The Circuit

Well... if you know what is in your librito, then all is not lost.” (112)

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The aptly title booked, The Circuit, was a wonderfully crafted episodic memoir that allowed me access into the world of a child who's family of migrant workers are constantly in the flux of the migrant circuit. Each story drew me in closer to Panchito, with each flash of fortune and happiness, I smiled. But then, like the life of a migrant work where things start falling into place and one becomes comfortable, it is time to leave it all behind. That is the way each episode occurred for me as I read. My hopes went up, just to be shattered time and time again. Personally, the most drastic occurrence of this phenomenon in the book was on page 83, when he has found the teacher who plans on teaching him music, Panchito is all excited to tell his family the news. Within the same paragraph as this excitement, Panchito arrives home to see everything packed up in cardboard boxes and he knows he has to leave it all again.

​This book for me, reminded me of the immense power the little things have to instill happiness and gratitude. For the family any shelter is a gift, any job is a blessing; it is a lesson that I wish to remember and harness more. To go with the cliché, the family is searching for the American Dream. They came to find a better life, to work hard for it too. But I feel the book does a good job of portraying the American Dream as somewhat a fallacy, that even with hard work there are barriers that many cannot overcome because of the systems at work.

​As I mentioned earlier, the book is in an episodic format with each story able to stand on its on. Each one starts with a sort of introduction into the characters and their circumstances, and just when the reader is beginning to understand, it is quickly ended and the next episode begins. It is an interesting technique that Jimenez works wonderfully.

​Seeing as the book was originally written in Spanish, I always enjoy when not all the words are translated. This variety and colorful use of language makes the stories seem more true to life. However, there are some instances when the Spanish is slang, which do not get me wrong works, it could be difficult for those who do not speak Spanish. Regardless, it is a great use of language and gives Spanish a sort of validity as an acceptable language, especially when Jimenez describes Ito speaking in “broken Spanish” (73). All too often, it is broken English, but rightfully so, here it is broken Spanish, putting Spanish fittingly on equal ground with the elitist language of English.

​Readers are able to see what life is like for a migrant family. The hardships and trials are not sugarcoated, and the ending reiterates the lack of any fairy tale ideals. It serves as a great window into this life that is often not talked about or discussed, but is a very real issue in many schools. While immigration is discussed in the nation, the real lives of the migrant workers are not. This book gives them their voice.

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A Long Way Gone

​“We always walked to school slowly. I liked it because I was able to think about where my life was going. I was confident that nothing could get any worse than it had been, and that thought made me smile a lot.” (p. 202)

​A Long Way Gone was a gruesome tale with some glimmering hints of optimism. Extremely well written, this memoir was a compelling depiction of what life is like in a country torn about by civil war and the evil manipulation of child soldiers. At times I struggled to continue reading, as the depictions were so vivid, and as the narrative continued, with Ishmael casually describing the horrors, I too, grew somewhat numb to what was going on.

​There is little in this book that I can directly relate to. It is unbelievable what Ishmael experiences, and most of which I hope to never have to. However, Ishmael's inability to remember what his life was like before the war, his family and childhood, is something that I can understand to some degree. I do not really recall much, but for very different reasons than what he has experienced.
​While at times the book grew too heavy to continue reading, the music references and their escape for Ishmael, both for acceptance into a village or just psychologically, was a nice touch. It allowed for some compassion and empathy for him, it reminded me that this is just a child. Also, it helped me bear in mind that this is occurring in the 1990's, not too long ago.

​This underlining theme of music, along with other stories, made it difficult to see this as critically a completely factual story. However, the depictions of the war and more so the symptoms of drug withdrawal and post-traumatic stress disorder are vivid and could very well be true. Some of the tales may just be part of the solution to the stress and difficulties. There needs to be some space, some addition so as not to drawn the reader in sadness and disgust in humanity.

​Seeing as the metro area serves many refugees, this text would serve as a great addition to discussing some of these issues and allow the reader to relate to the stories. Even more so, as a multicultural text, Ishmael adds the occasional tidbits of facts about his culture. From the foods they ate, the ones he could not find in New York City, to the importance of music and dancing, as well as the storytelling nature of his people. These instances add depth to the story, making it much more than a plain spoken memoir, rather it is a vivid telling of his experiences.

