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A SURVEY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FANTASY LITERATURE WITH CASE

STUDY ANALYSES OF THE RESPONSES OF FOUR AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS TO YOUNG ADULT HEROIC FANTASY LITERATURE THAT FEATURES PROTAGONISTS OF AFRICAN ORIGIN

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

Randy F. Rush, B. A.. M. Ed.

The Ohio State University 1996

Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. Diane DeFord

Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop Advisor Dr. Janet Hickman College of Education UMI Number: 9710652

This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.

UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Randy F. Rush 1996 To my grandfather, the late Deacon Wallace Hill, Sr. I remember the proudness of your steps when you walked down the halls of a junior high school you once was custodian of to see “Mr. Rush”, the teacher, your grandson. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In all of us there are stories, some we have a tendency not want to share but probably should and some we can hardly wait for an apt audience. Although the pages that follow offer a study in scholarship, there is much story imbedded. Some of it is unique to me and those I call family and some of it is universal. So to the following contributors and apt readers, “Thanks” for the help in creating this one: It seems today that it is more of a custom rather than an intrinsic need to first give thanks to one's God. However, for this personal journey and those connected to getting me here, I am truly indebted to mine. Of course, this study would have not progressed without the assistance of the four young adults who shared their interpretation of other individuals' stories and in turn, shared their individual stories with me. Walter Dean Myers and Charles Saunders, thanks for the opportunity to talk with you about your novels.

The church home, prayers, and assistance provided by Rev. Timothy Clark and the congregation of First Church of God were invaluable during my stay in Columbus. Renee, our meeting here was a blessing. To have been blessed with women filled with strength enough to pass on to children who have often not remembered to call upon this source within is more than enough reason to be included here. Mom (Dorothy), Grandma Rosa, and Ma Clara - Thanks for a life that has been worth living and a heritage I will always treasure. Big Auntie. Aunt Dllcie, and Aunt Ruth for the reminders that your prayers covered me wherever I went and whatever I did.

Thanks Dad for remaining connected and providing spiritual guidance. Bernadlne, Danny, Deborah, Anthony, Stephanie, Shelton, and Shawn whom I have tried to be a big brother to, I hope this Is another source of pride.

Diane, Rudine, and Janet, the ladles on my committee who have served as guides and mentors, thanks for your enduring patience and belief In my ability. Virginia Hamilton, thanks for the dubbing of “Brother Rush" as suggested by Rudine. I will always treasure your tutelage and friendship. Barbara P., thanks for the pep rallies and valuing what I brought to your classroom. Barbara F., somehow I think you know what you contribute to all the novices who pass through the office. This would not have been possible without your attention to the details. The cohort of candidates from 1988-92, although we arrived at the end of the story at different times, getting there together was memorable. Mary Jo, Ron, Cherl, Beth, Pat E., James and Andrea you have been great reading partners.

Sam, Ira, Stacey, Ora, Val, Marsha, and a host of friends It Is done. I hope our friendships will continue to endure.

Starr, I wish I knew where you were at this moment. You always believed from the moment of this story's first thoughts. As time and goals have a way of doing, we lost each other before the end. Finally. Cheryl, the completion of the final pages are due to what this ending will hopefully mean to the beginning of more entertaining stories created from our chance meeting. Iv VITA

June 06, 1958 Bom - Perry, GA

1979 B. A., Valdosta State College, Valdosta, GA

1982 M. Ed. Valdosta State College, Valdosta, GA

1983-84 Social Studies Teacher, VIdalla High School, VIdalla, GA

1984-85 Reading Lab Director, Perry Junior High School, Perry, GA

1985-88 Reading Lab Director, Perry Middle School, Perry, GA

1988-92 GraduateT eachlng/Admlnlstratlve Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

1992-96 Assistant Professor, Eastern Connecticut State University, Wllllmantic, CT

FIELDS OF STUDY

Major Field of Study Education

Studies in Literacy Professor Diane E. DeFord

Studies in Children’s Literature, Professor Rudine Sims Bishop Response to Literature, and Multlculturalism

Studies In Children’s Literature, Professor Janet Hickman Response to Literature TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION...... li

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... ill

VITA...... V

LIST OF TABLES...... x LIST OF FIGURES...... xli

CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION...... 1 Background: Description of American Minority Populations 4 Impact of Children’s Literature ...... 9 Statement of the Problem ...... 11 Research Questions ...... 12 Methodology...... 12 Scope of the Study: Significance ...... 14 Definitions of Terms...... 15 Overview of Chapters...... 18 CHAPTER II - REVIEW OF LITERATURE...... 20 Description of Young Adult Literature ...... 20 Themes and Characters in Young Adult Fantasy ...... 25 African Americans in Fantasy Literature ...... 34 Multlculturalism in Children’s Literature ...... 34 Trends, Themes, and Topics ...... 38 African Americans Fantasy Literature ...... 41 Reader Response ...... 45 Response and Fantasy Literature ...... 53 African American Readers and Response ...... 57

CHAPTER III - METHODOLOGY...... 63 Setting for the Study ...... 64 Subjects...... 65 Time Frame...... 68 Book Selections ...... 69 Data Collection ...... 74 Data Analysis...... 77 vi Summary...... 78 CHAPTER FOUR - FINDINGS: CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE WITH PROTAGONISTS OF AFRICAN ORIGIN 80 Fantasy Elements in African American Children’s Literature ...... 81 African American Young Adult Fantasy Literature...... 95 African American Speculative Fiction ...... 103 Conclusions ...... 137 CHAPTER FIVE - FINDINGS: FOUR AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS RESPONSES TO TWO NOVELS OF HEROIC FANTASY LITERATURE WHOSE PROTAGONISTS ARE OF AFRICAN ORIGIN...... 141 Categories of Analysis: Biographical Data ...... 144 Categories of Analysis: Response Data...... 145 Introduction to the Booktalks ...... 146 Diane’s Case Profile ...... 147 Imaro Booktalk ...... 147 Biographical D ata ...... 147 Response Data ...... 152 Conclusions ...... 162 Legend of Tank Booktalk ...... 163 Biographical D ata ...... 163 Response Data ...... 164 Conclusions ...... 169 Summary Interview ...... 170 Biographical D ata ...... 171 Response Data ...... 174 Conclusions ...... 178 Tina’s Case Profile ...... 179 Legend of Tank Booktalk ...... 179 Biographical D ata ...... 179 Response Data ...... 181 Conclusions ...... 191 Imaro Booktalk ...... 192 Biographical D ata ...... 192 Response Data ...... 195 Conclusions ...... 200 Summary Interview ...... 201 Biographical D ata ...... 201 Response Data ...... 204 Conclusions ...... 208 Gary's Case Profile ...... 209 Legend of Tank Booktalk ...... 209 Biographical D ata ...... 209 Response Data ...... 213 Conclusions ...... 222 vi! Imam Booktalk ...... 223 Biographical D ata ...... 223 Response Data ...... 225 Conclusions ...... 230 Summary Interview ...... 230 Biographical D ata ...... 230 Response D ata ...... 234 Conclusions ...... 236 Jerry's Case Profile ...... 237 Leg&KJofTaaik Booktalk ...... 237 Biographical D ata ...... 237 Response D ata ...... 240 Conclusions ...... 246 Imam Booktalk ...... 247 Biographical D ata ...... 247 Response D ata ...... 249 Conclusions ...... 252 Summary Interview ...... 253 Biographical D ata ...... 253 Response D ata ...... 255 Conclusions ...... 258 Subjects’ Data Comparisons ...... 259 Within Subject Comparisons ...... 259 Response D ata ...... 259 The Legend of Tatrik...... 263 Imam...... 265 Biographical D ata ...... 267 Leg&idOfTarik...... 271 /maro ...... 272 Summary Interview Data Comparisons ...... 274 Biographical D ata ...... 275 Response D ata ...... 277 Literary Genre Preferences ...... 280 CHAPTER VI - CONCLUSIONS...... 282 Mg^r Findings and Discussions ...... 282 African American Children's and Young Adult Fantasy Literature... 282 African American Adolescents Response to Fantasy Literature 286 African American Adolescents Literary Genre Preferences ...... 289 Summary of Major Findings ...... 291 Literature Surrey D ata ...... 291 Response D ata ...... 292 Implications ...... 292 Implications for Teachers and School Officials ...... 292 Implications for Publishers ...... 295 Implications for Future Research ...... 297 viii Concluding Remarks...... 298

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A...... 300 Biographical Protocol ...... 301 Tell Me" Framework ...... 303 Oral Briefing ...... 306

APPENDIX B...... 307 Interview Schedule ...... 308

BIBLIOGRAPHIES Children’s and Young Adult Fantasy Literature Bibliography 312 Speculative Fiction Bibliography ...... 316 Bibliography ...... 321

IX LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE

1. Children's Books in Print By and About African Americans, 1985-1990 35

2. Chronological Listing of African Americans Children’s Fantasy Literature, 1967-1994 ...... 85

3. Chronological Listing of Young Adult Fantasy Literature with Black Characters, 1978-1995 ...... 96

4. Chronological Listing of Speculative Fiction Featuring Protagonists of African Origin, 1859-1996 ...... 105

5. Diane’s Biographical Data - Im am ...... 148

6. Diane’s Response Data - Im a m ...... 152

7. Diane’s Biographical Data - The Legend of T arik...... 163

8. Diane’s Response Data - The Legend o f Tarik...... 165

9. Diane’s Summary Interview - Biographical Data...... 170

10. Diane’s Summary Interview - Response Data ...... 175

11. Tina’s Biographical Data - The Legend o f T arik...... 179

12. Tina’s Response Data - The Legend of Tarik...... 182

13. Tina’s Biographical Data - /maro ...... 192

14. Tina’s Response Data - /maro ...... 195

15. Tina’s Summary Interview - Biographical Data ...... 202

16. Tina’s Summary Inten/iew - Response Data ...... 205

X 17. Gary’s Biographical D ata-7/76/.^endof rar/ïf ...... 210

18. Gary’s Response Data - The Legend of Tarik...... 214

19. Gary’s Biographical Data - Im aro...... 224

20. Gary’s Response Data - Imaro...... 226

21. Gary’s Summary Interview - Biographical Data...... 231

22. Gary’s Summary Inten/iew - Response Data...... 234

23. Jerry’s Biographical Data - The Legend of T arik...... 238

24. Jerry’s Response D ata-7/76 Legend of 7ar7/f ...... 240

25. Jerry’s Biographical Data - Im aro...... 248

26. Jerry’s Response Data - /maro ...... 249

27. Jerry’s Summary Interview - Biographical Data...... 253

28. Jerry’s Summary Inten/iew - Response Data ...... 256

29. Response Data Comparisons ...... 259

30. Biographical Data Comparisons ...... 267

31. Summary Intenriew Comparisons - Biographical Data ...... 274

32. Summary Interview Comparisons - Response Data ...... 277

XI LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURES PAGE 1. Children’s versus Young Adult Fantasy Literature with Protagonists of African Origin ...... 101

2. Ethnic Origin of Authors of Children’s Fantasy Literature with Protagonists of African Origin ...... 102

3. Ethnic Origin of Authors of Young Adult Fantasy Literature with Protagonists of African Origin ...... 103

4. Ethnic Origin of Authors of Speculative Fiction with Protagonists of African Origin ...... 135

5. Speculative Fiction with Protagonists of African Origin by Authors’ Ethnicity...... 136

6. Gender Response Data...... 262

7. Gender Biographical Data...... 270

XII CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

American society today is truly multicultural, and demographic trends forecast significant increases in the ethnic populations that have been traditionally termed as “minority groups.” Hodgkinson (1988) states that by the year 2020, 48% of the school age population-ages 5 to 17-will be children of ethnic minorities. America's non-White and Hispanic student population enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools for 1994-95 is projected to be 34% of the total enrollment, resulting in a decrease of White enrollment from 71% to

68%. In three decades (2026), the United States student population could be a complete inverse of 1990 demographics: 70% non-White and Hispanic (Garcia,

1995). This will, of course, insure America's continued characterization as a diverse society ( Boyer, 1990; Cottrol, 1990 ). Garcia's (1995) projection for the 1994-95 school year seems to have been met a year early. According to the U. S. Department of Education [USDE},

(1995b) statistics show that the Fall 1993 public school enrollment figures for non-White and Hispanic populations were 34% of the total school enrollment:

16.6 % Black, 12.7% Hispanic, 3.6% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1.1% American

Indian/Alaskan Native (p. 60). As of this study's date, 1994 enrollment figures by race are not available. However, since Black and Hispanic students have made up the majority of public school students in central cities of the nation since 1981

(USDE, 1995a, p. 120) and public elementary and secondary school enrollment 1 is projected to rise between 7 and 9 percent between 1995 and 2000 (USDE,

1995b, p.1), demographic projections should continue to be realized.

Although this depiction could be one of merit, the numerous problems associated with the lack of equity for all of these diverse ethnic groups; especially the Native-, African-, Hispanic-, and Asian-American groups provides a less appealing perspective. Whenever equity is questioned, economic and educational opportunities are inevitably shown to be disproportionately distributed (Hawkins, 1996; Taylor, 1996; Wright, 1996). Dr. Reginald Wilson, senior scholar at the American Council on Education (ACE), states that there is a ‘perception of the loss of majority privilege' (Hawkins, 1996, p. 16); when asked to provide insight into the recent debates over the legalities of affirmative action policies. This issue, in and of itself, highlights the changes necessary in light of a growing ethnic minority population that has been traditionally thought of as the “less fortunate,” are traditionally among the jobless, and must now be looked upon as the future supporters of an growing aging population (Hodgkinson, 1988).

The impact that increased minority populations will have on society and educational institutions will need to be addressed as we enter the 21st century. We cannot be so naive as to believe that a demographic change as significant as those stated above will not influence material use and production, roles and relationships of students and workers, and organizations. One question that has been argued in recent years (Hirsch, 1987), for example, is what materials should educational institutions best use to engage and inform its multicultural population? In addressing curricular changes, Wilson

(1996) states inclusion and multicultural studies has been good but, “...the opposition has tended to mischaracterize that, just as we have talked about some mischaracterization of what affirmative action is” (Staff, pp. 25). Mandatory multicultural curriculums put forth by organizations are viewed as unfavorable by

Atwell and suggests that a more effective approach toward diversity would be a commitment from the top that includes the curriculum, campus climate, employment, admissions, etc. (Staff, 1996). While debates have been waged as to the content of “reading lists” to best inform the general population, there is little question about one general principle: research has proven the value of the use of children’s literature as an instructional resource in the classroom (Huck, Hepler, Hickman, 1987). The addition of multicultural literature to the curriculum further enhances this value, especially in engaging and informing all readers (Sims, 1982; Rasinki and Padak,

1992). Within the body of research conducted on the use of literature within the educational curriculum, it has been suggested that the role of response in understanding students’ engagement and alignment to particular literature used in the curriculum is the direction that new research should take (Hickman, 1981 ;

Edmiston, 1990). Hickman (1981) contended that research and empirical measures employed to date had given educators an incomplete picture of what constituted a ‘response’ and what its important aspects were, especially in reference to the elementary school child. She further argued that “conventional empirical approaches often fail to deal with important dimensions of children’s responses to literature, such as the demand for repetition and successive responses, nonverbal modes of responding, and the nature of spontaneous expressions of response (p. 343)." However, she did acknowledge the general appropriateness of data gathering strategies that involve a reliance on verbal measures and critical statements for studying the response of young adults to literature.

Edmiston (1991) added that response data allows justice to be done to the

“broader range of social interactions and external signs of children's engagement with literature (p. 20).” She also states that children's engagement with stories is an important factor in reading. The quality of this engagement “may be one of the most critical factors determining the quality of readers' interpretations, and more importantly, whether or not they will continue to return to books (p. 13).” Towards this end, this study explores, through case study methodology, the responses of African American adolescents to fantasy literature that has protagonists of African origin. The following pages of this chapter explore the background of the study through a discussion of multicultural issues and research in children's literature. Further, the assumptions, limitations, and definitions of appropriate terms to highlight the scope and significance of this study are set forth.

Background of the Study

Description of Minoritv Populations

Ogbu (1988) blames the persistence and disproportionate problems of inequity in the lives of minority populations on their classification as “minorities” and the differential aspects of each minority. These distinctive characterizations are also seen as having ramifications for educational success in today's classrooms. He delineates three types of minorities in the United States: autonomous, immigrant, and castelike. Autonomous minorities are minorities only in a numerical sense. These groups are defined by distinct ethnic, cultural, linguistic, or religious identities.

However, members of autonomous minority groups are not usually subordinated politically, socially, or economically. Representative of this type of minority are

Jew s and Mormons. Immigrant minorities, on the other hand, are people who have voluntarily moved to the United States in search of political, economic, or social freedom.

Individuals of Asian and Hispanic origin are examples of the minorities in this category. They usually encounter some societal barriers, but not at a disproportionate rate that would persistently prevent adjustment and achievement in their new environment. The final type of minority is the castelike or involuntary immigrant.

Examples of these people would be the American Indians, Black Americans, and

Mexican-Americans. Due to enslavement, conquest, and colonization these people were involuntarily brought to America and subsequently denied true assimilation into society. Reed & Sauter (1990) observe that these people persistently experience discriminatory practices and are disproportionately associated with societal ills (school dropouts, teen pregnancy, homelessness, infant deaths, and general poverty). The persistent inequities experienced by the castelike minorities, their increasing numbers in American society, and the “new voices” (Wayson, 1988) that have called for strategies to reduce this inequity, have come together in the decade of the 1990s to promote educational refonn. Atlas (1990) illustrates this in the following passage:

Education in this country has become a privilege rather than a right. Whole populations have been denied this right, and the consequences are now upon us. As Joe Kellman, a Chicago businessman who founded a private school for slum children, put it, "If we don't figure out how to educate blacks and Hispanics in our inner cities, then we can kiss our democratic society goodbye.” (pp. 15-16) Within this context, then, research must focus on ways to break down educational barriers, to explore new ways of educating those minorities that have been disenfranchised from the benefits of a democratic society, and examine methods and materials that will improve the education of future Americans.

Subordinated and Marginalized Groups: The Workplace and Education What is occurring in American society is the development of a younger population which is becoming substantially more "minority” in composition. This population is mostly unskilled, and they are entering the work force at such a rate that one out of every three new workers will be of minority origin (Bates, 1990;

Naisbitt & Aburdene, 1990). Thus, if for only economical reasons, the power brokers must empower those that have traditionally been without a significant degree of power. Hodgkinson (1988) makes a case for the dismissal of political polarizations and the concentration of efforts on addressing real economic and social issues:

Of the three people who will be working to support you and me in our retirement, one virill be nonwhite. You don't have to be a liberal to be concerned about this issue; you can be a hard-nosed pragmatist and wonder where 33% of your retirement benefits will come from. If our current group of minority young people dont get a good education and good jobs, if they dont make it to the middle- class levels of income and productivity, you and I will feel the impact of that deficiency when we retire-and maybe a lot sooner. (p. 169) Education, as indicated above, is seen as the remedy to America's current economic problems. History, of course, shows that the schools have always been the focal point of attempts at effecting changes upon society. Reich (1991), a political economist, offers the following suggestions as to what the goal of this education should be;

1. It should begin at the prenatal stage and continue through college.

2. There should be a greater investment in research and development and infrastructure.

3. The overarching goal for America should be to enlarge the number of people that can be understood to do symbolic- analytic work, who are problem solvers, problem identifiers, and broker of the two to offset current trends that indicate no more than 20 percent of the American work force will be in symbolic- analytic tasks.

