David Guven
Eng 112B
Dr. Warner
Spring 2011
Unit of Study
Empathy
Through Education: Unmasking Bias in Literature Dealing with Disability
Acceptance and �the other�, are major
themes found throughout adult and young adult literature alike. The idea that humans
are relational beings has been taught throughout the centuries, and in many
ways has manifested itself through a series of both cultural and political
movements. More often than not, these movements have been fueled by a desire
for equality. For the purpose of narrowing my focus, take just the past 100
years in American history: in the 1920�s, this country saw the rise of women�s
rights through the Suffrage movement; a little more than a few decades later
during the 1960�s, there was the fight for racial equality with the Civil
Rights movement; however, falling just in the shadow of the Civil Rights
movement, in 1973, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was passed, and for
the first time banned discrimination on the basis of disability, finally acknowledging
disabled persons as a minority group.
For the purpose of this unit of study I
will focus on literature, ranging from over half a century up to current times,
that explores commonly held misconceptions and stereotypes, specifically of
disabled people, and then expand it by bringing in current YA resources that will help to reinforce a positive image of
disabled culture to the students. The fact remains, that while gender and
racial equality have not been fully recognized by society, they have had major
surges of progress. On the other hand, the fight for the rights of the disabled
community has not (historically) seen nearly as much progress, but the paradigm
is now beginning to shift.
Addressing this current shift towards a
greater social awareness of disabled people, I suggest using a canonical piece
of literature, (preferably written before 1970), that has a character with some
kind of disability, and enhancing it with a variety of both film and other
selected YA literature, to contrast the perceptions of disabled characters in
both classic and modern times. Both Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys
and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck are good selections, I
particularly will focus on Of Mice and Men. This study would work best in an
eleventh or twelfth grade English (or American Literature course in the case of
Steinbeck.), because the students will be going beyond the text for a deeper
level of analysis, to contextualize how the disable characters in literature
are reflective of the societies in which they are placed, as well as how the
perceptions of disabled characters are effected by the time in which the
literature was published.
In tandem with reading Of Mice and
Men, there is an article by Gretchen Kolderup from the online blog librarified.net
that summarizes a presentation given at the 2010 YA lit
symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which can be shared in class with
students. At the symposium, Dr. Heather Garrison, and Dr. Katherine
Schneider gave a presentation, �Beyond Good Intentions and Chicken Soup:
Young Adult Literature and Disability Diversity: How Far Have We Come?� which
addresses some of the issues and concerns surrounding novels that involve
disable characters, and challenges many of the perceptions and stereotypes
commonly held about disabled characters in literature of yesterday and today.
This article also includes materials from the conference, as well as additional
material in order to assist with evaluating books that address disability in a
positive fashion.
In
Of Mice and Men, Lennie has some kind of significant mental impairment
(most likely mental retardation), and his best friend Gorge is constantly
responsible for looking after him. Although he is compassionate towards Lennie,
George is constantly complaining about how he is forced to look after Lennie,
and how the task is quite burdensome. As the plot develops, both George and
Lennie are faced with a series of mishaps and deaths that eventually lead to
Lennie accidently killing a rancher�s wife. In fear of what an angry lynch mob
will do to him, George conducts a mercy killing on Lennie, and convinces the
mob he shot Lennie in self-defense.
In
many ways, Lennie is a model for a stereotypical disabled person, and
reinforces many negative stereotypes that Dr. Heather Garrison, and Dr.
Katherine Schneider addressed in their presentation. Lennie�s character is
dramatically exaggerated, to the point where the authentic representation of a
person with mental retardation can be challenged. Lennie is often outcast, even by George
who is the closest person to understanding him in the novel. By exploring the
ways in which the novel Of Mice and Men both adheres to and contradicts
the criteria set out in Dr Garrison�s guide for evaluating books that
address disabilities, a greater understanding of what is authentic, and what is
augmented about the disabled characters in the novel Of Mice and Men
will be made clear.
Launching
the unit
In
order to launch the unit, first discuss with the students, and define as a
class, the current perceptions of disable persons in our daily lives. Have
students share experiences where they may have encountered a person with a
disability, and what their reactions to those experiences were. Also, encourage
those (if any) that personally know a disable individual or family member to
share their insights and experiences as well.
1.
Before opening up to any kind of discussion, to help students gather their
thoughts have them do a journal entry answering the following questions:
A.
What
comes to mind when you hear the word disabled, and what feelings do you have
about this subject?
B.
Do
you, or have you ever known of a person with a disability on a personal level?
What was that relationship like?
C.
Do
you think the word retarded is a bad word?
Why or why not?
After
discussing some of the journal responses do a brainstorming session on a large
poster board, identifying common stereotypes or misconceptions about disabled
people. Save this poster board for an activity later on. Read the article on
the librarified.net site, and refer to the resources included (particularly the
lecture slides) to further assist the students understanding of a positive
portrayal of disabled people in literature.
As
the students are reading Of Mice and Men, make sure they have a copy of
the handouts for Garrison�s Criteria handy (evaluating books addressing
disability). Take notes on the different ways the disable characters reinforce
or challenge common stereotypes held about disabled people today.
There
is a film adaptation for Of Mice and Men from 1992 starring John
Malkovich and Gary Sinise as Lennie and George, produced by MGM and rated
Pg-13; after finishing the novel, watch the film to help the students gain a
visual frame of reference for the way Lennie is depicted. Answer one or more of
the following questions in journals:
a. Is the depiction of Lennie the same in
the movie as it is in the book?
b. Is the depiction of Lennie accurate
(to what you know) in regard to his disability?
c.