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World

"You'll have to change your life, Boss," Macklin said."You're always wanting me to give up things. What is it I ought to give up?" The one thing he had to truly give up was the Antarctic, and that he could not do. He died a few minutes after Macklin came to him. (126)            

While reading Shipwreck at the Botom of the World, I often grew bored. On the other hand, there were numerous situations in which I could not stop the adventure. The tedious moments, for me, were the portions where the nautical vocabulary became too much. However, some could find it greatly educating and exciting if that is what you are into.  Regardless, Jennifer Armstrong combines the incredible true tale of Sir Earnest Shackleton and the rest of the crew of the Endurance with facts about sailing, the Antarctic, and early 20^th century exploration.

            Granted I have never been on an ocean vessel, but I was able to understand and envision what was going on in the expedition. I felt for the crew. Towards the end, I was enthralled and excited to read about how they would be saved. Even though in the beginning the reader is told everyone survives, I kept thinking and waiting for something bad to happen. It was almost as though the story is too good to be fully true.

            Critically, this book has some benefits, as well as some major issues. On the plus side, the images throughout the text add more information as well as clarifying what is written in the text. The maps and diagrams at the beginning of the book serve as a suitable frontloading of information for the reader to refer to while reading the text. In addition, the simple joys of music, games, and laughter that the men discover while seemingly hopeless, are universal values. Without a doubt, the true tale of this expedition can be extremely engaging.

            But even in the title of the expedition, there are issues that a critical lens needs to unpack. The name of the voyage is The IMPERIAL Trans-Atlantic Expedition, and throughout the text that imperialism, as well as other ideologies, are clearly apparent. Not only is the text solely about men, but the only hints at females in the world are in the toasts (“To our lovers and wives, may they never meet”) and when towards the end the lack of cleanliness is not suitable for them to meet women. These paternalistic thoughts are just the beginning. There are issues of race (minstrelsy page 38) as well as social standing in the fo’c’isle hands, that occur time and time again in the text but are not addressed.

            However, the text does meet the genre needs quite well. It seems historically accurate, and uses primary sources when useful. There are also explanations of nautical language and that of the Antarctic. Students could be drawn by the adventure, as I was. 

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Traitor to the Nation

"...they told me of color, that it was an illusion of the eye, an event in the perceiver's mind, not in the object; they told me that color had no reality; indeed, they told me that color did not inhere in a physical body any more than pain was in a needle.

And then they imprisoned me in darkness; and though there was no color there; I still was black, and they still were white; and for that, they bound and gagged me." (316)

            The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Traitor to the Nation was an interesting and engaging tale that for me was overly drawn to a point. This could be a bit biased, as I was totally enthralled by The Book Thief. I am a fan of historical fiction and I enjoyed this insight into the period of the Revolutionary War and the beginnings of a dialogue of democracy and the issue of slavery along the duality of humanity and property rights.

            I really found the scientific, artistic, and rational philosophical adventures to be interesting. Philosophy and art have always been interests of mine, and to imagine this setting of experimental exploits is incredible. The issues of money and funding, or lack there of, and its effects on the education of Octavian really echoed with me. I found striking comparisons between the budget cuts that needed to be made, and the first to go being the non-utility aspects and arts, and the current climate of public education.

            Another theme that interested me was that of names and what goes into. Mr. Getney’s numerical system, the titles (Prince, Princess, Lord of the New Creation), and the slave’s names, all show the complexities and differences that are in a name.

            Critically, this book seems like it would be a very difficult text for adolescents. The vocabulary intense, and with scientific, Latin, and colonial English, I fear the difficulty could be too much.

            However, I find the varying formats of this text for inviting and engaging. The memoir aspect shows a very scientific insight to Octavian’s life. The varying letters of the soldiers story as well as the communication between investors and scientists, show the different subjectivity.  During the battle scenes, particularly p 276 has a choppy, flash-flow to it that echoes a war scene.

            As a piece of historical fiction, I feel that this text shows the Revolutionary War period in a novel perspective. The discussion of freedom mixed with slavery, is an interesting topic and given that the narrator is a slave and prince at the same time, gives it an interesting feel to it. However, I did not find this very engaging and was often dry and long. 

The Book Thief

Don't make me happy. Please, don't fill me up and let me think that something good  can come of any of this. Look at my bruises. Look at this graze. Do you see he graze inside me? Do you see it growing before your very eyes, eroding me? I don't want to hope for anything anymore. I don't want to pray that Max is alive and safe. Or Alex Steiner.

