David Meuel
English 112B: Dr. Warner
Unit Plan: November 29, 2006
Rationale
In a recent American Psychological Association survey, the
majority of U.S. teens expressed the desire for a closer relationship with
their parents and the frustration that greater closeness did not seem possible.
Among frequently cited responses were that parents �don�t listen� and �don�t
understand.�
For the seasoned student or teacher of literature, this comes as no
surprise. Parent/child relationships and their associated challenges have long
been a staple of literature. One reason is their ubiquity. In some way, they
affect everyone. We can all
relate to some aspect of them. Another is their significance. These relationships
are among the most important, influential, and sometimes difficult in our
lives. Many people spend years
trying to figure out their parents and children. And often the most intense
part of this �discovery� process occurs in the teen years, when young people
focus on forging their adult identities�identities that can stand in stark
contrast to their parents� values and wishes.
During these years, it seems especially
appropriate to bring this subject �center stage� in the classroom and, when
doing so, to explore the full spectrum of parent/child relationships involving
mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, and even surrogate parents and children. The
right mixture of literature, discussion, and follow-up activities can encourage
students to think about their parents, their roles as children, and the kinds
of parents some of them may want to become someday. For young adults
experiencing conflicts with their parents, this unit may even have therapeutic
value, perhaps offering them insight into why their parents act in certain ways
and encouragement to talk more with their parents about important personal
issues.
Developed for an eleventh grade literature
class, this unit also focuses heavily on drama�instead of fiction�to explore
parent/child relationships. In addition, it supplements dramatic works with
music lyrics, film, fiction, and poetry. And, whenever possible, it presents
drama-related activities such as reading aloud in class, �acting out� in role
plays, and writing monologues and dialogues.
Why drama? As well as giving students a better
understanding of this unique storytelling form, this unit taps into one of
drama�s key strengths: its communal nature. A play script is not the work of
art, merely the blueprint for one. The actual play only exists when actors
present it live before an audience, with all involved celebrating the
experience together. In this way, drama offers a class the chance to reaffirm
and reinforce its own sense of community, of family.
The centerpiece work for this unit is Tennessee Williams� The
Glass Menagerie. One of America�s best known and most
highly respected dramas, it examines the complex and difficult relationships
between Amanda Wingfield and her two young adult children, Tom and Laura. Many
of its central themes�the lure of illusion, the inability to escape reality,
the difficulty of many young people to �find their way� in the world, and the
power of memory�are all common issues in parent-child relationships. How many
parents, for example, have unrealistic expectations for their children? How
many young adults are uncertain and anxious about their future careers? And how
many young adults are haunted by painful memories of their parents?
Before entering the world
of the Wingfields in The Glass Menagerie,
have the class focus on one or more of these activities:
1. On the board, write this familiar quote, attributed to Mark
Twain, but probably not actually written by him:
When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
Ask students: What is the
irony in this quote that makes it humorous? Do children often learn things
about their parents that give them a greater understanding of the parents as
people? Then play the well-known Johnny Cash ballad (written incidentally by
Shel Silverstein), �A Boy Named Sue.� Ask students: What do they think about
what the speaker�s father does? Considering the circumstances, do they think it
is a good idea? How much self-awareness do they think the father has? How
important is self-awareness and a strong grasp of reality in any relationship?
How important is it to know one�s limitations as a parent, as a person? After
this, have students write a paragraph in their journals in class about a
positive discovery they made about a parent or another important adult in their
lives. Were they especially surprised by what happened and what they learned?
How did this change the way they thought about this parent or parent figure?
Finally, have students write a second paragraph from the point of view of the
parent or parent figure and ask for volunteers to read journal entries aloud.
2. Ask selected students to
participate in a role-playing activity before the entire class, playing a
mother and father and a high-school-age son and daughter in one or two
scenarios. First scenario: the parents, both former Peace Corps volunteers who know Spanish
want the entire family to live in Ecuador for a year for the experience and the
unique perspective it will bring. Both the son and the daughter absolutely hate
the idea because they will be separated from their friends and favorite
activities during that time. How does the family resolve this conflict? Second
scenario: the parents, fearing unpleasant consequences, don�t want their son to
play football or their daughter to date an �undesirable� young man. How do they
resolve these conflicts? After each scenario, have class discuss different
points of view and suggest alternate resolutions. For homework, ask students to
write one- to two-page dialogues, focusing on a parent-child issue of their
choice.
3.
Show students an episode from the TV series, The Simpsons, called �Lisa�s Substitute.� In the episode, the family�s
gifted daughter, Lisa, increasingly frustrated with her doltish father, Homer,
is drawn to Mr. Bergstrom, a substitute teacher, who understands, respects, and
challenges her. Afterwards, discuss with the class the need many young people
have for someone other than a parent to play some kind of parental role. When
does this happen? Does this necessarily mean that a parent is failing in some
way? Who are people that typically fill this �surrogate� role? Then, in class
or for homework, have students write in their journals a paragraph about
someone other than their parents they have looked to for guidance. What has
this person offered them? How has it been valuable? Ask for a few volunteers to
read their paragraphs.