4. This can be accomplished by defining our community in much broader terms than our neighborhood, which after all, is likely to be composed of people much like ourselves. Our companies can adopt local schools not in a superficial way but in a way that has a practical effect on the fates of lower-middle-class, poor and underclass children-going into the schools, rolling up our sleeves and providing some direct help. We can support and willingly pay tax increases that are earmarked for educational infrastructure, (p. 46) Thus, it is necessary to explore the means by which all stakeholders can influence the education of the lower-middle-class, poor and underclass children who tend to belong to minority groups. Reed & Sautter (1990) state that, “...The

Children's Defense Fund calculates that one white child in seven is poor. However, the rate of poverty is considerably higher for minorities, who are fast becoming majority demographic groups in the ten largest states. Four out of nine black children are poor; three out of eight Hispanic children are poor(p. 4).” One direction the educational community has begun to move to address these issues is through multicultural education. In its most basic form, multicultural education was envisioned as an instructional tool for educating all 8 children, but which would have significant impact on minority children. The goal of multicultural education is to help these children see themselves or their cultures reflected in the curriculum in more positive ways. OIneck (1990), examining the goals of intercultural education and multicultural education, describes the goals of the latter in the following manner:

...certain multiculturalists call for the cultural diversification of both pedagogy and curriculum, in part to overcome discontinuities between schooling and students' social identities and cultural practices, and in part to advance parity of recognition and power to heretofore subordinated and marginalized groups. Certain models of multlculturalism, then, call in theory not merely for the respectai differences but also for the incorporation of differences into the organization and practices of public schooling, (p. 159)

OIneck entitled the article from which the above quote was taken The

Recurring Dream and concluded that, “two visions of ethnic and racial equality compete in American civic discourse. One emphasizes equal opportunities among individuals, while the other emphasizes parity among groups. Both visions offer benefits, and both entail hazards and uncertainties. Neither vision is attained in practice (p. 167).” Thus, it seems that the implication is that multicultural education, in its present form, has not worked. Others, however, believe that it can work and suggest modification of the goals of multicultural education.

Primary among the advocates of multicultural education are the directors of the ten federally funded Desegregation Assistance Centers (DAOs) who made the following recommendations in a recently published report entitled

Resegregation of Public Schools:

1. the development of teacher attitudes and beliefs that all children can grow and achieve, including sensitivity to cultural similarities and differences and systematic provision of interpersonal skills that promote positive self-concepts; 2. the extension of instructional strategies to take into account culturally based differences in learning styles, interactive learning that is essential for developing thinking skills, and technological advances;

3. the revision of the curriculum to reflect a focus on multicultural curriculum, on metacognition, and on high-order thinking skills;

4. the reform of testing to overcome problems of culture and sex bias, to insure testing for higher cognitive processes at every grade level, and to expand the areas of performance-based assessment to take account of cultural strengths not usually recognized;

5. the reform of grouping and tracking practices to reflect the needs of an information society rather than those of an industrial society; and

6. the reform of administrative processes to eliminate stereotyping, bias, and discrimination for reasons of race, sex, or national origin and to increase principle and teacher participation and autonomy in decision making. (Bates, 1990, p. 16) Bates (1990) posits that physical desegregation is still unfinished and because of second- and third-generation desegregation issues, court orders and white guilt, it will continue to be inadequate and illusory. Greater emphasis has to be placed on the academic benefits that were supposed to come with desegregation, namely effective schooling for all students, but especially the large number of minority students in the nation's inner cities.

Children's Literature The notion of a multicultural curriculum to assist in promoting effective schooling was explored above. It is from this initiative that multicultural literature for children gained momentum during the 1960s. Kruse and Horning (1991) 10 described circumstances that surrounded this growing interest in multicultural children's literature:

In 1965, educator Nancy Larrick wrote a short article published in Saturday Review; It was titled “The All-White World of Children's Books." In the article, Larrick reported the results of a survey she conducted on the 5,000 juvenile trade books published from 1982- 64. She found that only four-fifths of one percent of these books included any mention of contemporary African-Americans in either text or illustrations. Larrick's article made a tremendous impact on both publishers and the book-buying public. In this time of great social change, many trade publishers responded to this information and began to meet the new public demand for a more accurate picture of our society by showing a greater sensitivity toward racial diversity in the books they subsequently published for children.(p. x)

Inherent in literature is the power of words to effect change in the world and in individuals personal lives, especially children's lives (Feelings, 1985; Sims, 1982). Thus, by adding multicultural books to the curriculum that authentically portray African-, Asian-, Hispanic-, and Native-American children experiences, there is the power to change children's lives in a dynamic way. Rasinki and Padak (1990) state that, “...In a multicultural curriculum there are few stimuli with greater potential to move people to action than literature. Because it tells the stories of human events and the human condition and not simply the facts, literature does more than change minds; it changes people's hearts. And people with changed hearts are people who can move the world (p. 580).”

Perhaps in no other genre of literature is it more possible to “change hearts” than in the genre of fantasy. Yolen (1981) states that, “...the fantasy novel speaks many times to the listener. Once in the ear, and again and again and again in the echo chamber of the heart (p. 67).” LeGuin (1979) believes that, “... fantasy is true, of course. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely why many of them are afraid of fantasy. They know that truth 11 challenges, even threatens, all that Is false, all that is phony, unnecessary, and trivial in the life they have let them selves be forced into living. They are afraid of dragons because they are afraid of freedom (p. 44).” Thus, it would seem that the fantasy genre could be well utilized in a multicultural literature curriculum. However, Bishop (1991) found that there are only a few multicultural fantasy books a s compared to the number of multicultural books in other genres. Consequently, very little is known about how culturally diverse students will respond to and engage with fantasy literature that features multicultural protagonists.

Statement of the Problem Available research examining multicultural literature, a subcategory of multicultural education, has shown that it can be an effective instructional aid in the effective school curriculum (Florez & Hadaway, 1986; Pugh & Garcia, 1990;

White, 1991; Smith 1993). Additionally, fantasy literature has the potential to bring forth the power found in words, especially in books written for children. Yet, there exists only a few fantasy books for children that portray multicultural characters in the text or illustrations and as the protagonist. Thus, this study examined the use of available fantasy literature that features a protagonist of African origin with African American young adults to determine quality of response to the books and attempt to determine the type of relationship that exists between African American literature and the genre of fantasy for African

American students. 12 exists between African American literature and the genre of fantasy for African

American students.

Research Questions

One of the largest groups of multicultural populations in American schools today are African Americans. This research focuses on the following questions in relation to this particular group: 1. What is the present state of multicultural children’s and young adult fantasy literature, especially that of African origin? 2. Will African American young adults of competent reading ability

respond in qualitatively different ways to fantasy literature when the characters and settings are reflective of their cultural origin. 3. What literary genres do African American young adults of average

reading ability indicate as their preferences in their reading?

Methodology Research has shown that an ethnographic approach is the most beneficial research methodology to explore children’s responses to literature. Purves and Beach (1972) surveyed research conducted on reader response and concluded that case-study techniques should be employed. Hickman (1981) observed that many of the empirical measures employed to date did not provide a complete picture of what constituted a "response” and what important aspects should be examined. She recommended a holistic approach that would provide rich sources of data and ethnographic methods as useful means to study response to literature (1983). Finally, Smith (1993) suggests a naturalistic inquiry approach 13

Harris’ (1990) contention that African American children’s responses to

African American literature is a field that has not been significantly explored was instrumental in limiting this study to African American middle-school aged children. The genre of heroic fantasy was selected for its potential to evoke positive images of multicultural characters making the transition from adolescence into adulthood. It was hoped that this type of literature would encourage African American adolescents to engage with and respond to their reading in qualitatively different ways than when they read similar books without multicultural protagonists. For this reason, heroic fantasy books with protagonists of African origin were selected for student response utilizing a case study format. Response data were collected over a seven week time period through the use of audiotapes and fieldnotes taken during student interviews in the form of individual and small group “booktalks.” In order to encourage quality of response within the data collection process, the case study students were limited to four students of average reading ability. These students were also asked to keep reading logs to record their immediate responses to books read outside of the interview setting. Content analysis of field notes and audio-recorded transcribed interviews of the book discussions, and reading logs were conducted to determine categories and patterns of student response to both types of literature. 14

Scope of the Study

Significance

The year 2000 no longer carries the mystique it once did centuries, or even a few decades, ago. This can be attributed to the fact that in only a few years the new century will be upon us. We are able to see now what we will face as this final decade ends and some of the problems that have consistently plagued mankind are still prominent. One of the most persistent problems for this century and, it seems, for the next century is providing a high-quality education for all youth, regardless of ethnic origin. Farr (1991), commenting on the plight of the changing population and its impact on language arts instruction, states:

...clearly, it is high time that majority attitudes be realigned with the realities of this changing population (p. 365). Non-mainstream cultural groups, taken together, are increasingly no longer the minority in the United States. In fact...such groups will outnumber non-Hispanic European-origin whites...this reality must be addressed within our educational system, or that system will be doomed to repeat its current failures with non-mainstream populations (p. 369). This study informs existing knowledge that has as its focus African American students' response to heroic fantasy, especially fantasy literature that features protagonists of African origin. Inquiry of this nature may further cross- cultural understandings. Additional information may also be provided to influence publishers and book distributors. Access to multicultural children's literature is a concern, especially fantasy literature that features multicultural characters and themes. Hickman (1981 ) noted that when children had direct access to books there was evidence of more reflective thinking and their responses were more readily expressed. Access to good multicultural literature by children of African 15

American origin may facilitate their ability to respond and permit more reflective thinking. Martinez and Roser (1991), in their review of research on children’s responses to literature, calls for research that will enable educators to "...more fully understand the ways that children’s responses to literature are shaped by cultural characteristics...(p. 648). Harris (1990) also noted that inquiry that focuses on children’s responses to African American literature is "relatively untilled.” Although the field is beginning to be tilled with recent explorations (Altieri, 1993, 1995; Jordan & Purves, 1993; Smith, 1993), there still exists a need for further tilling. This study w as designed to address these needs by examining the responses of African American students to literature that was written by African Americans with main characters that were also of African origin. Thus, the scope of this study is limited to: four African American middle- school age children, the genre of heroic fantasy novels, a non-classroom setting in a large midwestern city, and a restricted time frame. Generalizations from the reading experiences of these adolescents will not necessarily be appropriate for characterizing the nature of response for other children. However, the results of the study may have implications for the further development of theory and research of reader response and the influence of culture.

Definitions Of Terms

Young adult literature is sometimes referred to as adolescent literature or teenage literature. The term is used to refer to books written for and freely chosen for reading by students in grades seven through twelve or within the ages 16 of twelve and twenty (Donelson & Niisen, 1980; Holland, 1980). Holland also states that “adolescent literature is whatever any adolescent happens to be reading at any time (p. 33)” and “...the adolescent is both a child and [author’s italics] an adult, and his tastes in reading, as in everything else, reflect this fact

(p.34).” Huck et ai (1987) in speaking of books written for children, in the general sense of the term (no age nor grade delimitation) presents an additional, yet similar view in the following paragraph:

The uniqueness of children’s literature, then, lies in the audience that it addresses. Authors of children's books are circumscribed only by the experiences of childhood, but these are vast and complex. For children think and feel; they wonder and they dream. Their lives may be filled with love and terror. Much is known, but little is explained. Children are curious about life and adult activities. They live in the midst of tensions, of balances of love and hate within the family and the neighborhood. The author who can fill these experiences with imagination and insight, give them literary shape and structure, and communicate them to children is writing children's literature, (p. 6) Thus, literature that accurately reflects the lives of young adults can be thought of as young adult literature.

Fantasy literature is “a broad term used to describe books in which magic causes impossible, and often wondrous, events to occur. Fantasy tales can be set in our own everyday world or in a secondary world or time somewhat like our own. The existence of the magic cannot be explained (Lynn, 1983, p. 1 ).”

Fantasy literature as a genre is not easily defined nor encapsulated into a single definition (Hume, 1984; Lynn, 1983). Additionally, Hume (1984) states five functions of fantasy in the following passages:

It provides the novelty that circumvents automatic responses and cracks the crust of habitude. Fantasy also encourages intensity of engagement, whether through novelty or through psychological manipulation. In addition, fantasy provides meaning systems to which we can try relating our selves, our feelings, and our data. In 17

other words, It asserts relationship. Fantasy also encourages the condensation of Images which allows It to affect It readers at many levels and In so many ways. And It helps us envision possibilities that transcend the purely material world which we accept as quotidian everyday reality, (p. 196)

Heroic / High fantasy literature refers to the fantasy that Egoff (1988) describes as epic In the following passage:

Epic, or heroic fantasies are also distinguished by their close relationship to a branch of the oral tradltion-the legend... [Writersjhave used both the matter and structure of legend to Infuse their works with the epic quality of the ohglnal-lts emotional impact and grand design. Like their prototype, modern epic fantasies are chiefly concerned with the unending battle between Good and Evil that Is fought out In wide but well-defined landscapes...Epic fantasy, like Its forebears. Is dom inated by high purpose. There are worlds to be won or lost, and the protagonists engage In a deeply personal and almost religious battle for common good. In order to recreate the aura of times past In which the legends were developed, writers of epic fantasy frequently devise a kind of medieval Other World...But even when the setting Is real and geographically Identifiable as part of our known world...the atmosphere resonates with mythic themes and symbols as legendary figures battles with modem protagonists, (pp. 6-7)

Multicultural literature can best be described as literature written by and for Individuals of African, Hispanic, American Indian, and Aslan origins. Sims (1984), although speaking of the Black American In children's literature, describes this literature as that:

literature which reflects the life of Black Americans [and other traditional minority cultural groups] In their own terms, which reflects the eccentricity and Ideological dlfference,...When It is done well, as with all good literature, it touches, by relating the particulars, the common humanity of us all. So It helps non-Black readers to connect their own humanity with that of the people of another cultural group, and thereby to enrich their own lives. Most Importantly, it permits the children whose lives are mirrored to know that their ways of living, believing and valuing are Important, legitimate, and to be valued; and as all good literature. It also permits them to reflect on the human condition, (p. 155) 18

Reader response is a term used In reference to children's responses to

literature. It seeks to describe the result of a transaction between a reader and a text and the context in which the transaction occurs. This transaction is one in which the reader is viewed as constructor of the literary experience guided by the text and this transaction can be verbal or nonverbal (Rosenblatt, 1978; Hickman,

1981).

African-Origin is a term used by the investigator to distinguish between protagonists who are racially characterized as Black in literature with an American or African setting and to make reference to the authors of the literature.

The term refers to the cultural origins of the authors and the characters they create. The two novels used in the study were written by African Americans, although one of the authors is a Canadian citizen, and published in the United States. Each of the protagonists are “Black Africans" and the setting for both

novels is Africa. Within Children’s Literature parameters, the novels are of the African American Literature genre. Thus, for reference purposes, both the authors and the protagonists of their novels are of African origin.

Overview of Chapters Chapter Two examines critical research that applies to the three fields of interest to this study: (1 ) the range of themes and characters that are represented in the genre of young adult fantasy literature, (2) the present descriptions of multiculturaiism in children's literature and its relationship to existing young adult fantasy literature, and (3) the evidence of response as it relates to young adult fantasy literature. Chapter Three provides a description of the research

procedures. 19

Chapter Four presents the findings from the survey of African American children’s and young adult fantasy literature. Insights into the present state of this genre are presented as outlined in question one of the research study.

Chapter Five presents the findings from the analysis of African American adolescent readers' responses to heroic fantasy literature and their stated reading interests. This chapter focuses on questions two and three of the research study. Finally, Chapter Six outlines the major findings and implications of the study and directions for further research. CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

This chapter examines critical research that applies to three fields of interest to this study: (1 ) the range of themes and characters that are represented in the genre of young adult fantasy literature, (2) the present descriptions of multiculturaiism in children’s literature and its relationship to existing young adult fantasy literature, and (3) the evidence of response as it relates to young adult fantasy literature.

Descriptions of Young Adult Literature Generally, the distinctions made between fantasy for young adults versus that of children and adults deal with age and format differences. Lynn (1989) refers to young adult books as those books intended for young people in grades 6 through 12 with an age range of 11-18 years old as well as the adult books adopted by these young people. Children's books, on the other hand, are those intended for children in grades 3 through 6, or 8-12 years old. Due to differing elementary and middle school structures often employed, grade 6 overlaps both of these categories. Lynn (1989) states that children's book formats differ from that of adults by utilizing larger typeface, wider margins, shorter length, and human protagonists that are young people. Finally, she adds that the one tangible difference in children's books that distinguishes them from the adult books are "happy endings.”

20 21

Engdahl, (1975/1991) states that the factors of complexity and viewpoint distinguish the young adult novel from the adult novel and offers the following explanation of these attributes:

Obviously, adolescents cannot absorb ideas of as great complexity as more experienced readers. They cannot follow as many Interwoven threads, or perceive such Involved Interrelationships; nor do they possess the knowledge to make sense of allusions. This is not because they are “too young" for adult material; it is because they have had too little time to develop background. If a book is to be meaningful to them, it must be clearly focused... The other crucial factor that determines whether a book Is meaningful to adolescents is viewpoint. This is more than a question of the age of the protagonist, though normally, the principal viewpoint character should be young. The real issue is the book’s outlook. As everyone knows, teenagers neither share nor understand the outlook of adults with whom they are in actual contact; they cannot be expected to fathom the view of those for whom most contemporary adult novelists write, (pp. 17-18)

She also delineates five things that young adult novels do not offer in an effort to show the value of these novels: 1. Writers of young adult novels do not limit vocabulary or use a less complex style than that of fiction for adults and the length of these

novels often exceed the adult novel. Conceptual and emotional levels distinguished the serious young adult novel from the adult novel rather

its reading level. 2. Quality young adult novels do not preach. The young adult author can use the story to reflect his views about life, but the author must not

reflect his views about how young adults ought to look at life.

3. Quality young adult novels are not devoid of concepts worth pondering and discussing. Although the novel observes the standards of good

taste, its themes are not limited to traditional or fashionable new ideas. 22

4. Shelter from the world as it is is not offered by young adult novels. The

grimmer aspects of life and aspects some adults consider shocking are

not ignored. The young adult knows that people rarely live happily ever after and, in turn, young adult novels with true depth do not foster the

notion that reality is uniformly grim. Readers who have found this to be

true are entitled to know that a bright side does exist. 5. Contemporary young adult novels are not mere vehicles to provide the

reluctant reader with a fictional reflection of his or her own life-style and specific problems. Although, the young adult is prone to select books that are mirrors rather than windows, the best young adult novels

portray adolescence as a maturing process. Real relevance lies in this sense of the future, of becoming as well as being, not in a mirror

image.

Egoff (1988) refers to the changes reflected in children's literature during the period of 1960s as “new realism” and describes it as concentrating “on social problems (frequently harsh ones) that affected the young directly and that immediately caused psychological and even traumatic disturbances in their lives. The books themselves soon came to be described as “problem” novels...(p.

173).” The literature of this era was marked by a changing view of childhood. In Egoff’s (1988) description, this view was very strongly influenced by the fast- paced changes in the mores of the society of the sixties, the impact of television, existentialism in adult novels, and a fierce independence within the protagonist.

As to the nature of fantasy during this period, Egoff (1988) indicates that fantasy changed very little at first, maintaining traditional settings, characters and values. However, teenage protagonists became more evident in the 1960s and 23 their search for identity and integration of self was intermixed with the more conventional “matters” of fantasy [author’s emphasis]. Additionally, an increase in the use of myth, legend, and folklore by writers of fantasy became evident, especially in light, animal, and epic fantasy. The face of fantasy was changed by these writers through the extensive strengthening of the realistic components and deemphasis of the Secondary World and Secondary Belief of their works.

Egoff (1988) also comments on the face of fantasy of the 1970s and the

1980s. Many of these books reinforced and advanced the trends of the 1960s. Teenage protagonists continued to be a factor and there was the development of adult protagonists in books written for the young. Fantasists tended to be more concerned with the emotional development of the teenage protagonists rather than the development of a strong plot. “Introverted fantasy” [the incorporation of psychological problems that concern the author and his or her protagonist into the plot] was prevalent and continued into the 1980s. Authors of this introverted fantasy tended to concentrate on only one or two main characters with little or no emphasis on the minor characters due to the author’s focus on the problem rather than the image. These minor characters were used to advance the plot. The fantasists since the 1960s tended to be writers who write exclusively for children and/or young adults and delved into the complexities of adult life without illuminating it. Various strands of myth, legend, and folklore were used by the authors of the 1970s and most tended to write chiefly on topics particular to their backgrounds, especially the British. Finally, a psychic sense of enchantment almost replaced the mythic sense of enchantment.

The use of the supernatural is prevalent among the fantasy of the 1980s. However, supernatural qualities were used not to provide a new vision of reality. 24 but as an adjunct to it. Some protagonists come into possession of supernatural powers for a brief period of time and, in some instances, these powers are ongoing for other protagonists. The range of these powers extended from the extrasensory perception to witchcraft. Psychofantasy, fantasy as a form of therapy, was carried over from the 1970s and the real world serves as the setting for the fantasies of the 1980s. A final trend of these fantasies was that they tended to contain a high level of emotion rather than the gentle worlds of imagination that are found in the fantasies of the past (Egoff, 1988). Nadelman (1995) provides a brief insight into fantasies of the early 1990s.