Because the world does not deserve them. (521) 

It is hard to describe the emotional journey I had while reading The Book Thief without settling for a cliché. So whether you prefer an emotional rollercoaster or wearing a perpetual Grecian comedy/tragedy mask, this book will afford you the opportunity. In the last five pages or so, alone I teared up twice, smiled and laughed, and the exhaled a sigh of mixed emotions that I cannot comprehend. And I think that is the point the book is attempting to make.

The Holocaust is often cast as a pure evil of Germany and a pure good of the Allies. This book does an interesting job of troubling that for me. It gave me an insight into the bigger systems at play, the continuum of good, evil, and neutrality that aligns in all of us, and the power of words to promote an ideology.

Never have I heard comments referring to pigs spoken so lovingly (from Frau Hubermann), while at other times so spiteful (calling the Jewish people “swine”). Never have I heard a narrator, Death, be so observant of life and love while focused on his job of soul reaping. Never have I seen a wooden spoon stir up punishment and love at the same time (I lie, I have been punished by a wooden spoon in my day). This book for me blurs and reshapes an understanding of the systems we all are a part of, and the destruction neutrality can bring and struggles that come from keeping promises both to ourselves and to others.

Critically, the narration of this story from Death’s perspective makes for a truly unique read and a memorable experience. It gives a truly unique point of view and a distanced vantage point into the tough and difficult issues that make up the narrative. This distance adds depth and understanding, allowing the reader to think of the Holocaust from a different angle.

The plot line is also original, with multiple looping tales and foreshadowing galore, the reader is at the mercy of what the narrator chooses to tell and in what order he finds fit. The added blurbs of random facts, definitions, and stories adds a more rounded understanding of situations. The created stories within gives a glimpse into what the characters are seeing.

As a work of historical fiction it teeters towards fantasy as it is told through the eyes of death. However, it maintains a strong connection to the real world and the historical context of Germany during the time of the Nazi regime. The varying viewpoints of multiple characters give it more depth than more common Holocaust tales. Among this books many awards, are multiple ones from Jewish literary groups, making it authentic to the history.

This book I feel offers adolescents a different look at the Holocaust and the universal array of human emotions, particularly the continuum between good and evil. It is an extremely memorable text, and its vivid toying with emotions would draw in almost any reader. 

Monster

“I wish Jerry were here. Not in jail, but somehow with me. What would I say to him? Think of all the tomorrows of your life. Yes, that’s what I would say. Think of all the tomorrows of your life.” p 205

From the very beginning, I was drawn into the novel, Monster. I literally could not put it down, forgoing many other tasks I had planned for the afternoon. I am a huge fan of multi-cultural literature and enjoy viewing works with a mirror/window continuum. With that image in mind, this book would fall more towards the window-side of the line. (Although I can relate some to the despicable treatment that police are too often displaying towards under privileged members of society, it is not to this extreme of a degree.) The way that race and implicit racist ideologies play out in the book is sadly all too real of an occurrence in society. Myers does a great job of developing these major characters but leaves the jury, judge, officers, and prosecutor vague to show their placement in the racist system at the heart of American society.

            For me there was only one element that didn’t feel real. Numerous times, Steve talks about suicide but it just never had that much of an emotional response for me. It didn’t seem like a real threat. However, as I got towards the end of the story, I was growing nervous of the threat that Steve was going to fall victim to this system. I expected him to end up in jail. Instead, he is free and playing around with his hobby of filmmaking. I found it quite interesting his “trying on” of different costumes in his movies. I see a striking parallel between this experimentation and the phenomenon of code switching that is prevalent, not only in youths but especially in the African-American community.

            This code switching and the plot as a whole quite well depicts a realistic experience that classifies as multi-cultural. It is a sad state of affairs that does occur in our judicial system, and the defense’s goal of trying to get the jury to see Steve as an individual makes for a great plot. This generalizing is what causes stereotypes and bigoted behavior to occur, and that is what Steve needed to stop to get his freedom.

            The multi-modality of the novel makes for a quite unique experience. The use of diary and screenplay formats makes for a great read, and the additional images allow for more vivid imagery. This text would be a great tool to introduce students to the creative process of video making. At the very least, there would need to be some preloading of film terminology and the techniques needed to read a screenplay. One of the few critiques I have is the screenplay; I have slight trouble in the believability that this is Steve’s handiwork. It seems a bit advanced for a sixteen year old, especially since I wish this was a movie!

