Why Students Should Read Honest Literature

By -
    I firmly believe that reading what I deem to be "honest literature" is paramount for adolescents. Texts that expose the good, the bad, and the ugly give students a realistic view of the world and can expand their perspective. It is important that teachers create an environment where students can learn as much as they can about the world, whether it be across the globe or in their own backyard. The perfect example for "honest" adolescent literature is La Linea by Ann Jaramillo. In this novel, Miguel and Elena leave their hometown in Mexico in an effort to join their parents in California. The pair faces many obstacles including being robbed, hopping on and off of trains, escaping the Mexican police and marching through the unforgiving desert. However, the most incredible thing about this book is the fact that thousands of people go through this exact journey every year, including adolescents. 

    Through this novel, Jaramillo is able to show the resilience, perseverance, and strength of teens. She also uses these adolescents to contemplate themes like desperation, sacrifice and hope. The desperation of thousands of people is obvious through those who lose their lives attempting to hop on a train or cross the desert. They know that the journey is dangerous yet they embark on it anyway, because of a desire to find a better life: one with enough money, food, and protection. The sacrifice is sobering because people who have nothing, give everything they have just to give others a chance of survival. Poor families throw food to the stowaways on the trains, people like Javi give up their chance at crossing the boarder, and people like Mosies give their lives. But the hope is also real and tangible. All the migrants go through all of this pain because of hope. 

    Jaramillo likely chose adolescents to be the protagonists of her story because they are the most resilient. They keep going until they either accomplish their goal or die trying. She also chose these characters because it puts human faces to the heated topic of illegal immigration. It can incite compassion, and empathy in almost anyone. But I think the main reason she wrote this novel from the perspective of an adolescent was so that other adolescents can relate. Those who have crossed the boarder, or knows someone who has, can connect with a text and can possibly use it to cope with their own experiences. And those who cannot make a direct connection, can relate to Miguel or Elena in other ways and ultimately determine that we are all people. This novel will also serve to educate those who know little about immigration in our country. In the end, it could be young people that turn our entire country around. 

Comments

  1. A'Keriah PraylowNovember 18, 2020 at 6:59 PM

    I love how you characterized La Linea as being "honest literature". Honest literature tells the realistic truths of those around us that we either can or can't relate to. La linea gives students a slight glimpse of what immigrants go through to better their life conditions. I also love how you stated that adolescents are the most resilient. Children go through so much before the age of 18 and its rare that they are given their credit for being strong.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Pains - The Symbolism of the Tree in Speak

By -
I have felt the paralyzing pain of internal disease. The kind of trauma that causes your mouth to curl in and swallow you whole. I, like so many other women, are walking the halls in Melinda’s shoes in “Speak.” I thought Laurie Anderson did a phenomenal job of twisting all of the tribulations a high school girl goes through, into the tree that Melinda is. Whether we’re as strong as an oak or weak as a bush, we have all gone through the disease that strikes Melinda from the inside out. Melinda is like a half-dead tree. Some parts of her strive to blossom and create beauty. Other parts are broken and diseased. Like a dead tree, Melinda needs to save herself and “cut off the damage, [so it] is possible for the tree to grow again” (187). The symbolism of a tree is significant in “Speak.” Trees reflect her growing process. In the beginning, Melinda is a sick and lifeless tree. Her view is negative and dark. She’s so far past repair, bursts of sunlight do her no good. Sunlight would be pe
Read more

How Starr Goes from Acting to Embracing in The Hate U Give

By -
In The Hate U Give, Starr Carter is caught between two worlds. She lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, but her father sends her and her brothers to a private school where she is surrounded by white people. She talks about acting differently depending on what group she is around, which can create some identity problems. She says on page 11, "Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black." When at Williamson, she sees white kids that think it's cool to engage in black culture, but she knows they don't understand what she goes through in her Garden Heights community. She witnessed her friend Natasha's death when she was 10 years old, and she sees gang activity in her community all the time. When she is among her black friends, like at the party, they tease her for hanging out with the white kids. This reminds me of a Drake song where he says, "I used to get teased for being black, and now I'm
Read more

Postmodernism in Curious Incident

By -
Before I start writing, I first want to acknowledge that I just really loved this book! It seemed like a lot of the class had trouble enjoying or appreciating the novel because it's so different stylistically, which is understandable, but all of those unique elements helped make the novel more authentic. The main topic I want to focus on (also what I'm writing my paper on) is how a lot of postmodernist elements were used in the novel to make Christopher come to life. While obviously not every postmodern novel is about an autistic kid, I think Haddon really used a lot of these elements to his advantage and they ended up working out really well to characterize Christopher. One of the major postmodern elements which helps this book really craft an authentic portrayal of autism is the fact that it's metafictive. Basically, this means it's a "story within a story." Readers would be extremely limited just reading the parts of the novel which are meant to be C
Read more