Comments on: Reformative Literature: To What End?

By: tam

tam — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:54:06 +0000

Dostoevsky, not Dickens, wrote Crime and Punishment — but that really doesn’t matter here. My response to using a book like In Cold Blood in a CLTL class room is — why give our students more of a world they already know. I think they need a change of scene. I take delight, and my women students do too, in reading a book like Bread Givers (by Anzia Yezeirsky), a story of self-determination which takes place on New York’s Lower East Side in the 20’s. The book is full of yiddish words ( I give them a glossary) and a jewish immigrant culture that is new to them. But the theme of struggle, the rising and falling waves of hope and despair, these they know well. And I think they wake up to them in a different way because the outward lives of the characters in the book — the language, the food, the customs — are so different from their own.

By: allanmcdougall

allanmcdougall — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:20:02 +0000

Another interesting topic that this post suggests is the use of non-fiction over fiction. One CLTL juvenille program uses Ishmael Beah’s Long Way Gone:Memoirs of a Boy Soldier as a non-fiction supplement for the themese they wish to address, while Bob brings up Dickens’ classic Crime and Punishment. I wonder if anyone here wishes to share their thoughts on the effectiveness of fiction over non-fiction (or vice versa) in a CLTL classroom. I understand that every class is different and that course materials change organically based on that, but would anyone like to share their thoughts?

By: Carl S

Carl S — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:14:07 +0000

Dreiser’s novel is, of course, An American Tragedy. The memory ain’t what it used to be.

By: Carl S

Carl S — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 06:16:05 +0000

in Cold Blood can teach us all valuable lessons. Even if we suffer the insufferable, we can learn from the mistakes Perry and Richard made. Jenni, your post brings to mind Dreiser’s An American Dream. Though perhaps too long for CLTL discussions, It too suggests object lessons we learn-mistakes we can avoid- from reading about lost lives..

By: Yale

Yale — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:31:50 +0000

IN COLD BLOOD may be a good vehicle for discussing the death penalty. Does it serve any purpose? This can lead to discussion of the whole punitive theory of justice, punishment as virtue in its own right, whether or not it has any utilitarian value. Even if most people in CTLT are victims of the American criminal justice system, most of them grew up in society that seems to value punishment for its own sake and they may have internalized the very culture which marginalized them.

By: bobw

bobw — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:34:43 +0000

Excellent post, Jenni. I think every story has its value, and in that sense every story is worth our consideration and discussion. How about CRIME AND PUNISHMENT?

By: Jordan G

Jordan G — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:37:14 +0000

Thanks, Jenni. Your writing is very clear and compelling, especially as you suggest how to frame this book for conversations about retribution and redemption. Knowing where and how our texts “fit” into a larger teaching goal or among other readings is the key! I look forward to reading more.