July 12, 2018
My guiding question asks about the fictional stories that define Indonesia (see previous blog). It is only fair that I ask myself that question of United States of America.
I became a teacher for many reasons. I do like working with young people, and it is rewarding work. I always loved to read and write, especially devouring books in my literature classes in college. I thought it would be wonderful to be immersed in books for the rest of my life, though I did not anticipate that I would be reading some of the same novels over and over again…forever.
Some are a pleasure. I can read Pride and Prejudice over and over. I love it, and look forward to teaching it every year. My favorite book of all time is Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. I only taught it a handful of times in my career and read it three times in its entirety. Each time, I discovered more, and still find myself returning to it as an almost spiritual text about how we should treat one another. Other works like Romeo and Juliet have become routine, though I am amazed that I continue to discover things in Shakespeare everytime. I could do without The Crucible, Daniel Day Lewis and Wynona Ryder being the only really reason I care to return.
However, when we discuss American Literature, there certain works that have become cultural benchmarks, even rites of passage for the average citizen of the U.S. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby are two notable works. Parents and students often discuss how much they love these books. One would wonder at why, as there is something dark about the books in question. Yet, one could argue these two books can be found in any curriculum across the country as staples in a high school curriculum.
As much as I love these two books, I am always intrigued by the reasons why people love these books. As soon as people learn that I am an English teacher, these two books come up as fond reminders of literature. They remember Jem and Scout. Boo Radley. Atticus Finch. They love him and think of him as a role model. Certainly he is. There are nuances; however, that never come up in conversations, that speak to the heart of the novel and issues we should be discussing as a people.
I made this connection when I saw a documentary last year, where it described how Germans study the holocaust. They teach their children that “we as citizens of Germany” are all responsible for this history and must make sure this never happens again. You own this. This concept is missing from our society, in my view. This distinction is missing in American education, too, and it can be seen in how people remember the experience of reading To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby.
There is always a feeling of a “past” that has nothing to do with the people discussing the novel for both teachers and students. It is safe to discuss slavery using that novel, as it feels like something that happened a long time ago. We are currently split in this country between those who see the current impact of slavery, and those who see none at all. Two distinctive conversations are circulating as a result.
If you think about the plot of Lee’s novel and meaning behind To Kill a Mockingbird one can see its appeal for the average American. It makes white people, who can put themselves in the shoes of Atticus Finch, a hero removed from racism – fully. Tom Robinson is in the role of a victim, and outside of the society. The angry mob feel like “racists from a long time ago.” People who, today, act and think like that mob do not see connections to themselves. Many liberals see themselves as Atticus and do not notice the subtle racism that permeates in our everyday lives. Even the narrative of the novel itself is in a flashback. Everything is past, and can make readers protected under the guise of white supremacy feel good.
When Go Set a Watchman was released, one could see more of her original intensions with the aforementioned classic novel. People did not like the idea of Atticus Finch being a card-carrying member of the Klu Klux Klan, though that would be more likely the case. In our country today, we have our ideals and speak in ideals (To Kill a Mockingbird). The harsh reality is something we grapple with (Go Set a Watchman).
There is a sense of realism missing from To Kill a Mockingbird. I am not suggesting it is not a good novel, or that teachers only focus on the past. In my experience, people remember the novel and the subject in an idealized way. That is my point, here. Why do we do this? Also, I am sure if a black student were sitting in an all white classroom, there would be an unintentional sense of superiority attached to the white students'/teacher's analysis that would make the novel’s meaning very clear to the black student and be completely unnoticed by the white students/teacher.
Same goes for the great Gatsby. People seem to remember it as being a wonderful novel. It is. The language. The flaws in the American Dream. However, it is interesting what people do remember. On Seinfeld, there as an episode where George was excited that both he and Jerry had girlfriends who were friends, and could all hang out together. He tells Jerry, “We can be like the Gatsbys. Didn’t they have friends and hang out together?” Jerry says, “That doesn’t sound right.” Later, when Jerry is on the outs with his girlfriend, threatening the foursome, George laments, “I want it to get back to when we were like the Gatsbys!” Jerry pauses and says, “I still don’t know what that means.” There is a feeling that people remember about the novel that does not speak to the true nature of the work.
