So I will admit that I had already read the first section of this book before it was assigned to us this weekend. After Tim had told us about the book the first week of class, I went home and devoured the first section in about a half hour. It was fabulous. I wish the whole book was like that. I think that first section is a good tool to get students reading a little, while thinking differently about what "literature" actually is, while having a good laugh along the way.
I was assigned to read "The Carnival". I have to admit that when i opened the book to page 104 and saw it was a graphic piece, I was stoked (yes, I'm feeling a little lazy this weekend after the crazy week I've had). However, when I finished reading the piece, the first words that came out of my mouth were "what the f*** was that!?!?!" (just being honest). My general reaction to this piece was that it was....weird. I liken it to indie music (just for myself personally), I know they're trying to say something prophetic and deep to me, but I'm just not getting it at all.
The story is about a car sales man who is clearly unhappy with his living situation, a shared apartment building that is now flooded from a leaky roof. So he takes a long drive to get away and stops at a carnival he sees. He meets a woman and her son there, and love/confusion ensue. It was depressing and uplifting all at the same time. Frankly, the style of the graphics really turned me off. I know that may be hard to understand, but I just wasnt digging it.
Some obvious themes in the piece are love, finding yourself, and finding happiness. A big part of the story is when the female character has the male character imagine a place of happiness and calm when his eyes are closed (they're on a faris wheel that's stuck mid air and he's freaking out a little). I feel like I could have students draw their idea of a peaceful place, what they would imagine in their heads. Also, playing off the graphic story idea, i could have students animate their own short story, or just a part from it. OR I could have students animate a scene from Macbeth and then explore together how their scenes look the same/different from a grahic novel of Macbeth that is already published. The whole graphic story lesson can be taken very far.
I agree that that "Carnival" graphic story was kind of weird, but I liked it overall. I guess it wouldn't have been the same story if it didn't have this, but it's unfortunate that that story is inappropriate for the school setting. But that is an excellent idea for having the student illustrate their own peaceful place. We could always copy that story up until the inappropriate part and have the students read it up until then. They could even write about that peaceful place and teach the students how to better describe scenes using descriptive language. This is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the idea! Middle school students love to draw (at least my classes do) so this is a great way to get them thinking and connecting them with the text. I also like the idea of having students create their own graphic novel/short story. Again, it's hands on learning that students tend to love and benefit from.
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