Her compilation contains fantasy books published up to 1994. Distinguishing features for the early 1990s seem to be a continued production of outstanding fantasies for children and young adults by well-respected authors and the addition of new and talented authors, and the growing number of strong female protagonists. She also observed that there is very little attention being paid to the burgeoning young adult interest in fantasy by the professional literature compared to the frequent discussions of children’s fantasy. The statements of the critics cited in the preceding passages suggest that young adult fantasy is first of all a contemporary phenomenon with the turmoil of the 1960s as the major point of origin. This turmoil was portrayed as a descriptor of the prevailing attitude of adolescence and was reflected in much of the literature for the young adult through to the 1980s, including fantasy. Thus, the “matter” of fantasy, instead of perhaps being impervious to the prevailing mores of contemporary society, became a reflection of it. The plot of the story became secondary to this exploration of reality. Thus, Egoff (1988) came to refer to this phenomenon as “the fantasy of reality.” The prevailing theme then of young adult 2 5 fantasy seems to be a search for self by the protagonists regardless of the motifs or settings the author chooses to use tell his story.

Finally, Egoff (1988) provides an overview of the particulars of modern fantasy and fantasists and describes it and them as Tolkiens. The traditional

“matter” of fantasy is found in their books. However, in the new fantasies for children, she states:

There is a distinctive stream of fantasy for children and young people that is different from that for adults, as well as, in most cases, different from children’s fantasies of the past. One significant aspect of it, however, has not changed, and it is doubtful that it ever will. Like writers in other genres for children, the new fantasists still hew to the traditional purposes of children’s literature-to instruct, to enlarge horizons, to make moral judgments, and, in particular, to help the young come to terms with themselves and with the situations in which they find themselves. This basic approach gives children’s fantasy a more serious goal than that for adults, and it also offers a greater scope for variety in themes, plots, and style. (p.266) The use of magic, heroic adventure and mythic themes, and attempts to deal with adult problems within the genre of fantasy are similar components of children’s, young adult, and adult novels. As Lynn (1989) suggests, "it seems clear, however, that as in all literature, it is the level of the reader’s understanding and his or her willingness to accept the presence of magic and impossibility that determine an individual’s choice of reading materiai...(p. xxiv).” Themes and Characters In Young Adult Fantasv

Critics, scholars, writers, and readers of fantasy generally agree that the range of themes and characters of fantasy are diverse and efforts to categorize this diversity is a task that is not without its criticism (Egoff, 1988; Huck, Hepler, and Hickman, 1987; Lynn, 1989; Mobley, 1974). This in no way diminishes the need for continued attempts at categorization to illuminate new thoughts and 26 continued criticism toward the development and grounding within a genre

(Mobley, 1974). It is beyond the scope of this study to attempt categorization.

Rather, the purposes of this review is to highlight areas of categorization that have been used in the literature to describe the specific characteristics of the fantasy genre. Subject matter, setting, the degree of seriousness of treatment, and the sex of the author have been categories frequently used in analyzing fantasy literature (Lynn, 1989). Of these, subject matter seems to be the most frequently used. Talking toys and other wonders, stories of magic, quests for truth in lands that never were, narratives that speculate on the future, and contemporary fairy tales are representative of the topics of modern fantasy literature (Huck, et al,

1987). Egoff (1988) refers to the categories as subgenres of fantasy and isolates nine major themes outlined below: 1. The Literary Fairy Tale: Selective use of the folk imagination creating a new whole stamped with the writer’s individual personality.

2. Epic Fantasy: Epic, or heroic, fantasies are closely related to the legend. The unending battle between Good and Evil tends to be the primary concern of the modern epic fantasy and a sense of high

purpose permeates the story. These include worlds to be won or lost and a deeply personal and almost religious battle for the common

good. Medieval Other Worlds, similar to the times in which legends

were created, are frequently used by modern epic fantasists.

However, settings that are part of the known world resound with

mythic themes and symbols when used in this subgenre. The Arthurian

legends, the Welsh tales of the Mabinogion, English tales, and 27

Scandinavian myths and legends are the sources for many of the

writers of this fantasy.

3. Enchanted Realism: These stories contain an aspect the strange, the uncanny, the eerie, or the dreamlike aspects of reality rather than the

completely fantastic. The settings are real, yet they have an aura of

enchantment; thus the classification of “enchanted realism." Worlds are

not changed by the protagonists, but they are by the magical quality

that alters the everyday world and allows them to see more realistic detail than they would in real life. This could be the result of an

understanding of time and friendship, the rituals of life and death, the

link between past and present, the burdens of immortality, etc. 4. Stories of Magic: The motive in these stories is the discovery of talismans and their use. The settings remain real although the talisman

take the protagonist to other places or times or perform wonders in the

children's world. There is less of the fantastic and the timeless quality in these stories than in the subgenre of the literary fairy tale or the epic

or the enchanted realism. 5. Animal Fantasies and Beast Tales: Comprised primarily of talking

animals who possess human intelligence and emotions. These stories usually take place in a specific landscape within the real world. Above

all else, the animals of these modern stories must retain their animal characteristics although displaying human characteristics.

6. Past-Time Fantasy: Involves time traveling from the present to the

past, often through the use of a talisman. Past-time fantasy allows the

protagonist to make contrasts between his time and the one he has 28

traveled to, however the past cannot be changed. The settings are

usually more or less identifiable historical eras. This subgenre is the

most realistic and emphasizes the universality of human needs and emotions of all fantasy.

7. Science Fiction Fantasy; Stories that involve the future but are not

extrapolations of known scientific facts. The fantastic is derived from the supernatural or elements of folklore and legend, thus the

classification of fantasy rather than science fiction. 8. Ghost Stories: Based on the premise of fear attained by the dead or thought to be dead [ghouls, apparitions, specters, poltergeists,

vampires, werewolves, etc...] invading the living and present. 9. Light Fantasies: Identifiable through its use of humor and wit. It has

many purposes and levels of meanings. Sixteen motifs, described as a recurring idea or theme, are identified by

Mobley (1974) as those occurring quite frequently in fantasy. These may be grouped more broadly into three categories: actors in the tale (divine beings, unusual animal, marvelous creatures, or conventional human characters), background items (magic objects, unusual customs, strange beliefs, or landscape elements), and single incidents (independently existing tales). Mobley’s description of these sixteen themes are listed below:

1. Motifs concerned with animals...These are animals [that are] in some way remarkable: mythical animals like the dragon,

magical animals like the truth-telling bird, animals with human

traits, animal kingdoms, weddings, and the like. Also included 29

are the many grateful or helpful animals, marriages of humans

with animals, and other fanciful ideas about animals.

2. Motifs concerned with tabu...Listed here are forbidden objects

and actions, as well as the opposite of the tabu, the unique

compulsion.

3. Motifs concerned with magic...This is the largest group and the

one most important to fantasy fiction. Transformation and

disenchantment, magic objects and their employment, magic powers and other manifestations are featured. 4. Motifs concerning the dead...Almost universal in folk tale is a fear of the dead and grouped here are motifs that include

resuscitation, ghosts, and reincarnation, as well as ideas about

the nature of the soul. 5. Motifs concerning other marvels...Here are found journeys to other worlds, extraordinary creatures such as fairies, spirits,

and demons; wondrous places such as castles in the sea; and

marvelous persons and events. 6. Motifs concerned with dreadful beings...Because of the prominence of such beings as ogres, witches, and other

fearsome marvelous creatures, these have a group of their

own. 7. Motifs of testing...This includes tasks and quests, tests of prowess, and tales of recognition, as well as riddles, and other

tests of cleverness. 30

8. Motifs concerning the mental characteristics of the

characters...This group deals with Wisdom, Cleverness, and

Foolishness. 9. Motifs of action...This is one of the largest groups and contains motifs of deceptions, the work of rascals and thieves, adultery,

seduction, captures and escapes, disguises and illusions.

10. Motifs of reversal of fortune...Here we find the success of the unpromising child or the downfall of the proud. 11. Motifs dealing with the definite ordaining of the future...This contains irrevocable judgments, bargains, promises and oaths.

12. Motifs of luck...Here the favors and evil gifts of the Goddess

Fortune are grouped, along with motifs of gambling. 13. Motifs concerning reward and punishment.

14. Motifs concerning captives and fugitives. 15. Motifs concerning instances of great cruelty. 16. Motifs concerning sex...grouped here particularly are incidents

of wooing, marriage, married life, the birth of children, as well as sundry types of sexual relations, (p. 78-79) Conflict, Recognition, Power, Endurance, and Transcendence are also cited as basic themes of fantasy in the forms of problems and values that characters must resolve. Conflict, both inner and outer, involves all battles with enemies and with self that the hero fights, as well as the thematic conflict of antithetical forces and the central conflicts of the quest. Recognition involves both recognition of self as well as the difference between helpers and adversaries; the incidents which require a character to call the true name of a thing, to ascertain 31 its true form, or to discover its true purpose. The end of the quest or struggle when the hero triumphs either over death or through it, and his true worth is acknowledged are also included in the Recognition theme.

Power is found in the fantasy tales through the physical strength and will of the hero, the societal and political forces, as well as the “pure” powers of

Good, Evil, Magic, and Imagination. The theme of Endurance is recognizable through the treatment of the hero's grace under pressure and the lasting quality of basic forces and values found on Earth and these abide even in the world of the fantastic. When the hero surpasses what all believed him capable, when an individual character exceeds his own reserves of strength in times of crisis, and through the assurance fantasy gives us that death is but another passage, another threshold for the questing and ultimately triumphant spirit-

Transcendence is expressed (Mobley, 1974). As to the characters found in the fantasy novel, Mobley (1974) states that they are to some extent conventional mythic romance figures- “there are certain things a character must do, roles he must play, and themes he must express; and his 'personality' is secondary to these concerns...These characters have a ‘real life'..they unambiguously embody within themselves the fundamental forces of life. They have a kind of realism of content-a psychological realism-that prevails whether or not they are ‘realistically’ presented (p. 175-177).”

Mobley's (1974) analysis clearly describes these characters and the roles they must play: 1. Characters are either good or bad. They either help or hinder the hero

and his development, his quest, and his eventual reward. 32

2. The hero is the chief vehicle for the focus of the fantasy and carries

the bulk of the action. He is easily identified and is introduced early in

the tale. He must be essentially human-he must be able to die.

Although he will have great capacities for wisdom and power. This

mortality and its subsequent feelings of fear, courage, desperation, and

acceptance contain many of the important themes of fantasy. He is often a common man attaining heroism as the narrative progresses.

The hero also has a symbolic deficiency. It may be in the form of the lack of a particular object or agent, a magic ring, sword, or stone which

becomes part of the quest; or the deficiency may derive from a flaw in

the society to which the hero belongs and which is about to fall into ruin

so that the hero then lacks a societal base out of which to operate. Finally, the hero is either a person of action or a person of submission.

The former seeks out action, confronts adventure, and does not wait for it to find him. He is usually eager, restless, and mobile, and has at

some time made a conscious choice to be so either because the call of sheer adventure was overwhelming or because necessity dictated thus. The latter may be submission to his destiny as a hero, or submission to the individual quest set upon him, or submission to the

recognition of some force within himself which denies his power.

3. The other characters are either part of the moral thesis-antithesis and the helpers and the adversaries; or the peripheral figures. These

characters include all the ordinary folk who make up the society of the

individual, as well as the supernatural folk he encounters who are not

directly a part of his quest. The hero’s antithesis, the villain, fall into 33

well-defined archetypes and folk tale motifs. Among natural

adversaries are wicked kings, vicious warlords, rascals, and thieves.

The supernatural adversaries include ogres, witches, evil magicians, vampires, revenants, devils, demons, and a bestiary of dangerous

animals, most popularly dragons. There are also the least expected

adversaries which include treacherous relatives and faithless friends; and of supernatural origin, adversaries who by shape-shifting have

appeared to be helpers yet are enemies. These characters try to trick and thwart the hero, test his power and his right to achieve reward and renown. Finally, the hero also faces guiding and testing figures who

advance his quest. They include oracles. Wise Old Men, and guardians at gates, river crossings, and other places of passage. Their

function is usually to question the hero so that he will question himself; sometimes they provide answers as well, or material aid. Very often

they have powers of their own, equal or nearly so to the hero’s power,

but the testers do not often use their gifts to get the hero out of trouble or to end his quest. They merely point him along his way. (p. 183-185) 4. Women in fantasy fiction have two basic roles: they are objects,

sought or given as rewards or simply employed for decorative

background, or they have active roles as helpers or adversaries. The

bride, the woman the hero seeks or encounters who fulfills the feminine

spirit in him, is the most prevalent in fantasy. While the central

character of fantasy fiction is most often male, there are few fantasies

that have no important women in them. Although the sphere of heroism

in fantasy has been previously more or less limited to the male hero. 3 4

recent fantasies are showing women assuming roles of more power

and vitality. The purpose of this first section was to present the range of themes and characters generally found in existing fantasy literature. Introductory statements established the premise that much diversity exists within this genre and even generalized categorizations are subject to criticism.

African Americans In Fantasy Literature This section presents descriptions of fantasy as it applies to African American literature for children and young adults. The first part of this section will examine the present conditions of multiculturaiism in children's literature as an attempt is made to continue to establish a baseline for comparative and contrastive purposes. Thus, the final part of this section will focus on scholarly discussions of African Americans appearances in the genre of young adult fantasy. Only a brief discussion of the history of multiculturaiism is presented to avoid repetitiveness and to enhance the focus of this section. Multiculturaiism In Children’s Literature As stated earlier, the beginnings of multicultural literature can be traced to

Nancy Larrick’s 1965 study, T h e All-White World of Children’s Books.” This review documented the lack of contemporary African-Americans portrayed in trade books for children. This study also resulted in an increased publication of authentic multicultural books with African-American, as well as other ethnic minority authors (Kruse & Horning, 1991; St. Clair, 1989). There were also multicultural books written by Caucasian authors who attempted to portray accurately the experience of the African and/or African-American child and/or 35

young adult (Kruse & Homing, 1991 ; Stanford & Procope-Martin, 1979; St. Clair,

1989). This sense of “accurate” portrayal of characters and their “authentic”

experiences by authors other than those of the ethnic group became a topic of debate among professional circles, both educational and literary (Hurmence, 1984; Simon, 1968; Sims, 1982; Sims, 1984a; Sims, 1984b).

In Larrick’s (1965) study, 44 [four-fifths of one percent] children’s books of the 5000 published from 1962 to 1964 contained contemporary African American characters. Presently, 50-70 children’s books are published per year that feature Black protagonists or focus on Black life out of the total number of books published for children (Bishop, 1990). A total of 5000 children’s books were

published in 1990 and of these 51 were books written by African American authors for African American children (Kruse & Homing, 1991).

Table 1 -Children’s Books In Print Written By And About African Americans 1985-

1990 (Kruse and Horning, 1991)

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Total: 2500 2500 3000 3000 4500 5000

#Afr. Am: 0018 0018 0030 0039 0048 0051

%: .72 .72 1.00 1.30 1.07 1.02

Additionally, of the 204 books identified by Kruse and Horning (1991 ) as

being written by African Americans during the years from 1985-1990,25 of these

books were written for the young adult. These 24 are part of 40 young adult 36 multicultural books recommended by the authors. Nine of the 25 were published before 1985. These 24 books were written by ten prominent African American authors. This survey documents that very few African American books have been written for young adult readers.

Harris (1990b) states that approximately 200 books per year have been published since the 1970s by African Americans or others about the African

American experience. Bishop (1990) notes that approximately 480 books about

African Americans are listed in the New York Public Library’s (1989) The Black

Experience in Children's Literature and 170 of those were published between 1984 and 1988. She also comments that even though this number is inadequate, it is an improvement over previous years. The 1970s are seen as the banner years for multicultural literature, whereas the decade of the 1980s is viewed as an era of declining publications of multicultural literature. Both of these phenomena are reflections of societal dispositions. The former phenomenon is generally contributed to the African American demand for civil rights and equal opportunities and the latter to the decline of advocacy movements by and for African Americans (Harris, 1990b; Kruse & Homing, 1991; St. Clair, 1979). A view of the early 1990s is provided by Bishop in a compilation of multicultural children’s books (K-8) published from 1990-92. These books are about or related to African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic

Americans/Latinos, and Native Americans. These books also focus on the countries and experiences of people in Africa, Asia, South and Central America, the Caribbean, as well as books set in Mexico, Canada, or England. In preparing the booklist. Bishop estimates that during the years 1990-92, fifteen to eighteen thousand new books were published and 600 of those books were multicultural 37 works. She concludes that although this an increase compared to previous years,

3 to 4 percent of the thousands of books published in those years is still small when compared to the proportion of people of color in the schools and population

(Bishop, 1994). Examining the public school enrollments for Blacks and Hispanics for those years, a clearer picture emerges. Black enrollment was 16.5% for 1990 and 16.7% for 1991 and 1992. Enrollment for Hispanic students was 11.6% for

1990, 11.7% for 1991, and 11.9% for 1992 (USDE, 1995, p. 120). Thus, an average of 28.3% of the school population is represented in 3% to 4% of the books published for these readers. Reflecting upon this state of the publishing industry and society, Bishop (1995) states:

In this last decade of the twentieth century, with one face toward the next millennium and, like two-headed Janus, with another toward the past, we have begun to recognize the harm that is visited on all our children when important segments of the population are rendered invisible in the literature sanctioned by their teachers and other adults in their lives The catalyst for the changing societal dispositions of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s stated above was and continues to be politics. Although the civil rights movement of the 1960s is viewed as a social revolution by oppressed people, the political arena is where changes are made (e.g., enforcement of existing laws, passing new laws, executive orders, removal of and election of lawmakers and presidents). In order to reverse a positive trend, lawmakers simply required new interpretations of laws, new economics, new advocates, and new views of partisan struggles. Thus, in each instance the positive and negative aspects of politics and power are felt (McLoyd, 1990; Ravitch, 1990). Consequently, besides the numerical shifts apparent in multicultural literature, there were also shifts in 38

the tone and ideology surrounding African American children’s literature (Harris,

1990b).

Harris (1990b) refers to one of these tonal and ideological shifts as an

“assimilationist posture.” At first, children’s literature used explicit racial themes to represent authentic African American experiences written specifically for the

African American child. The shift changed the tone to literature that opted instead

for a more subtle use of racial undertones to create an authentic depiction of African Americans in typical day-to-day activities. The objective was to integrate these books into the mainstream literature of American society. The adage of “history repeating itself seems to pervade Harris’s (1990b) presentation of these shifts. For example, she portrays 1900-1940 as the

decades of the emergence and strengthening of culturally authentic African

American children’s literature, 1940-1970 are the decades of assimilation

represented by a preponderance of “socially conscious” and “melting pot” books, and 1970-Present as decades of culturally conscious literature. Thus, the real

relevance here is as Harris (1990b) states, “Despite the quality of these works, their full potential has not been met, for a variety of reasons (p. 552)." This is the result of many of these books never reaching children because of the limited

numbers mentioned above, books going out of print, and teachers hesitancy to

use these books due to their misconceptions of disinterest by White children and

potentially embarrassing depictions for Black children. Trends. Themes, and Topics

Examining trends, themes, and topics found in multicultural children

literature provides insight into the tonal and ideological shifts discussed above. 39

Bishop (1990,1994) discusses several recent trends and themes found in African

American children’s literature. Her 1990 survey identified the following trends:

1. A revival of interest in African American folktales, rather than the

traditional African folktales. The point of origin for this trend is identified

with the publication of Virginia Hamilton’s, The People Could Fly:

American Black Folktales in 1985.

2. The retelling of family stories and family histories. Patricia McKissack’s,

Flossie and the Fox (1986) and Mirandy and Brother Wind (1988) are

representative of this trend’s origin. 3. Books with a Caribbean focus. These books portray the experiences of

many Blacks who are of West Indian descent and are part of the larger group of people of African heritage in the United States. These books

extend the definition of African American. Frane Lessac’s Caribbean

Canvas (1989) is illustrative of this trend and the following one as well.

4. Prominent artists, painters, collagists outside the field of children’s

literature that provide illustrations for children’s books. 5. Books for infants and preschoolers that include or feature Black

children. John Steptoe’s Baby Says (1988) is representative of this

trend. 6. The genre of fantasy is represented in a few of the newer books featuring African Americans. However, realistic fiction continues to be

the genre of primary focus.

