Blog Post 3

YA Novel: Divergent by Veronica Roth

There are apparently 5 factions in the post-apocalyptic world of the Divergent text – Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, and Amity – and each faction performs a different function in terms of contributing to that society. The story is about how the protagonist, Beatrice Prior, decides to move from her home faction to another faction, and her role in thwarting a political conspiracy that pits the factions against each other.

Based on Brumfit and Carter’s list of criteria regarding the selection of texts to be used in an English Language or Literature classroom, portions of this text could be included if students choose this text because they are personally interested in it. I would probably conduct a poll at the beginning of the term listing possible texts to be used in class and get them to give their opinions. Brumfit suggests that texts selected should engage readers both cognitively and affectively, and this text might be light and entertaining enough to serve as an introduction or beginning text. Brumfit also suggests that visual arts might be used as warm-up or follow-up activities to the text itself, and the relatively recent adaptation of the book into a movie might provide more resources to be used when introducing the text to the classroom. 

MOE recommended text: Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

I read this text in Secondary school, but I don’t have good memories of the text or being forced to read it so I dug it out from my bookshelf and re-read it. The book is about the lives of 4 Chinese women who have immigrated to the USA and their 4 American-born daughters. They meet in church and gather to play mahjong, calling their group the Joy Luck Club.

I personally didn’t enjoy this text but I would probably look at the profile of my class before deciding if I’m including it as one of my lit texts. According to Brumfit's criteria, this text might be considered suitable in terms of linguistic level, cultural and social appropriateness, length of text, and contributions towards activating and exercising the imagination. However, I would probably choose extracts or one of the self-contained stories within the text rather than teaching the entire book. 

Other book: Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore

I don’t usually read graphic novels but after reading Alan Moore’s Watchmen and V for Vendetta, I checked Google to see if he had other works available. Batman’s nemesis, the Joker tries to turn the Police Commissioner Gordon insane by making him experience emotional and physical trauma in order to force him to give up his moral code. The novel also looks at the Joker’s origins and the circumstances that turned him into the Joker.

I think graphic novels would be a great addition to the texts used in a Lit classroom – they are generally popular amongst students especially at the lower secondary level, and are more engaging or accessible. Considering how increasing emphasis has been placed on 21^st century literacies, using such texts might help students to improve on their critical literacy skills in the Lit classroom. Batman is also a fairly iconic superhero and most students would be aware of this character and what his background is. Using Alan Moore’s graphic novel could be useful in terms of teaching students how to contextualize a derivative text within the sphere of the Batman universe.