This week in class our group discussed Virginia's characterization in the novel. We all agreed that she would be a strong role model for students in our classroom. In the novel Virginia has to deal with some very difficult issues such as date rape, but she handles it in a very mature fashion. She does tell people and tries to get help. She is such a strong character though, that at times she does not seem like a reliable narrator or realistic character. I believe girls would be a lot more troubled and "messed" up over experiencing some of the things she did. She is a great role model for students, and that is what I would want to focus on in the classroom, but she does at times seem a bit stronger and wiser than her age. I believe students will be able to relate to her, and hopefully they will use her as a guiding character of what to do if something like this were to happen to them. I hope that after reading this novel students students will have more confidence and security in their own values and expressing them to others. Virginia is a character that shows a lot of courage and perseverance for her age. This novel would be interesting to students, and it is our job as teachers to expose students to various forms and styles of novels.
I think that with this book having students discuss the difficult issues in small groups would be very beneficial. I believe that students would feel more comfortable discussing some of the sensitive topics of the book in smaller groups. This book is a great tool for helping teachers encourage students to participate and contribute to detailed classroom discussions. The novel is overall a very easy read for students, and I would feel very comfortable as a teacher assigning to book as an out of class reading assignment. Students would come together in class to discuss it, but their actual reading of the text would be individual. I would want students to read the novel because of the topics is covers and not so much because of the literary elements it encompasses.
Comments (1)
I have really enjoyed reading this book as well. I understand where you are coming from when you say that sometimes Virgina almost seems too strong of a character-that girls would be more likely to freak out. I think she does in some ways freak out but it is in small doses and no one really knows about it. For example, when she burns her finger over the candle and when she keeps kicking the wall and breaks her toe. She also goes way off her diet when she finds out about the date rape, cries in public, and sleeps a lot. These may be minor examples but I think they should be noted anyways. I like your idea of small groups discussing the book. I could see maybe doing that and then bringing the class back together as a whole to discuss as well. It mainly depends on your students, if we think that they are able to discuss such things and if they have a maturity level high enough for it.
Posted by Allison Ollis | April 23, 2010 5:59 PM
Posted on April 23, 2010 17:59