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LITR 4368 Literature of the Future  |
Sample answers
for Essay 2:
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Nikki
Jones
3 May
2016
Science Fiction: A Tangible Future in the Classroom
Personally, I have never been a huge fan of the typical science fiction
novel or movie. My interests have always leaned more towards fiction that has an
element of fantasy to it but is also realistic and tangible. Things that are
more likely to happen, rather than things that would typically happen in science
fiction, like an alien invasion, for example. The thing about
Parable of the Sower that I have
never experienced with other science fiction reads or films, like
Blade Runner or
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,
is a tangible future, something that has an actually possibility of happening.
There is a realness to Lauren and her coming-of-age story that students just
coming into their own as well can understand and relate to. I believe students
comprehend and appreciate this softer type of dystopian literature much more
that pure, hard science fiction novels. As a substitute teacher and future
educator I strive to understand what novels and genres are the most relevant and
enjoyed by the students of today. I find it enjoyable to think of ways to have
novels relate to the students reading them or to help them find a way to
understand the novel at hand. I believe there are many ways in doing this and
achieving this goal.
In my teaching career I have found so far that the only thing that will
keep a middle or high school student’s attention are things that they find a
high level of interest in. At that age what are they more interested in other
than themselves? They are constantly striving to understand who they are and to
find like-minded peers. Sometimes they will find these peers in characters in a
novel and end up relating to the traits and qualities they share with them. They
may even grow to idolize these heroic characters. There are books required in
public school curriculum, like The Giver,
that provides this kind of character for students, but
Parable gives its audience something
a little different from the norm. This is because Lauren, instead of just
falling by chance into the lead role,
strives to be a leader in the novel. From the beginning Lauren has an
extremely strong personality for her age, possibly because of her sharing
abilities, and seeks out ways to be a prophet for others through Earthseed.
In recent years, more than ever, authors have been utilizing strong
female leads in literature. These characters are moving from helpless, dainty
supporting cast to the prevailing hero herself. Having these resilient female
characters can help young girls who are developing their own morals and mindset
to want to become like the strong females they idolize. Ashley Idema brings this
theme up in her 2015 essay, Narratives of
the Future: Making Women More Badass. She highlights this point saying that
“Octavia Butler never fails at producing unconventional and inspiring female
characters.” Through characters like Lauren and Rye from
Speech Sounds, Butler is fulfilling
the role of providing a mold for young girls. Idema mentions that Lauren and Rye
do not fall into the overtly sexualized stereotypes that accompany much of the
older science fiction based literature and media. I agree completely and in
fact, I feel they do the opposite by claiming their sexuality. Lauren and Rye do
not shy away from the topic and act of sex. They are completely in control of it
and are both very aware about the repercussions of sex. Rye and Obsidian even
consciously make the decision to have safe sex to avoid pregnancy. These topics
are of course for a mature audience, but it could be extremely useful for high
school level girls to understand.
We see this same kind of ownership and pride with female body image in
Drapes and Folds that can be very
useful for young girls battling body image issues. In the story Pearl is not
ashamed of her body and does not try to hide her lack of breasts. Idema comments
in her essay that female authors tend to write better female characters than men
do but I would argue that claim. In the
X-Men comic books, Stan Lee has created incredible female characters that go
through hardships similar to Pearl’s. His female characters are considered
mutants who are either physically or mentally enhanced. Characters such as Jean
Grey have telekinetic powers, Storm can control the weather, and Rogue has the
power to absorb memories. They all go through their own trials of
self-acceptance that many can relate to on a smaller scale.
Authors like Suzanne Collins and James Dashner have utilized this same
type of headstrong and bold main character through their books,
The Hunger Games and
The Maze Runner. Through their own
novels they have mirrored parallel themes and symbols used in
Parable. The popularity of these
books have skyrocketed recently due to big budgeted feature films produced based
off of the series’ of novels that have been released in the recent years.
Authors, film directors, and educators alike are beginning to understand how
this appeals to the younger generation in a way that books have not been able to
in past years. Films created based on a book series tend to intrigue students to
read the book series for themselves. Librarians and teachers can use this in the
classroom to help students become interested in other related novels, to help
guide students from reading simplistic books to more intricate ones, or even to
help students start reading at a younger age.
Similarly, teachers can use simple books to help younger students to
grasp challenging concepts involved in a genre or a difficult book. Younger
readers and ones just starting out may not understand the more complex concepts
that come with certain genres of futuristic literature but through certain books
they can begin to understand the basic concepts that surround the genre. Take
for instance, Mary Pope Osbourne’s The
Magic Treehouse book series. It is one of the most popular book series for
young readers, I can even remember reading many of the books as well. In the
multiple books in The Magic Treehouse
series two siblings, Annie and Jack, are able to travel backwards and even
forwards through time to visit many pivotal historical eras and events. Although
these books are intended for students at the elementary level they cover themes
and situations that readers and educators see take place in more advanced
novels, such as H.G. Well’s The Time
Machine.
The
Time Machine
is a
classic novel that has transcended through the decades due to its simple yet
intriguing writing style and plot. H.G. Wells was also one of the first authors
to explore the realm of time travel. We, as humans, have a natural curiosity to
know or predict everything about our future, especially students at the high
school age. Questions about their future are all they are thinking about or
being asked. From the age of sixteen or so students have to think realistically
about what career they are going to choose, what college they want to attend, if
they are going out of state. They are practically plunging headfirst into their
future. In theory, they should understand the curious nature of the time
traveler and what compels him to travel into the future because they can relate
to him wanting to know for certain what the future holds, only on a larger scale
than theirs. The same students may have a stronger understanding and relate to
the story even more if they read The
Magic Treehouse when they were young. The concept of the novel would be
something familiar and time travel would not be a foreign concept to the reader.
I
think there are many ways to get students interested in reading whether it is to
find a character that they idolize, utilizing movies, or introducing them to
simpler books at a younger age. Science fiction, utopian, and dystopian novels
have all of these elements to offer students. I believe there is more than one
way to reach a student and encourage them to read, we just have to find the
right way and the right novel.