Bishop (1990) states that the themes found in recent children’s books for

African Americans continues to be similar to those developed in the 1970s: 40

1. The Importance of warm and loving human relationships, especially

within the family.

2. A sense of community among African Americans. 3. African American history, heritage, and culture.

4. A sense of continuity.

5. The ability to survive, both physically and psychologically. In the face of

ovenwhelming odds. (p. 560)

In compiling the 1994 multicultural booklist. Kaleidoscope, Bishop Isolates the following them es and trends from the African American children literature: 1. Some attention Is now being paid to the diversity within the group of

people of African descent. Among the books recently published, some

focus on Black people from the West Indies, the islands of the

Caribbean, Black Britons (Mary Hoffman’s, Amazing Grace ), and

contemporary fiction set In Africa. 2. A good deal of attention Is given to slavery in the United States and the continuing struggle for freedom during the civil rights movement of the

1960s. These books, published in the early 1990s, help to tell the story of Black Americans as an essential part of American history.

3. The number of books featuring and for very young children, while still

small, seems to be increasing. 4. Folktales account for a significant number of the books, although more

predominant for Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American

cultures. These books tend to have less to say about the lives of contemporary Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, and African Americans 41

due to the place of origin and the setting of the tales being outside the

United States. Thus, several trends and themes in African American children's literature offer some promise while there are still a few areas that need to be addressed.

From a historical perspective, there have been cycles of supply and demand for culturally authentic African American children’s books due to social and political influences. This review suggests that, although African American children’s books have never been published at a rate similar to that featuring the Caucasian child, the relatively small number that do exist must be placed in the hands of children. Themes in African American children’s literature tend to remain constant, yet some recent trends in this literature appear to enhance the quality of the books. Finally, a significant number of books about African

Americans continues to be written by “non-Blacks” and there are genres that are still underrepresented in African American literature, namely fantasy and books for preschool children (Bishop, 1990). Chapter four presents the results of a survey of fantasy books by the researcher for African American readers (children and young adults) that were written by African Americans.

African American Fantasy Literature The topic of fantasy in multicultural children’s literature is rarely discussed by most reviewers, critics and authors of fiction for children or adults. This seem s to be due to an essence of novelty permeating this subject, although children’s fantasy has been around for a century. Huck, et al, (1987) credits Hans Christian Anderson as being the first author of modem fairy tales and George MacDonald's

At the Back of The North Wind (1871) as one of the foundations of modern fantasy. Kingsley’s The Water Babies (1863) is also considered one of the 42 foundations of modern fantasy (Cohen, 1975). However, it is difficult to delineate the origins of fantasy children’s books that feature a protagonist of African origin or to speculate on why there are so few representatives. The following discussion should provide some answers. Resources outside of children’s literature provided the researcher with the most significant material for study of this genre. Investigation into adult science fiction and fantasy provided insight that discussions, although limited, have happened. Authors Charles Saunders, Octavia Butler, and Jewelle Gomez and scholars John Pfeiffer, Sam Moskowitz, Sandra Govan, and Ruth Salvaggio are individuals who have discussed the presence or lack thereof of Blacks in fantasy and science fiction. One of the major premises that the work of each of the individuals support is that the existence of fantasy and science fiction literature that featured Blacks, especially quality literature, was very limited until recently. Charles Saunders, Black Canadian author, states:

...until recently there wasn’t much in science fiction and fantasy for black readers to identify with. Outer space seem ed as segregated as a South African toilet, and it was hard to imagine blacks sitting at King’s Arthur’s Round Table. Of course, there were plenty of blacks in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan stories, but they weren’t quite of the sam e stature as a Kwame Nkrumah or an Albert Luthuli [winner of the Nobel Prize in I960]. Today, fortunately, there is excellent work being produced by such black writers as Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and Stephen Barnes. Also, white writers like John Brunner, Robert Silverberg, and Spider Robinson are using non-stereotypic black characters in their work. (1984, p. 91)

Saunders has also contributed to this genre with three novels set in a mythical

Africa that features an African protagonist named Imaro. These novels of heroic fantasy were published in the 1980s. 43

John Pfieffer (1975) saw parallel developments among science fiction and

Black American literature during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He credits this

to the social revolution occurring in much of the English-speaking world during the time period and the ability of both literatures to reflect that social transformation. He states:

Furthermore, science fiction expounded the implementation of the dream of progress,' while Black American literature depicted the experience of slavery and its utopian antidote-easily universalized- -freedom. Science fiction w as speculative. A main current in Black American literature was speculative. In similar proportions both were emphatically set in the future. Both, in measures small or great, reported facts and endorsed assumptions and behavior disruptive to the status quo-radical change in imaginative mode and radical change in the social order. Consequently, they were culturally proscribed. With few exceptions the great presses would not publish science fiction nor would publish writing by a Black author. Now the popular sensibility has rushed to discover the two literatures, drawn largely, one may presume, by social developments that may effectively be negotiated by the speculative imagination, (p. 35)

Pfeiffer has compiled a list of works by Black Americans published up to 1973 that contain a speculative vision.

In an 1986 journal interview with Frances Beal of The Black Scholar,

Octavia Butler, an African American female author of science fiction comments on the past and present status of the genre and her entry into it. She states that in the past, "Blacks were not mentioned without there being any particular reason

(p. 14)." She further states that her entry into the genre cam e at a point when it was opening up to women and the universe was no longer male or white, “so I could write about black women, black heroines and not get anybody upset (p.

16)." Butler’s disappointment with the genre's portrayal of racial, ethnic, and

class variations as well as the lack of significant women characters accounts for contributions to the genre. Butler has published several science fiction novels. 4 4

Windling (1995) provides additional insights into “raw material" used to create stories of fantasy and why there seems to be a lack of it for stories

reflecting heritages other than European;

The opinion that ours is a land without a folklore tradition is not an uncommon one in Europe, or even among some Americans. This impression might be supported by a quick perusal of the books popular in the fantasy field, written by American authors yet set in Celtic or pseudo-Celtic lands. But a more careful study of current fantasy literature reveals that there is also a body of works drawing upon distinctly American folk traditions: the myths, tales, and lore of Turtle Island’-as various tribal peoples have called our continent. (p. 22)

Of these distinct American folk traditions he states:

Ours is a huge country compared to those of Europe. Its most salient characteristics (both its greatest strength and weakness) is the sheer diversity that comes of a largely immigrant population. The American folk tradition is thus equally diverse, encompassing not only the ancient stories of the original tribal peoples, but the stories that have come to this land with three centuries of immigration... the relics of British folklore; the lore of unacculturated immigrant groups (the French, the Spanish, etc.); African American folklore; and Native American folklore, (pp. 22-23)

Windling discusses several works of African American fantasy in his article. The books referred to as a genre in the above discussion were written primarily for adult readers. However, as discussed earlier, young adults adopt

adult novels. This is even more of a occurrence for the science fiction/fantasy

genres (Owen, 1987). Thus, where historically to write in this genre one wrote

children's books, African American young adult readers would almost have to

read adult novels to be introduced to this genre until recent years; although a

market for young adult science fiction and fantasy has existed since the early

1960s (Owen, 1987). 45

Ruth Nadelman Lynn’s Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults:

An Annotated Bibliography (1989/1995) revealed several works of Interest. Both editions provided a subject index that listed fantasy books about Black

Americans. Although there was a subject index for this topic, a discussion of

Black fantasy literature was not included. The 1995 edition used the term African

American as a descriptor and added a section to incorporate folklore. The 1989 edition listed 14 titles by 11 authors whereas the 1995 edition contains 22 titles by 19 authors (8 are making their first appearance in this section, 1 title was deleted and one author published a new work). Chapter four discusses the findings of the investigator’s survey of African American fantasy literature. Within this discussion is also a discussion of the above authors’ works due to their influence upon the genre of fantasy. The conclusion evident in the above discussion is that fantasy in African American literature for children and young adults is a recent phenomena and it is not a significant topic of focus within traditional academic texts that discusses children’s literature. Adult science fiction and fantasy sources serve as guides to develop insights into speculative fiction that feature protagonists of African origin.

Reader Response Central to any discussion of readers’ responses to literature is Rosenblatt’s transactional theory" in which the reader and text come together, acting upon each other, to create a "poem” or response. One of the key elements of this theory is the equal role both the text and the reader has upon the transaction. Rosenblatt (1978) provides the following description;

The transactional phrasing of the reading process underlines the essential importance of both elements, reader and text, in any 46

reading event. A person becomes a reader by virtue of his activity in relationship to a text, which he organizes as a set of verbal symbols. A physical text, a set of marks on a page, becomes the text of a poem or of a scientific formula by virtue of its relationship with a reader who can thus interpret it and reach through it to the world of the work. (pp. 18-19).

This study examines the transaction that occurs when the readers are African

American adolescents and the text is heroic fantasy literature where the world

has an ancient African setting and a protagonist of African origins in hope of

understanding “more fully the reader’s role in that meeting of personalities and societies across time and space made possible by the author’s text" ( Rosenblatt, 1978, p. 175).

A look at past studies of response reviewed by Purves and Beach (1972) yielded the following results: 1. Response to literature is a complex process consisting of a number of interrelated parts: understanding; the possession of information and

the ability to grasp verbal and human complexities; psychological readiness to become as objective as one can; the concomitant psychological ability to enter into the world of the work; the use of various evaluative criteria, both personal and impersonal; and the

ability to make critical statements. 2. Understanding and liking are associated.

3. Readers are interested more in the content of literature than in its form. 4. Some readers can be influenced by what they read-emotionally,

attitudinally, and intellectually. 5. Studies tend to support Rosenblatt’s transactional theory that the transaction between reader and text produces the poem. 47

6. New research should explore the complex system of literary response

and employ case-study techniques of exploring many aspects of the a

few individuals, (p.35-37)

Discussed below are several recent studies of readers and their responses to literature that address and move beyond the above findings.

Beach, Appleman, and Dorsey (1990) puts forth a theory of intertextual response that incorporates autobiographical and literary links to understanding literature. They argue "that readers understand texts not as discrete, autonomous entities but as further extensions of their own previous literary experiences. Developing a 'textual' stance therefore entails learning to infer intertextual links between past knowledge and current texts” (p. 224). An influencing factor in this

“linking” is social activity, especially as participants in a conversation where there is constant recall of related experiences, or texts, and ideas pertinent to the topic at hand. The researchers observe that:

These social recollections are often driven by knowledge of genres or prototypes related to certain topics: restaurants, births, deaths, travel, and so on. Similarly, the more familiar readers are with certain genres, the more likely they are to recall prototypical characters, settings, or storylines associated with that genre, (p. 226) This social activity is extended further when readers share their responses in order to develop social relationships or memberships in groups. Fans of specific genre readers (mystery buffs) seeking out other readers with similar interests, creating a community of readers where membership is established by sharing one’s knowledge and understanding of previous texts thereby defining those links relevant to the membership’s interests (Beach, et al., 1990). Also of interest is the notion that readers draw on their social attitudes to define links within and across texts. This process is seen when a reader 48 evaluates a character’s positively and links that act to a positive story resolution or to instances of ‘positive’ action in other texts. Students learn how to define these links between texts by “looking back” or remembering what they read in the past and reflecting on their own histories as readers (Beach, et al., 1990).

Finally, these authors highlight the role of cognitive development in students’ ability to define links. Attainment of a level of formal operations or engaging in prepositional thinking during adolescence allows these readers to begin experimentation with defining connections in their lives:

No longer bound by constraints of the immediate physical world, adolescents are able to think of possibilities, to dwell in the world of what might be rather than what is. Because they can imagine optional possibilities, adolescents are better able to hypothesize about characters’ motives, predict plots, or speculate about abstract themes and symbols. ( Beach, et al., 1990, p. 229) One of the results from this study of adolescents use of intertextual links was that the amount of leisure time reading of literature, magazines, and newspapers was a significant predictor of the ability to make intertextual links. Thus, the authors suggest providing students, especially those in disadvantaged homes, with free magazines and books of their choosing and/or access to library materials for use at home to enhance leisure-time reading. Closely aligned with response is interpretation, interpretation of the text by the reader and efforts made toward assessing the reader’s response. Beach and

Hynds (1990) provide some insights into this concept and cautions to be aware of. They state that readers and writers develop alternate ways of conceiving of the same context, alternatives reflecting competing attitudes and values, and they learn to vary their stances according to the social context. Additionally:

In contrast to formulistic approaches to text understanding and production, the “textual stance” necessary for competent discourse practices in adolescence and adulthood involves the recognition 49

that text conventions and genres are socially situated. It is problematic to define text “genres” or “forms” apart from their social, interpretive, and rhetorical contexts...It involves a complex understanding of what makes editorials and novels work the way they do on particular readers- how form and function, as well as readers’ and writers’ subjective perceptions, transact and interrelate to create particular meanings, (p. 12)

Thus, these scholars advocate viewing reading and writing as a way of knowing and shaping experience rather than viewed as prescribed formal concepts to be

mimicked. “Literary growth” involves an awareness of options that include adapting to or opposing accepted conventions and norms. Vipond, Hunt, Jewett, and Reither (1990) illustrate the difficulties involved in attempts to account for a given reader’s response to a certain text in a particular situation in their discussion of “making sense out of reading”. Key in their argument is first; their view that there are three modes of reading: dialogic,

information-driven, and story-driven, and second; differences among readers and texts. It is their belief that for any given reading event, one of the three modes will be dominant. When the reader’s central goal is to learn from the text, to acquire information, information-driven reading dominates. When the reader is concerned with the “lived-through experience” of the reading, story-driven reading dominates. Dialogic or point-driven reading entails the effort to understand as a purposeful act of communication. That is, readers try to construct for themselves plausible meanings invoked and shaped by their expectations that the author has created the text out of a “web of purpose.” In this type of transaction readers imagine themselves to be in conversation with authors and texts (dialogic) and in this conversation the readers expect the narrator to be “getting at” something

-point (Vipond, et al., 1990). 50

As to the differences in readers and texts, Vipond, et al. (1990) states that personality, intelligence, and motivation makes each reader different along with characteristic preferences, styles, needs, and histories of success and failure with different modes of transactions. Differences in texts are evident because they invite, reward, repay, or afford being read in certain modes, but constrain being read in other ways. Although it may be possible to read any text in any way, certain modes tend to work better with certain texts. Thus:

...it is difficult to know which mode of reading will predominate on any given occasion: It depends on the interplay between what the text affords and what the reader is prepared and motivated to do, a transaction shaped by the task demands and other aspects of the situational matrix in which the reading is embedded, (p. 115) Tierney (1990) provides some conclusion and insights into the relevancy of the above discussions of response and interpretation of readers’ response in his assessment of new vistas for reading comprehension research and practices. He states that, “Unfortunately, modem day schema theorists have focused upon a reader’s retrieval of content rather than affective dimensions of a reader’s experience including feelings of immersion, imagery, and character identification” (p. 247). Furthermore, “ In most classrooms there is a tendency to perpetuate a unidimensional view of comprehension tied to a single correct meaning for a text” (p. 250). Tiemey (1990) suggests that we consider more than the traditional stance of reading. That we look at the functions that reading serves, consider that readers may acquire several meanings from the same text, tie meaning making to affective dimensions and social sources rather than to purely informational sources and use alternate forms of assessment that support the distinguishing feature of a variety of responses including those which are partial or divergent. 51

The goal should be to affirm the experience and knowledge students bring to a reading event.

Martinez and Roser’s (1991) review of the research on children's responses to literature revealed that: 1. Children express their responses to literature in a variety of ways and

responses are diverse across age levels.

2. Children more frequently express response to the content of stories than to their form. 3. Readers have distinctive, individual styles of response.

4. Responses are far more sensitive to contextual and text variables than to developmental factors alone.

5. In order to understand the influences of cognitive development and social factors on children's responses to literature a number of

questions remain to be explored: (a) how widespread are the differences in response styles within given age groups?, (b) how do

differences in response styles emerge?, (c) how can context factors be manipulated to foster increasingly mature responses to both the content and form of literature?, (d) what is the role of the teacher in

guiding response?, (e) how can peer interactions be structured to

promote growth in responses?, (f) how does valuing story in the

classrooms affect the nature of children's responses? The above reviews define the current parameters of existing knowledge about children's responses to literature and identify the information still needed to extend these parameters and assist the classroom teacher in encouraging students' responses. Edminston (1990) states that certain modes of participation 5 2 and certain patterns of stances may be activated or accentuated when readers encounter new genres and formats. In particular, she suggests that fantasy literature might be rewarding in studying elaboration, that older readers may emphasize strategies and stances that are beyond the realm of younger readers, and that students of various cultural backgrounds and reading abilities would add significantly to future studies of engagement. Langer (1994) presents educators and researchers with the concept of

“exploring a horizons of possibilities" within the literary experience in reference to readers’ responses to literature, and to research process:

A literary orientation involves ‘living through the experience’...It explores emotions, relationships, motives, and reactions, calling on all we know about what it is to be human...Even when we finish reading, we often rethink our interpretations...Thus, throughout the reading (and even after we have closed the book), our ideas constantly shift and swell. Possibilities arise and multiple interpretations come to mind, expanding the complexity of our understandings, (p. 204) She states that the use of the word “horizon" is critical because of its reference to the fact horizons never lead to endings but continually advance:

whenever a person (reader) takes a step toward the horizon (moving toward closure), the horizon itself shifts (and other possibilities are revealed for the reader to explore). Continually raising questions about the implications and undersides of what one understands (and using those musings to reconst rue where the piece might go) precludes closure and invites ambiguity, (p. 205)

Thus, this study seeks to add to response research in the areas of children’s response to story form, responses within an age group, and the use of case study methodology to investigate this phenomena. This study examined the responses of African American adolescents of average reading ability to fantasy literature that features protagonists of African origin. 53

Response and Fantasy Literature

In a brief narrative of young adult responses to fantasy literature, Lynn

(1989) refers to the comments of critics Sheila Egoff and Neil Philip, and fantasy authors Susan Cooper and Ursula LeQuin for some insights into children’s responses to fantasy. Lynn’s (1989) summary states that for some children fantasy can be only an adventure story and for others the richer experience of the adventure story’s inner truths is a primary response. Children respond to fantasy on a more emotional level rather than analytically and are more accepting of the fantastic. Tunnell and Jacobs (1991) in an article that focuses on Lloyd Alexander’s

Prydain Chronicles , notes Alexander’s identification of hope as perhaps the most precious value inherent in strong fantasy literature offered to readers. They further surmise thatPrydain’s longevity is perhaps due to the assumption that strong fantasy literature “gives us hope that we, too, can become more than what we are (p. 236);’’ we are nobler for the reading of this work. This perhaps can be viewed as a latent response, a response from the reader that is not immediately observed. Mobley (1974) presents the following argument:

Fantasy fiction hearkens back to a literature perhaps more ‘primitive’ than the sort which we have grown used to in an attempt to revitalize the mythic conception in our time, both for the material that conception grants the fantasist and for the emotional power it shares with the reader. Some of this power is garnered from the close tie myth has with magic, a tie particularly integral to fantasy fiction...It is this same magic power that is the focus of fantasy fiction, and the fantasists consequently become conscious myth makers as they tum old narratives to their own uses. Fantasy fiction, like myth, preserves and gives significance in the present reality to the sensation of mana or magic. And because fantasy, like myth, does not describe but reveals, it may also create this feeling in the reader (Tolkien’s ‘enchantment’), catapulting him however briefly into a realm that only works of a visionary nature can build. (pp. 125-126) 54

Through the above Illustrations, there Is conjecture of readers’ emotional responses and feelings of enchantment In response to works of fantasy. Thus, when educators and/or researchers focus on children’s responses to fantasy literature. It would seem that attention should be directed to those particular behaviors that reveal children’s emotional responses and responses of enchantment. These responses should also give Insight Into children’s other critical literacy skills. After teaching a nine-week course on science fiction and fantasy, Cox

(1990) concluded that these genres engendered critical literacy skills. He observed his students display the ability to think critically and creatively and make connections among disciplines. Cox (1990) saw his students’ responses operating within Fish’s (1980) “community of readers who share Interpretive strategies In making meaning.” These high school students explored metaphysical questions raised In works by Ursula LeQuIn and Isaac Asimov, the role of the hero In works by T.H. White, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and C. J.

