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This double consciousness or psychic dissonance is something our students know well. Their
concerns range from tomorrows quiz to the kind
of world that will be available to them in adulthood. The violence that infuses their world is eloquently captured in the genre of contemporary
realism in young adult literature.
Despite a growing body of work that draws
attention to the presence of violence in the mass
media (McManus & Dorfman, 2002; Slater,
Henry, Swaim, & Anderson, 2003) and its effects
on youth, little critical attention has been paid to
the role of violence in young adult literature. The
presence of violence in young adult novels is disturbing to some (Issacs, 2003) and validated by
others who accept it as a reflection of teen
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Defining violence
Central to our discussion is the realization that
the violence in contemporary young adult fiction
is too broad and too complex to be captured by a
single analytical framework. Rather, the violence
depicted is no more monolithic than the violence
we experience in the daily news. Although our
tendency may be to categorize oppressive and aggressive acts in a catchall category of violence,
we recognize that violent acts are not all of one
kind. The violence in the texts discussed here, like
the violence in our world, is multifaceted. It functions at different levels, is perpetuated by different motivations, and is experienced in a variety of
ways. We agree with Gutwill and Hollander
(2002) that virtual violence assaults the psyche
of individuals who are simultaneously obliged to
negotiate the social, political and economic violence that constitutes the cultural matrix of late
capitalism (p. 264).
The violence in the young adult fiction we
analyzed reflects domains of social, political, and
economic violence that interrupts the lives of
characters and structures the context of the story.
In our analysis, we found Van Soest and Bryants
(1995) conceptual model helpful. Their model
presents violence as a complex, multilayered social
phenomenon in which conditions of oppression
and aggression are present. They defined violence
as any act or situation in which an individual (or
Violence in literature:
A text set
We recognize that violence is present in all domains of U.S. society and believe that students
can most deeply understand violence in literature
when they are exposed to a broad range of examples. In this section, we describe eight young adult
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novels in which violence plays a role. All are contemporary, realistic fiction published within the
last decade. In some of the books violence is central to the story, is highly visible, and drives the
plot. In others, violence is less visible and serves
as a backdrop to the story. The settings and characters present in these novels reflect diverse socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class
identities, which we point out in our descriptions.
We also identify the different levels of violence
individual, institutional, and structuralculturaland offer ideas for classroom inquiry.
We base our suggestions on the belief that activities and teaching strategies must be part of a coherent, inquiry-based approach to teaching
language arts (Beach & Myers, 2001; Carey-Webb,
2001).
We do not envision the discussion questions, research topics, and interdisciplinary connections we offer to stand apart from other
literacy learning. Rather, we maintain that probing the problem of violence in young adult literature is best done in a dialogic classroom where
students make meaning in a variety of formats
for a variety of audiences and purposes. We recognize that teachers are often constrained in their
ability to develop interdisciplinary inquiry by the
limits of class size, schedules, and policy. Thus, we
offer interdisciplinary connections that facilitate
exploration of the issues presented in the texts
that are manageable for teachers to implement in
their own classrooms as well as in collaboration
with colleagues from other departments. (A list of
additional young adult, contemporary, realistic
fiction with themes of violence appears at the end
of this article.)
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Discussion questions
What messages about their future options
in life are communicated to the students
who attend the special after-school class?
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feature interviews and articles wherein Lester addresses his motivations for writing and his past
involvement in nonviolent and civil rights
organizations.
Resources
In an essay entitled On the Teaching of
Literature (Lester, 2005), the author shares his
hopes for readers of his works.
www.usdoj.gov/ovw is a website sponsored by the
U.S. government that offers information about
stopping violence against women.
www.amnesty.org, the Amnesty International
website, provides numerous links to information
about the violence women face around the globe
as well as suggestions for students interested in
social action.
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In this story, a relationship develops between Ugly Girl, a powerful but conflicted young
woman, and Matt, a popular male student who is
suspected of calling in a bomb threat. Although
the bomb threat is a hoax, the story is rife with
internalized violence. Ursula Griggs, who narrates
part of the novel, uses the moniker Ugly Girl to
refer to herself in the third person in her narration. On one level, the name illustrates the power
of co-opting repressive terms to present an oppositional identity. Ursula is empowered through
her self-talk and finds herself being the lone advocate for the wrongly accused Matt. As effective
as this is, the name and Ursulas internal dialogue
also suggest self-hatred. This psychic violence is
mirrored by the institutional violence exerted toward Matt and his family.