The House on Mango Street

 “People who live on hills sleep so close to the stars they forget those of us who live too much on earth.” (p 86)

            Although The House on Mango Street is highly revered as a member of the new multicultural canon, I really did not have much knowledge about the text before reading, other than it takes place in Chicago and is told from a Latino/a perspective. Upon reading the introduction, I was intrigued as to what the story would hold, and I was far from disappointed.

             Throughout the story, the poetic imagery captured in Sandra Cisneros lines was breathtaking. The vividness did not end at the descriptions of physical places, as the detailed depictions of the numerous characters gave a clear picture of the year living on Mango Street. Beyond these aesthetic notions lies what I felt more of a connection towards, and what Esperenza struggles with, that being poverty.

            Esperenza is seemingly aware of what she lacks, whether it be shoes that match her outfit, the ability to eat at school, or a house without rodents. She sees a connection between her family and others, while also seeing the roles that females were forced into. There is domestic abuse, young marriages, and her mother’s insistence on education. However, the most touching and most inspiration notions come towards the end of the book when the three ladies tell her that she will succeed, but most importantly never forget where she came from, who she is, and the need for her to come back for the rest.

            Looking at this text critically, I can understand its placement as part of the new canon. Cisneros opening introduction provides a great opening segway into the narrative and allows for a greater understanding of the author (and narrator’s) experience. However, it is not just an experience of a Latina/o, but rather engages in a discussion with many marginalized groups and the difficulties in the lack of knowledge, in both the educational aspect and in just the fluency in the “empowered” language of standard American-English.

            Esperenza examines these issues that stem from cultural experiences, but also addresses those of more socio-economic grounds. For example, she talks about letting bums stay in her attic in the future because she knows what it is like to not have a home. This idea of “home” along with education and a career, make up a big part of “The American Dream”. This is a notion I have always wanted to unpack with my future students, I feel this text would allow such an exploration.

            I feel that this text would be greatly enjoyed by students of all cultures and socio-economic statuses. In particular, I think that the episodic format of the book allows for the taking and choosing of excerpts that can fit into many different lesson plans. 

The People Could Fly

Favorite Quote: “Cause he know Trouble when he hear it. For true.” p 41

While riding the bus, I am often approached by fellow wayfarers with questions as to what I am reading. More often then not, the questioning ends within seconds after I tell them the title, author, and main points of the plot. However, that was not the case while reading The People Could Fly. It seems that the idea of folklore is just what the genre declares, the tales of the people. The intrigue that my fellow bus-goers was echoed within myself as I eagerly turned the pages, and read the lines of stories that related to some of the mysteries of life. Granted little of the truth comes out clean, but it gives at least some understanding to the universality of the human experience.

            I cannot relate directly to the experience of the despicable horrors that were the slave trade, the tales that have been passed down and written into this book give me the opportunity to learn some of the sufferings and the soothing ointment that is the narrative story. The use of the vernacular with the spoken dialect of the tales, really made me feel like I was hearing these stories first hand.

            There has always been a fascination for myself, in regards to some of the peculiar animal traits that evolution has caused. While the science is all fair and critical, I have a loving affection for stories like Tappin, the Land Turtle and Bruh Alligator meets Trouble, where the animals receive their characteristic looks. Even more personal, some of the stories remind me of tales my grandfather had told me. Jack and the Devil reminds me of the tale that I have heard about the origin of jack-o-lanterns.

 However, there are some slight differences and variations in these stories compared to folk tales that I heard as a kid. It is in these dissimilarities that The People Could Fly really shows through. The anthologist takes into careful consideration the use of the vernacular and tries to use it as much as possible to remain as true as they are able to stay with the original tale. This I feel is a major plus for the book, and I could see it as a tool in showing that there are many languages that need to be accredited and not looked down upon, instead of just sticking to the hierarchical standard American English.

This collection is a fantastic example of folklore. With this exemplary status come the qualities that folklore can help teach, namely universality. As I mentioned before my own relation to the story of Jack and the Devil, there are many other instances that can teach a more worldly perspective. Human characteristics attributed to animals depict moral values, and likewise the human characters tell what society sees as just. More elegantly, I fine that the pictures do an outstanding job of progressing and connecting the tales. I had absolutely no idea what a sea-horse was until the picture was shown on page 46. Similarly, I feel that the authors additional comments following the tales do a great job of providing clarification and additional knowledge that is extremely useful in understanding what is going on with the work. 

An important aspect of folktales is the adaptivity, as many variations exist for each basic narrative. Along those same lines, each story-teller brings different details and expressions to the text. Here is a video of such a telling of the title story, The People Could Fly.