Amorette
Beatty
12-1-04
Mary
Warner
English
112B
Literature about
Friendship:
Recognition of one of
Life�s most Important Relationships
As children grow, develop, and move into early
adolescence, involvement with one's peers and the attraction of peer identification
increases. As adolescents begin rapid physical, emotional and social changes,
they begin to question adult standards and the need for parental guidance. Young
adults are more likely to be open with their friends, discussing such issues as
dating, sexuality, personal experiences, and common interests (Cole and
Cole). They find it reassuring to turn for
advice to friends who understand and sympathize with their problems because
their friends are in the same position and often dealing with similar
quandaries.
At adolescence, peer relations expand to occupy a
particularly central role in young people's lives. Peers typically replace the
family as the center of a young person's socializing and leisure activities.
There is an increase in distance in the parent
child relationship, and although there is still affection in the family,
adolescents form new relationships outside the family. These new interpersonal
relationships are formed with peers. Adolescents have a tremendous influence on
each other, spending most of their free time with peers. Peers replace parents
by providing emotional support for their friends until they achieve greater
autonomy. Adolescents spend an abundance of time together, socializing amidst
leisure activities, because they understand one another and share similar
beliefs and interests (Cole and Cole).
One of the most available resources regarding the
various types of friendship that exist amongst adolescents is young adult
literature. As friends become a primary source of information and an
influential presence, literature can be used to help adolescence distinguish
between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Through stories, teachers can explain
different peer groups, such as cliques and gangs, and various roles, such as
leaders and conformists. As teenagers attempt to find out which group they fit
into and where they feel most comfortable, literature can reveal friendships
that exist under many different circumstances and between varieties of diverse
individuals. Young adult literature �extends the peer group, giving teenagers a
chance to participate vicariously in many more personal relationships that are
possible for most youngsters in the relatively short time that they spend in
high school� (Donelson & Nilsen 123).
To encourage teenagers to think about their personal
relationships with friends, I suggest a curriculum built on various types of
young adult literature and popular media. These resources can be used to explore
a range of different friendships that are present in the lives of young adults.
The curriculum focus is designed to encourage student awareness of both
positive and negative issues related to peer friendship. The resources used to
demonstrate both sides of this spectrum are books, stories, poems, quotations,
and movies.
This unit plan suggests ideas that best apply to the
eighth and ninth grade levels. Students of this age are settling into peer
groups and forming meaningful
friendships.
The foundation novel is The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Anne Brashares. According to Random House,
Inc., this novel has an eighth grade readability and appeals to the interest
level of students in seventh to twelfth grade. The main characters in the story
are 15 years old and accurately portray many issues that are common to this age
group.
The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants is a novel about four
friends, Carmen, Tibby, Lena and Bridget who are everything to one another. At
times it seems that because they are so close, they form one complete person
rather than four individuals. Carmen is the introspective one, who recognizes
the importance of their friendship and cares the most about keeping them
together. Tibby is the rebel, who does not respond well to authority figures.
Lena is the beauty, who is artistic and soft spoken. Bridget is the athlete,
who loves challenges and is single-minded when it comes to reaching her goals.
The sisterhood is formed when a pair of old jeans that Carmen bought in a
thrift shop resurfaces the day before they all go their separate ways for the
summer. Even though the girls are shaped differently, the pants fit each of
them perfectly. Together, they decide the pants are magical and declare that
the pants belong to each of them equally. The girls spend the summer
discovering things about themselves and overcoming personal struggles. The
pants travel to all the places they are and keep them together even when they
are far apart.
Brashares� novel is a depiction of
enduring and strong friendship and will help
young adult readers to appreciate one of life�s most important
relationships. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is filled with vibrant descriptions of
love and
companionship. The characters will remind young adults that good
friends are not only a strong support system, but are prominent influences in
many important aspects of life.
Launching the Unit
Before
reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and discussing the novel with your
students, use one or more of the following educational exercises to introduce
the concept of friendship.
1. Make a list of quotations regarding friendship and have
students choose their favorite one and write an explanation of its meaning. Use
their analysis of the quotation to initiate discussion about the importance of
friendship. Have students read the quote they selected aloud to the classmates
and explain how they interpreted it, allowing other students to add their
opinions.