Matt is victimized by the sweep of suburban hysteria that demands youth violence be
taken seriously. The novel testifies to the power of
gossip, innuendo, and modern-day vigilante violence. When Matts parents initiate a lawsuit
against the school and others responsible for
making the allegations, Ursula observes, It was
like some disease that breaks down one organ,
then another, then another (p. 190). The insidious nature of groupthink emerges as Matt is harassed and beaten, and his dog is kidnapped. The
story ends in redemption as Matt is proven innocent, and he and Ursula find affirmation in their
relationship. Thus, the novel offers the chance for
students to investigate how individuals can transcend social boundaries and create alliances that
resist institutional violence.
Discussion questions
Ursulas power and confidence seem to
come, in part, from negative feelings about
herself. Is her use of the names Ugly Girl
and Big Mouth an example of self-loathing
or empowerment?
How do the parents in this novel contribute to the violence in the story?
Ideas for classroom inquiry
Inquiry-based extensions of this text could center
on the discussion of the collective dimension of
violence. Collective violence occurs when groups
of perpetrators commit acts that they would not
commit if they were alone. Asking students to
identify the myriad examples of collective violence in this text is a first step in helping them
suggest strategies that can be used to counteract
the human impulse toward collective violence. In
addition to analyzing the text for the presence of
collective and intrapersonal violence (e.g.,
Ursulas self-contempt), students could inquire
into the legacy of collective action such as the
Civil Rights movement and suffrage, which led to
positive societal change.
Resources
www.apa.org/pi/pii/isyouthviolence.html is a
website that addresses the need for violence prevention programs.
The video In the MixSchool Violence: Answers
From the Inside (CastleWorks, 1999), explores the
perspectives of students in a diverse suburban
high school. It includes interviews, information
about the schools conflict resolution programs,
and forthright commentary from teenagers. (For
more on this video, see www.pbs.org/inthemix/
shows/show_schoolviol.html.)
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Resources
The webpage http://kidshealth.org/teen/
your_mind/problems/date_rape.html, written for
teens, has informative articles and resources on
date rape.
In her article Shattering Images of Violence in
Young Adult Literature: Strategies for the
Classroom, Miller (2005) describes how using a
Socratic Seminar with her students helped them
to interpret violence in texts from both dominant
and oppositional perspectives.
www.focusas.com/Depression.html is a webpage
that focuses on warning signs for teen depression,
information about it, and how to get help.
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livesmusic, television, sportsto see how violence is constructed and rejected in the realm of
popular culture. Because sports rivalries are central to this story, readers could investigate how
the media treats violence in sports.
Resources
The webpage www.farmworkers.org/fwafpage.
html offers information on the life and work conditions of Floridas farmworkers and contains
links to many social and political organizations.
Blueprint for Violence in Youth Sports, an article published at http://ijahsp.nova.edu/articles/
Vol2num1/grosz-violence.htm, explores developmental and cultural factors contributing to violence in youth sports.
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REFERENCES
Alsup, J. (2003). Politicizing young adult literature: Reading
Andersons Speak as a critical text. Journal of Adolescent
& Adult Literacy, 47, 158168.
Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. New York: Puffin.
Beach, R., & Myers, J. (2001). Inquiry-based English instruction: Engaging students in life and literature. New York:
Teachers College Press.
Bloor, E. (1997). Tangerine. New York: Scholastic.
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Oates, J.C. (2002). Big Mouth & Ugly Girl. New York:
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Public Broadcasting Service. (2002, October 18). Transcript:
Bill Moyers interviews Robert Jay Lifton. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript_lifton.html
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Slater, M.D., Henry, K.L., Swaim, R.C., & Anderson, L.L.
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Soto, G. (1997). Buried onions. New York: HarperCollins.
Tatum, B.D. (2003). Why are all the black kids sitting together? And other conversations about race. New York: Basic
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Van Soest, D., & Bryant, S. (1995). Violence reconceptualized for social work: The urban dilemma. Social Work,
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Wartski, M.C. (2005). The importance of multicultural
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Wolff, V.E. (2001). True believer. New York: Simon Pulse.
ADDITIONAL TEXTS
Block, F.L. (2000). The rose and the beast: Fairytales retold.
New York: HarperCollins.
Bone, I. (2002). The song of an innocent bystander. New
York: Penguin.
Cormier, R. (1998). Tenderness. New York: Laurel Leaf.
Crutcher, C. (2001). Whale talk. New York: Random House.
Draper, S.M. (1994). Tears of a tiger. New York: Aladdin.
Fleischman, P. (1999). Whirligig. New York: Laurel Leaf.
Giles, G. (2002). Shattering glass. New York: Simon Pulse.
Klass, D. (2002). Home of the braves. New York: HarperCollins.
Konigsburg, E.L. (2000). Silent to the bone. New York: Simon
& Schuster.
Strasser, T. (2000). Give a boy a gun. New York: Simon
Pulse.
Woodson, J. (2003). Hush. New York: Puffin.
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