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 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 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 o yu ’ 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. her self-imposed solitude as she helps Matt cope. Subjects/Themes: Family Relationships, Friendship, High Schools,Ostracism, Mothers and Daughters,Self-perception.

Discussion Questions 1. Ho w could the result of someone over h e a r ing a joke in the 8. When Matt tells his father he does not want revenge, his high school cafeteria get so out of hand? Who misinterpre t e d father says it is too late. He shouts at Matt,“We’re in this what they heard Matt say in the cafeteria , and what did they too far to back out.My name is at stake—my integrity.Just do about it? Wh y did this willful misinterpr etation occur? Do remember, you got us into this—with your idiotic sense of Ma t t ’ s friends stand behind him? humor” (p. 200). What type of thoughts may be going through Matt’s mind when he hears his father say this to 2. Matt is interrogated at police headquart e rs .W hy does Matt him? Does his father really think it is Matt’s fault? How be g in to understand how people crack under interroga t i o n would you react to such a statement by your father? and admit to things they didn’t do? How does this experie n c e affect his attitude towar d authority? 9. Ugly Girl is a persona Ursula slips into, as when she steps out onto the basketball court.How does this aggressive side 3. How does Ursula justify her mother’s not coming to her of Ursula influence her basketball performance and her basketball games but making sure she gets Lisa to her dance teammates’ response to her on and off of the court? rehearsals? Does the difference between big-boned Ursula and her dainty little sister have anything to do with Ursula’s 10 . Being with Matt has a positive influence on Ursu l a ’ s self- secret name for herself? What other incidents in her life im a g e . She begins to believe people actually like her. have caused Ursula to become Ugly Girl? Ev entually she and Matt become a couple. Ho w does their relationship affect the way she is seen at school? Does this 4. Ur sula barely knows Matt, but she comes forwar d and testifies change in her social standing affect her need to be Ugly Girl? on his behalf. Her mother does not want her to get invol ve d in the situation. Ho w does Ursu l a ’ s honesty and support of Matt affect her fam i l y ’ s standing in the commun i t y ? 5. This experience has profoundly affected Matt. He over h e a r s his mother say, “He isn’t a boy any longer. He has ch a n g e d .” ( p . 1 0 9 ) .H ow would a conver sation with Matt be di f f e r ent than before the rum o r s about him ran rampant th r ough the school? 6. Ursula feels she has found a word that perfectly describes her—“truculent.” What does truculent mean, and why does she think it is synonymous with Ugly Girl? 7. Matt’s parents decide to sue the school for defamation of character, resulting in a level of community and school animosity against them that escalates. A group of high school boys corner Matt and knock him down the stairs. His family receives threatening phone calls and letters.How do Matt’s mother and father respond to the community’s reaction to the lawsuit? Which of them do you think is having more difficulty with the ostracism,and why? SMALL AVALANCHES AND OTHER STORIES

About the Book Pre-Reading Activity These short stories explore the turbulent psyches of twel v e ver y The twel v e short stories in this collection are about females, fro m di f f e r ent female characters ,f rom the naïve girl in “The Sky Blue young adolescents to young women ready to enter college. B a l l ”p l aying catch with an unseen partner on the other side of Although quite different in age and life experi e n c e s , t h e s e a wall to a young woman disillusioned by what she thinks is her females have one thing in common—they have begun to rea l i z e pa r t in the suicide of a disturbed young man.Each of the storie s the impact their behavior can have on themselves and others poignantly portr a ys the tumultuous feelings a female experi- in their wor l d . Their experiences change some of them from ences as she finds herself at the brink of wom a n h o o d , of t e n ch i l d r en to teenagers, ot h e r s from adolescents to adults. Ha ve un a war e of how her actions affect those around her. students discuss events in their lives that awak ened the rea l i z a t i o n Th e m e s / S u b j e c t s :Co m i n g - o f - A g e , Family Relationships, Fri e n d s h i p , that they wer e no longer children . Sexual Awakenings.