Organize
a readers� theater of The Glass
Menagerie,
which includes students who did not participate in the role-playing activities.
Students can take turns reading the parts of each of the four characters and
the stage directions. (Ideally, every student in the class can �act� at some
point.)
At
the end of each scene, have students write in their journals for five minutes
about what happened in the scene, how their impressions of characters have
changed, which lines struck them as especially pertinent, or whatever else they
find important.
When
the class has finished reading The
Glass Menagerie,
lead a discussion of the play, encouraging students to refer to the text and
their journal entries for evidence to support their claims. Also encourage
students to refer back to the introductory activities for parallels they see.
Some questions for discussion include: How do Tom, Laura, and Amanda change
during the course of the play? How do students� attitudes change toward them
from scene to scene? How do all of these characters escape from hard realities
in the play? How much do students empathize with them? How �impatient� are
students with Amanda or Laura? How is Jim, the gentleman caller, different from
the Wingfields? In what ways is he better equipped to get along in the so-called
�real world?� How does the absentee father, Amanda�s husband, still have an
impact on the family?
Following
on the discussion, have the students write a one-page monologue for homework.
This monologue is spoken by one of the characters in The Glass Menagerie one year after the play�s action concludes. Encourage students to get
inside their chosen character�s skin as much as possible, using the words
he/she uses, seeing the world the way he/she does, rationalizing actions or not
as he/she would. After grading, have three or four students with the best
monologues read them to the rest of the class.
A
final option is to show the class all or part of a 1973 TV version of The Glass Menagerie on DVD with Katharine
Hepburn as Amanda and Sam Waterston as Tom. As well as rewarding students for
their hard work on the play, this activity can enhance their understanding of
the theatrical experience, showing how professional actors and others portray
the characters, design the set and costumes, compose incidental music, and
convey their shared �vision� of the dramatic work.
Extending the Unit
Have
students choose and read a work of literature suitable for young adults that
delves into some aspect of the parent/child relationship. Then, have each
student briefly present (five minutes) to the class why they chose the
particular work, what they learned from it about parent/child relationships,
and one short passage that best exemplifies the nature of the core relationship
in the work.
For
variety, offer students creative presenting alternatives:
1.
Tying
back to several previous activities, two students can work together to present
one text, sharing the presentation (ten minutes maximum) and dramatizing the
work through role playing or reading lines from two or more characters.
2.
Two
students can also work together role-playing a TV talk show host such as Dr.
Phil or Jerry Springer and a character from the work of fiction or drama (ten
minutes maximum).
3.
Tying
back to �A Boy Named Sue,� a musically inclined student can compose and perform
a musical ballad summarizing the essential parent/child issue in the work of
literature.
4.
A
student with a journalism bent can �report� in the style of a TV correspondent
on the work of literature and how it is representative of some social issue
(i.e. overextended working parents, parent�s inability to understand child�s
aspirations, etc.).
Young Adult Literature
Selections
The Effect of Gamma
Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel: This Pulitzer Prize winning play, which Variety called �the most compelling work of its kind since
Tennessee Williams� The Glass
Menagerie,� is
about the angry, embittered Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her two teen daughters,
Tillie and Ruth. It is a gritty and often painful look at trying to understand
and live with a parent who, while doing her best, can also be quite
destructive. And it is a natural for students who want learn more how
parent/child relationships have been addressed in serious American drama.
Life in the Fat Lane by Cherie Bennett:
Available in both fiction and stage versions, this story is about an attractive
16-year-old girl who comes down with a rare metabolic disorder that causes her
to gain 100 pounds and leads both family and friends to pull away from her. As
Beth Kohn put it in her Book Talk handout, �it acknowledges the reality that
there are many adults (parents) who have their own prejudices and unhealthy
issues regarding weight and looks.� It would be a good choice for students who
feel they are not understood or accepted because they are �different� in some
way.
First Crossing:
Stories about Teen Immigrants edited by Donald R. Gallo: This collection includes stories
involving families in which parent/child relationships play central roles in
the action. Among these are: �First Crossing� by Pam Munoz Ryan, �My Favorite
Chaperone� by Jean Davies Okimoto, �Lines of Scrimmage� by Elsa Marston, and
�The Rose of Sharon� by Marie G. Lee. Students of various ethnicities as well
as those close to the immigrant experience will find much to relate to in these
stories. A student choosing this book can pick two stories, comparing and
contrasting the parent/child issues in each.
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly: Set
in New York in 1906, A Northern
Light is about
Mattie, a young adult who is given a full scholarship to go to college but is
under pressure to stay home and help her struggling family. As Sarah Silva
notes in her Book Talk handout, this story can be �an introduction to the genre
of historical fiction� and �deals with young adults who are in situations in
which their familial obligations supersede their own personal pursuits, such as
higher education.�
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher: Witty and often poignant,
this fast-paced novel shows the variety of parent/child relationships all experienced
by the young hero T.J., including those with this natural parents, his adoptive
parents, and a surrogate parent, his English teacher and swim coach. All of
these people affect how T.J. views himself and others around him. This book
challenges readers to rethink their assumptions about how �family� and �parent�
are defined. It is also a good choice for students who like sports.