Cherryh; especially the relnterpretatlon of stereotypical female roles, utopian/dystopian issues, possible human futures, and presentations of alien cultures. Heroic fantasy possess certain qualities that establish a unique relationship between the reader and the protagonist of the text and the subsequent responses. Herolc-ethlcal fantasy beckons young readers to examine their own fantasies, dreams, and hopes of achievement and public acknowledgment. It assures readers that there Is no call for them to be embarrassed by their specific fantasies, dreams, and hopes because other young people share similar ones (Molson, 1989). 55

Molson (1990) later adds that, “One final reason why heroic-ethical fantasy actively invites young readers positive responses and emphatic identifications is its depicting both traditional heroism and the kind most young people are likely to be called upon to manifest (p. 69).” In reference to youths coming of age, an event that seemingly establishes a bond between reader and the protagonist, heroic-ethical fantasy suggests a variety of options when confronted with a particular issue or concern rather than insisting upon a correct course of action. It allows decisionmaking about doing something with one's life and it teaches, challenges, as well a s entertains without being moralistic (Molson, 1990). The above illustrations reveals that there is a tendency for the reader to identify with the text and the text provides a haven of safety for the reader to try on roles and try out roles. Also, readers are asked to decide whether they want to do anything in their lives. These are responses that the educator and/or researcher must isolate to further establish the relevancy of fantasy. Relevancy of a different nature is also of importance to this study. This issue is that of the necessity of multicultural heroic fantasy. The relevancy of multicultural literature has been established in earlier studies (Larrick, 1965, Sims, 1982; Kruse & Horning, 1991), yet fantasy literature seems to have escaped multiculturalism, especially from an African American perspective.

Gomez (1986) asks:

Could it be that black women were somehow lacking in either epic experience or mythological substance? Is that why none seem to exist in the pantheon of icons of our youth? If that were not true, why do we not have fantasy fiction writers and black women heroes? And finally is it all important that they exist? (p.8)

She responds to these questions in the following manner:

...the women’s movement has spawned a healthy body of fantasy fiction work, replacing the images of passive victims and strident 56

agitators with shrewd warriors and hopeful women activists. A great many of these have been lesbian characters, rich with the “stereotyped” qualities that [are] Christian described: ‘fighting spirit, strength, eroticism.' All black women hunger for that vision of independent heroics. It has more often been supplied by our poets...It is important that our mythic figures exist because ideas do affect experience and theory can affect practice. If we can create a root system, a path to our independent action from our internal and integral sources of power we can make ourselves the center of our universe if only in our fantasies. We can then change the way in which we view ourselves in this society. The Surrealists believe that in order to change the world you had to first change your dreams...dreams of solidarity, strength or heroism. And we, as a people, should be acutely aware of just how powerful dreams can be. (p. 13) Gomez (1986) argues that multicultural fantasy should exist, especially that of heroic fantasy, in that it affirms African American history and experiences and in this affirmation society can be changed. The educator and/or researcher needs to know in what ways will African American youths respond to this literature and further establish its relevancy. This study seeks establish this response. Thus, from the above illustrations, response to fantasy is presented in various forms. Cox’s (1990) suggestion of fantasy literature's ability to engender critical literacy skills is more readily observable, measurable, and salable in the educational arena. However, the aesthetic qualities of Lynn's (1990) emotional level response, Tunnell & Jacob’s (1991) state of becoming nobler, Mobley's

(1974) emotional power and sensation of magic, Molson s (1989) emphatic insight and broad directionality, and Gomez’s (1986) power of dreams/internal and integral sources of power are of academic value but may be viewed as more lifelong survival skills. Yet, it is these responses that are of significant value to the genre of young adult fantasy literature and should be authenticated through available research methods. 5 7

African American Readers aod Response

A few studies in recent years have focused on African American readers and their responses to literature. Some of the studies examine cultural influences on response, some examine responses to literature that is directly related to the culture and/or ethnicity of the readers, and all generally seek to examine the tenets of multicultural literature use in the classroom specifically and multicultual education as a whole. As the demographics change as discussed in the preceding chapter and classrooms become more culturally and ethnically diverse, there is a clear need for more research that informs educators of the nature of these students' literary experiences. In an examination of African American and European American high school students responses to African American literature, Spears-Bunton (1990) confirmed recent views on reader response that “response to literature is a cumulative, recursive, and evolutionary process in which readers transact with a text, reflect upon their own experiences of it, and then participate in discussions as part of a larger community such as the classroom...response to literature occurs within a triad-reader, text, and context-and that facilitating active response takes time and multiple and diverse literary experiences (p. 574).” She concludes that the African American students found enjoyment in the literary experience, identified with the protagonist, and articulated responses that were previously passive. Sims (1983), in a single-subject case study of an African American female ten year old’s response to African American literature, concluded:

...in her reading of literature about Afro-Americans, Osula responded positively to: (a) experiences which related to her own, (b) distinctly Afro-American cultural experiences, (c) Black female characters with whom she could identify, (d) characters who were 5 8

strong, active, clever, (e) humorous situations, (f) lyrical language, (g) aesthetically pleasing illustrations. She responded unfavorably to books she considered boring, with easily predictable plots or unrealistic characters; and to events in which Black characters are denied human dignity or treated unjustly, (p. 25) In her examination of the responses of African American fourth and fifth graders to African American literature. Smith (1993) found that when presented with a variety of literature choices these students self-selected literature that had African American characters and themes and these students took great pride in finding themselves represented in African American literature. Specifically toward response. She concludes that:

The African American students involved in this study look at African American literature through a cultural lens. While their responses contain elements common to any child from any cultural group, these students go beyond that by integrating their own cultural baggage into those response stances and modes. By incorporating body punctuation into their retellings, book talks and dialogues, relating texts to specific cultural events and issues and extending the concept of intertextuality by making connections to specific African American texts, these students clearly show the impact their culture has on reading culturally consonant literature, (p. 122) Altieri (1995), in a study of White, African American, and Hispanic fifth and seventh graders aesthetic involvement and preferences for listened to texts reflecting these same cultures found that the level of aesthetic involvement was not significantly influenced by culture or text. However, African American and

Hispanic students strongly preferred stories about their own cultures. She affirms the use of multicultural literature and concludes that:

Not only does multicultural literature provide students of minority cultures opportunities to read stories of their own culture, which they prefer, but the study also underscores that using multicultural literature with all students is viable in terms of providing opportunities for rich literary experiences regardless of ethnicity, (p. 63) 59

In a similar study in 1993, Altieri used African American literature with third graders of White, African American, and Hispanic ethnicities. The students listened to six stories of African American literature and responded in writing to stories. She found that regardless of the students’ ethnicity each were equally capable of engagement in the African American stories. She again concludes that multicultural literature is viable for use with all children, “because the responses of Caucasian and Hispanic students were not found to be significantly different from those of African-American children” (p. 243). The investigations of Trousdale and Everett (1994) of three seven year old African American girls to teacher/author written stories read to them in the investigator's is not only relevant to what it reveals about these children responses, but of the questions it raises for teachers and researchers. The investigators found that the girls responded to the stories through their comprehension of the stories, very active making meaning with them, and making connection with the stories. They related characters and events to their own lives and they drew from their own experiences to interpret story events and characters. The investigators in providing a description of the stories do not identify cultural markers, thus it is assumed the stories and protagonists reflect the mainstream culture due to the investigators/author identification of themselves as

White. Also, they state that it was not their intent to investigate literacy events in the context of African-American culture.

The insights gained from this study led Trousdale and Everett to raise several questions for consideration when educating children from similar backgrounds of their subjects. These questions were: 60

1. Might not we be open to finding stories to read to children that more

accurately reflect their own life experiences? Many children today

come from single-parent homes; this is not a racial or cultural issue,

but our study has sensitized us to the need for children to hear stories

that reflect this reality, that feature child protagonists who deal with

these issues, and who are able to work through the guilt or negative

self-images that children tend to impose upon themselves in these

circumstances. 2. Might we not also search for books with “uncles” in them, as Gertrude suggested-stories that include extended families, reflecting the

extended families valued in African American culture but more and more missing in white mainstream culture?

3. The presence-and power--of Gertrude and Onessa’s driving ambition to be a teacher and a writer challenges stereotypical images of African-

Americans as being incapable of long-term goals...goals which are not mere fantasies but ambitions which they already Incorporate into their

thinking and into their lives. What happens in our society to so discourage African-American children that they abandon their goals

and their hope for success? As teachers, may we not pay particular

attention to the hopes and dreams of children of oppressed minorities

and see that we find ways to foster and encourage them? 4. Might we not question the ethnocentricity that allows us to label, to

stigmatize, and to limit children according to their skin color and family income-children who are actively engaged with learning, with

literature, with life? (pp. 13-14) 61

The investigators conclude that there needs to be more research on

response to literature among minority children and that:

We need to move beyond our perceptions of cultural deficiencies, to move beyond our own expectations and agendas, to attend to what these children are revealing in their responses to the stories they hear and read. And finally, we must work toward understanding the preoccupations, the hopes and dreams, the values and worldviews, of all our students if we are to conduct our literature programs in ways that are helpful and meaningful to them. (p. 14)

Finally, Poe’s (1986) dissertation study focused on adolescent readers reading about protagonists with specific problems similar to theirs. The subjects of this study were pregnant adolescents and teenage mothers who read novels on teenage pregnancy and alcoholism to determine the nature of their responses to similar and dissimilar problems. She concluded that:

Readers enjoy novels which afford rich literary transactions; young adult problem novels frequently provide the intense reading experiences necessary for such rich literary transactions. ...Adolescent readers also become highly involved when reading young adult problem novels about familiar situations, but the quality of their involvement is intensified by reader identification based on personal experience with the novel’s problem. While many readers derive comfort from reading about a familiar problem, the closeness of a topic to a personal situation may make some readers uncomfortable...a reader’s intense identification with a protagonist with a similar problem results in feelings of empathy; a reader’s increased understanding of a protagonist with an unfamiliar problem results in feelings of sympathy, (pp. 169-170)

Of additional significance are the implications of her findings. She states that,

“Novels with a protagonist who is racially or socio-economically different from the

reader but struggles with a problem similar to the reader’s can provide poignant

reading experiences that may help bridge cultural gaps (p. 173).” Altieri (1993), Sims (1983), Smith (1993), and Spears-Bunton (1991)

studies focused on response as it is manifested through African American 62 literature whereas Altieri (1995) focused on multiethnic literature, Trousdale and

Everett (1994) used mainstream literature and Poe (1986) focused on response as it manifested itself through problem novels that were similar/dissimilar to the readers. Altieri (1995), Poe and Spears-Bunton subjects were adolescents whereas the subjects of the remaining studies were preadolescents. With the exception of Sims, Smith, and Trousdale and Everett’s studies whose subject were all African American, the remaining studies had multiethnic subjects.

Comparisons suggest that responses are of a significant quality when readers can identify with protagonist, whether the identification is established through race or a similar shared problem; there is a clear preference for literature that reflects the readers stories own cultures, respondents draw from their own experiences to interpret story events and characters, analysis of racial/cultural group biases through engagement with African American texts promoted attitude change, and the level of aesthetic involvement was not significantly influenced by culture or text. The preceding discussion on response reveals a need for more formal research into the area of reader response as it relates to African American and other traditional minority students, the genre of fantasy literature for young adults and especially middle-school age students. There are indications that heroic fantasy is an area for fruitful study as its intended audience is primarily the adolescent. Thus, this study incorporates these suggested components: reader response, heroic fantasy, and African American adolescents. CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study examined the responses of young adult African American students to heroic fantasy literature that features a protagonist of African origin and the state of children's and young adult fantasy literature of African origin. The nature of the research and the literature suggests a case study methodological approach (Hickman, 1981; Purves & Beach, 1972; Sims, 1983) and an independent literature review (Merriam, 1988). Also, the nature of the genre and the research questions established require that subjects of at least average reading ability are selected so as not to confound the study's focus on the readers' responses with concerns of their reading performance.

These young adults were residents of a large midwestem city. A period of four to six weeks was established for data collection to allow students to read and respond to two fantasy texts described below. The questions to be answered were as follows: 1. What is the present state of multicultural children's and young adult fantasy literature, especially that of African origin?

2. Will four African American young adults of competent reading ability

respond in qualitatively different ways to fantasy literature when the characters and settings are reflective of their cultural origins?

3. What literary genres do African American adolescents of average

reading ability indicate as their preferences in their reading? 63 64

The Setting for the Study

This section is included as a reinforcement measure to the rationale for the study, but primarily due to Berg’s (1989) discussion of external motivating factors that lead researchers to study certain settings. He states that “including some indication of why researchers have undertaken a particular project, along with the methodological procedure, provides a means for making the research come alive, to become interesting to the reading audience (p. 58).” With this purpose in mind, the following brief description is provided. The researcher’s interest in fantasy literature was the primary guiding force for the study. This interest was further promoted through enrollment in two doctoral seminars that focused on fantasy literature for children and young adults. Of the literary works introduced and discussed: Celtic and other European

myths, and some Oriental myths provided much of the background for the fantasy literature. Thus, the lack of African mythology as background material for fantasy literature became evident. Subsequent enrollment in multicultural and children literature seminars confirmed the lack of African/African American fantasy literature as compared to the amount of African American literature found in other genres, although small in

numbers as compared to the amount of children’s books published annually (Bishop, 1990). Preliminary investigations into the literature and discussions with

authors and critics of children’s literature on campus and at local and national professional conferences revealed that a formal investigation had not been

completed in the realm of fantasy literature of African origin. Finally, as a m eans

of establishing relevancy beyond that of a survey of works of African/African 65

American fantasy currently available, a study of reader response to this literature was deem ed to be timely.

The intent of this study was to explore whether African/African American children’s and young adult fantasy met two important criteria: universality and multicultural authenticity. First, if children’s fantasy’s is “universal", will its inherent message speak to all readers; regardless of gender, race, and age? Second, as in all multicultural literature, is it important that the reader see his/her experience reflected in the pages? Thus; in exploring these issues, a case could be made that the genre of fantasy, as in other genres, shouid have a subgenre of multicultural works that reflect authentic multicultural themes and characters.

Finally, heroic fantasy literature was chosen as the specific fantasy genre for sources of data because of its “potential for satisfying youth’s dream of significant competence and self-worth (Molson,1989, p. 59).” Because of this potential, and the fact that most characters are making the transition from adolescence into adulthood, young adults, or middle school students in this instance, were chosen for potential subjects. Thus, it was hoped that the combination of these variables (students and texts) would yield insight into the dimension of reader response, engagem ent, and multicultural students’ ability to identify with the themes and characters represented within the book.

Subjects Today, middle schools have replaced the junior high schools that contained grades seven, eight, and nine during the 1960’s. Since then, middle schools have increased in popularity due to the theoretical orientations of educators and psychologists toward this age group. Adolescents are going through a transitory stage of physical, cognitive, and psycho-social development 66 at a very fast rate. Their growth, then, must include the acquisition of a sense of identity from a sense of role confusion. Thus, middle schools were created to assist the child with the psychological and social characteristics of these changes. The organizational patterns of these schools are either grades five through eight or grades six through eight, covering ages 10 through 14-the years when these developmental changes most often occur (Pikulski, 1991).

In describing young adult literature. Peck (1989) states that “the literary term for these novels is Bildungsroman, a 'novel of education' in which the central character learns about the world as he or she grows into it” (p. xi). As introduced in the preceding chapter, Mobley (1989) stated some caution about the realistic/problem novel that bears repeating in this discussion:

...if a particular solution realism proposes is adopted and the ‘problem’ should continue, the reader may experience even greater

guilt or anxiety: if it worked for X, why doesn't it work for me? Is it then my fault? (p. 72)

Finally, focusing on the adolescent as a learner, the research suggests that this age is an interesting and complex one for studying. This is reflected in the following conclusions by Pikulski (1991):

...it appears to be a time when there is a need for teachers to provide guidance, but also a time for teachers to set intellectual challenges before the early adolescent, who is probably able to respond at a higher, more critical level than before...in reading, the middle school student is typically beyond needing to attend to word identification or decoding demands and can now focus on more critical and abstract aspects of reading, although the data that exist are very discouraging as to the extent to which students at this level actually do meet the higher level demands of reading. There is also incontrovertible evidence that shows among early adolescents there is an enormous range of reading abilities. Some early adolescents are still unable to deal with the most fundamental. 67

decoding aspects of reading, while others are able to make very advanced, mature response to reading, (p. 317)

It is these latter early adolescents, those capable of making the advanced mature responses to reading, upon which this study focused. The selection of students of average reading ability helped to insure that reading difficulties did not interfere with the student's ability to respond and understand the material being read. The primary rationale for studying African American children’s responses to African/African American literature was the limited amount of research conducted to date on this topic or population; it is still an “untilled” area of reader response (Harris, 1990). Also, Spears-Bunton (1990), who has begun exploring this area, provides further rationale in the following passage;

Clearly, without an understanding of the cultural knowledge, attitudes and strategies African American students bring to a text, research will continue to document failure but do little to alter this phenomenon, (pp. 566-567) And in reference to the African American adolescent, she states:

These issues are particularly critical to our developing understanding of adolescent African American students because it is at this stage of cognitive, emotional, and social development that the crisis and failure of monocultural education may have the most chilling effects, (p. 567) Because of the significant increase in numbers in this school population, it was deemed imperative that “we seek to uncover how those different voices inform perception and affect response to literature” (Spears-Bunton, 1990, p. 567).

Approved access to the middle schools located in a large midwestem city was requested to locate the subjects (N=4) needed for the study. Due to delays in gaining approval from local school districts to carry out the study because of 68 the ending of the current school year, it was decided to seek subjects from alternative settings. The alternative setting decided upon was local African

American churches that the investigator had access to.

Access is defined here as membership in one church and a frequent worshipper at another. Thus, familiarity with the investigator’s status as a doctoral student helped to gain approval to seek participants for the study. The investigator introduced the study to the pastor of the church and after answering all questions, written approval was granted. The congregation of the church was informed through the church bulletin and oral announcements during church services. The investigator was available to answer questions from parents with children of middle school age. At this point the investigator’s role ended in gaining participants for the study. The parents of the children who were interested in participating in the study contacted the investigator and appointments were made to meet the parents and children. Three parents contacted the investigator and, fortunately for the study, one family had twin teenage boys. The remaining two parents each had a teenaged girl interested interested in participating. Thus, the study participants were comprised of two male and two female African American adolescents.

Time Frame A limited amount of time was considered to be appropriate because of the nature of the project and because student development or change in response were not factors under study. Thus, 4-6 weeks were estimated for the students to read the two texts and participate in interviews in the form of 69

“booktalks” (Chambers, 1985) with discussions of “reading logs” (Peck, 1989) to be described in more detail within the methodology section. This was accomplished in seven weeks due to delays in reading of the books by some of the participants and scheduling of interviews after the books had been read.

Books Read By Subjects for the Case Studies

Selection Book selection proved to be one of the most important aspects of the study. To find and choose the books for the young adults to read and respond to, a search of children and young adult literature sources for heroic fantasy that featured a protagonist of African origin was conducted. The most readily accessible title was Walter Dean Myers’ Legend Of Tank (1981) referred to in

Bishop’s (1991 ) published biographical work on the author.

Imaro, the second (and final) book used with the children was found only after investigating available volumes of fantasy and science fiction journals and indexes. Referencing “Blacks and science fiction”, an article was finally located in the journal “Black American Literature Forum.” An interview of fantasist Charles Saunders and a discussion of Blacks reading and writing science fiction and fantasy was discovered. It was in this interview (Bell, 1984) that Saunder’s Imaro

Trilogy (1981,1984, & 1985) was mentioned, although these books were and are still out of print.

Lynn’s (1989/1995) fantasy reference book. Fantasy Literature for

Children and Young Adults, listed 14 and 22 titles respectively under the Subject heading of “Black Americans”/“African Americans” respectively in her indexes. 70

However, none were from the subgenre of heroic fantasy. Thus, the above titles were used as the representatives of African American heroic fantasy.

DAW, Books Inc., the publisher of Imaro, produced copies of the out of print books. Upon receipt and reading of the books and securing available book reviews of the books, it was decided to use the first title, Imaro, in the study; primarily because it documents the childhood and adolescence of Imaro and his quest. A second source of assessment of the book was its reading by the study's committee members.

Myers’ Tank, is still in print and its availability necessitates its inclusion. However, it was read and reviews were secured for it also. Additionally, Myers is one of the most prolific writers of young adult novels and although realistic fiction seems to be his specialization. Tarik, is a noteworthy production and has the distinction of being the only representative of African-origin heroic fantasy in print for U. S. readers.