Quotations (Applewhite, Evans & Frothingham):
"Tell me what company
thou keepst, and I'll tell thee what thou art."
- Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616) Spanish novelist.
"Have no friends not
equal to yourself."
- Confucious (551 - 497 BC) Chinese philosopher.
"A friend may well be
reckoned the masterpiece of Nature."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882) US poet & essayist.
"A friend is a person
with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The only reward of
virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"It is one of the
blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"True happiness consists
not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice."
- Samuel Johnston (1709 - 1784) British lexicographer
"I can never think of
promoting my convenience at the expense of a friend's interest and
inclination."
- George Washington (1732 - 1799) US Statesman
"Be slow to fall into
friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant."
- Socrates, Greek Philosopher
"Friendship with oneself
is all-important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in
the world."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
"Grief can take care of
itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it
with."
- Mark Twain
"The best mirror is an old
friend."
- George Herbert
"What is a friend? A
single soul in two bodies."
- Aristotle
"My best friend is the
one who brings out the best in me."
- Henry Ford
"Friendship that flows
from the heart cannot be frozen by adversity, as the water that flows from the
spring cannot congeal in winter."
- James Fenimore Cooper
"Friendship is the only
thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are
agreed."
- Cicero
"All love that has not
friendship for its base, is like a mansion built upon the sand."
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
"Walking with a friend
in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."
- Helen Keller
"Be slow in choosing
your friends; slower in changing."
-Benjamin Franklin
"In the end, we will
remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
2. Play the song �Friends� by Joe Aziz. After the song is finished
discuss how the lyrics describe friendship. Visually display the lyrics and
have students explain how friendship is portrayed in the different verses.
Next, have students write their own verse about what friendship means to them
personally, ending their verse like the original song, with �A friend to you
I'll always be. A friend to you I'll always be.� Collect the verses and combine
them to make a class song about friendship.
Friends
� Joe Aziz
|
Verse 1: |
Verse 3: |
|
Verse 2: |
Verse 4: |
This
activity can help students think about their own personal relationships with
their peers and determine if their friends fit the expectations the student has
regarding what friendship is, as well as if the student himself is treating his
friends according to his expectations.
3.
Questions that can be discussed during class as a large group or in several
smaller groups, or questions for students to write about in their journals.
a.
What makes a good friend? Do you consider yourself to be a good friend? Why or
why not? How can you become a better friend?
b.
Write about your best friend. Explain why you are best friends, including your
similarities and differences. When did you meet? How long have you been
friends? What are some activities you participate in together?
c.
Do you think it is better to have one or two very treasured friends or a large
group of satisfactory friends?
The Central Focus
Read
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
as a class, allowing students to take turns reading aloud. The novel should be
completed within a week, if three to four chapters are read each day. Teachers
can also assign chapters to be read as homework. After the class has finished
reading a portion of the novel each day, teachers might ask the students to
write a short response to what they read, concerning a specific character or
event. Also, epigraphs (short quotations) from a variety of sources; song
lyrics, remarks by real-life personalities, fictitious sayings by the novel�s
characters, are found at the beginning of each chapter. Call attention to the
epigraphs that are read during each class and discuss how each relates to the
individual chapter it introduced, and to the novel as a whole.
After
the novel is completed, break up the class into small reading groups and
present each group with two or three discussion questions concerning different
aspects of the book. When all the questions have been discussed in the small
groups, ask if anyone would like to share their thoughts with the entire class.
Sample discussion questions (www.randonhouse.com/teachers):
1. The
novel opens and closes with a first-person narrative by Carmen. Why do you
think the author selected this character to frame the story? If you could
change it, would you select another character, and if so, what would he or she
say? Or do you think Carmen�s is the best viewpoint to begin and end the novel?
2. �For some reason our lives
were marked by summers. . . . Summer was the time when our lives joined
completely, when we all had our birthdays, when really important things
happened� (p. 5). What is the significance of the Sisterhood�s first summer
apart? Why is it so important that the four friends have individual adventures?
Do you think they would have remained close if the Pants had not been a part of
their lives?
3. Carmen�s discovery of a new
blond stepfamily comes as quite a shock. How could her father have better
handled this news? Would it have made a difference to Carmen?