Are there any differences in the film? What is their significance?
Do an exercise showing images of various
members or icons of different civil rights movements, (such as Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Caesar Chavez, Susan B. Anthony, Rosie the Riveter,
etc) and help students identify them and their accomplishments. Then show a
picture of Temple Grandin, and give a short biography explaining her
significance and achievements. Bring in a copy of Temple Grandin�s book Thinking
in Pictures, My Life With Autism to show to the class. Hopefully, the
students will be able to identify the images of most of the other major
figures; the inability to recognize Grandin as one of the most famous autistic
people alive should highlight how fairly little public acknowledgment disabled
persons typically receive.
Watch
the HBO film �Temple Grandin� and
have students answer one the following questions in their journal:
A. What does the society Temple lives in
say about her disability?
B. How does this film enhance or change
the way you view autistic people or disability in general?
C. What are you over all reactions to the
film?
Compare
the way Lennie is portrayed in both the book and the film to the way Temple
Grandin is depicted in the movie Temple
Grandin. Have students refer back to how they responded to the Temple Grandin movie and compare them to
their responses to Of Mice and Men
(1992). Refer back to the brainstorm chart done together and identify any
stereotypical depictions in either story, together as a class. Have a copy of
both Of Mice and Men and Thinking in Pictures on hand that
contain illustrations on the cover, and using the criteria provided from the
librarified.net site, refer to the section on evaluation of illustrations and
compare the two covers. What can be interpreted from the illustrations? Are
they supportive of a positive image of the disabled characters? In what ways?
Extending
the unit
Do
a book pass activity, and have the students choose one of the novels from Dr.
Garrison�s personal collection of children�s books dealing with disabilities to
further the their positive understanding of dealing with disability in
literature. Not all of these titles reinforce a positive portrayal of disabled
people as outlined by Dr. Garrison herself, however, equipped with the tools of
analysis, the students should be able to identify in what ways the novel
achieves or fails at an accurate or positive representation of disability in
the literature. Students will the have the option to do a book-talk
presentation, which specifically includes a section of the ways in which the
novel reinforced a positive image of disability; or, instead write a short
analysis (2-3 pages) that analyzes the same aspects in the literature.
YA
Lit selections
Here
are a select few that may be particularly good choices.
The
Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night Time by Mark Haddon- a story about a teenager Chris, who suffers
from symptoms closely related to autism, that sets out on a quest to
investigate the mysterious murder of a neighborhood dog.
Whale
Talk by Chris Crutcher- A story about a mixed race adopted teenager T.J, who forms a
swim team in his small mid-western town against great opposition. Many of the
members of �The Mermen� have some sort of disability.
Silent
Boy by Lois Lowry- A story told as a recounting by Katy Thatcher, of a young
boy with mental illness who communicates only with animals, that her father,
the town doctor, was attempting to treat.
Freak
The Mighty by Rodman
Philbrick- A story about two handicapped and troubled friends, Kevin and Max.
Told through the perspective of Max, who learns to respect his own intelligence
through the death of his friend Kevin.
Al
Capone Does My Shirts by
Gennifer Choldenko- a story told
through the perspective of Moose, a young boy who�s family has to move to San
Francisco in order to get help for his younger sister who has autism.
Wrapping
the unit up
In
many of these novels dealing with disability, the power of voice is an
important aspect of the literature to analyze. Many of the disabled characters
are not granted a voice, or their voice is not a genuine representation of
their actual desires or capabilities. As a final exercise show students a short
documentary film entitled Creativity
Explored, a film that takes a closer look inside an art studio for the
mentally and developmentally disabled, located in San Francisco�s Mission
district. After watching the film, have students randomly select a piece of
paper from a hat that will have an emotion written on it. Students will then
choose to draw/paint/color etc that emotion on a chosen medium, and display the
art on the wall of the class room as a reminder for the students. Expressing
emotions in a ways other than words is a powerful exercise to explore the idea
of being voiceless.
Students will have a gained a greater
understanding of the disabled community, through exploring different resources
representing one or more disabled persons in the literature they have focused
on. Only through education can understanding be achieved, and through
understanding, hopefully empathy as well.
Works Cited
Text
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al
Capone Does My Shirts. Putnam, 2004
Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk. New York: Harper
Collins, 2001. Print
Grandin,
Temple. Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism. New York: Vintage, 2006
Haddon,
Mark. The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night Time.
New York: Vinatge, 2004. Print.
Lowry,
Lois. The Silent Boy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
2003. Print
Philbrick,
R. Freak the Mighty. New
York: Scholastic Books, 1993. Print
Steinbeck,
John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Bantam Books, 1963. Print
Websites
Choldenko,
Gennifer. Alcaponedoesmyshirts.com. http://www.alcaponedoesmyshirts.com/books/bk_shirts_s1.html
Creativity
Explored.com
Kolderup,
Gretchen. Librarified.net. http://www.librarified.net/2010/11/08/beyond-good-intentions-and-chicken-soup-ya-lit-and-disability-diversity-how-far-have-we-come-at-yalsas-2010-ya-lit-symposium/
Lowry,
Lois. Loislowry.com. http://www.loislowry.com/silentboy.html
Philbrick,
Rodman. Rodmanphilbrick.com. http://www.rodmanphilbrick.com/teaching.html
Films
Creativity
Explored documentary �Cross Your Eyes, Keep them Wide� (2010) directed by Ben Wu
Of Mice and Men (1992). Directed by Gary Sinise.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105046/
Temple Grandin (2010). Directed by Mick Jackson. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278469/