Stories
Moving Readers from Fear and Bias to Tolerance and Acceptance:
An
Unfinished Curriculum
Mary
L. Warner
Mary
L. Warner is an Associate Professor of English and Director of English
Education at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC. This article is based
on a paper presented at the 1999 National Council of Teachers of English
Convention in Denver.
"English
teachers, the primary users of story, are crucially poised to address attitudes
of bias and hatred…with the literature that inextricably links students
with other human beings."
"Noon
Wine," centerpiece of the unit, develops the potent theme of bias and
intolerance thrust on those who are new, strange or different to a community or
context…
"The
human capacity to injure other people has always been greater than its ability
to imagine other people"
The
decade of the 90s was fraught with many signs that Americans, particularly
students in America's middle and high schools, are growing more intolerant.
Hate crimes and school violence dominate the news, sadly most often from the
small towns of the United States which paradoxically should be the place of the
strongest family-centered populations. English teachers, teachers who are the
primary users of story, are those crucially poised to address these attitudes
of bias, fear, and hatred, because we are the teachers most capable of reaching
students with the literature that can inextricably link then to other human
beings.
…And
that really is what a good literature program is. The
authors
we read and think about and worry about and doubt become
part
of us as we become part of them. If literature doesn't become part
of
our hearts and our guts and the guts and hearts of our students,
then
what is it good for? And that is our responsibility and our joy,
to
know so many different books and stories and poems and to present
them
so that young people will take some of them in and become wiser
and
nobler people because of the literature--and us. (Donelson, 1989)
I
suggest a curriculum built on canonical literature augmented by young adult
literature exploring a range of differences. The aim of the curriculum is to
share books, stories, and poems that can help our students as readers get into
"the hearts and the guts" of their peers, particularly peers who are
different and of others world-wide who we can know only through hearing their
stories.
The
ideas suggested for this teaching unit apply best to the ninth grade course of
study, focusing on literary genre and elements, and tie as well to the eleventh
grade curriculum of American Literature, since the foundation story, "Noon
Wine," is by Katherine Anne Porter, an American writer (l890-l980).
Porter's
"Noon Wine" is set in Texas, l896-1905. A stranger comes to a farm in south Texas seeking
employment; he is different from the lifelong residents there and is frequently
called "the Swede." The
Swede's experience--in this new place of employment--of suspicion, reluctant
acceptance, and subtle harassment, parallels the experience many people of
difference continue to face, over ninety years after the time of Porter's
story.
"Noon
Wine" is rich with powerful lines that demonstrate our human reluctance to
accept someone new and someone perceived to be unlike us. When Mr. Thompson,
the small farm's owner, first sees Mr. Helton, Thompson is described as judging
"him" to be another of these Irishmen, by his long upper lip
("Noon Wine" l964). One other dialogue early in the men's
acquaintance typifies the theme of skepticism and xenophobia:
"Now
just where did you say you worked last? he [Thompson]
asked,
as if he expected Mr. Helton to contradict himself.
"North
Dakota," said Mr. Helton.
"Well,
one place is good as another once you get used to it,"
said
Mr. Thompson, amply. "You're
a forriner, ain't you?"
"I'm
a Swede," said Mr. Helton, beginning to swing the churn.
Mr. Thompson let forth a booming laugh,
as if this was the best joke
on
somebody he'd ever heard.
"Well, I'll be damned," he said at the top
of
his voice. "A Swede: well,
now, I'm afraid you'll get pretty lonesome
around
here. I've never seen any Swedes
in this neck of the woods."
"That's
all right," said Mr. Helton ("Noon Wine" l964).
Porter's
story builds to a stark and surprising ending. Her story has parallels to Shirley
Jackson's "The Lottery," but "Noon Wine" more thoroughly
and complexly develops the potent theme of bias and intolerance thrust on those
who are new, different or strange to a local community and context. This story,
as well as many of the other texts in the unit, powerfully illustrates the
words of Elaine Scarry, cited in Teaching for a Tolerant World:
The
human capacity to injure other people has always
been
greater than its ability to imagine other people. Or
perhaps
we should say, the human capacity to injure
other
people is very great precisely because our capacity to
imagine
other people is very small (For Love of County, l996).
