A Guide to Teaching J Oyce Carol Oates Young Adult Literature

A Guide to Teaching J oyce Carol Oates FREAKY GREEN EYES • BIG MOUTH & UGLY GIRL SMALL AVALANCHES AND OTHER STO R I E S Young Adult Literature FREAKY GREEN EYES SMALL AVALANCHES BIG MOUTH & UGLY GIRL Tr 0-06-623759-9 AND OTHER STORIES Tr 0-06-623756-4 Lb 0-06-623757-2 Tr 0-06-001217-X Lb 0-06-623758-0 Lb 0-06-001218-8 Pb 0-06-447347-3 Pb 0-06-001219-6 Au 0-06-008969-5 (Pb Available in February 2004) • School Library Journal Best Book “Haunting images, masterfully controlled • ALA Booklist Editors’Choice language, the occasional light touch of • ALA Best Book for Young Adults fantasy, and no easy lessons.” • New York Public Library Books —Kirkus Reviews(starred review) for the Teen Age “Oates makes poetry with ordinary words “A thought-provoking,character-driven that take readers right into the restless drama.” —ALA Booklist(starred review) psyches of young women.” “Be l i e vabl e ,fu l l - b looded characters.C o nv i n c i n g —ALA Booklist(starred review) high-school backdrop .” —PublishersW eekly (starred review) “A fast-moving, timely, compelling story.” —School Library Journal About This Guide Joyce Carol Oates has produced some of the most controversial, and lasting, fiction of our time. In her novels for young adults, she explores compelling topics of abus e , co m i n g - o f - a g e, fri e n d s h i p , lo yalty and betrayal , and fam i l y . Th e questions in this guide are intended to spark livel y discussion about the issues raised in these thought provoking books. FREAKY GREEN EYES About the Book Pre-Reading Activity Fifteen-year-old Franky discovers her inner strength as she Franky lives in a tense family environment with a domineer- deals with her parents’ separation and her father’s escalating ing father. She feels she has little control of her own life until p s y c h o l ogical abuse of Franky and her younger sister, she fights back when an older boy tries to sexually assault her Samantha.When Franky finds her mother’s hidden journal, at a party. She realizes the depth of her inner strength and that clearly addressing her mother’s fear for her own safety, Franky she can stand up for herself. She calls this newfound part of steps forward and testifies against her father, the one person herself Freaky Green Eyes. Have students discuss events in who she had thought loved her. their lives that caused them to realize the depth of their inner strength. How does this realization affect the way they inter- Subjects/Themes: Coming-of-Age, Death,Family Violence, act with people? Fathers and Daughters, Mothers and Daughters, Murder, Physical Abuse, Psychological Abuse, Self-esteem,Stepfamilies. Discussion Questions 1. When Cameron tried to force himself on Franky she fierce l y 6. Du r ing a Fou r th of July fireworks display, Franky slips away fought back. Ca m e r on told her that she was crazy, that her and releases the wild animals that the sons of her fat h e r ’ s frie n d eyes had become wild—freaky green eyes . Rather than upsetting ha ve trapped in cages. Franky says she is not sorry she let them Fr a n k y , the realization that she could fight back empowere d go . Her father demands she apologiz e . Franky ref u s e s . He he r . She said to herse l f ,“You belong in this world, just likeer yev - becomes furious and storms at her, “ A p o l ogize to these one else. Except oyu ’ re Freaky Green Eyes , so you know ”it pe o p l e , Fr a n c e s c a , or I’ll break ever y bone in your miserable (p . 70 ) . What does Franky mean by this? bo d y ! ” (p 125). Would Reid Pierson have made good on his th r eat if their host had not pulled his hand off Franky’s arm? 2. Franky is concerned about her parents getting a divorc e , Does Mr. Pi e r son make idle threa t s ? es p e c i a l l y when her mother begins fixing up the cabin in Sk a g it Harbor and spends more and more time there. Sh e 7. Franky saw a whole new side to her mother when she and e-mails her older stepbrot h e r ,Tod d , asking for reassurance that Samantha visited the Skagit Harbor cabin.Her mother dres s e d ever ything is okay with their fam i l y .Todd does not res p o n d . in jeans or shorts and was brimming with energy. Fr a n k y What type of response would she have gotten from Todd if he thought she looked free .Wh y was their mother such a differen t had taken the time to e-mail back? Would it have been the pe r son while living at the cabin? How was she different from rea s s u r ing response Franky needed to hear? Wh y or why not? the mother they saw in the family home in Seattle? 3. Fr a n k y ’ s fat h e r , famous sports commentator Reid Pierso n , 8. When the police intervi e wed Franky for the second time o rd e rs a lavish Chinese dinner to celebrate his new job about her mother and fat h e r ’ s rel a t i o n s h i p , she said that she co n t r a c t . He tries to act in a jovial fashion with his children , but had known her mother was being abus e d . She knew her inside he is fuming because his wife is not there.Wh e r e is she, mother wor e scarves and long sleeves to hide the brui s e s . and why is Mr. Pi e r son so upset by her absence? What does he Franky had found it easier to blame her mother and convi n c e think of her new group of friends or her crea t i ve endeavor s? he r self that that her mother provok ed her father into hurti n g he r .What does Franky mean when she tells the police officer, 4. Due to his celebrity status, Reid Pierson has met many “It was easier to hate her” (p 306)? po l i t i c i a n s , including then president Bill Clinton.He was ver y im p r essed by Clinton’s charis m a . He tells his children ,“ Yo u 9. Todd once cared about Franky’s mother but now at age co u l d n ’ t help but love that man.You can see why, if people twenty he hates her. How did Mrs. Pierson react to Todd’s lo ve you enough, th e y’ll forgive you anyt h i n g ” (p 66). Ho w change in behavior? Why do you think Todd became so does this comment relate to Mr. Pi e rs o n ’ s actions towar d his negative toward his stepmother? own wife and children? How does Mr. Pi e r son manipulate 10 . Todd sets up a website to support his fat h e r ’ s innocence after Franky and her sister, Sa m a n t h a , into forgiving him for his Mr . Pi e r son is convicted of his wife’s murd e r .What influence rec c u r ring abus i ve behavior? What do you think “l o ve ”m e a n s do you think this website will have on Reid Pierso n ’ s rel e a s e to Reid Pierso n ? fr om prison? How does Franky feel about this web s i t e ? 5. Fr a n k y ’ s mother physically escapes from her abus i ve husband by moving to Skagit Harbor, but Mrs. Pi e r son knows she is still in danger.What does she leave behind to incriminate Mr. Pi e r son in her death? Wh e r e does Franky find it? How does this discover y change Franky’s impression of her fat h e r ? BIG MOUTH & UGLY GIRL About the Book Pre-Reading Activity Th r ough the alternating persp e c t i ves of teenagers Matt (Big The two main characters in this book, Ur sula Riggs and Matt Mouth) and Ursula (Ugly Girl), Oates explores the rep e rc u s s i o n s Do n a g h y,become friends after Matt is accused of threatening to of a false accusation of a bomb threat in a wealthy suburban set a bomb off in the school. Oates explores the rep e rc u s s i o n s NewYork City high school.Matt’s sarcastic joke in the school this rumor has in both the high school and the commun i t y . cafeteria is reported to the principal and the drama begins. Ha ve students discuss the long-term effects of a false accusation Ursula steps forward and defends Matt’s innocence. Rumors on a student. Ask them to discuss how they think their school flare and Matt is ostracized,which in turn forces Ursula out of or community would react to such an incident.

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