The subjects were asked to select between Tarik and Imaro a s their first reading selections. This procedure was used to allow the subjects to self-select their choices and prevent possible researcher bias toward a particular book.

Books Listed in the Survey Selection

The literature review for the survey data was partially completed before the data collection process for the response data. Obviously, this was necessary to secure the novels to be read by the young adults in the study. Besides Myers’ novel T a rik , no other novel of heroic fantasy was familiar to the investigator and local university experts. Of course, this was one of the reasons for the 71 undertaking of this study. Content analysis of primary, secondary, and alternative literature sources were utilized to locate the necessary data. The sources consulted were those that focused on the study’s topics: children's and young adult fantasy literature and African American literature for children and young adults. The sources are listed below. Complete citations are provided in the bibliography:

1. Barron, N. (Ed.). (1981). Anatomy of wonder: A critical guide to

science fiction. 2. Beal, F. M. (1986, March/April). Black women and the science fiction

genre. [Interview with Octavia Butler]. The Black Scholar.

3. Bell, J. (1984). A Charles R. Saunders interview. Black American

Literature Forum.

4. Bishop, R. S. (1990). Walk tall in the world: African American literature

for today's children. Journal of Negro Education.

5. Bishop, R. S. (1991 ). Presenting Walter Dean Myers.

6. Clute, J., & Nicholls, P. {Eds.). (^993). The encyclopedia of science

fiction.

7. Gomez, J. (1986). Black women heroes: Here's reality, where's the

fiction?The Black Scholar.

8. Govan, S. Y. (1984). The insistent presence of black folk in the novels

of Samuel R. Delany. Black American Literature Forum.

9. Harris, V. J. (1990). African American children's literature: The first

one hundred years. Joumal of Negro Education.

10. Harris, V. J. (1992). Teaching multicultural literature in grades k-8. 72

11. Huck, C., Hepler, S., & Hickman, J. 987).Children’s literature in the

elementary school.

12. Kruse, G. M. & Horning, K. T. (1991). Multicultural literature for

children and young adults: A selected listing of books, 1980-1990, by

and about people of color.

13. Lynn, R. N. (1989/1995). Fantasy literature for children and young

adults: An annotated bibliography.

14. Margelles, E., & Baklsh, D. (1979). Afro-American fiction, 1853-1976 .

15. Moskowltz, S. (1976). Strange horizons: The spectrum of science

fiction.

16. Negro History Bulletin, The (1938). Negro novelists: Blazing the way In fiction.

17. Norton, D. (1995). Through the eyes of a child. An introduction to

children’s literature.

18. Pfeiffer, J. R. (1975). Black American speculative literature: A

checklist. Extrapolation. 19. Salvagglo, R. (1984, Fall). Octavia Butler and the black sclence-flctlon

heroine. Black American Literature Forum.

20. Saunders, C. R. (1980). Why blacks don't read science fiction. In T.

Henlghan (Ed.), Biave New Universe: Testing the values of science in

society.

21. Scholes, R., & Rabkin, E. S. (1977). Science fiction: history • science •

vision.

22. Wiliams, H. E. (1991). Books by African-American authors and

illustrators for children and young adults. 73

Most of the sources also provided annotations and/or discussion of the books they identified. These descriptions are provided in Chapter 4. The investigator read most of the books of children's and young adult fantasy literature that was accessible (in print and on local library shelves) and provided descriptions also, if he felt there was not enough information provided for the survey objectives-primarily identification of the protagonists' and authors' ethnic identities and those elements that made the book "African American". Primarily due to many of the books in the speculative fiction section being out of print and not on library shelves and the length of the novels, the investigator relied on the booklist compiler or reviewer for the descriptions. Some of the books were discovered through the investigator's reading of both genres. Being a subscriber to the "Science Fiction Book Club,” "Quality Paperback Book Club,” and several African American magazines ("Ebony”, etc.) led to discovery of some of the more recently published works included in the survey. Finally, additional sources that focused on writers and further defined them according to ethnicity were consulted to determine whether a book of African American fantasy was also written by an African American or an individual of Black African origin. The investigator also sought out those sources that would provide photographs of the authors. In addition to those sources listed above that discuss African American literature, the following sources were very helpful:

1. Something About the Author, (various editions). Gale Research, Inc.

This book provided photographs of the authors and sketches of the

authors' works and biography. Was very valuable when book jackets 74

or reviewers did not provide photographs or information about the

authors' ethnicity.

2. Bookpeople: A Multicultural Album. S. L McElmeel. Teacher Ideas

Press. 1992. Contains photographs and biographies of authors and

illustrators.

3. Talking with Artists. P. Cummings. Bradbury Press, 1992. Contains

photographs and conversations with the artists.

4. Black Writers: A Selection of Sketches from Contemporary Authors. L. Metzger (Ed.). Gale Research, Inc., 1989. Contains sketches of the

authors' works and biography, no photographs.

5. Selected Black American Authors: An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography. J.

A. Page. G. K. Hall & Co., 1977. Illustrations are actual photographs.

6. American Writers for Children Since 1960: Fiction. Dictionary of

Literary Biography. G. E. Estes (Ed.) Gale Research, Inc., 1986.

Contains detailed biographies and photographs.

7. Twentieth-Century Science Fiction Writers. C. C. Smith (Ed.). St.

James Press, 1986. Contains sketches of the authors' works and biography, no photographs.

8. Masterpieces of african american literature: Descriptions, analyses, characters, plots, themes, critical evaluations, and significance of major works of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry. F. N. Magill (Ed.). HarperCollins, 1992. No photographs.

Data Collection

A case study format was utilized to allow in-depth study of student response and a literature review was used to obtain data for the survey of African 75

American fantasy literature. Four case study children of African American origin who were of average reading ability were the focus of the response data collection. Response data collection consisted of fieldnotes containing comments from conversations with subjects to capture important data related to student response to literature, transcribed audiotapes of the interviews, and the participant reading logs. An informal interview procedure was utilized so that questions would be tailored to individual student’s responses, to augment field observations and to establish rapport (Berg, 1989). Also, “booktalks” were instituted by the researcher following the completion of each book read utilizing Chambers (1985) Tell Me” framework. These discussions focused on the subjects’ experience with the text

(Chambers, 1985). The investigator chose this framework due to the goals Chambers was trying to achieve in with booktalk, that is, following up on Iseris “dynamic process of recreation” and avoiding asking children the question “why?” The question

“Why?” places before the child an impossible task that takes the fun out of talking and the child gives up on providing a response (Chambers, 1985). As a means of avoiding asking “why?”. Chambers decided upon the phrase ‘Tell Me...” He explains that. The quality we liked about Tell Me...” was that it suggests collaboration, a desire by the teacher to know what a child thinks, and a conversational rather than an interrogational intent” (p. 155) . And as to the nature of the questions in the framework, some questions are phenomenological; leading the reader to talk about what happened-thoughts, feelings, and observations-during and since the reading. Some question are structural: 76 focusing on how the story is told-its form. By focusing on form, a natural discussion of text evolved. Thus, the questions:

focus on the reader’s experience of the text, and lead the reader to understand and appreciate that experience by considering the way the Text was formed by the writing. In doing this we found...that children of all school ages not only enjoyed themselves but became, session by session, ever more articulate, ever more perceptive, ever more discriminatingly critical in their talk. (p. 169)

See Appendix A for a copy of the framework. Peck (1989) advocates the use of a “Reading Log,” a journal consisting of a notebook of joumal ideas, rough drafts of papers, and responses to literature, etc. His rationale is that “the best way to get at the ideas in a literary work is to read it carefully, think about it critically, discuss it fully, and write about it specifically (pp. xiv-xv).” Journal writing is a frequent occurrence in the classroom and the investigator hoped that this would be a familiar concept to the participants, thus aiding the booktalks after the novels had been read. Thus, a reading log was utilized as a source of data to augment subject’s oral responses.

The reading of the books took place at the subjects’ home so these journals were important in providing the subjects a means of immediate response and recall during discussion with the researcher. The participants were interviewed to obtain their responses to the two novels and to gain insights into their reading preferences. The interview sessions were in the form of individual booktalks at the local public library conference/study rooms. The sessions were informal utilizing Chambers (1985)

“Tell Me” questioning framework as a guide. The investigator and participant took cues from each other during the discussions, thus enhancing the conversational intent of the framework’s questions. 77

One small group booktalk took place between the investigator and the male participants. This was possible because these participants are twin brothers and the final interview was held in their home due to transportation difficulties.

Previous commitments and scheduling problems prevented additional small group booktalks involving all participants.

Data Analysis Response data consisting of fieldnotes containing comments from conversations with subjects to capture important data related to student response to literature, transcribed audiotapes of the interviews, and the participant reading logs were subjected to content analysis procedures to assist in inductive category development and as a means of grounding these categories to the data. The nature of the study and the lack of studies that investigate similar variables does not permit predetermined categories or coding procedures. Content analysis is preferable in that it supports the data collection procedures iterated above and it provides a means of triangulating data sources. Triangulation and reliability were also afforded through the coding of one set of the transcribed booktalk sessions by an independent researcher. An

85.5% degree of reliability was achieved through coding procedures of investigator and the independent coder. Thus, the categories resulting from data analysis and subsequent coding of additional data were found to be sound in describing responses given by participants. Data for the survey of multicultural children's and young adult fantasy literature were subjected to criteria established by children’s literature experts.

That is, these books had to meet multicultural criteria and children’s/young adult 78 fantasy requirements. Additionally, these books then were categorized according to type of fantasy e.g., heroic, time travel, animal, etc. This involved building a consensus among experts as to how an appropriate book would be typed. These criteria and categorizations will be discussed further in the findings chapter.

Summary

This study's purpose was to explore the genre of multicultural children’s and young adult fantasy. This was accomplished through the examination of three specific areas of interest. First, an exploration of this genre in the form of a literature review was completed to determine the state of multicultural children's and young adult fantasy. This procedure helped secure two works of heroic fantasy that advanced the study to its second phase. This phase was the exploration of student response to this literature, particularly African American students. Thus, four African American adolescents who read two young adult heroic fantasy novels with protagonists of African origin provided data for this phase and the final research question of young adult genre preferences In their reading. Qualitative research procedures were utilized as methods of data collection and analysis. Case studies of the participants' responses to the novels are used to convey partial findings of this study. The remaining findings are revealed through a survey of existing multicultural fantasy works that focus on

African American culture. In the next chapters the findings from the survey of multicultural literature for works of fantasy and the study's participants' responses to the novels Imaro and Tarik will be presented. First, the findings from the survey of African 79

American literature for works of fantasy are presented in chapter four and the responses of the study’s participants are presented in chapter five. Findings for question three (reading interests) of the study are also presented in chapter five. CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS:

CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT FANTASY LITERATURE WITH

PROTAGONISTS OF AFRICAN ORIGINS

The focus of this chapter is research question number one: What is the

present state of multicultural children’s and young adult fantasy literature, especially that of African origin? Through the following survey of children’s and young adult fantasy literature, insights into the present state of this genre should evolve. Chidren’s fantasy literature is discussed first followed by young adult

selections and the genre of speculative fiction. A comprehensive survey is not suggested due to ambiguous reviews related to genre and books no longer available for review.

The topic of fantasy in multicultural children’s literature seems to be somewhat of a rarity, although children’s fantasy has been around for a century. When delineating the origins of modern fantasy, Hans Christian Anderson is

credited as being the first author of modern fairy tales and George MacDonald’s

At the Back of The North Wind (1871/1966) as one of the foundations of modem

fantasy along with The Water Babies (1863) by Charles Kingsley’s (Huck,

Hepler, and Hickman, 1987/1993; Cohen, 1975). However, it is difficult to

delineate the origins of children’s fantasy literature that features a protagonist of African origin or to speculate on why there are so few representatives. In Huck’s,

et. al., (1987/1993) authoriative text on children’s literature, Virginia Hamilton’s 80 81

The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl (1983), Justice and Her Brothers (1978)

and Sweet Whispers Brother Rush (1982), and Belinda Hurmence’s A Girl

Called Boy (1982) are Included with the works of Anderson, Kingsley, and

McDonald in the chapter on “Modern Fantasy”. This seems to imply that a century passed before works of fantasy that featured a protagonist of African

origin was published. The findings presented in this chapter attempts to establish

a more definitive development of African American fantasy literature.

Fantasy Elements in African American Literature The roots of modern African American literature can be found within the

slave narratives and letters, poetry, folk songs and folktales that were its form and focus from 1746 -1860 (Fuller, 1975). The publication of William Wells

Brown’s Clotel (a narrative of slave life) in 1853 is considered a first for the writing of a novel by an African American (Fuller, 1975) although Harriet E.

Wilson’s Our Nig (1859) is credited, since its discovery in 1982, as the first novel

published in the United States by an African American and an African American woman ( Ducksworth, 1992; McLaren, 1992). A case is made to credit Paul

Laurence Dunbar’s book of poetry Little Brown Baby (1895) as one of the first children’s books written by and for African Americans (Harris, 1992). Thus, 36 or

42 years passed before a reputable work appeared for African American children

(dependent upon the date of the above novels one generalizes from), although

not of the fantasy genre. Historical examination of modem fantasy reveals that its roots are found in

earlier sources, “in folktales, legends, myths, and the oldest dreams of

humankind” (Huck, Helper, and Hickman, 1993, p. 395). Thus, in searching for 82 the roots of fantasy In African American literature, African American folklore seem to be a primary source for tales of magic, talking animals, fairy tales, and other “matter” of fantasy. Oral literacy was a predominant form of expression among African Americans due to their history of enslavement and being denied reading and writing skills. One of the first attempts to record these orations was by a white journalist, Joel Chandler Harris, In Georgia.

Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings (1880) Is a collection of talklng-beast tales told by a slave to a white child and Is generally thought of as the first published African American folktales (Hamilton, 1985,

Huck, et. al.,1993, ). However, subsequent retellings of the Uncle Remus tales were adapted for children. These books are discussed later. If talking animals tales are a motif of fantasy literature, then a case can be made for Harris's tales as one of the first published works of fantasy about African Americans. Thus, seventeen years after the publication of Kingsley’s The Water Babies, a book of African American fantasy was available albeit written by a white author and subject to criticism for Its portrayal of the South and not written specifically for children.

Two works discussed In the speculative fiction section were published by African American authors (Martin Delany, 1859; Lorenzo Blackson, 1867) before

Harris’s tales, however these books speculated on social revolution. A research project undertaken by Zora Neal Hurston resulted In a collection of African

American folktales and published In 1935 as Mules and Men. This was the first collection of African American folklore published by an African American. Hurston traveled throughout Florida to talk with African Americans to collect beast tales, trickster tales, conjure stories, and other lore (Safler and Bad, 1992). Although 83 not a book written specifically for children, Hurston’s work parallels that of Joel

Chandler Harris. African American Children’s Fantasy Literature

Examining the evolution of books written specfically for African American children, Harris (1990b) states that factors inhibiting development of African

American childrens literature before the early 1900s were the many illiterate

African American children, the lack of an educated middle class to demand culturally authentic books, the limited number of educated persons interested in writing a s a vocation or avocation, and limited development of African American publishers as well as negative attitudes among white publishers towards African American literature. Pfeiffer (1975) adds also that approximately 250 novels authored by African Americans were in existence before the early 1950s and there was almost no drama and little poetry. These scholars then offer an explanation to the lack of literature in all genres for children.

Surveying the early 1900s, Harris (1990b) discusses the works of those individuals working to bring about the development of African American children’s literature. Two individuals of note and of interest to this survey are Carter G. Woodson and Arna Bontemps. Woodson published of a collection of African folktales entitled African Myths in 1928. This work was published 65 years after

Water Babies. Williams (1991) includes in her survey works by Ama Bontemps

(with Jack Conroy). One of these that is relevant to this survey is Slappy Hooper; the Wonderful Sign Painter (1946). Slappy has a talent for painting signs that seem very real. Birds try to eat a bread ad, fires start, paint on cars melt, and hobos warm themselves from the heat of a stove sign. 84

Harris (1990b) characterizes Bontemps as the “contemporary ‘father’ of

African American children’s literature” (p. 548). However, Slappy and supporting cast are White. A similar depiction occurs in Clarence and Corrine (1890) by A.

E. Johnson. Designated as the first African American children’s novel and written by an African American, the protagonists are White. Harris (1990b) states that this phenomena may be due to sociocultural atmosphere of that time which may have dictated the presentation of White characters. A second reason may be that

Bontemps was one of the first to have his works published by mainstream publishers. These three works are representative of this genre for the early 1900s from available sources. A more substantial compilation seems to be available beginning with the 1960s and continuing into the 1990s. Table 2 provides the complete listing of literature discussed in this section of the survey. 85

Table 2 - Chronological Listing of Children’s Fantasy Literature with Protagonists of African Origin, 1967-1994

YEAR AUTHOR TITLE STATUS

1967 Andre Norton Octagon Magic *o.p.

1968 Don Freeman Corduroy 1993

1969 Terry Berger Black Fairy Tales 1974

1969 Virginia Hamilton Time-Ago Tales ofJahdu +o.p.

1972 Genevieve Gray The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody o p 1972 Walter Dean Myers The Dragon Takes A Wife 1994

1972 Andre Norton Dragon Magic *o.p.

1973 Charles Chesmutt Conjure Tales o p 1973 Virginia Hamilton Time-Ago Lost: More Tales ofJahdu +o.p.

1974 Andre Norton Lavendar-Green Magic *o.p.

1974 Ben Shecter The Whistling Whirligig o.p

1976 Andre Norton Wraiths of Time 1992

1978 Don Freeman A Pocket for Corduroy 1993

1979 Bill Brittain All The Money In The World i.p.

1980 Jan Carew Children of the Sun o.p.

1980 Virginia Hamilton Jahdu +o.p.

1980 Walter Dean Myers The Black Pearl and the Ghost o.p.

1982 Belinda Hurmence A Girl Called Boy i.p.

1983 Luke Wallin The Slattery Ghosts o.p.

1985 Ashley Bryan The Cat's Purr ip- 1985 Virginia Hamilton The People Could Fly, i.p. American Black Folktales 86

Table 2 - (continued)

YEARAUTHORTITLESTATUS

1985 Mildred P. Walter Brother to the Wind i.p.

1986 Pat Cummings CL.O.UD.S. i.p.

1986 Patricia Mckissack Flossie & the Fox Lp.

1986 Van Dyke Parks Jump! The Adventures of Brer Rabbit ip . 1987 Julius Lester The Tales of Uncle Remus: Lp. The Adventures of Brer Rabbit

1987 Van Dyke Parks Jump Again! More Adventures of Lp. Brer Rabbit

1987 John Steptoe Mitfaro's Beautiful Daughters Lp.

1988 Nigel Gray A Balloon for Grandad o.p.

1988 Julius Lester More Tales of Uncle Remus Lp.

1988 Patricia McKissack Mirandy and Brother Wind Lp.

1989 Vema Aardema Rabbit Makes A Monkey of Lion Lp.

1989 Ashley Bryan Turle Knows Your Name Lp.

1989 Patricia McKissack Nettie Jo's Friends Lp. 1989 Phil Mendez The Black Snowman i.p. 1989 Van Dyke Parks Jump On Over! The Adventures of Lp. Brer Rabbit and His Family

1989 Robert D.San Souci The Boy and the Ghost ip .

1989 Robert D. San Souci The Talking Eggs: ip . A Folktale from the American South

1990 William H. Hooks The Ballad of Belle Dorcas ip .

1990 Julius Lester Further Tales of Uncle Remus ip .

1991 Vema Aardema Traveling To Tondo ip- 87

Table 2 - (continued)

YEAR AUTHOR______TITLE______STATUS

1991 Tom Feelings Tommy Traveler in the World ip . of Black History

1991 Virginia Hamilton All-Jahdu Storybook ip . 1991 Tololwa M. Mollel The Orphan Boy i.p.

1991 Faith Ringgold Tar Beach i.p.

1992 Patricia McKissack The Dark Thirty : i.p. Southern Talesof the Supernatural

1993 Faith Ringgold Aunt Harriet’s Underground i.p. Railroad In The Sky

1992 Robert D. San Souci Sukey and the Mermaid Lp.

1993 Ashley Bryan The Story of Lightning and Thunder i.p.

1994 Vema Aardema MISOSO: Lp. Once Upon A Time Tales From Africa

* Andre Norton’s works starred above are available in a volume of collected works: The Magic Books (1988).