4. Lena is described as quite
beautiful. How do you think this affects her friendships? Have you ever been
friends with someone who is noticeably more or less attractive than you are?
How did it make you feel?
5. Bridget feels powerful as
she pursues Eric, but her actions leave her fragile and uncertain. Do you think
that by the end of the story, Bridget is able to take back some of her power?
Why or why not? What role do you think Bridget�s friends will play in her
recovery?
6. In the novel, the Pants
take on a life of their own. Each of the girls in turn feels loved and
comforted by them, as if the Pants were a creature or a person. Do you believe
that the Pants are really looking out for the girls? Or is what the girls sense
a manifestation of their own emotions? Or is it some combination of the two?
7. Each of the girls is very
different from her friends and has widely ranging talents: Lena is a painter,
Tibby is a filmmaker, and Bridget is an athlete. But their talents don�t define
them as much as send them off in different directions. Carmen is more of a
mystery; what would you say her talents are and where do they take her in the
novel?
8. If you were given the
Pants, what rule governing their use would be the hardest for you to keep? Rule
10 is �Remember: Pants = love. Love your pals. Love yourself� (p. 25). How is
this rule observed by each member of the Sisterhood in the story? How is it
broken?
9. In the epilogue (p. 293),
Carmen says, �What happened in front of my friends felt real. What happened to
me by myself felt partly dreamed, partly imagined, definitely shifted and
warped by my own fears and wants.� Have you ever felt that way? How does it
feel to see yourself reflected in other people?
10. What does Carmen mean when
she says that she, Lena, Tibby, and Bridget are the real Septembers (p. 7)?
What is it about their friendship that convinces Carmen they won�t drift apart
the way their mothers did? Fast-forward ten years . . . do you think the
Sisterhood will still be inseparable? What are the bonds that will help their
friendship endure? Will the Pants still fit them? If not, will it matter?
After
the discussion is finished, return to the questions the students were asked to
answer before reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Relate the questions to the four friends in the
novel and compare the students personal responses about friendship to the
relationship Lena, Tibby, Carmen and Bridget have with each other. Do the
students share similar ideas with the four characters about the qualities of a
good friend? Are there examples of different types of friendship in the novel? Do
any unlikely friendships surface throughout the novel?
Assign one or both of the
following writing assignments to help students work with different aspects of
the novel:
1.
Have students pick which
of the four girls they are most similar to and explain why. Do you share
similar personalities, appearances, likes and dislikes, family situations or is
there some other way you can relate to a specific character? Then ask if
students would rather be friends with someone who is similar to themselves or
with someone who is different from them? What would be the positive and
negative aspects of each situation?
2.
The novel takes place in
four different settings; Baja California, Greece, South Carolina, and Maryland.
By the end of the book, each of the girls has had a revelation that has a lot
to do with where she has been. Have your students answer the following
questions:
a.
If you could spend a
summer in one of these places, which would you choose?
b.
If you could spend a
summer anywhere in the world, where would you go?
c.
Would you want your
friends with you or would you rather travel solo?
Another way
to reinforce themes found in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, such as using ones friends as a support system,
confronting friends about difficult topics and loving someone unconditionally,
is to show the 1996 movie, Now and Then, starring Christina Ricci, Melanie Griffith, Demi Moore, Rosie
O'Donnell, and Thora Birch. This movie is about four childhood best friends who
make a promise to always be there for one another. The friends are reunited as
adults and reminisce about the summers they spent together. Have students compare
the four friends in the movie to the four friends in the novel. Do the friends
in the movie have similar experiences to those in the novel? Which character in
the movie is most like Tibby? Bridget? Carmen? Lena? How are they similar? This
activity will reinforce the importance of friendship by providing students with
another example of a healthy relationship among a group of friends.
A movie that
can be shown to students in addition to, or instead of Now and Then, is the 1946 movie It�s a Wonderful Life, which stars James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel
Barrymore, and Thomas Mitchell. In this movie the character George Bailey sees
what the world would have been like had he not been born. Author of The
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ann
Brashares has said that in her novel the character of Bailey was inspired by
this film. Both George Bailey and Tibby experience life altering events. Have
students discuss similarities between the two characters and the situations
they were placed in. What lessons from the movie did Brashares incorporate into
her novel? How would Tibby�s life have been different if she had not met
Bailey? This movie also displays qualities that are often described as
necessities to a good friendship. Have students recall different aspects of
friendship seen throughout the film.
