Critical Approaches to Young Adult Literature

Critical Approaches to Young Adult Literature Kathy H. Latrobe Judy Drury Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. New York London Published by Neal-Schuman ...
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Critical Approaches to Young Adult Literature Kathy H. Latrobe Judy Drury

Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. New York

London

Published by Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. 100 William St., Suite 2004 New York, NY 10038

Copyright © 2009 Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this book, in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher, is prohibited. Printed and bound in the United States of America. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Latrobe, Kathy Howard. Critical approaches to young adult literature / Kathy H. Latrobe, Judy Drury. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55570-564-0 (alk. paper) 1. Young adult literature—History and criticism. 2. Young adult literature—Study and teaching. 3. Teenagers—Books and reading. I. Drury, Judy. II. Title. PN1009.A1L38 2009 809'.89282—dc22 2008055760

Contents ix

List of Figures

xi xi xii xiii xiv

Preface Our Scope and Audience Organization Books Featured Our Purpose

Part I: Young Adult Literature and Young Adults Chapter 1. Young Adult Literature, Young Adult Literacy Introduction to Young Adults, Young Adult Literature, and Young Adult Literacy Multidisciplinarity in Support of Literacy Literary Criticism in Support of Literacy Reader-Response Criticism in Support of Literacy Professional Standards for Learners Educational Theories and Practice in Support of Literacy: Constructivism, Guided Inquiry, and Educational Objectives Summary References and Suggestions for Further Reading Chapter 2. The YA, Theoretically Speaking Introduction Cognitive Psychology: Jean Piaget Piaget’s Five Cognitive Abilities of Formal Operations (Stage 4) Summary of Piaget’s Stage 4 Cognitive Abilities Application of Piaget’s Stage 4 Cognitive Abilities to Katherine Paterson’s Jacob Have I Loved Psychosocial Development: Erik H. Erikson Erikson’s Stage 5 Crisis The Dimensions of Erikson’s Stage 5 Summary of Erikson’s Stage 5 Dimensions iii

3 3 4 5 8 9 11 12 14 15 15 15 17 18 18 20 21 22 23

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Application of Erikson’s Stage 5 Dimensions to Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War Human Development: Robert Havighurst Havighurst’s Adolescent Developmental Tasks Application of Havighurst’s Adolescent Developmental Tasks to YA Novels Social Cognition: Robert Selman Selman’s Perspective-Taking Model Application of Selman’s Perspective-Taking to Chris Crutcher’s “The Pin” Theories of Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg Kohlberg’s Levels and Stages of Moral Development Moral Development in a Different Voice: Carol Gilligan Gilligan’s Caring and Connectedness Perspective Application of the Moral Theories of Kohlberg and Gilligan to Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Summary Annotated Bibliography References and Suggestions for Further Reading Chapter 3. Reading Continues as Readers Respond Introduction Performance Readers Theatre Poetry in Two Voices “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe Reading Aloud Storytelling Booktalks Alphabet Booktalk for Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game Visual Responses and Visual Literacy Graphic Organizers Literary Maps Body Biographies Discussion: The Reading Circle References and Suggestions for Further Reading

24 26 26 27 29 29 31 32 32 34 34 35 35 38 38 40 43 43 45 45 49 49 50 52 54 55 56 56 58 59 62 64

Part II: Genre Chapter 4. Genre Criticism Introduction to Genre Criticism

69 69

Contents

Contemporary Realistic Fiction Evaluating Contemporary YA Literature Annotated Bibliography of Contemporary Realistic Novels Historical Fiction Evaluating Historical Fiction Annotated Bibliography of Historical Fiction Mysteries Evaluating Mysteries Annotated Bibliography of Mysteries Biography Evaluating Biographies Annotated Bibliography of Biographies Nonfiction or Informational Books Evaluating Nonfiction Annotated Bibliography of Nonfiction Picture Books Evaluating Picture Books Annotated Bibliography of Picture Books Poetry Evaluating Poetry Annotated Bibliography of Poetry Short Stories Evaluating Short Stories Annotated Bibliography of Short Stories Speculative Fiction Fantasy Evaluating Fantasy Gothic Literature Evaluating Gothic Literature Science Fiction Evaluating Science Fiction Annotated Bibliography of Speculative Fiction References and Suggestions for Further Reading