+Virginia Hamilton’s Jahdu books are available as collected works in the storybook above.

o.p. : out-of- print, i.p. : in print based upon Books In Print, 1994-1995.

Date in Status box represents recent reprint ______

The 1960s present a few works of note. Most noteworthy is that three of the four selections were written by white authors. Andre Norton’s Octagon Magic

(1967), a time travel fantasy, is a story about a young girl named Lorrie who goes 88

back in time to the Civil War period where she takes part in the Underground

Railroad of escaped slaves. Her entry into the past is through a doll-sized replica

of an octagon house. Corduroy (1968) by Don Freeman is toy fantasy. A teddy

bear named Corduroy has numerous adventures in a department store as he

searches for a button missing from the shoulder strap of his green corduroy

overalls. He becomes the toy of Lisa, an African American girl. Virginia Hamilton

creates a story of magic and folklore in The Time-Ago Tales of Jahdu (1969).

These tales are told by Mama Luka to entertain Lee Edward after school. Jahdu is a trickster that was born in an oven and he possesses magic dust that puts things to sleep, usually his adversaries. Finally, a collection of fairy tales from

South Africa are retold by Terry Berger. The book. Black Fairy Tales (1969), is

dedicated to black children to have never read black fairy tales. Ten tales of African princesses, princes, kings, queens, enchanted beings in animal form,

ogres, and witches. Them es of finding true love and happiness, punishment of

evil, and rewarding virtue are present in the stories. Ten stories from the 1970s are inluded in this survey. Two more works by

Andre Norton from her “Magic” series: Dragon Magic (1972), a multicultural time-travel fantasy that features the adventures of four protagonist of different ethnic origins (African, Chinese, Scandinavian, Welsh) who complete of a jigsaw

puzzle of a dragon from their respective culture and is transported to the time-

period each dragon represents as a participant in an heroic adventure; Lavender-

Green Magic (1974), a time travel fantasy that features three African American

children who are trying to adjust to new home and school when they are

transported back to colonial days and find themselves participants in the feud of two witches, one good, one evil; and Wraths of Time (1976), a time travel 89 fantasy in which a black female museum expert travels back to the ancient

Nubian kingdom of Me roe to help preserve this civilization. Also, Don Freeman continues the adventures of Corduroy in A Pocket for Corduroy (1978).

Walter Dean Myers's The Dragon Takes A Wife (1972) a picture book fairytale that features a Black Fairy who assists a dragon in his efforts to win a wife. The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody (1972), a magic adventure fantasy by Genevieve Gray, features an African American female child who lives in the slums of a big city and is granted seven wishes by a special spirit named Aunt Thelma who appears on the TV screen. Virginia Hamilton continues the adventures of Jahdu in Time-Ago Lost: More Tales ofJahdu (1973). Conjure

Tales (1973), is a collection of supernatural tales involving magic and witchcraft from the American Slavery era by Charles Chesnutt, retold by Ray Anthony

Shepard. The Whistling Whirligig (1974), a ghost fantasy by Ben Shecter, features the ghost of a runaway slave who has been hiding since the Civil War.

All The Money In The World (1979), a humorous fantasy by Bill Brittain, features an African American boy who catches a leprechaun and is granted a wish

(money), but trouble follows. Four African American authors are represented in this period. Contemporary writers Walter Dean Myers, Virginia Hamilton, and Lucille Clifton and the work of nineteenth century writer Charles Chestnutt, although the work listed here is retold also by African American writer Ray

Anthony Shephard. Twenty four works were published in the 1980s. Many of the writers appearing in this decade also have works published in the 1990s and are discussed simultaneously. Twelve such works apply here. Also, additional works by Virginia Hamilton and Walter Dean Myers discussed in the previous decades 90 above, appear here also. It is during the decade of the 1980s that many African American writers appear in this genre. It is also the decade in which an interest in

African American folk stories is revived. This trend’s beginning is identified with

Virginia Hamilton’s publication of The People Could Fly in 1985 (Bishop, 1990).

This book and the following works retells Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus tales. Julius Lester’s The Tales of Uncle Remus (1987), More Tales of Uncle

Remus (1988) and Further Tales of Uncle Remus (1990). Also, the works of

Van Dyke Parks, a white writer, retells these beast tales. His works include Jump!

The Adventures of Brer Rabbit (1985), Jump Again! More adventures of Brer

Rabbit (1987), and Jump On Over! The adventures of Brer Rabbit and his family (1989). These retellings were specifically written for children. In these stories are the common elements of most African folktates, the trickster rabbit who outwits or tricks the other animals in life’s endeavors. The folktales and African stories discussed above and below are a representative sample of quality children’s literature and the particular motif discussed. Additional retellings of African folktales that Include the rabbit trickster-

Brer Rabbit and the popular spider trickster - Anansi, and other beast tales where animals portray human characteristics are sampled below. Verna Aardema; a White veteran retailer of these tales, provides relevant examples of each motif in

Rabbit Makes A Monkey of Lion (1989), a trickster tale; Traveling to Tondo

(1991) where courtship, marriage, and foolish acts are displayed by a cat, snake, turtle, and bird; as well as MISOSO (1994), a collection of African folktales.

Renown illustrator and author Ashley Bryan provides excellent examples of beast tales in The Cat’s Purr (1985), a tale of the former frienship of Cat and

Rat and the reason why cats purr; Turtle Knows Your Name (1989), a wonder 91 tale casting a turtle as an all-knowing individual alongside a boy and his grandmother in a “true name” story; and The Story of Thunder and Lightning

(1993), a story of mother sheep and son ram in that perhaps is best describe as a pourquoi tale.

In African American contemporary folklore, Patricia Mckissack’s Flossie and the Fox (1986) and Nettie Jo's Friends (1989) presents examples of beast tales in realistic settings. Reminiscent of Little Red Riding Hood, Flossie outwits Fox to arrive safely through the woods to a neighboring farm. Grateful and eventual helpful animals are cast with Nettie Jo as she seeks a needle to make her doll (non-personified) a dress to attend a cousin’s wedding. A creature of myth is represented in San Souci’s Sukey and the Mermaid (1992). Myth accompained by enchantment and “wicked” parents creates this fantasy tale in which Mama Jo, a mermaid, gives kindess and wealth to an unhappy Sukey. A talking animal motif and personification of the wind is portrayed in

Mildred Pitts Walter’s Brother to the Wind (1985). This story is set in Africa and depicts a boy's quest to seek out the Good Snake who grants wishes and his wish is to fly with the Wind. A personification of the wind motif is also present

Mirandy and Brother Wind (1988) where a battle of wits occur as Mirandy tries to capture Brother Wind to assist her winning a cakewalk contest.

The ghost story and supernatural motif is presented in Mckissack’s The

Dark ThirtyiSouthern Tales of the Supernatural (1992) and Robert D. San

Souci’s The Boy and the Ghost (1989). Both books are set in the south during the slave era and the ealy years of the twentieth century. In San Souci’s tale, an adolescent male leaves home in search of work in the city to help his family. On his journey he mets an old man that he shares his meal with. In return the man 92 tells him of a haunted house that promises wealth if a person can spend a night there. Mckissack tells stories heard from her childhood in the South of ghosts and other supernatural phenomena. The supernatural is also represented in William

Hooks’s The Ballard of Belle Dorcas (1990). This white writer retells a story set in the tidewater section of the Carolines during the slave period. It is a story of lovers who threatened with separation seek the aid of a female conjurer. A spell is cast to hide the male lover from his master, but near tragedy results.

A more contemporary setting is found in the following stories. Walter Dean

Myers’s Black Pearl and the Ghost (1980). These are two short stories combining mystery and humor. A past-time fantasy, The Slavery Ghosts (1983), feature two white children who venture back in time at the request of an adult female slave to rescue her daughter’s spirit and others trapped with their slaveholder creates this supernatural tale wriiten by Luke Wallin, a white author.

Literary Fairy Tale motifs are represented by John Steptoe’s Mufaro’s

Beautiful Daughters (1987) and San Souci’s The Talking Eggs. (1989). Both of these folktales share elements of the “Cinderella” theme. Steptoe’s takes place in Zimbabwe, Africa (11th-18th century) and depicts an African King seeking a wife. Two sisters are preparing to go to the city for an interview with the King. The kind and generous sister is chosen over the vain and ill-tempered sister as the story unfolds. San Souci’s tales takes place in the American South (Louisiana), early twentieth century. It is also the story of two stepsisters: one exhibiting kindess and the other greed. Again, kindess is rewarded with happiness and wealth and greed is punished.

Virginia’s Hamilton’s Jahdu (1980) and The All-Jahdu Storytjook (1991) continues the magic motif. Jahdu loses his magic, is taunted by other creatures. 93 and his shadow in Jahdu. The storybook contains a comprehensive collection of the previous Jahdu tales and a few new ones. Phil Mendez creates a story of magic that stems from African kente cloth in The Black Snowman (1989). A young African American boy associates his heritage with everything negative - being poor and lack of notable achievements among his people. While building a snowman for his younger brother from the dirty snow, a piece of coloful cloth is found and used as a shawl for the snowman. The magic of the cloth allows the snowman to come to life and awaken in this self-doubting young boy the knowledge of his African ancestors' beauty, bravery, artistry, scholarship, and other accomplishments a s well as his own heroic potential. Illustrator and author Tom Feelings, recreates a 1958-59 comic strip in

Tommy Traveler in the World of Black History (1991). An African American boy is transported back in time to become a participant in the lives of six African American heroes and heroines as he reads about them in the private library collection of his neighbor. Faith Ringold, artisist/author, creates a story of imaginary flight of an African American girl to possess a city that has denied her family opportunities for economic success in Tar Beach (1991). The story gets its name from recalled family outings on the rooftop of the author’s apartment building. This flight motif is continued by Ringgold in Aunt Harriet’s Underground

Railroad in the Sky (1992). Using the gift of flight, the female protagonist is aided by Harriet Tubman in retracing the the steps of escaping slaves on the

Underground Railroad. Nigel Gray uses imagination and flight (albeit a balloon) to create a story from his family archives in A Balloon for Grandad (1988). The story features a biracial boy of Irish-Sudanese heritage and the loss of his balloon as it ascends out of his reach. His father asks him not to worry because 94 the balloon will cross the mountain and seas to visit his grandfather in Africa. The illustrations depict the child’s imagined journey of the balloon.

Finally, African author Tololwa Mollel, presents a tale of old man who adopts a strange boy fulfilling his desire for children in The Orphan Boy (1991). The boy possesses powers that cause the old man’s life to prosper, but the source of the power is never revealed. Curious of the source of the boy’s power and antagonized by his shadow, the old man discovers the source of power and loses the boy who was actually the planet Venus. A similar planetary theme is found in Carribean-American author Jan Carew’s Children of the Sun (1980). The Sun falls in love with an Earth woman who bears him twins. The twins are asked of their father whether they would like to be good men or great men and to find the answer they go in of search their destinies. The heavens are again a setting for the final book presented in this survey, C.LO.U.D.S. (1986) by Pat

Cummings. An angel reluctantly accepts the job of painting the skies of New York

City. However, he eventually grows to love the assignment.

Summary The results of this section of the survey yielded 50 works of fantasy literature. Examining the titles listed in the survey, a significant amount of the stories are African American folktales. Although categorized as follklore, within these tales can be found many subgenres of fantasy, primarily talking animals, but also the literary fairy tale, ghost and other supernatural tales, and stories of magic. Julius Lester, speaking of the power of these tales states: 95

The language of storytelling Is supposed to be a specialized

one of startling Images., absurd words, and amusing

paradox. It Is the language that gives these tales their

special allveness because the language startles us from

complacency of the ordinary In to the vibrancy of the

extraordinary. The language Is so convincing, however, that

we are not left In the world of fantasy but are returned to the ordinary where we find ourselves wanting to address a rabbit

on the lawn as ‘Brer’ and feeling disappointed that It won’t answer. (1994, p. xl-xll )

Within this folklore are also books Bishop (1990) categorize as family stones and family histories. Represented In the above survey are Mckissack’s

Flossie and the Fox and Mirandy and Brother Wind, and Faith Ringgold’s Tar

Beach. As the label Implies these stories also preserve African American legacies and they do It with an aura of enchantment. In the following section, the survey continues with fantasy literature for young adult readers.

African American Youno Adult Fantasy Literature

The table below contains the listing of young adult fantasy literature discussed In this survey. As In the discussion of children's fantasy, the books are discussed chronologically. 96

Table 3 - Chronological Listing of Young Adult Fantasy Literature with Protagonists of African Origin, 1978-1995.

YEAR AUTHOR TITLE STATUS

1978 Thomas Bethancourt Tune In Yesterday o.p

1978 Virginia Hamilton Justice and Her Brothers 1989

1979 Octavia Butler Kindred 1988

1980 Virginia Hamilton Dustland Lp. 1981 Virginia Hamilton The Gathering 1989

1981 Walter Dean Myers The Legend of Tarik 1991 1981 Charles Saunders Imaro o.p. 1982 Virginia Hamilton Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush i.p.

1983 Virginia Hamilton The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl Lp. 1984 Charles Saunders The Quest for Cush o.p.

1985 Charles Saunders The Trail ofBohu o.p.

1988 Avi Something Upstairs 1990

1989 Tina M. Ansa Baby of the Family 1991

1991 Barbara H. Burgess OrenBell 1993

1994 Nancy Farmer The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm i.p.

1995 Walter Dean Myers Shadow of the Red Moon Lp.

*Date in Status box represents recent reprint 97

The 1960s are not represented in this section of the survey. It is not until an examination of speculative fiction that books are available for readers within this age group published in this decade. Additionally, the number of fantasy books available for young adults are significantly limited when compared to children’s fantasy literature discussed above. The 1980s were the most productive for fantasy literature featuring protagonists of African origins and the first books available for readers were published in the late 1970s.

Tune In Yesterday (1978), a time travel fantasy by Puerto Rican author Thomas Bethancourt features two friends, one African American, who are propelled back to 1942 by way of their love for jazz. Racial prejudice is a primary theme explored in this story. Virginia Hamilton creates a time travel fantasy into the future that features three African American children (twin brothers and a sister) who possess supersensory powers in Justice and Her Brothers (1978).

The final book of the 1970s is Kindred (1979) by Octavia Butler, also a past-time travel fantasy. A young African American writer is transported back to 1819 to save an ancestor during slavery.

Hamilton continues the adventures of Justice and her brothers in Dustland

(1980) and The Gathering (1981 ). Walter Dean Myers presents an African heroic fantasy In The Legend of Tarik (1981), a medieval story set in North Africa that features a young African champion who desires to avenge his family's murders. An African setting of the past and a Tarzan-like hero is featured in Charles

Saunders imaro triology. The books in the triology are Imaro (1981 ), The Quest for Cush (1984) and The Trail of Bohu (1985). These epic novels focus on the growth of 5 year-old Imaro, an African tribal youth, into manhood in an altemate-

Africa setting and his fight against evil forces that attempted to use him or kill him 98 in order to thwart his destiny as a hero. An additional plot focuses on Imaro as a member of a tribe that rejects him due to his mixed tribal heritage. His further heroic adventures as an adult are presented in the second and third books.

Virginia Hamilton presents two additional works during the 1980s. Sweet

Whispers Brother Rush (1982) is a ghost fantasy that features an African

American female young adult and the ghost of her uncle who assists her in working out her frustrations she feels from caring for her retarded brother during her mothers long absences. African American myth and folklore is used to create the story of The Maglcai Adventures of Pretty Pearl (1983). Pearl, an African god-child, decides to become a participant in the lives of humans. She witnesses the capture of Africans for importation as slaves and follows them to America where she renders assistance to them as a young girl/old woman.

Belinda Hurmence’s A Girl Called Boy (1982) is the story of a young adult African American female in this past-time fantasy. She travels back in time to the period where are ancestors are slaves by way a soapstone freedom bird. In the story she is mistaken as a male runaway slave. She experiences the injustices of slavery and attempts to escape. Through the assistance given by other slaves in gaining her freedom she begins to understand her father’s pride of their ancestry and history.

Avi wrote a past-time fantasy entitled Something Upstairs (1988) that features a ghost of a male slave, Caleb, who was murdered in the house that Kenny, a white male, now lives in. Both males seemed to be in their early teens and the book is recommended for grades 5-9. Caleb has been haunting the house for 200 years hoping someone would help him prevent his murder. He 99 convinces Kenny to travel back to eighteenth-century Providence, Rhode Island to accomplish this task.

Baby of the Family (1989) is the story of Lena, an African American female, who was born with a caul (a thin veil) over her face that gives her the power to work magic and see into the past and future. This is a coming of age story that tells Lena’s story from birth to age 16 and her stuggle to come to terms with the powers she have been given. This story was written by Tina McElroy Ansa, an African American and classified as magic adventure fantasy.

The 1990s representatives begin with Oren Bell (1991) by Barbara Hood

Burgess, a White author. This is a ghost fantasy that features African American teenagers Oren Bell, his twin sister Latonya, and younger sister Brenda. Their story centers around their perceived threat to the neighborhood and their seventh-grade school year that the runned down house across the street poses. The house was built by the ghost who haunts their home. Oren has always thought of himself as an underachiever compared to his sisters but this may be his year, if the evil house doesn’t interfere.

The Ear. The Eye, and The Arm (1994) by Nancy Farmer combines science fiction and African tribal mythology. Farmer creates an adventurous coming of age story and kidnapping with a multicultural cast of characters that include mutant detectives (Ear-white/Eye-brown/Arm-black); General Matsika,

Mother, and their children-Tendai, Rita, and Kuda (black Africans); and the

Mellower (British descent). The story’s setting is Zimbabwe, Africa in 2194.

The final book discussed for this era is Walter Dean Myers’s Shadow of the Red Moon, This fantansy is the story Jon, a 15-year old Okalian, who is sent on a joumey by his parents to search for their Ancient Homeland. He is joined on 100 this journey by a young girl, her brother, and a black unicorn. With their present home facing annihilation, they attempt to restore their world and race to its former greatness.

Summary

The results of this section of the survey yielded 16 works of fantasy literature for young adults. The past-time travel motif was predominant in most of the books and several triologies were a part of the survey. Additionally, Virginia Hamilton was the predominant writer of young adult literature within this survey.