A final
activity that coincides with Brashares novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants is to bring a pair of old jeans
to class and on them have students write what they feel is the most important
aspect of friendship. Together the class can create their own pair of magical
pants which can be displayed to remind every student to be a good friend.
Extending the Unit
In order to
introduce many more Young Adult texts containing stories of friendship, present
the following novels to the class and have each student present a booktalk. �A
booktalk is a short introduction to a book, which usually includes one or two
paragraphs read from the book� (Donelson and Nilsen 307). In order for students
make a more informed decision on which novel they would like to read and
present, you can have the class participate in a Book Pass Activity. �This
involves providing copies of the novels and having students spend five minuets
with a book before passing it on to the next reviewer� (Warner 12). The novel
should be read at home and each should in some way encompass the theme of
friendship.
Young Adult Literary Selection
1.
The
Outsiders by S. E.
Hinton: This is a gritty, poignant, and realistic look at slum life in the
1960's through the experiences of an intelligent, sensitive, impoverished
teenager and his friends. Pony Boy endures painful trials, which threaten to
harden him and strip him of his innocence. In the end, with the help of his
friends his true, yet more mature, self emerges. (www.albany.edu/yabooks.html)
2. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli: When Stargirl
arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and music, the student body is
enchanted�at first. Then, suddenly, they shun her for everything that makes her
different. In this celebration of nonconformity, Spinelli weaves an inspiration
and emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and
inspiration of friendship. (www.sisterhoodcentral.com)
3. Girls in Love by Jacqueline Wilson: Ellie�s
starting ninth grade, and she�s got some very definite goals. She�ll stay best
friends with Magda and Nadine. She�ll go on a diet and stick to it. She�ll get
a glamorous hairstyle. And she�ll get a boyfriend. Even if she has to settle
for one who likes her more than she likes him. (www.sisterhoodcentral.com)
4. The Catalogue of the Universe by Margaret Mahy: Angela is
determined to track down the father she never knew, and her best friend Tycho
is just the guy to help her, but the search for Angela's father stretches and
alters Angela and Tycho's friendship in surprising ways. (www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/youth/booklists/friends.html)
5. Darnell Rock Reporting by Walter Dean Myers: 13-year-old
Darnell Rock always seems to get into trouble. When the principal offers
Darnell a chance to write for the school newspaper, he wants to say no. Then
Darnell writes his first article for the paper and suddenly other kids seem to
care what he has to say. (www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/youth/booklists/friends.html)
6. I Hadn't Meant To Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson: Two girls: one white, one black; one abused, one
protected, both missing their mothers. An unlikely friendship ignites between
the two, and, in sharing their differences, both of their lives are
transformed. Jacqueline Woodson won a Coretta Scott King Honor for this moving,
tightly written tale of friendship, racism, and loss. (www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/youth/booklists/friends.html)
7. Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff:
Seventeen-year-old Jolly is a single mom working a minimum-wage job to support
her two kids. LaVaughn is a high school freshman determined to get into college
and get a good job once she's through. To start earning money for college
LaVaughn answers Jolly's ad: BABYSITTER NEEDED BAD. LaVaughn finds that what
Jolly needs most is a friend. (www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/youth/booklists/friends.html)
8. Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep by Lurlene McDaniel: Carrie and
Keith have a great friendship. They also have cancer, but Keith wants to live
out the rest of his life at home, not in a hospital. (www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/youth/booklists/friends.html)
9. Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper: Andy was there. He
had been driving the car. He had seen his best friend Robert's legs trapped in
the burning vehicle and he had tried to pull Robert out of the wreckage. He had
heard Robert's final screams. The other kids at school feel bad about Robert,
but they weren't there and Andy doesn't believe they will ever understand.
