Death and Dying in YA Lit

Literature Addressing Themes of Death and Dying and Focusing on Conflict Resolution Strategies to Deal with Such Tragedies

VICTORIA N. REYNAGA

Literature is a great means of allowing young adults to not only examine their world, but to also cope with their environments. It is one of the most meaningful, and best tools for teaching students. It is through books geared for young adults, that young teens learn of the enormous population of young people who are facing the same problems as they are. In fact, in choosing young adult novels for their classroom, instructors may find that the best novels strive to do just that: help children cope with problems, in addition to understanding their feelings and emotions relative to specific problems. In addition to just introducing children to an array of themes and values from the books, teachers can also use literature as a means of helping young adults finding possible solutions to their problems. Through the teaching process of exploring these stories, discussing them within the classroom, and reflecting on personal experience, young adults might be able to use literature as a way to make sense of the world in which they live in.

�People in all times and places need to cope with problems about birth, separation, illness, and death. Children cannot

escape from these problems. Through literature, children can perceive how others have encountered and resolved

problems that cause sadness, stress, fear, and uncertainty. More importantly, children learn how to use conflict resolution

strategies to deal with these problems� (Tu, 1999).

In any day and age, situations involving the issues of death and dying tend to be uncomfortable to tackle, most especially when young adults are involved. However, it is a clear fact of life that sometimes young adults must face the concept of death; and in today�s age where our entertainment environment is consumed with media rich reports portraying a dangerous world through their coverage of national tragedies and horrific accidents, it is important to find the best means to educate young adults on how to deal with such tragedies. As said before, young adult literature can do this when applied appropriately. Of the few studies done on the matter, some warn that young adult literature is somewhat unrealistic because of the mere fact that situations involving death are often placed in books for a �dramatic effect and often without accompanying actions that children may experience� (Radley 1999). I disagree, however. I believe that young adult literature, as a sole means for teaching such an issue, involves incredible realism and immediacy. As a result of such writing techniques, I believe young adults can learn from these important models for coping with death.

Death is the part of the life process that may be the hardest for young adults to grasp because of the idea that they themselves are too young to even realize the value of their own lives. Perhaps because so many young adults carry the mentality that �it could never happen to them,� dealing with death, something so irreversible becomes extremely hard and almost unapproachable. In addition, the idea that many young adults seek privacy and independence from older counterparts presents a problem in itself. Their feelings gained from a personal might also seek a bit of privacy and the bottling up of emotions may only add more fuel to the fire. Literature is means for young adults to vent, if you will. It can be a mask to explore their own feelings on a topic relevant to what they are experiencing on their own.

The book list below are suggestions when it comes to having to teach children on the concept of death. These books cover many possible situations from the death of a friend, family member, or neighbor through illness, accident or suicide. In addition, there are two relatively recent novels that tackle two events that not only are new to young adults, but to their world as well: school shootings and the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE SELECTIONS

