Construction of femininity and masculinity, and construction of gender roles in traditional ELA literature for study in high school:
1. Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger):
1950s, USA: Holden Caulfield is a 17 year old boy who has just been kicked out of another school. We pick up the story on his last day there, before he takes a train to New York, and fends for himself for a couple of days. It is in first person and readers quickly find that Holden is a terribly confused and unhappy person who houses many issues with the world and the people in it.
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100912140048AABtg1e
Themes:
http://www.d.umn.edu/~lmillerc/TeachingEnglishHomePage/TeachingUnits/blambert.html
2. The Search for April Raintree (Beatrice Culleton Mosionier):
In Search of April Raintree is the story of two Métis sisters growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba.They are
taken from their home and family and each put into different foster homes. Yet, over the years, the bond
between them grows. As they each make their way in a society that is, at times, indifferent, hostile, and
violent, they both struggle to find their own identity. One embraces her Métis heritage, while the other tries
to leave it behind. In the end, out of tragedy, comes an unexpected legacy of triumph and reclamation.
http://www.portageandmainpress.com/lesson_plans/plan_76_1.pdf
Themes:
http://www.portageandmainpress.com/lesson_plans/plan_76_1.pdf
3. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood):
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining fertility, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38447.The_Handmaid_s_Tale
Themes:
Three witches decide to confront the great Scottish general Macbeth on his victorious return from a war between Scotland and Norway. The Scottish king, Duncan, decides that he will confer the title of the traitorous Cawdor on the heroic Macbeth. Macbeth, and another General called Banquo, happen upon the three witches. The witches predict that he will one day become king. He decides that he will murder Duncan. Macbeth's wife agrees to his plan. He then murders Duncan assisted by his wife who smears the blood of Duncan on the daggers of the sleeping guards. A nobleman called Macduff discovers the body. Macbeth kills the guards insisting that their daggers smeared with Duncan's blood are proof that they committed the murder. The crown passes to Macbeth. More murders ensue and the bloodied ghost of Banquo appears to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth's conscience now begins to torture her and she imagines that she can see her hands covered with blood. She commits suicide. Macduff kills Macbeth and becomes king.
http://www.globe-theatre.org.uk/summary-of-macbeth-and-characters.htm
Possible student activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTMGxR5dSsg
Themes:
Construction of femininity and masculinity, and construction of gender roles in contemporary ELA literature for study in high school:
1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky):
It’s Charlie’s freshman year of high school, and he couldn’t be more scared. But when Charlie meets step-siblings Sam and Patrick, the pair takes Charlie under their wing. He learns about drugs, literature, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” writing, and himself through the course of his first year of high school. His story is told through a series of letters Charlie writes to a mysterious stranger.
http://community.sparknotes.com/2011/06/01/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower
Themes:
2. The Cure for Death by Lightning (Gail Anderson-Dargatz):
"Beth Weeks lives on a farm in British Columbia, during the 2nd World War. She is trapped in a life from which she cannot escape - a bear attack a few years earlier has left her father unstable and threatening, to the point of abusing her. At the age of 15, she is trying to come to terms with herself and where she fits in - she finds herself happier with the Native Americans than with her own town, and is persecuted as a result. Added to this, she must wrestle with her sexuality, deciding who she loves more, Dennis, Nora or Billy, both Indians. The difficulty of these choices leaves her isolated and afraid - not least because, throughout the book, she is being pursued by an Indian spirit, Coyote. Coyote has claimed her for his wife - and he kills all his wives."
http://www.allreaders.com/Topics/info_21316.asp
Themes:
3. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins):
"Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place."
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110526084300AA53Zzy
Themes:
4. Am I Blue?: Coming Out From the Silence (Marion Dane Bauer):
Am I Blue?, published in 1994, contains sixteen stories by well-known young adult authors, some of them gay and some of them not. The collection includes one story each by Bruce Coville, M.E. Kerr, Francesca Lia Block, Jacqueline Woodson, Gregory Maguire, Ellen Howard, James Cross Giblin, Nancy Garden, C. S. Adler, Leslea Newman, Lois Lowry, Jane Yolen, Jonathan London, Cristina Salat, William Sleator, and Marion Dane Bauer herself. The themes of the stories range from questioning one's sexuality, to coming out to family and friends, to discovering that one's parents are gay.
http://www.bookrags.com/shortguide-out-from-the-silence/abouttheauthor.html
Themes:
How the construction of masculinity has a lifelong affect on one man's son and strains their relationship up until the father's death.
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
Poetry:
1. "On the Seventh Day" and "The Old Order" (Lorna Crozier)
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
2. "Miss Chatelaine" (Erin Moure)
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
3. "Because I Never Learned" and "The Far Field" (Patrick Lane)
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
4. "Seed Catalogue" (Robert Kroetsch)
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
1. Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger):
1950s, USA: Holden Caulfield is a 17 year old boy who has just been kicked out of another school. We pick up the story on his last day there, before he takes a train to New York, and fends for himself for a couple of days. It is in first person and readers quickly find that Holden is a terribly confused and unhappy person who houses many issues with the world and the people in it.