People remember the party. The cars. The suits. The idea of Gatsby, the self-made man trying to buy to earn the one who got away. They seem to forget the actual themes. The ugliness. I wrote a poem about it years ago, the different stages of reading Gatsby.
My point, is that we all revise history, and it is interesting how we create narratives or stories from stories. We make history out own. One cannot avoid it. I also know the power of writing, and the dangers we face today. People will read this blog, for example, and take something I wrote and it may come back to me in a way I never intended. My fear is that we sometimes teach several novels about slavery, and not enough about how it impacts us today (See the TED Talk "The Danger of the Single Story" on the main page). It is important to supplement units with material that shows the impact on us today. I am sure many teachers do this, I am only sharing something interesting I noticed about how people remember the books and use them as a cultural conversation.
I am just trying to think about the stories we tell. Why we tell them. Also, why do they sometimes seem to have so much impact or no impact at all.
Below is a poem I wrote years ago about the three different readings of The Great Gatsby. I read it in high school, taught it as a young teacher, and returned to it when I was a middle aged parent.
reading gatsby
i read it when i was 14
well i am not sure
the book was there somewhere
in my ll bean backpack
initials engraved
got it for christmas
i remember daily quizzes
we cheated
there was a multiple choice exam
aced it
an essay on the american dream
my sixth
is everything about the american dream
it meant a great deal to mr canepa
standing with a tattered copy of his own
in his cotton dockers
simple dress shirt
wide matching tie
boat shoes
20 dollar watch
john lennon spectacles
pontificating
spit droplets
how i hate the front row
there was a big party
a car crashed
daisy
her mean husband
a billboard with a doctor
donning john lennon spectacles
his name starts with an h
has two gs in the middle
that was symbolic of something
robert redford
who somehow failed
to capture gatsbys essence
a green light
also a symbol
that meant everything
or nothing
which is existentially
everything
or something
and it made mr canepa
look sad
because it was so beautiful
like amy
who sat in front of me
dangling her shoe on her toe
tanned legs
shoulder straps
i loved seeing her face
when she handed papers back
to me
did i mention
i got an a on that essay
i do not remember
anything actually
i just always got an a
on my english essays
and amy was hot
so i guess i became an english teacher
at 23
taught Gatsby to sophomores
i knew what it meant
now
i told the kids everything
i knew
in a more meaningful way
than old mr canepa
the novel is told from nicks perspective
a third person narrator
who acts as our eyes and ears
tells us that he is trustworthy
but he is an unreliable narrator
though he wants us to look at gatsby
we are really forced to take a hard look at
nick symbolically
ourselves
as he walks the streets of new york
like a ghost
without a home to haunt
consumes our dreams
as the eyes of dr tj eckleburg
watch over our collective consciousness
symbolically
from high above
through foggy spectacles
and gatsby
the beautiful man
in the cool suit
old sport
his party
his death
daisy
daisy
daisy
the green light
he did it all for her
but it was too late
so tragic
what we dream
what we achieve
desire
acceptance
to be loved
they got it
i got it
together
in the classroom
one collective
unconscious
experiencing
itself as
one
peering across the bay with nick
at a green light
that may never be ours
bear that in mind
as you read
kids
old sport
hahaha
at 40
i read the great gatsby by f scott fitzgerald
for the first time
daisy is careless and disgusting
like amy
gatsby sad
nick too much myself
the new film
leo and tobey
remember them
romeo and spidey
now they have crows feat like
me
now
a husband
a father
an old sport
too young to die
too old to live
again
what does the green light symbolize
i do not know anymore
what i know
experience
when i read the last page out loud
i never used to do that
i find myself
standing on the dock staring
across a sea of young people
who dream
with everything ahead of them
i do know
i must look sad
like mr canepa
staring at a light
that can
no longer
be mine
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