Shooter by Walter Dean Myers: The key with this book is that it tries to answer the troubling question of: what is it like to be an outsider at home and at school? Unfortunately the answer for one teen end in the tragic shooting of several students at a high school. The novel is creatively told through a series of interviews, reports, newspaper articles, and excerpts from the school shooter�s journal, thus making it an interesting read. In addition, the book tackles an array of sensitive subject for many high school students.
With Their Eyes: September 11th--The View From a High School at Ground Zero By Annie Thoms: This book, in particular, is a great book for both students and teachers. The book explores the experiences of students and teachers at NYC�s Stuyvesant High School who had a clear of the World Trade Center towers before they collapsed. Many of the students witnessed the horrific event, in addition to their teachers and the school�s employees. The book explores their emotions and their experience and how they coped with the situation. It is a great tool in learning how to cope with such a national tragedy.
The Usual Rule By Joyce Maynard: This book deals with one isolated death due to the attacks on 9/11. Wendy, the 13-year old main character faces a plethora of problems one Tuesday morning-ranging from her annoying little brother to her nagging mother. But, she never expects that that will be the last day she ever sees her mother. During the attacks, Wendy learns that her mother�s tower was one that went down, and she faces an inevitable future, one where she will no longer hug, kiss or talk with her mother again. The book does a great job of illustrating the difficulties of losing a parent to an unplanned event, as well as the theme of survival. Wendy unfortunately learns all of this the hard way: through the death of her parent.
A Death in the Family By James Agee. Designed By Cathryn S Aison: This book also explores sudden death with the home. It is not a modern story, in that the vents take place in the early 1900s. However, the story is universal. Dealing with the death of a parent is one of the toughest things to do, especially if your are young because often your parent is a huge part of your life. This book explores what it is like to lose a father, the patriarch of a happy family. Also written in the unique style of gaining viewpoints from all members of the family, it also does a good job of exploring the need to accept survival of those left behind as the natural part of coping with death.
After the Rain Norma Fox Mazer: This book chronicles the relationship of a grandfather and his granddaughter. 15 year old Rachel has always found her grandfather hard to handle. However, that does not stop her from seeking to understand her grandfather better when she finds out that he has cancer. She develops a close relationship with, so close that she does not have time for friends of her own. The realization that she may eventually lose her grandfather forever only further pushes her to getting to know him better. Although recommended for ages 12 and up, this book does a fair job of chronicling a relationship among two very different generations and the impact the views and opinions from both can place on the other. In addition, this book pays notice to a relatively typical death that many young teens have to face first: the death of a grandparent. Rachel loses her grandfather to cancer, but her need to understand him is a universal storyline that can be embraced by many grandkids who have been in a similar
Freak the Mighty By Rodman R. Philbrick and W.R Philbrick: The book, also made into a major motion picture, is the story of two teens who face a disability of some sort. When the two combine forces as friends, they call themselves Freak the Mighty. They find that through being together they can face any insults or criticisms that come their way. But when the duo is torn apart by the death of one of the boys, the other is left alone. This book aids, once again, in illustrating how the death of a friend can have a profound effect on one�s life. It is by learning about the good that their friend did while alive that aids in that need to believe that life can and does go on.
A Time For Dancing By Davida Willis Hurwin: This book tackles the issue of terminal illness in a young person. It is always difficult to handle the sudden death of a friend or family member, but what about if you know someone is going to die because of an illness? That is the very trouble that two best friends- Samantha and Juliana- face when Juliana discovers she has a rare form of cancer. This book, recommended for grades 9-12 is a very honest story that illustrates what it is like for someone who knows they might be dying and the effects of what happens to those that have to help that person deal with it. This issue is s difficult one for teens to deal with, but it is none the less important when taking on the theme of death and dying.
A Summer To Die By Lois Lowry: This book follows the story of two sisters, Meg and Molly, both of which have the typical sibling rivalry relationship as any two sparring, yet loving sisters would for each other. It is not until 13-year-old Meg, who has always envied her sister Molly�s beauty and popularity for some time, that Meg realizes her feelings for such nonsense things do not matter considering Molly is sick. This book gives an appropriate idea as to what feelings might manifest should a young boy or young girl find out their sibling was sick to an extent that they might die. The relationship among Meg and Molly is so realistic; they have true feelings about one another, in the sense that they have the same problems as any other sister duo would. But, those feelings are only compounded when Molly�s strange illness takes over. Meg has to come to terms with the fact that she just may lose her sister forever. This book is one of the more easy reads, but the message of love friendships and life is clear here.
Phoenix Rising By Karen Hesse: This story also tackles the issue of preparing for death, if you will. The book deals with main character Nyle, a 13-year old young farm girl who learns that a nuclear power plant, not far from her farmhouse has leaked radiation and many of her neighbors have been exposed. Her grandmother decides to take some of the evacuees in, and Nyle learns not only about death but relationships as well. The book helps explain how experiencing the sight of watching another person die can be painful, but making their time here on earth special and most comfortable is more important than pity.
Tears of a Tiger By Sharon Mills Draper: This book deals with issues of guilt, grief and pain when it comes to the death of a friend. Over time, there have been many instances where the mistake of one teen ends in the tragic death and suffering of another teen. This books deals with the issue of the tragic effects of drunk driving. When Andy realizes what he has done to his best friend, who also happens to be the local high school�s basketball star, he cannot help but feel shock and grief for what he has done. He must now cope with the fact that he has killed his friend and choose to survive rather than kill himself.
After the Death of Anna Gonzalez By Terri Fields: Described by the publisher as �brutally honest and authentic in tone,� the main premise of this book surrounds the suicide of 9th grade high school student, Anna Gonzalez. The book includes the voices of over 40 some students, teachers and other school officials upon the death of this young student. Often, many of the voices pay little homage to even knowing the young girl, while some voices describe how the death has hit them pretty hard. Many of the students bring up the notion of how shocking and surprising suicide can be, especially when students show little signs of wanting to take their lives. It is a great learning tool when explaining to young adults how suicide not only affects the young victim, but leaves victims behind from teachers and classmates to parents and friends.

Death is not always an issue that teachers may feel comfortable teaching directly, especially if it relates to a personal tragedy that a specific student may be dealing with. But, in a genre such as Contemporary Realistic Fiction, sometimes one cannot avoid such an issue. It is when choosing these books that a teacher should pay service to choosing those that carry a story with realism, one whose story can transport feelings and emotions on to the readers themselves, and in turn make the reader reflect positively. Teachers should ask themselves �does a book have the potential to touch readers deeply so that, in struggle with it, they begin to see and to shape themselves?� (Donelson, Nilsen 115).

Works Cited

Donelsen, Kenneth L. and Alleen Pace Nilsen. Literature for Today�s Young Adults. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc, 2001. 2005.

Tu, Wei. �Using Literature to Help Children Cope With Problems.� ERICDIGESTS.org December. 1999 #D148. 27 Nov. 2004 .

Radley, Gail. �Coping with Death in Young Adult Literature.� The ALAN Review Volume 27: Number 1 (1999): 14-16.

Lowry, Lois. (1981). A Summer to Die. Random House Children�s Books.

Fields, Terri. (2002). After the Death of Anna Gonzalez. Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated.

Mazer, Norma Fox. (1987). After the Rain. William Morrow & Company.

Myers, Walter Dean. (2004). Shooter. HarpersCollinsPublishers.

Draper, Sharon Mills. (1996). Tears of a Tiger. Simon & Schuster Children's

Hesse, Karen. (1995). Phoenix Rising. Puffin Publishing.

Philbrick, R. (1993). Freak the Mighty. New York: Scholastic Books.

Hurwin, Davida Willis. (1997). A Time For Dancing. Puffin Publishing.

Thoms, Annie, Taresh Batra, and Anna Belc. (2002). With Their Eyes: September 11th--

The View From a High School At Ground Zero. HaperCollins Publishers. Maynard, Joyce. (2003). The Usual Rule. St. Martin�s Press.