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100912140048AABtg1e
Themes:
- Relationships, Intimacy, and Sexuality
http://www.d.umn.edu/~lmillerc/TeachingEnglishHomePage/TeachingUnits/blambert.html
2. The Search for April Raintree (Beatrice Culleton Mosionier):
In Search of April Raintree is the story of two Métis sisters growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba.They are
taken from their home and family and each put into different foster homes. Yet, over the years, the bond
between them grows. As they each make their way in a society that is, at times, indifferent, hostile, and
violent, they both struggle to find their own identity. One embraces her Métis heritage, while the other tries
to leave it behind. In the end, out of tragedy, comes an unexpected legacy of triumph and reclamation.
http://www.portageandmainpress.com/lesson_plans/plan_76_1.pdf
Themes:
- Discrimination
- Sexual Violence
http://www.portageandmainpress.com/lesson_plans/plan_76_1.pdf
3. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood):
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining fertility, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38447.The_Handmaid_s_Tale
Themes:
- Women’s Bodies as Political Instruments
- Women and Subjugation
- Rape and Sexual Violence
- Similarities between Reactionary and Feminist Ideologies
Three witches decide to confront the great Scottish general Macbeth on his victorious return from a war between Scotland and Norway. The Scottish king, Duncan, decides that he will confer the title of the traitorous Cawdor on the heroic Macbeth. Macbeth, and another General called Banquo, happen upon the three witches. The witches predict that he will one day become king. He decides that he will murder Duncan. Macbeth's wife agrees to his plan. He then murders Duncan assisted by his wife who smears the blood of Duncan on the daggers of the sleeping guards. A nobleman called Macduff discovers the body. Macbeth kills the guards insisting that their daggers smeared with Duncan's blood are proof that they committed the murder. The crown passes to Macbeth. More murders ensue and the bloodied ghost of Banquo appears to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth's conscience now begins to torture her and she imagines that she can see her hands covered with blood. She commits suicide. Macduff kills Macbeth and becomes king.
http://www.globe-theatre.org.uk/summary-of-macbeth-and-characters.htm
Possible student activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTMGxR5dSsg
Themes:
- The Relationship Between Cruelty and Masculinity
- Roles of Women and Men
Construction of femininity and masculinity, and construction of gender roles in contemporary ELA literature for study in high school:
1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky):
It’s Charlie’s freshman year of high school, and he couldn’t be more scared. But when Charlie meets step-siblings Sam and Patrick, the pair takes Charlie under their wing. He learns about drugs, literature, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” writing, and himself through the course of his first year of high school. His story is told through a series of letters Charlie writes to a mysterious stranger.
http://community.sparknotes.com/2011/06/01/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower
Themes:
- Homosexuality
- Love, Sex and Friendship
2. The Cure for Death by Lightning (Gail Anderson-Dargatz):
"Beth Weeks lives on a farm in British Columbia, during the 2nd World War. She is trapped in a life from which she cannot escape - a bear attack a few years earlier has left her father unstable and threatening, to the point of abusing her. At the age of 15, she is trying to come to terms with herself and where she fits in - she finds herself happier with the Native Americans than with her own town, and is persecuted as a result. Added to this, she must wrestle with her sexuality, deciding who she loves more, Dennis, Nora or Billy, both Indians. The difficulty of these choices leaves her isolated and afraid - not least because, throughout the book, she is being pursued by an Indian spirit, Coyote. Coyote has claimed her for his wife - and he kills all his wives."
http://www.allreaders.com/Topics/info_21316.asp
Themes:
- Sexual Identity
3. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins):
"Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place."
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110526084300AA53Zzy
Themes:
- Gender Roles
- Construction of Masculinity and Femininity
4. Am I Blue?: Coming Out From the Silence (Marion Dane Bauer):
Am I Blue?, published in 1994, contains sixteen stories by well-known young adult authors, some of them gay and some of them not. The collection includes one story each by Bruce Coville, M.E. Kerr, Francesca Lia Block, Jacqueline Woodson, Gregory Maguire, Ellen Howard, James Cross Giblin, Nancy Garden, C. S. Adler, Leslea Newman, Lois Lowry, Jane Yolen, Jonathan London, Cristina Salat, William Sleator, and Marion Dane Bauer herself. The themes of the stories range from questioning one's sexuality, to coming out to family and friends, to discovering that one's parents are gay.
http://www.bookrags.com/shortguide-out-from-the-silence/abouttheauthor.html
Themes:
- Sexual Identity
How the construction of masculinity has a lifelong affect on one man's son and strains their relationship up until the father's death.
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
- Construction of Masculinity
Poetry:
1. "On the Seventh Day" and "The Old Order" (Lorna Crozier)
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
- Gender Roles
- Construction of Masculinity and Femininity
2. "Miss Chatelaine" (Erin Moure)
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
- Gender Roles
3. "Because I Never Learned" and "The Far Field" (Patrick Lane)
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
- Gender Roles
- Construction of Masculinity
4. "Seed Catalogue" (Robert Kroetsch)
An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Third Edition
Themes:
- Construction of Masculinity and Femininity