Launching
the Unit
Before
reading and discussing "Noon Wine" with your students, consider using
one or more of the following as a pre-reading and anticipatory activity.
l.
Play the song "People are Strange" by The Doors, from the album, Strange
Days. Have students listen to the lyrics, writing down the words they find
as significant, and use these lyrics as the basis for a writing prompt to
initiate discussion. Some key lyrics are "People are strange when you're a
stranger/Faces look ugly when you're alone…No one remembers your name
when you're strange."
2.
Discussion questions or questions for students' writing journals
a.
Have you
ever been new to a place? A school? A neighborhood? A city or community? A
gathering? How did you feel? What were your feelings about the people or the
setting into which you were moving or becoming a part of?
b.
Write about
a time someone new moved into your neighborhood, community or school. How did you feel about this person?
What questions did you have about the newcomer?
c.
How long
does it take you to get to know someone? What kinds of differences do you find
hardest to accept: Physical? Racial or ethnic? Linguistic? Gender? Disabilities
of some kind? Personality or emotional?
3.
Read the following poems (possibly having the words on an overhead
transparency); the poems, taken from Frost and Fire Collected Poems and
Translations by Maxim Tabory (Goldsboro, NC: American Hungarian Review,
l986). The poems reflect the sentiments of Eastern European writers; writers
from countries which experienced the Holocaust and have known the Cold War, the
horrors of civil war and ethnic cleansing.
Taking
Stock
Judith
Selymes Ilosvay
It
does not matter where
you were born
where
you live now
what
your mother tongue was
what
language you speak now
what
you wanted to become
what
your old religion was
what
you dared to do
in
which God you believe
It
does matter whether
you
have remained
steadfastly
a
human being
The
Final Reckoning
Sandor
Domokos
The
blood everywhere is red.
Tears
are always the same tears.
A
scream for help at night
in
every language sends the same message.
Many
are the hues of the skin
and
the colors of the eyes vary.
Words
are too poor to cry out the pain
which
cuts into the soul.
Woe
to you man, woe to you,
if
you do not fight evil.
Woe
to you, if you do not see
how
alike are the Gulag and Auschwitz.
Woe,
if you live a double standard
and
observe the present only through the past;
if
how you view the chains of South Africa
depends
on whether they are profitable to you,
and
you judge according to your interests;
if
Cambodia's destiny is different for you
than
that of Palestine or Israel;
if
Belfast is close to your heart,
but
Afghanistan does not interest you;
if
you cry over injustices in Chile,
but
the conditions in the Baltic States
are
not your concern;
if
you wish to gain freedom
by
killing your enemies,
and
after the victory
you
only create more prisons, woe to you,
for
then with your own hands
you
will hasten the coming of
the
End.
These
poems may help students see that in fact, hatred and intolerance are not gone,
"cured" by the Civil Rights movement or the attempt to foster
acceptance of difference. Use these poems to help students to start to
comprehend the essential: we are all humans. Use the poems also to help students
examine their stereotypes, preconceptions and their own lack of knowledge of
others. Also have your students locate a poem in which they identify similar
themes. Bring these poems to class and visually display these for other
students to examine. Or as an alternate assignment, students can create a found
poem with words taken from headlines or newspaper or magazine texts. These too,
should be displayed as visuals to reinforce the theme of the unit.
During
the in class reading or readers' theatre presentation of "Noon Wine,"
teachers might use a "List of Ten" activity. Students could list
1.
Ten
statements they would not like to have said to them or about them
2.
Ten images
or descriptions that contribute to feelings of hatred or violence
3.
Ten
reactions to characters about positive or negative actions of the characters
4.
Ten
responses to Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Thompson, Mr. Helton, Mr. Hatch, or other
characters
After they have read "Noon
Wine," students can focus on the images and ideas
they
have gleaned from the reading. Have their perceptions of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson
changed throughout the reading?
How do they feel about Mr. Helton? Does he deserve the treatment he
gets? How about the bounty hunter?