(www.randomhouse.com/teachers/guides/)
10. What You Don't Know Can Kill You by Fran Arrick: When high school senior Ellen
learns that she has AIDS, she finds out who her real friends are. (www.randomhouse.com/teachers/guides/)
11. A Separate Peace by John Knowles: Sharing a room at Devon, an exclusive New England prep
school, in the summer prior to World War II, Gene and Phineas form a complex
bond of friendship that draws out both the best and worst characteristics of
each boy and leads ultimately to violence, a confession, and the betrayal of
trust. Narrator Scott Snively's ability to switch seamlessly from the
perspective of a teenager tormented by feelings he doesn't want to understand
to the reflective musing of a man looking back at the formative experience of
his youth provide both the story and the setting with an immediacy that quickly
engages listeners. Not only does Snively give a distinctive voice to each of
the main characters, he also delineates the mannerisms and personalities of the
other boys and the teachers surrounding them. (www.hplibrary.org/kids/booklists/gradelevel/youngadult.html)
12. Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood: A Novel by Rebecca Wells: The Ya-Yas are the wild circle of
girls who swirl around the narrator Siddalee's mama, Vivi, whose vivid voice is
"part Scarlett, part Katharine Hepburn, part Tallulah." The Ya-Yas
broke the no-booze rule at the cotillion, skinny-dipped their way to jail in
the town water tower, disrupted the Shirley Temple look-alike contest, and
bonded for life because, as one says, "It's so much fun being a bad girl!" Siddalee must repair her
busted relationship with Vivi by reading a half-century's worth of letters and
clippings contained in the Ya-Ya Sisterhood's packet of "Divine
Secrets." (www.hplibrary.org/kids/booklists/gradelevel/youngadult.html)
Concluding Activity
At
the end of the unit, students should recognize the aspects of friendship that
are most important to them personally, and gain a new understanding and
acceptance for peer relationships that are different than their own. For a
concluding activity, read the children�s picture book The Best Friends Book by Todd Parr, and have students
create their own children�s book regarding the best things about their best
friend. This activity will cause students to reflect on everything they have
learned about friendship and reinforce the concept of a healthy relationship
between friends.
Each resource used within this unit plan presents the concept
of friendship in some form and allows students to learn that friendship can exist
in many different situations and between diverse individuals. Literature allows
people to explore relationships that are unfamiliar to them, which can decrease
fear and bias towards people who are different than themselves. They are many
more resources available about friendship than are included in this curriculum.
With the abundance of texts written about young adult friendship, teachers can
help their students gain an understanding about their personal relationships
with friends and an acceptance of the friendships that exist among their peers.
Works Cited
Applewhite, Ashton, William R. Evans, and Andrew Frothingham.
And I Quote. New York: St. Martin�s Press, 1992.
Arrick, Fran. What You Don�t Know Can Kill You.
New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 1992.
Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants. New York: Delacorte Press, 2001.
Cole, Michael, and Shelia R Cole. The Development
of Children (2nd ed.). New York: Scientific American Books, 1993.
Donelson, Kenneth L., and Alleen P. Nilsen. Literature
for Today�s Young Adults. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc, 2005.
Draper,
Sharon. Tears of a Tiger. Simon Pulse, 1996.
Hinton
S. E. The Outsiders. New York: Puffin Books, 1997.
It�s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf.
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas Mitchell. RKO, 1946.
Knowles, John. A Separate Peace. New York: Bantam,
Doubleday, Dell Books for Young Readers, 1985.
Mayh,
Margaret. The Catalogue of the Universe. Simon Pulse, 2002.
McDaniel, Lurlene. Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. New
York: Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Books for Young Readers, 1991.
Myers,
Walter D. Darnell Rock Reporting. New York: Yearling Delacorte Dell,
1996.
Now and Then. Dir. Lesli Linka
Glatter. Perf. Christina Ricci, Melanie Griffith, Demi Moore, Rosie
O'Donnell, and Thora Birch. New Line Home Entertainment, 1996.
Parr,
Todd. The Best Friends Book. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2000.
Spinelli,
Jerry. Stargirl. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2002.
Warner, Mary. �Stories Moving Readers from Fear and
Bias to Tolerance and Acceptance: An Unfinished Curriculum� The Ohio Journal
of the English Language Arts. (1999): 8-15.
Wells, Rebecca. Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya
Sisterhood: A Novel. New York: Perennial, 1997.
Wilson, Jacqueline. Girls in Love. New York:
Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2002.
Wolff,
Virginia E. Make Lemonade. New York: Scholastic Paperbacks, 1994.
Woodson, Jacqueline. I Hadn�t Meant To Tell You
This. New York: Laurel Leaf, 1995.