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70 72 72 74 75 76 79 79 79 82 84 84 87 88 88 91 92 92 94 95 95 98 99 99 101 102 103 103 104 104 106 106 114

Part III: Critical Theories Chapter 5. New Criticism/Formal Criticism Introduction to New Criticism New Criticism Revived Close Reading The Elements of Fiction and Suggested Questions for a Close Reading The Eight Elements of Fiction for a Close Reading

119 119 121 121 122 122

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Application of New Criticism to Walter Dean Myers’ Monster Annotated Bibliography References and Suggestions for Further Reading

125 130 132

Chapter 6. Psychological Criticism Introduction to Psychological Criticism Humanistic Psychology Karen Horney’s Personality Trends Summary of Horney’s Three Personality Trends Horney’s Personality Trends in Literary Characters I. Moving Toward People (Compliant Personalities) II. Moving Against People (Aggressive Personalities) III. Moving Away from People (Detached Personalities) Horney’s Personality Trends in YA Literature Application of Horney’s Personality Trends to Robert Cormier’s Heroes Annotated Bibliography References and Suggestions for Further Reading

135 135 136 137 138 139 139 140 143 144 144 148 151

Chapter 7. Sociological Criticism Introduction to Sociological Criticism Changing Meaning Through Social Contexts: Application of Social Criticism to Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Foreign Children” “Foreign Children” by Robert Louis Stevenson Discussion of Literature Through a Sociological Lens Application of Sociological Criticism to Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese Social Content Reader Author Text When Subject Defines a Literary Effort: Application of Sociological Criticism to Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland’s King and King and Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s And Tango Makes Three Social Content Reader Author Text Annotated Bibliography References and Suggestions for Further Reading

153 153

162 162 163 163 164 165 168

Chapter 8. Historical Criticism Introduction to Historical Criticism Contemporary Historical Criticism

171 171 172

154 154 156 156 157 159 159 160

Contents

New Historicism Young Adult Literature and Historical Criticism Questions for Historical Criticism Application of Historical Criticism to Maureen Daly’s Seventeenth Summer I. The Work II. The Content and Milieu III. The Author IV. The Reader/Audience Annotated Bibliography References and Suggestions for Further Reading

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173 173 174 175 175 177 178 179 180 183

Chapter 9. Gender Criticism History of Gender Criticism First and Second Wave Feminism Third Wave Feminism Sexual Orientation and GLBTQ: Problem or Potentiality? Feminism, Gender, and YA Literature Discussing Gender in YA Literature Evaluating Gender in Literature Application of Gender Criticism to Brad Land’s Goat: A Memoir Application of Gender Criticism to Stephanie Hemphill’s Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath Annotated Bibliography References and Suggestions for Further Reading

185 185 185 187 189 191 192 192 192

Chapter 10. Archetypal/Mythological Criticism Introduction to Archetypal/Mythological Criticism Archetypes and Fairy Tales Folklore and Psychology Contemporary Fairy Tales Fairy Tales as Archetype of Individuation: Cinderella Framework for the Cinderella Archetype Anderson’s Five-Step Framework Application of Anderson’s Cinderella Framework to Donna Jo Napoli’s Bound Archetypal Plots: Situations Booker’s Plot Patterns Annotated Bibliography for Booker’s Archetypal Plots Archetypal Patterns: Characters Annotated Bibliography of Pearson’s Archetypal Characters References and Suggestions for Further Reading

207 207 208 208 209 211 211 212

198 202 205

212 215 215 217 222 223 230

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Chapter 11. Popular Culture and Literacy Introduction to Popular Culture Popular Culture and YAs Media Literacy Popular Culture and Television Discussion of a Television Series Through Popular Culture Application of Popular Culture and Literacy Principles to Matt Groening’s The Simpsons Popular Culture and Films Discussion of a Movie Through Popular Culture Application of Film Genre to Niki Caro’s Whale Rider Popular Culture and Graphic Novels Graphic Novels: Genre or Format? Response to Marjane Satrapi’s Graphic Novel Persepolis Popular Culture and Manga Criteria for Selecting and Evaluating Graphic Novels Annotated Bibliography of Graphic Novels by Genre References and Suggestions for Further Reading