"Noon Wine" is set in the late 1800s, early 1900s. Do students
see parallels to the world of today? Are there any contemporary situations
which are similar to those experienced by Mr. Helton? By the Thompsons?
In
the discussions which follow the reading, return to the prewriting students
have done with the song or the poetry or the Lists of Ten that have been reader
responses. Compare what students previously felt to their responses in light of
reading Porter's story. There is a film version, as part of the American Short
Story Collection, available from Fries Home Video. The l987 production, #33267,
is eighty-one minutes and starsFred Ward, Lise Hilboldt, Stellan Skarsgard, and
Pat Hingle. Use of the video following the reading allows students to see a
visual and dramatic portrayal of the story; additionally, students can work
with the layers of interpretation from film producers and directors with
aspects like background music, cinematography, or selection of actors.
Extending
the Unit
For individual or small group reading,
work with the following Young Adult texts. There are a variety of ways to guide
selection of the novels. Students might be encouraged to read about an aspect
of difference with which they are least familiar or knowledgeable. The aim,
overall, of using these YA texts is to have other adolescents speak and make
their stories known since we seldom fear what we know, and when we know others'
stories, we frequently build empathy for them. You might also begin with a Book
Pass Activity; this involves providing copies of the novels and having students
spend five minutes with a book before passing it on to the next reviewer.
Students can get an initial introduction to each work and then can make a more
informed selection of one they'd like to read.
Reading of the YA novels can be outside
of class work; all these texts have reading and interest levels, which are
easily accessible. At the same time, the books offer examples of powerful
writing. Presentations on their individual reading can take a variety of forms,
limited only by the creativity of your students. Each presentation should focus
on how the reader has come to a new or deeper awareness of another person's
differences or of another person's struggles and sufferings. Some possibilities
for projects responding to the reading might include
1.Creative dramatics or a one-act play
presenting the highlights of
the book
2.Writing poetry to express the
experiences of the book's protagonists
3.Presenting a dramatic monologue
capturing highlights of the protagonist's experience
4.Selecting music or writing music that could
be a sound track for the video.
5.Producing a video that demonstrates the
themes of the book
6.Interviewing people who face some of
the same experiences in their lives; the presentation of the interviews could
be done in a Talk Show context
7.Artwork-- painting or sculpture or
other format to convey emotions felt by characters
Young
Adult Literature Selections
The
Giver by Lois Lowry: The key in this story is lack of difference. In the
communal lifestyle Jonas and others experience, everything is the same. While
all the regulation can present an aura of security for them, the young people
in Jonas's world face the deprivation created by sameness. The ultimate horror
of the sameness is release of anyone different. Lowry's novel might work best
for readers who don't see the
richness
in diversity.
Staying
Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher: This novel is filled with
characters--adolescents in particular--who face lack of acceptance because of
difference. Eric Calhoune is fat and his nickname is "Moby"; Sarah
Byrnes has a physical disfigurement and hides the story of the horrible abuse
she's experienced; Mark Brittain, a young man set on upholding the highest
moral values, has a story hidden behind his self-righteous facade; Jody Mueller
looks like the "all together" young woman, but holds a painful
difference inside. A good read for students who are willing to question some of
the status quo.
All
Together Now by Sue Ellen Bridgers: Casey Flanagan, the novel's
protagonist, learns about loving someone of difference: Dwayne Pickens, a 33
year old whose mind has never grown beyond that of a twelve year old boy. The
novel is set during summertime; Casey and the whole community learn, in a
context outside of school, a good deal about life.
The
Trail on Which They Wept by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler: This novel presents
the story of the Cherokee people's tragic oppression in the voice of a young
Cherokee woman experiencing the forced exile. It is only one of many possible
texts displaying the injustices Native Americans experienced.
Roll
of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor: The book, as do all of Taylor's
writings, presents the experience of Black Americans in Mississippi in the
1930s and the period preceding the Civil Rights Movement. Cassie, Taylor's
protagonist, is female, Black, and part of a land-owning family in an area of
white sharecroppers, who are themselves besieged by the Depression but further
blinded by racist reactions. Taylor's novel is easily paired with To Kill a
Mockingbird.