Discussion Questions 1. Oates titles the short story about Icy, Orc h i d , and Crys t a l 6. In “The Model,”Sybil agrees to model for the eccentric Mr. “Bad Girls.” Did the three sisters break into their mother’s St a r r.As he draws her in var ious poses in the park,he asks prob i n g boy f ri e n d ’ s apartment because they are bad? If not,wh y do you qu e s t i o n s about her fam i l y . He seems to know more about her think they brok e in? Did they find what they wer e looking for? than he should.Wh y does Sybil feel a strange connection to What wer e the long-term effects of their brea k - i n ? him? What effect do her encounters with Mr.St a r r have on her relationship with her aunt? What does she decide to do when 2. The girl in “Shot” feels so sorry for a chained-up dog that she discover s who he is? Wh y do you think she makes this she calls the ASPCA and the police. But she doesn’t try to decision? What would you have done? find out if they responded to her calls. She realizes there i s n ’t anything else she have done to help the dog . 7. The girl in “The Sky Blue Ball,” is walking beside a brick Afterward, “she heard dogs barking. In the distance. Any wall when a ball comes flying over it. Would you have number of dogs.For the world was filled with barking dogs thrown the ball back over the wall as the girl does? Why do after all”(p. 189).What does Oates mean by this last line in you think she climbed over the wall to find the child she the story? Is she actually referring to dogs? thought she was playing with? Was there a child to be found? If not,what might have happened to her? 3. Cl a i r e, in “W h y Don’t You Come Live With Me It’s Ti m e ,” ex p e r iences insomnia. One night she decides to cross the 8. In the short story “Capricorn,” Melanie begins an on-line Fer ry Street Bridge to visit her gra n d m o t h e r . Her late-night relationship with a man.When he asks her what she looks jo u rn e y includes climbing up onto a bridge beam and squat like, she describes her cousin Stephanie. Stephanie has the walking her way across with the river roa r ing below her. He r long blond hair and body that catch men’s attention.Does fear of falling into the river becomes so grea t , she cannot Melanie ever tell Stephanie about her lie? When he shows mo ve.She is paralyzed by her fear.At the end of the story, th e up at the tennis courts,why is Melanie jealous? How does reader assumes that Claire gets home via the same brid g e .Do her jealousy change at the end of the story? you think Claire over came her fear and crossed the bridge to 9. In “Small Aval a n c h e s , ” Nancy plays a cat-and-mouse game get home? Was the fear so great that she lost memory of with the man who follows her from her uncle’s gas station.At cr ossing it? How else might the story end? fi r st Nancy is scared , but then she realizes she has the upper 4. Barbara Burhman, the main character in “Life After High hand in this situation.What does Nancy do to her pursu e r ? School,” is nicknamed Sunny for her “astonishing smile”(p Wh y do you think she takes pleasure in his discomfort? Does 218).What happens in this story to wipe the smile from she feel any rem o rs e ? Sunny’s face so that she refuses to use the nickname ever 1 0 .B e f o re reading “H o w I Contemplated the World From the again? How did this event change her view of the world? De t r oit House of Correction and Began My Life Over 5. Lisanne initially refuses to visit her grandmother in “The Ag a i n , ” did you have an image of what the main character Visit.” Why does she fear visiting her grandmother? What would be like? Did you think she would be the daughter of is so disturbing to Lisanne about where her grandmother a wea l t h y businessman? Wh y do you think she took pleasure lives? Are her mother’s fears of the same nature? in stealing rather than buy i n g things she could certa i n l y af f o r d? How does she feel about ret u r ning home?

HarperTempest An imprint ofHarperCollins Children’sBooks 1350 Avenue of the Americas,New York,NY 10019 Visit www.HarperTeacher.com and sign up to Be a Harper Teacher! Teaching ideas prepared by Ruth Cox,Assistant Professor in the School of Education,University of Houston.