Unwritten Rules of Society - Literature review Example

A Literature-Based Unit: Outline, Teaching Content, Nature of the Learners, 10 Text Overviews, And An Explanation for Each Text and Links To Language and Culture I. Outline This literature-based unit is going to focus on ten texts that will focus on the theme of the unwritten rules of society and how the characters in these texts manage to operate outside the boundaries of their own contexts. Each of the ten texts chosen will be analyzed in-depth. The texts are: 1984, Anna Karenina, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jane Eyre, Jude the Obscure, Julie of the Wolves, Of Mice and Men, The Secret Garden, Siddhartha, and Treasure Island. II. Teaching Content The content of the unit will consist of reading the selected works and then having discussions based on them. A focus will be on examining each piece of literature for its own sake and how that story relates to students' lives. III. Nature of the Learners This reading unit is prepared for eighth graders in a 7th-12th grade gifted program. Their reading list is based on some books that should probably be part of college coursework. Additionally, there are other books that are easier than college-level, just in order to give students a variety of material with which to work. Students should come prepared to class ready to discuss the texts in the context of how societal rules shape us, and how they shape the characters in these books. Further, students will have a rationale for reading each book and their links to language and culture. IV. 10 Text Overviews 1. Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Co., 1956. This novel will get everyone thinking about how societal cues are used and what are the unwritten rules of secret societies. "Privacy, he said, was a very valuable thing. Everyone wanted a place where they could be alone occasionally. And when they had such a place, it was only common courtesy in anyone else who knew of it to keep his knowledge to himself."1 2. Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina. New York: Bantam, 1981. This novel will get students thinking about the social morays involved in moral scruples that come along with the extramarital affair. This is advanced material and should not be taken lightly, as it is a very delicate subject for 8th graders: "He hadn't seen her for three days, and because of her husband's return from abroad didn't know whether it would be all right for that day or not, and didn't know how to find out. The last time he had met her was at his cousin Betsy's country house."2 3. Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. New York: Bantam, 1977. This novel is the story of a young boy who must overcome the social shame of being poor by winning a Golden Ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and ultimately overcoming his fears. This is a wonderful tool to demonstrate different attitudes among children. "Something crazy is going to happen now, Charlie thought. But he wasn't frightened. He wasn't even nervous. He was just terrifically excited. And so was Grandpa Joe. The old man's face was shining with excitement as he watched ever move that Mr. Wonka made."3 4. Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Penguin, 1997. Jane Eyre is a novel which is the story of a governess living in trying economic times amidst the societal strictness of early 19th-century England. It is about a woman overcoming her own personal struggles in order to find happiness. "To pass [Thornfield's] threshold was to return to stagnation; to cross the silent hall, to ascend the darksome staircase, to seek my own lonely little room, and then to meet tranquil Mrs. Fairfax,a nd spend the long winter evening with herto slip again over my faculties the viewless fetters of an uniform"4 5. Hardy, Thomas. Jude the Obscure. New York: Airmont Publishing Co., 1966. Jude the Obscure is somewhat of a depressing novel, but nonetheless, it is a good book concerning relationships. Jude Fawley is a man who gets involved with two women: one named Arabella and one named Sue. The events surrounding their relations are detailed in the book. "[Jude] remained in and about Marygreen through the intervening days, went out on Friday morning to see that the grave was finished, and wondered if Sue would come. She had not written, and that seemed to signify rather that she would come than that she would not."5 6. George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves. USA: Harper & Row Publishers, 1972. Julie of the Wolves is a novel about a girl named Julie (her real name is Miyax) who is put into a forced marriage to another Eskimo native named Daniel. In order to flee the abusive marriage, and the entire whole of Eskimo society, Julie lives out on the tundra, using her skills and abilities to survive. In the process, Miyax talks to the wolves in their secret "language" in order to make them help her get food for survival. They also become her friends. This is a coming-of-age story that has many lessons, one of them being the lesson of social morays in Eskimo society. "Miyax listened carefully, then he put her down and hastily packed her bladder-bag, wrapped her in an oilskin against the wild spray of the sea, and carried her to the boat. She sat down besides Martha and stared bravely at KapugenKapugen looked at her until the boat moved..."6 7. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Bantam, 1965. This book is an interesting look at Depression-era societal morays. One man, Lennie, accidentally snaps the neck of a beautiful woman, the new wife belonging to a man named Curley. He runs to try to get away, but he returns to a certain hiding spot where his friend George is able to find Lennie and shoot him. "Curley's wife came around the end of the last stall. She came very quietly, so that Lennie didn't see her. She wore her bright cotton dress and the mules with the red ostrich feathers. Her face was made up and the little sausage curls were all in place."7 8. Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. New Jersey: Longmeadow Press, 1987. This story is about a little white girl named Mary who has come from India to live with a relative because her parents have both died. She comes to England where it is cold and dark, living on the depressing moor-a drastic change from the sun and warmth of India. In the process of living there, she meets a disabled boy named Colin and they discover a secret garden together. It is a beautiful story. "Of course Mary did not waken early the next morning. She slept late because she was tired, and when Martha brought her breakfast she told her that though Colin was quite quiet he was ill and feverish as he always was after he had worn himself out with a fit of crying."8 9. Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. New York: New Directions Publishing Corp., 1951. Siddhartha is a tale about a young man who learns about true devotion to Buddha, in the midst of loving a young courtesan named Kamala. "As a boy I was occupied with the gods and sacrifices, as a youth with asceticism, with thinking and meditation. I was in search of Brahman and revered the eternal in Atman. As a young man I was attracted to expiationI learned to fast, I learned to conquer my body."9 10. Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. New York: Magnum Books, 1968. In Treasure Island, Jim Hawkins is a young boy who sets sail to sea, an orphan, taking up with a bunch of people on a ship called the Hispaniola. There is a mutiny on the ship, and tragedy ensues. This is a wonderful book for learning about the mid-19th century. "Now, to tell you the truth, from the very first mention of Long John in Squire Trelawney's letter, I had taken a fear in my mind that he might prove to be the very one-legged sailor whom I had watched for so long at the old 'Benbow.' But one look at the man before me was enough.I knew what a buccaneer was like"10 V. Explanation for Each Text and Links to Language and Culture 1984 is an excellent book which addresses the issues of modernization that we must all face. There is special language and culture that is created in the book, which brings one to an understanding of how culture is created. Anna Karenina teaches about the unwritten rules regarding relationships. It gives insight into the language of Tolstoy and Russian culture in the 19th century. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a fantastic tale that gives insight into antiquated English culture and language customs. This is also the case for Jane Eyre, Jude the Obscure, The Secret Garden, and Treasure Island, although they all were set in environments that were in different periods of England's history. English language and culture are demonstrated through the various periods in which the books take place. Julie of the Wolves is an interesting character study which examines Eskimo language and culture, including much original language in the text. It serves as a leitmotif for coming-of-age stories to which 8th-graders may be able to relate. Of Mice and Men is a simple tale that is an easy read for young people. It smacks of the language and culture of the Depression era in southern California. Siddhartha, like Julie of the Wolves, is more of a character study of a young man's life as he tries to attain the precepts set forth in the Four Noble Truths, trying to find ultimate truth in following Gautama Buddha, reflecting Indian language and culture. REFERENCES Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Penguin, 1997. Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. New Jersey: Longmeadow Press, 1987. Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. New York: Bantam, 1977. George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves. USA: Harper & Row Publishers, 1972. Hardy, Thomas. Jude the Obscure. New York: Airmont Publishing Co., 1966. Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. New York: New Directions Publishing Corp., 1951. Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Co., 1956. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Bantam, 1965. Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. New York: Magnum Books, 1968. Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina. New York: Bantam, 1981. Read More