Children
of the River by Linda Crew: This text works with Asian immigrants,
specifically Cambodian refugees, and their settlement in the U.S. Relayed in the voice of an adolescent
protagonist, Sundara, the book addresses the cultural differences experienced
by those who want to hold to their cultural heritage, but must assimilate in
contemporary American culture.
Freak
the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick: Max, a boy who is large for his age and
frequently ridiculed for his physical size and lack of intellectual ability,
narrates this book. Max bears a striking resemblance to his father, a man
imprisoned for killing Max's
mother.
Kevin Avery, alias "Freak" who has a giant mind and a deformed,
dwarfish body, befriends Max. The combination is "Freak the Mighty."
A l998 video, "The Mighty" further supplements this text displaying a
range of differences.
Belle
Prater's Boy by Ruth White: This novel is captured best by White's epigram,
taken from Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince: "It is only
with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the
eye." These words could be the overall theme for this entire unit on
exploration of difference, for tolerance and acceptance grow when readers enter
the essentials of another person by hearing that person's story. Set in
Appalachia, this novel offers an environment where people are often
stereotyped. As the novel reveals, however, the aspect of difference actually
deals with a universal: external appearance. In this book, Belle has been
plagued by her "ugliness," which she believes causes her to lose the
man she loves; Woodrow has severe cross-eyedness; Gypsy’s father, who
becomes disfigured while serving as a fire fighter, eventually kills himself
when he cannot accept his disfigurement; and Blind Benny has been born without
eyes. This novel is a good read for those willing to see in new ways.
Walk
Two Moons by Sharon Creech: This novel also presents a powerful adage
regarding acceptance of others.: "Don’t judge a man until
you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins." Sal, whose full name is
Salamanca Tree Hiddle, has ancestors who were Seneca Indians. Sal narrates the
story of her friend Phoebe Winterbottom as she travels with her grandparents
from Kentucky to Idaho. The power of this novel is precisely in the power of
story. Behind Phoebe’s story, is Sal’s story; both young women face
the loss of mothers and face the experience of being different from others
because of family situations. This difference may be one to which many students
relate.
Concluding
Activities
At the close of the unit, students should
have new insights on some aspect of difference, possibly their own differences,
which they want to communicate. Using the picture book, If You’re Not
From the Prairie by David Bouchard as a model, have students design a
children’s book about difference. In Bouchard’s book, the narrator
suggests that if you’re not from the prairie, you can’t really know
the sun, the wind, the
sky,
cold, snow, or flat; in fact, "You don’t know me. You just
can’t know ME." The key lies in the small word "unless,"
for as the book ends the narrator asserts, "Unless deep within you,
there’s somehow a part…A part of these things that I’ve said
I know…" If
there
is such an understanding, there can be oneness and unity. Students can develop
their own descriptions of "If you’re not from…you can’t
know…."; hopefully they will feel free to write about the
differences they feel are least understood.
Finally, in this unit of using story to
move readers from fear and bias to tolerance and acceptance, it is vital to
celebrate the positive aspects of diversity. One other picture book works well
to assist students to identify important qualities, which make them who they
are. Margaret Wise Brown’s The Important Book can be read aloud.
It is a pattern book, which moves through a series of objects--from a spoon to
a daisy to the rain and ultimately to a child—presenting a variety of
characteristics of each. The opening and closing lines of each description
reinforce "but the important thing about ….is" Students can
write their own "important thing about me" descriptions, and teachers
can display these descriptions in a variety of ways. I have seen teachers
create a giant patchwork quilt framing each student’s uniqueness. In any
case, the crucial goal is to see that each student is a unique human being and
the differences need to be celebrated, not feared.
Each
text above offers literature that can become part of the heart and guts of our
students. Each work gives voice to characters who experience difference and who
possess the universal human desire to be accepted and loved. Literature allows
readers to hear the voices, to feel with those hurt and abused, and to be
challenged to move out of the limited world of individuals to the wider world
of diversity. The title of the article suggests, though, this is an unfinished
curriculum; the continuation belongs to the teachers who want to move their
students beyond hatred and bias to acceptance and celebration.