Ponyboy says the greasers are almost like hoods; they steal, “hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while” (p. 3).  Not a fun life for Ponyboy, although he doesn’t question it; he thinks it’s just the way things are.  His gang is a tough bunch.  They’re like a tight knit family, looking out for one another and taking on each other’s battles.  Ponyboy is younger than most of them but accepted because of his two older brother, Darry and Soda.  Fights and switchblades are everyday occurrences in Ponyboy’s life, as are the police.  But, Hinton wants the reader to recognize the potential in Ponyboy.  He is smart and creative.  He understands the people around him.  But his potential and smarts can’t save him.
When Darry gets mad one night and hits Ponyboy, tragic events are set in motion that rock Tulsa.  In the end Ponyboy wonders if things have to be the way they are.  He wonders if Socs and greasers can be friends.  What do you think?

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
East of Eden is a complicated and sometimes controversial novel used in English classes. It makes the reader say, “That’s messed up!” over and over again.  It is a story of love, hate, and indifference.  It has elements of racism and sociopathic behavior.  It has biblical themes, too:  Cain and Abel, the prodigal son, Adam and Eve, the tree of good and evil.  The name itself is biblical and refers to the family farm in Salinas Valley.  At times East of Eden is shocking.  At other times the descriptive elements and text are beautiful.
East of Eden is a saga that follows the Trask family through several generations.  Much of the book focuses on Adam Trask; a man hated by his brother and wife (both sociopaths), loved but abused by his father, and someone who completely ignores his twin sons their first year of life.  The sons, Aron and Cal, act like the biblical Cain and Abel.  The wife is a sadistic, extortionist.  The only families I know like this are on soap operas!
Racism is a theme apparent in the character of Lee, Adam Trask’s Chinese servant.  The racism is evident in the stereotypical portrayal of a Chinese man.  It is controversial because some present day educators feel that Lee is a poor role model for students of Chinese ancestry. What do you think?  Should a character from the early 1900’s be a role model for Chinese students four generations later? Does Lee’s characterization cast disparity on the Chinese people?  The irony of Lee being the servant for this family of dysfunctional people is quite ironic.  Who, indeed, is the better person?  The well educated Chinese man who takes care of everyone, or the dysfunctional but rich white man? Can a Chinese servant be the hero of this novel?
Another theme in this book is the extreme realism. One of the first scenes is Cyrus getting his leg shot and amputated.  Kate uses a knitting needle to try to abort her twins.  She poisons people, shoots her husband, and does whatever it takes to get what she wants with no emotion whatsoever.  Adam is beat to a pulp by his brother, becomes a hobo and escaped convict, and completely looses it mentally.  Samuel loves one woman and marries another, leading a double life behind the barn.  Lee is a philosopher and intellect trapped in a minority servant role.  There are fights, murders, abuse, and misery all written in a very realistic fashion.  Steinbeck’s characters are almost depressing.  These Trask’s are definitely troubled males.  I don’t know about you, but I like a little happiness and humor in my books.

Fat Kid Rules the World by K. L. Going
Another troubled kid is Troy.  Troy is 17, fat, miserable, and contemplating suicide. His idea is to jump off the platform in front of a New York Subway train.  He is saved by skinny, brilliant, homeless, druggie guitarist Curt.  Anyone heard of Kurt Cobain from Nirvana?  This Curt loosely based on Nirvana’s Kurt.  Troy is amazed that someone as cool as Curt would bother to save him. They make an interesting pair when Curt decides Troy should be his drummer.
Curt inserts himself into Troy’s dysfunctional family.  Troy’s dad is an ex-Marine who doesn’t get his fat son.  Troy’s younger bother is a pain.  Yet, when meeting to practice, Curt always wants to go to Troy’s home.  The family dynamics are interesting, and just what the troubled boys need.
When Curt takes Troy to his first concert at The Dump, Troy first feels like he doesn’t fit in.  Then as the night goes on, he starts to realize that here is a place where nobody notices his size.  When Curt and Troy get their first gig things are horrifying and gross.  Let me read you a bit . . . (read pages 113, 126, 131-133).
When things go from bad to worse, Troy’s dad becomes an unexpected savior.  All three of them Troy, Curt, and Troy’s dad go through complex personal growth making this a funny, gritty, and realistic story.