233 233 234 234 235 236

Chapter 12. Reader-Response Criticism Introduction to Reader-Response Criticism An Adult Listener’s Uncritical Response to an Audio Recording of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass Perspectives on the Reader in Reader-Response Theory The YA Community of Readers Peter Rabinowitz’s Four Principles of Reading Principle of Notice Principle of Signification Principle of Configuration Principle of Coherence Taking a Critical Stance in Reader Response Summary of Rabinowitz’s Model Application of Rabinowitz’s Reading Principles to Lynne Rae Perkins’s Criss Cross Annotated Bibliography References and Suggestions for Further Reading

255 255

236 241 241 242 244 245 246 248 248 249 252

257 258 260 261 261 264 266 267 269 270 271 276 279

Afterword

281

Index

283

About the Authors

311

List of Figures Figure 1.1

Four Facets of Literary Criticism: A Foundation for Metacognitive Reading

6

Figure 1.2

Taxonomy Table Applied to Literary Responses

13

Figure 2.1

Theoretical Contexts of Adolescent Development

16

Figure 2.2

Selman’s Conflict Escalator Applied to “The Pin”

30

Figure 3.1

A Readers Theatre Script from The Red Badge of Courage

46

Figure 3.2

From Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Bells,” Adapted for Two Voices

50

Figure 3.3

Reading Circle Roles in Two Graphic Novels

64

Figure 7.1

A Sociological View of “Foreign Children”

Figure 10.1 Pearson’s Archetypal Characters

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155 223

Preface The importance of turning those between the ages of 12 and 18 into lifelong readers and participants in the eternal power of stories is the foundation of Critical Approaches to Young Adult Literature. There’s nothing more inherent to lifelong success than reading; stories are powerful because they engage the emotions, demand critical thinking, inspire independent reading, and free the imagination to visit the past, live differently in the present, and envision the future. The power of the story can intertwine the heart and the mind, the emotions and the intellect. Existing first for pleasure and second for knowledge and understanding, story supports and links the affective and cognitive domains. Whether heard or read, story is a creative, sense-making experience that also becomes an emotional experience, inspiring deeper levels of sense-making and more reflective responses. Reflection on a story after the book is closed is a continuation of its reading, and the continuation may be an individual or a community endeavor, provoking divergent points of view or disparate emotions. And it is often the shared reflection in a community endeavor that can most refine a reading.

OUR SCOPE AND AUDIENCE We define young adult (YA) literature as whatever young adults are reading— from classic literature to poems to graphic novels. Our audience for this book is anyone who seeks to help YAs hone their skills as readers and their love of reading. Prime among those for whom we’re writing are pubic librarians, secondary school librarians, language arts and English teachers, university students of YA literature, parents, and school counselors who • engage in conversations with YAs about books; • delight in reading YA literature; • understand YA readers and YA characters (cognitively, socially, psychologically, historically, culturally); xi

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• develop appealing and purposeful literature programs and activities; • encourage critical perspectives; and • share the structures of literature with YAs, thus providing multiple approaches to any text and deepening understandings that enrich literacy skills. By tapping the power of story for YAs’ knowledge, critical thinking, creativity, and deeper understandings, these adults’ lasting contribution is to ensure that YA reading is a lifelong pleasure able to sustain an ever-developing, lifelong literacy. Thus, the purpose of this work is to assist adults as they work with YAs and their literature.

ORGANIZATION Critical Approaches to Young Adult Literature features 12 chapters organized in three parts. Part I, “Young Adult Literature and Young Adults,” consists of three chapters: • Chapter 1, “Young Adult Literature, Young Adult Literacy,” presents the literary and educational structures, theories, and competencies that guide and support YA literacy programming that emphasizes reading for pleasure and knowledge. These structures, theories, and competencies address the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Standards for the 21stCentury Learner. • Chapter 2, “The YA, Theoretically Speaking,” identifies and describes theories and stages relevant to YA readers in their development across cognitive, psychosocial, social, and ethical dimensions that guide their journeys to adulthood. These theories, which relate not only to YA readers but also to adolescent characters in young adult literature, suggest questions for YA readers’ reflection and discussion. • Chapter 3, “Reading Continues as Readers Respond,” suggests avenues through which adults can promote YA reading and response and can encourage YAs to share their creative responses as peer recommendations for reading. Part II, “Genre,” features one comprehensive chapter: • Chapter 4, “Genre Criticism,” one of the first ways that young people categorize or structure literature, describes critical ways to approach contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, biography, information books, picture books, poetry, short stories, and speculative fiction. Part III, “Critical Theories,” includes eight chapters: • Chapter 5, “New Criticism/Formal Criticism,” presents the critical approach that emphasizes the importance of the literary elements of plot, character,