Mothers and Sons: In Their Own Words edited by Mariana Cook,
introduction by Isabel Allende: This non-fiction book presents 78 brief
portraits of mother/son relationships from both points of view. Among people
featured are Bill Clinton, Steven Spielberg, Robin Williams, and Ruth Bader
Ginsberg. A student can contrast some of the relationships presented in this
book with the relationship between Tom and Amanda in The Glass Menagerie.
Parenthood, directed by Ron Howard: Suitable for high
school age audiences, this 1989 film follows three generations of the Buckman
family through good times and bad. Featuring a bright script and excellent
performances by such actors as Steve Martin, Jason Robards, Mary Steenbergen,
and Diane Wiest, Parenthood also provides insights into
the enormous impact parents and children have on each other�s lives.
Concluding Activities
To
conclude the unit, spend part of a class period on these two poems:
�Those Winter Sundays� by
Robert Hayden
Sundays too my father got up
early
and put his clothes on in
the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that
ached
from labor in the weekday
weather made
bank fires blaze. No one
ever thanked him.
I�d wake and hear the cold
splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm,
he�d call,
and slowly I would rise and
dress,
fearing the chronic angers
of that house,
speaking indifferently to
him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes
as well.
What did I know, what did I
know
of love�s austere and lonely
offices?
� � �
The sky has been dark
for many years.
My skin has become as
damp
and pale as rice
paper
and feels the way
mother�s used to
before the drying sun
parched it out there
in the fields.
Lately, when I touch
my eyelids,
my hands react as if
I had just touched
something
hot enough to burn.
My skin, aspirin
colored,
tingles with
migraine. Mother
has been massaging
the left side of my face
especially in the
evenings
when the pain flares
up.
This morning
her breathing was
graveled,
her voice gruff with
affection
when I wheeled her
into the bath�.
I was almost tender
when I came to the
blue bruises
that freckle her
body,
places where she has
been injecting insulin
for thirty years. I
soaped her slowly,
she sighed deeply,
her eyes closed.
It seems it has
always
been like this: the
two of us
in this sunless room,
the splashing of the
bathwater.
In the afternoons
when she has rested,
she prepares our
ritual of tea and rice,
garnished with a
shred of gingered fish,
a slice of pickled
turnip,
a token for my white
body.
We eat in the
familiar silence.
She knows I am not to
be trusted,
even now planning my
escape.
As I toast to her
health
with the tea she has
poured,
a thousand cranes
curtain the window,
fly up in a sudden
breeze.
First,
ask different students to take turns reading the poems aloud to the class. (If
necessary, the poems can be read aloud twice.) Then, ask students to comment.
What do the poems have in common? What are the differences? How is caring a
part of each poem? How is appreciation a part of each poem? Together, what do
the two poems say about caring and appreciation in the child/parent relationship?
Second,
broaden the discussion of the two poems to include works and activities from
the entire unit. Do students see these poems differently than they would have
if they had read them before the class began this unit? How so? Has the unit changed
any of the student�s attitudes about being a parent and/or being a child? What
do they appreciate about the experience now that they didn�t before the unit
began? Which works and activities did students enjoy most/least in the unit?
Why? Are there other books, plays, poems, films, or TV shows that deal with
parent/child relationships that students would recommend? Why?
Works Cited
1. Bennett, C. (1998). Life in the Fat Lane. New York: Doubleday Dell Books for Young
Readers.
2. Cook, M. (1996). Mothers and Sons: In Their
Own Words. San Francisco:
Chronicle Books.
3. Crutcher, C. (2001). Whale Talk. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
4. Donnelly, J. (2003). A Northern Light. New York: Harcourt Books.
5. Gallo, D. R. editor. (2004) First Crossing:
Stories about Teen Immigrants.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.
6. Howard, R. director. (1989) Parenthood. Hollywood: Universal Studios.
7. Hayden, R. (1962).�Those Winter Sundays.� Norton
Anthology of Modern Poetry, Second Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, p. 867.
8. Sharma,
V. P., Ph.D. (2000) �Tips for Parent-Child Communication,� Mind Publications, www.mindpub.com/art362.htm.
9. Silverstein,
S. lyricist. (1969). �A Boy Named Sue,� Johnny Cash at San Quentin. New York: CBS Records.
10. Song,
C. (1983). �The Youngest
Daughter.� Norton Anthology of Modern
Poetry, Second Edition. New
York: W. W. Norton & Company,
pp. 1733-4.
11. Twain, M. (quote attributed to Twain by Reader�s
Digest, Sept. 1937).
Wikipedia.
12. Williams,
T. (1945). The Glass Menagerie. New
York: New Directions.
13. Vitti, J.
(1989). �Lisa�s Substitute,� The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season. Los Angeles: 20th Century Fox
Television.
Zindel, P. (1970). The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. New York: Bantam Books.