Evaluation:
Getting a group of teenagers together in the summer for something that has to do with school is painful.  To lure them in, I used one of their mandatory reading novels, East of Eden, in my Book Talk.  I did not want them to feel uncomfortable or like they were cheating, so I talked to their teacher ahead of time to get permission.
I picked books for the Book Talk that I enjoyed reading, and that I thought had themes that would go with East of Eden.  It ended up that my theme was “Troubled Males.”  My group was half boys, so they could relate.  I worried at first that the themes were too mature for 15 and 16 year olds, but after talking to their English teacher I was reassured.
After reading the four books, I thought I would check out some internet sources to get more information and insight.  There is a lot of information out there for controversial books like these.  Two of the books, Acceleration and Fat Kid Rules the World, I found in my elementary school library, which surprised me.   Classics like The Outsiders and East of Eden have whole websites dedicated to them.  After sifting through the information I found, I wrote my script with the kids I invited to the Book Talk in mind.
Once there and sitting around a table at Starbucks, these loud, obnoxious teenagers were absolutely silent.  I offered to buy them drinks and they loosened up a bit.  I told them to relax, that the only one I would bite was my daughter.  They laughed a bit at that.  I set out my books and tried some small talk to get things going.  It was a tough crowd.
I started my script with Acceleration.  None of the kids had read this excellent mystery, and I think a few of them will now.  Next time I think I would cut my narrative short and read an excerpt or two from the book.  Also, one kid asked me about the author:  what else he’d written, etc. and I didn’t have an answer for that.  So next time a little more research is called for.
The second book I talked about, The Outsiders had not been read by any of the kids, either.  Three of the girls, however, had watched the movie because they like Tom Cruise.  I really played up the part that Hinton was the same age as them when she wrote the book.  They were surprised, and one kid who is in journalism said, “Hey!  I could do that!”   They had all seen the movie “Grease” so they could relate to the greaser/Socs thing.
East of Eden was third.  This is a super tough book to read and most of these kids have a huge English assignment about it to do before school starts.  This book brought out a lot of discussion.  I was asked if I thought it was an appropriate book for kids to read.  I was honest and said, “Not really.”  The themes of good and evil and brother against brother are OK.  It is the graphic nature of the beatings, prostitution, and other things having to do with human nature that make this book contentious.  For their assignment, we talked a lot about themes and literary devices.  Next time I would pick a different book in this position because, in my opinion, it is altogether too heavy for kids to read.
My last book was my favorite of the four, Fat Kid Rules the World.  I like the fact that a totally non-popular kid gets to rock out with someone totally cool.  I think this is a fantasy geeky Honors English kids can relate to.  I picked this one to do last because my script was short and I wanted to read some of the passages out loud.  This ended up being a great way to end the session.  The passages I picked had enough humor and grossness to appeal to these teenagers.  This is one book I think they all will read.
Overall I feel this Book Talk was successful.  My theme and the books I chose were ones 15 and 16 year old kids can relate to.  Throwing in their mandatory reading was smart in that it got more kids there and I think made them feel better about their assignments.  Adding humor at the end worked to lighten the mood before we left.  The kids were awesome and polite, thanking me before they left.  Two ladies from the next table over wanted a book list!  I thought that was great!  I was so focused I hadn‘t even noticed they were listening.  The best thing about the whole experience was the look of respect for what I was doing from my daughter.




References
Corey. (2011). East of Eden [Book Review]. Reviews From Me.
http://coreysbooktalk.blogspot.com/2011/08/east-of-eden.html.
Going, K. (2003). Fat kid rules the world.  New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Books.
Hinton, S.  (1967).  The outsiders.  New York, NY:  The Penguin Group Inc.
Hofmann, M. (2005). Fat Kid Rules the World [Book Review]. School Library Journal, 51(11), 59.
Jandy. (2004). East of Eden [Book Review]. Jandy’s Reading Room.
jandysbooks.com/genfic/easteden.
Martin, H. (2003). Acceleration [Book Review]. School Library Journal, 49(11), 142-143.
McNamee, G.  (2003).  Acceleration.  New York, NY: Random House Children’s Books.
Milton, M. (2011).  The works of John Steinbeck.  Bookstove Book Talks.
http://bookstove.com/book-talk/the-works-of-john-steinbeck/
Roberts, K. (1999). How to create an unmistakable voice. Writing, 22(1), 13.
Scales, P. (2007). Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. School Library Journal, 53(1), 28.
Shettler, A.  (2004).  Acceleration [Book Review].  Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,
47(8), 708-710.
Smith, D. (1991). Sanitized fiction and cultural diversity. Independent School, 50(2), 13.
Stars’ Book Picks. (2009, September, 7).  Bookshelf.  Scholastic Scope, p. 5.  Scholastic Inc.
Steinbeck, J. (1952).  East of Eden.  New York, NY: The Viking Press.
Steinberg, R. (2003). Fat Kid Rules the World (Book). School Library Journal, 49(5), 152.
Woolworth, J.  (2010).  East of Eden. Book Review.  http://marketingjesus.net/east-of-eden-
book-review/