Preface















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setting, mode, style, theme, tone, and point of view and discusses how the combined effect of these eight elements creates a successful and unified literary work. Chapter 6, “Psychological Criticism,” applies science to the study of the artistic and creative process of writing, to consideration of the influence of an author’s life on works created, and to the analysis of realistic characters. Chapter 7, “Sociological Criticism,” analyzes a literary work in light of the economy in which the author worked, the social class to which the author belonged, the nature of the author’s audience, and the literary tradition of the culture in which the work was created. Chapter 8, “Historical Criticism,” discusses an approach relevant to any aspect of criticism. It focuses on the basic elements of text, author, reader, and context for the purpose of understanding the work as it was written. Chapter 9, “Gender Criticism,” presents a method of criticism closely related to sociological criticism, differing most in that it focuses on the gender issues that affect fictional characters’ options and choices, the characters’ potential for conflict with others, the expectations that characters have for one another, their freedom to be independent of expectations, and the acceptance that they achieve in society. Chapter 10, “Archetypal/Mythological Criticism,” presents a form of criticism developed from the field of psychology that emphasizes the elements and patterns used in traditional literature. Archetypes are strong images (e.g., characters, plot episodes, settings, situations, themes, symbols, and rituals) that have affective or emotional significance to human beings. Chapter 11, “Popular Culture and Literacy,” presents criticism at the level of distributed mass media communication messages; it involves the study of media (e.g., television, movies, comics) with attention given to media literacy, visual literacy, and sociological criticism. Chapter 12, “Reader-Response Criticism,” addresses the critical approach developed by Louise Rosenblatt, whose view of reading accepts the reader as actively and creatively transacting with the text for a unique understanding.

BOOKS FEATURED Chapters 2–12 all provide background information on literary principles and concepts, suggest questions for leading YAs into critical discussions about a text, and annotations of books relevant to the chapter. The annotations provide brief descriptions of content and literary craft and suggest ways to engage young people in critical responses. The books annotated include a variety of genres, formats, and works (some award winners) that especially demonstrate specific literary principles and concepts. The books are in library collections, and they

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should suggest other works with similar plots, characters, and literary elements currently in YA collections of school and public libraries or being considered for acquisition. However, their inclusion here is not necessarily a general recommendation; adult readers of this work should reflect on the set of annotations for their specific usefulness in the application of literary principles and concepts with the long-term goal of developing collections and programming that support YAs’ deep reading and critical discussions.

OUR PURPOSE We hope that the adults who read our book will come away with the understanding that literature touches all subjects of interest to humankind. Adults working with YAs value collaboration across disciplines and genuine dialogue. In support of these values, the purpose of Critical Approaches to Young Adult Literature is to assist adults as they • function as agents of change; • apply and support inquiry learning; • promote collaboration among those who teach and learn with young adults; • accept each reader as one who holds values, beliefs, and knowledge that contribute to a unique and personal meaning of a text; • devise learning activities that utilize multiple intelligences; • encourage students to build connections to personal experiences and prior knowledge; • teach, while understanding that knowledge is never fixed within an individual, community, or society; • motivate reading within and across disciplines; • promote books and materials (e.g., through the use of booktalking, readers theatre, graphics and art, and performance) in traditional and digital formats; • participate in the literature that YAs enjoy; • use an understanding of YA development (needs and characteristics) to inform selection and reading decisions; • apply an understanding of culture, gender, history, and socioeconomic status to inform selection and programming decisions and to encourage deep reading; • protect the reading rights of YAs; • create literature programs that foster reading for pleasure; • infuse literature programs with opportunities for critical reading and critical responses; • design programming that motivates creative responses that readers share;

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• strengthen democratic skills by encouraging critical reading and thoughtful, inclusive discussions; and • apply established literary structures and theories in YA programming to engender a coherent and enduring approach to reading and responding to literature. We hope that the concepts and examples covered in the pages that follow will better equip and inspire librarians, teachers, and others who foster reading and learning to connect YAs and literature.

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