Sixty-five (66) works of fantasy literature were identified that feature protagonists of African origins. Fifty (50) of these are classified as children's literature and fifteen (16) are literature for young adults. These works were published from 1967 to 1995. Thirty-four (34) individuals authored these works and seventeen (17) or 50% of these individuals are of African origin. These seventeen individuals authored 39 (59.1%) of the books. These authors are: Tina Ansa, Ashley Bryan, Octavia Butler, Jan Carew, Charles Chestnutt, Pat

Cummings, Tom Feelings, Virginia Hamilton, Julius Lester, Patricia McKissaçk, Phil Mendez, Tolowa Mollel, Walter Dean Myers, Faith Ringgold, Charles

Saunders, John Steptoe, and Mildred Pitts Walter. Virginia Hamilton and Walter Dean Myers has works in both age classifications. Figure 1 below depicts the percentage of children's versus young adult fantasy literature. 101

Fantasy Literature

24% m Books

0 Children

1 Young Adult 76%

Figure 1 - Children’s versus Young Adult Fantasy Literature - Protagonists of African Origin

Fifty (50) or 75.8% of the works are identified as children's literature, grades K-6, written by 27 individuals. Of these books, 27 (54%) were written by 14 (51.9%) authors of African origin. Thus, 23 (46%) of the books were written by 13 (48.1%) individuals not of African descent. Figure 2 below shows the percentage of fantasy books written by authors of African origin and those of non-

African origin. 102

Children's Fantasy

■ Authors

D African-Origin 48% 52% I Non-African Origin

Figure 2- Ethnic Origins of Childrens Fantasy Literature Authors - Protagonists of African Origin

Sixteen (24.2%) of the works are identified as young adult literature. Of the nine authors of these novels, five (55.6%) are of African origin: Ansa, Butler, Myers, Hamilton and Saunders. Twelve (75%) of the identified works of young adult fantasy were written by these individuals. Hamilton is the most prominent with 31.3% of the total young adult novels. Percentage comparisons of ethnicity are present in Figure 3. 103

Young Adult Fantas>

■ Authors

44% D African-Origin 56% H Non-African Origin

Figure 3 - Ethnic Origin of Authors of Young Adfult Fantasy Literature - Protagonists of African Origin

Speculative Fiction This sur'/ey would be incomplete if the area of speculative fiction (works of science fiction/science fantasy) were not examined because of the distinct relationship that it shares with fantasy literature. Speculative fiction, a derivative of science fiction, is described as "stories whose objective is to explore, to discover, to learn, by means of projection, extrapolation, analogue, hypothesis- and-paper-experimentation, something about the nature of the universe, of man, or ‘reality’ " (Clute and Nicholls, 1993, p. 312). The works in the following discussion are described as such. In many of these stories, the genre of science fiction is used as a vehicle for stories expressed from a black viewpoint. Some are successful, some fail, and many are written by white mainstream science 104 fiction authors. Table 4 below is a complete chronological listing of the recommended books written in the category of speculative fiction. A few titles are not in the table due their evaluation as projecting very negative stereotypes, but are included in the discussion. The discussion follows the listing and the format for this section presents the sunreys of other scholars that have investigated this area of interest rather than by decades as used in the children’s and young adult discussion above. 105

Table 4 - Speculative Fiction with Protagonists of African Origin, 1859-1996

YEAR AUTHOR______TITLE______STATUS

1859 Martin R. Delaney Blake, or, The Huts of America 1989

1867 Lorenzo Blackson The Rise and Progress of the Kingdoms 1968 of Light and Darkness

1899 Sutton E. Griggs Imperium in Imperio 1969

1904 Edward A. Johnson Light Ahead for the Negro 1974

1911 W.E.B. DuBois The Quest of the Silver Fleece 1989

1915 T. Shirby Hodge The White Man's Burden i.p.

1928 W.E.B. DuBois Dark Princess 1975

1931 George Schuyler Black No More 1989

1931 William Stapledon Last and First Men 1988

1946 Werter L. Gross The Golden Recovery o.p.

1949 Leigh Brackett The Vanishing Venusians o.p. 1950 Ray Bradbury "Way in the Middle of the Air" 1991

1952 Thomas E. Roach Samson o.p.

1953 Arthur C. Clarke Childhood's End 1987

1953 Theodore Sturgeon More Than Human 1993

1959 Robert A. Heinlein Starship Troopers 1994

1959 William M. Kelly A Different Drummer 1990

1962 Samuel R. Delany The Jewels ofAptor o.p.

1963 Sprague L. de Camp The Tower ofZanid o.p.

1964 Leroi Jones '‘The Slave ” 1971

1964 Warren Miller The Siege of Harlem o.p.

(To be continued) 106

Table 4- Continued

YEAR AUTHOR TITLE STATUS

1965 Samuel R. Delany The Ballard of Beta-2 o.p. 1965 Ronald L. Fair Many Thousand Gone o.p.

1966 Samuel R. Delany Babel-17 o.p.

1966 Douglas T. Ward Day of Absence i.p.

1967 Samuel R. Delany The Einstein Intersection o.p.

1967 Denis Jackson The Black Commandos o.p.

1967 Richard Lupoff One Million Centuries o.p.

1967 Ishmael Reed The Free-Lance Pallbearers o.p.

1967 John A. Williams The Man Who Cried I Am 1985

1967 Leroi Jones "Answers In Progress” o.p.

1968 Samuel R. Delany Nova 1983 1969 Azize Asgarally The Chosen One ?

1969 Sam Greenlee The Spook Who Sat by the Door 1991 1969 Ursula LeQuin Hand ofDarknes 1983

1969 Alice Ughmer Day of the Drones o.p. 1969 Ishmael Reed Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down 1989 1969 John A. Williams Sons of Darkness, Sons ofUght o.p.

1970 John Jakes Black InTime o.p.

1971 Samuel R. Delany The Star Pit o.p.

1971 William Hjortsberg Gray Matters i.p. 1972 Raymond Patterson "After The Thousand o.p. Day Rebellion. "

(To be continued) 107

Table 4 - Continued

YEAR AUTHOR TITLE STATUS

1972 Ishmael Reed Mumbo Jumbo 1989

1972 Mack. Reynolds Blackman’s Burden o.p.

1972 Mack. Reynolds Border, Breed nor Birth o.p.

1972 Mack. Reynolds The Best Ye Breed o.p.

1972 John A. Williams Captain Blackman 1988

1973 Piers Anthony Race Against Time 1986 1973 John Dee Stagger Lee o.p. 1974 Michael Moorcock The Land Leviathan i.p.

1975 John Brunner The Shockwave Rider 1984 1975 Samuel R. Delany Dharlgren 1983 1976 Octavia Butler Pattemmaster o.p.

1976 Samuel R. Delany Triton o.p. 1976 J.O. Eshun The Adventures ofKapapa 7

1976 Spider Robinson Telempath 1988 1976 Robert Silverberg Shadrach in the Furnace i.p.

1977 Octavia. Butler Mind of my Mind o.p.

1978 Octavia. Butler Survivor o.p.

1979 Samuel R. Delany Tales ofNeveryon 1993

1980 Francis M. Busby Zelde Af ' Tana o.p.

1980 Octavia Butler Wild Seed 1988

1980 Flora Nwapa Journey To Space ?

1983 Steven. Barnes Streetlethal 1994

(To be continued) 108

Table 4 - continued

YEAR AUTHOR TITLE STATUS

1983 Samuel R. Delany Neveryona; or, 1993 Tales of Signs and Cities.

1983 Michelle Parkerson "Odds and Ends, o.p. A New Amazon Tale."

1984 Octavia Butler Clay's Ark 0.p.

1985 Samuel R. Delany Flight from Neveryon 1994

1986 Steven Barnes The Kundali Equation 1.p. 1987 Derrick Bell And We Are Not Saved 1989

1987 Octavia Butler Dawn 1989

1987 Samuel R. Delany The Bridge of Lost Desire 1988

1987 Toni Morrison Beloved 1988

1988 Octavia Butler Adulthood Rites 1989

1988 Terry Bison Fire on the Mountain 1990

1989 Steven Barnes Gorgon Child i.p.

1989 Octavia Butler Imago 1990 1989 Gregory Macguire I Feel Like The Morning Sun i.p. 1991 Jewelle Gomez The Gilda Stories i.p.

1992 Frank Miller Give Me Liberty i.p.

1992 Derrick Bell Faces at the Bottom of the Well i.p.

1992 Randall Kenan Let the Dead Bury Their Dead i.p. 1992 Charlotte Sherman Killing Color i.p.

1993 Steven Barnes Firedance 1995

1993 Octavia Butler Parable of the Sower 1995

(To be continued) 109

Table 4 - continued

YEAR AUTHOR______TITLE______STATUS

1993 Jewell Rhodes Voodoo Dreams i.p.

1996 Orson Card Pastwatch: The Redemption i.p. of Christopher Columbus

? Steven McDonald Janus Syndrome ?

* - Date in Status box represents recent reprint ? - No information available concerning present status. 0.p. - out of print 1.p. - in print

Charles Saunders has been recognized as the only Black fantasist writing black experience heroic fantasy (Bell, 1984; Elliot, 1984; Robinson,1981). In this capacity, Saunders has also served as a critic against the lack of a significant Black readership and literary works of speculative fiction. Focusing on the latter issue; Saunders states that "\vithin the last 15 years, there has been a handful of books published featuring blacks as leading characters, and many others in which blacks play secondary and peripheral roles. Some of the latter portrayals are mere tokenism...” (p. 163, 1980). He identifies a sampling of those works which are listed below:

1. Leigh Brackett’s The Vanishing Venusians (1949) a novellete that features a Black man named Sims, whose heroism involved the sacrifice of his life to save those of his white companions. 110

2. Arthur C. Clarkes’s Childhood’s End (1953) features a mulatto character who is the last man left cn earth at the ccnclusicn cf the beck.

3. L Sprague de Camp’s The Tower of Zanid (1963) features a Kenyan interstellar colonial official, Percy Mjipa.

4. Mack Reynold’s Black Man’s Buiden (1972) and Border, Breed, Nor

Birth (1972) feature a combination cf NAACP/Peace Corps blacks. Educated blacks from the United States, England, and the Carribean work to lift their

African brothers out of the darkness of colonialism. The Best Ye Breed (1972) continues the “El Hassan” novels above. El Hassan is a black American named Homer Crawford. He is in the midst of solidifying a rebel nation out of North African dissidents. Due to Hassan’s increasing control over the vast mineral resources of the region, his movement becomes the target of disruptive forces ranging from corporate assassins to a band of stereotyped white mercenaries, all of whom are defeated and converted. The weakness cited in these books is the lack of credibility of the Black characters [“white liberals in burnt cork” (p. 167)].

5. Ray Bradbury’s “Way In The Middle of the Air ” [in The Martian

Chronicles, 1951] describes a mass interplanetary exodus of Blacks from the benighted South.

6. Robert A. Heinlein’s Farnham’s Freehold (1965) features a black protagonist named Joe. In this futuristic society blacks are masters and whites are slaves. However this book is not recommended because of stereotypical characterizations. Starship Troopers (1959) features a Black protagonist whose identity is not revealed until the end. This book is recommended. I l l

7. Michael Moorcock’s The Land Leviathan (1974) features a Black emperor of an alternate early twentieth century Earth named Cicero Hood. He attempts to free the Blacks held as slaves in the USA.

8. Richard [Alice] Lightner's Day of the Drones (1969) features Africans as standardbearers of a post-holocaust Earth civilization. An expedition from

Africa to England results in initial conflict between the Africans and a white beehive culture. The conflict is appeased through the relationship of a White

“drone” youth and a black girl.

9. Edmund Cooper’s The Last Continent (1969) features the Blacks of pre-holocaust Earth isolated on Mars and its Whites in a subtropical Antarctica after a thermonuclear race war. The Blacks send an expedition to Earth and finds a surviving, seemingly barbaric White society.The book is not recommended due to its stereotypical portrayal of the Black Martian culture.

10. Richard Lupoff’s One Million Centuries (1967) features a Black helicopter pilot propelled into the distant future and faced with a choice of living with three radically different black societies (rustic, hedonistic, and militaristic/totalitarian. He opts for the rustic pioneering society.

11. Samuel R. Delany’s Dhartgren (1975) is an examination of life in a decayed urban center in which blacks play a major role. Delany is an African

American author.

12. T he Star Pit” (1967) a novella [in Driftglass (1971), collection of short stories] features Vyme as a black man in a highly-technological, interstellar future. He maintains a recognizable, valid black identity despite the alien-ness of his surroundings. 112

13. Octavia Butler’s Mind of My Mind (1978) features Black protagonists

Doro, a mind parasite that has survived for 4000 years feeding off a multitude of human brains, and Mary, one of his black children. They are Involved In the creation of a new race of humans with telepathic, teleklnetic, and other psychic abilities. A conflict ensues between father and daughter that results In a psychic

Armageddon. Butler Is an African American author.

14. Spider Robinson’s Telempath (1976) features a Black protagonist, isham Stone, In a post-holocaust Earth due to bacterial Infestation. Survivors rebuild civilization and Isham is sent by his father to seek out and slay the man believed to have released the bacteria.

15. Robert Silverberg’s Shadrach in the Furnace (1976) features a Black protagonist named Shadrach Mordecai in a not-so-distant future who serves as personal physician to an Oriental ruler of Mongolia and most of the world. The story’s plot involves the ruler’s, Genghis Mao, battle with mortality and his desire Is to have his brain transplanted into another body. This is Shadrach’s task, but It

Is Shadrach’s body that Genghis covets.

16. John Brunner’s The Shockwave Rider (1975) features a black protagonist’s named Freeman. He is a computer-center administrator who is persuaded by Nicky Halfinger, a white rebellious test-tube baby with somewhat paranormal abilities, to destroy the regulatory capacity of the computer network In a near-future society inextricably wedded to electronic data processing. It was Freeman’s job to rehabilitate Nicky after he was captured and sent to a special detention/brainwashing center. Highly recommended for Freeman's portrayal as a participant in the future rather than as an appendage. 113

In two subsequent articles (Bell, 1984; Elliot, 1984), Saunders mentions

several other authors and titles. Jesse Bone is mentioned as a Black writer in the genre, but one whose work he was not familiar with. Investigation into this author

revealed that Bone was trained as a doctor of veterinary medicine and established a career as a professor at Oregon State University. His fictional works included uncollected short stories from 1958-1982 and five novels from

1962-1978 (Smith, 1986). However, the investigator was unable to find these works and the general descriptions provided in Smith's Science Fiction Writers did not confirm Bone’s ethnicity nor the ethnicity of the human characters portrayed in Bone’s works. An unnamed African-myth tale by Mary Aldridge is mentioned as an excellent piece. The focus is more on Aldridge as a recommended author in this genre that presents Black characters realistically. In a similar manner, Steven

McDonald’s Janus Syndrome (n.d.) and Francis Marion Busby’s Zelde M’ Tana

(1980) are recommended as novels that treat Blacks as realistic characters in this genre. The investigator could not locate any information on any of these authors and their works. A second survey of Black American speculative literature was compiled by

John Pfeiffer (1975) and is reported to represent “up to 1973 virtually all of the writing by Black American authors which is dominated by a speculative vision” (p.

36). The following list is a result of this survey:

1. Delany, Martin R. Blake, or, The Huts of America: A Tale of the

Mississippi Valley, the Southern United States and Cuba. (1859/1970). Henri

Blacus, anglicized to Henry Blake, is mysteriously educated and courageous

hero. When his wife is sold, he escapes slavery to lead a slave revolt 114 encompassing all of North America and Cuba. Six chapters are missing from the text that include the conclusion.

2. Blackson, Lorenzo Dow. The Rise and Progress of the Kingdoms of

Light and Darkness, or, The Reigns of Kings Alpha and Abadon. (1867/1968). A religious allegory, written in the optimistic flush of the Reconstruction period, in which Alpha (Christ) defeats Abadon (Satan) in the Civil War, heralding the coming of social equality to mankind.

3. Griggs, Sutton Elbert. Imperium in Imperio (1899/1969). A secret organization of over 300 black men is formed to take over Texas and proclaim it an independent Black nation. Its plans are temporarily frustrated. However, it survives to be successful in the future.

4. Johnson, Edward Augustus. Light Ahead for the Negro (1904/1974).

Tract-like tale features Gilbert Twitchell (probably white), who is trapped in 1906 in a blimp in the stratosphere. Preserved by accidental suspended animation, he awakens one hundred years later to discover 150-horsepower autos and private blimps in common use. More significantly, the U.S. has become a Socialist state. The races are separate but equal-intermarriage being forbidden. Moreover, the South has led the movement to bring social equality.

5. Du Bois, W.E. B. Dark Princess: A Romance (1928). Black protagonists are caught in the mesh of Anglo-American civilization until, with the birth of the Black child Madhu (Matthew), comes the flat prediction that he will lead the non white races of the world to dominance, peacefully or through war, by 1952.

Although not discussed by Pfieffer, some scholars consider The Quest of the Stiver Fleece (1911) speculative. DuBois employs myth and the supernatural 115 in this story wher Blacks attempt to transform Post-Reconstruction history through the use of cotton (silver fleece) and the “talented-tenth".

6. Schuyler, George Samuel. Black No More. Being An Account of the

Strange and Wonderful Workings of Science in the Land of the Free, A.D. 1933-

1940. (1931/1971 ). Exasperated with the pathology of Blacks trying to “be white” with the aid of skin creams and hair straighteners, a Black scientist develops a skin treatment that turns Black skin “whiter than white,” available at fifty dollars for the one treatment necessary. One of many ludicrous results finds the new “whitemen” forming a class that holds Caucasian whites in contempt. A Swiftian satire with the underlying message, “Black Is beautiful”.

7. Gross, W erter Livingston. The Golden Recovery, Revealing a

Streamlined Cooperative Economic System Compiled from the Best Authorities in the World, both Ancient and Modern (1946). A thinly fictionalized tract. Five hundred families live in utopian community in Nevada, based upon Platonic- Owenian principles and employing the latest technology and administrative wisdom. Intolerance, injustice, and insecurity are unknown. Equality prevails.

8. Roach, Thomas E. Samson (1952). Samson Shylockck, presumably a Black man of the near future, goes to West Point, rises to power in military rank, takes over America and then the world, and “abolishes all wars” by imposition of a benevolent world police state. Not a satire, but a crudely written power fantasy.

9. Kelly, William Melvin. A Different Drummer (1959/1962). In this taut fable the seed of a godlike African, brought as a slave to America, survives in Tucker Caliban. In 1957 in a nameless and imaginary southern state, Caliban buys the land he has worked for a lifetime, poisons it with salt, burns its 116 dwellings, and joins a mysteriously coalesced exodus of every Black man, woman and child from the state.

10. Jones, Leroi [Imamu Amiri Baraka]. The Slave (1964). A play featuring Walker Vessels, a Black revolutionary leader, returning to claim his daughters from his white former wife. He has come to take them from path of the bomb-bursting revolution in progress. Play ends as mortar round hits house and kills girls. An armed uprising of the whole Black American population is taking place. “Answers in Progress” (1967) [in The Naked I (1971)], a short story involving a conversation between blue spacemen with tentacles and a revolutionary leader. The Black army is winning and the spacemen are assembling a report on sociological changes taking place on the planet Earth.

11. Miller, Warren. The Siege of Harlem (1964). Sometime around 2040 an aged lieutenant Lance Huggins tells how his commander led Harlem, New

York, to national independence in the 1970's. A siege courageously withstood and the pressure of world opinion force defeat upon a white-governed United States, a United States that unrecalcitrantly continues to refuse its diplomatic recognition to the new country-even as passing decades season the victory with permanence.

12. Fair, Ronald L. Many Thousand Gone: An American Fable (1965).

Somehow, “Jacobsville,” Mississippi has secretly preserved the institution of slavery into the mid-twentieth century. The salvation of the Black population of the town, won by their courage, is unfolded with beautiful economy.

13. Ward, Douglas Turner. Day of Absence: A Satirical Fantasy (1966).

Borrows upon Orson Welles’ crisis news report scenario to dramatize the white population of an unnamed southern state awakening one morning to discover 117 that every Black “citizen" has disappeared. A nightmare becomes reality for southern whites. Economic collapse and domestic chaos (who will feed, nurse and clean them) are imminent. Chief revelation of play is cracked and decaying southern white psyche. The Black people return the next morning as mysteriously as they disappeared.

14. Jackson, Denis (Julian Moreau pseud.). The Black Commandos (1967). Hero is super-intelligent and super-athletic, who forms secret, para military group. He invents flying saucers and super-weapons to equip his soldiers. Story depicts series of vendettas with symbols of racism in America. In each commandos carry out predictable Black American fantasies, such as the assassination of “Govemor Malice” by means of ax buried in his skull. Conclusion finds group girding for battle against racism throughout the world.

15. Reed, Ishmael. The Free-Lance Pallbearers (1967). The first of three critically acclaimed phantasmagoric fictions, combining fable, myth, allegory and symbol. Mock epic re-creations of America's most cherished institutions and myths. Pallbearers attacks American politics and syndicated crime. Whites are blamed for present world conditions, but culpable blacks are also attack for betraying and exploiting other blacks to appropriate power. This is realized through SAM, the black cop who protects whites from the blacks in the projects and whom other blacks cater to.

Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down (1969) blasphemously shreds the myth of the American west. Yellow Back Radio is a pioneer town set in early 1800s.

“Broke Down" is street talk for explaining a problem to listeners. In this plot, the problems of the town are broken down to the reader. Story's protagonist is the

Loop Garoo Kid - an “eternal” character appearing as a black cowboy and 118 voodoo worker. As In a typical Western conflict, there Is a fight for the control of the town. Christianity Is attacked In this story also.

Mumbo Jumbo (1972) unleashes a scatter-shot meta-fable for all the myths of the Western world. Set In the 1920s, Mumbo Jumbo Is the name of

“Kathedral” headed by a 50 year old black man who goes on a holy quest to find the sacred Hoodoo text of the Jes Grew movement. This movement celebrates life and Is In opposition to the llfe-denying Judeo-Chrlstlon culture. It provides a history of religion from the black perspective. The theme of the novel Is the establishment of a true African American aesthetic.

16. Williams, John A. The Man Who Cried I Am (1967). One of three speculative novels. The vicissitudes of the life of Max Reddick, Black

International journalist, who discovers “King Alfred,” a secret U.S. government plan for concentration camps and genocide to be Implemented In case of civil uprising Involving, especially. Black people. Set In the 1970s, Sons of Darkness,

Sons of Light (1969) depicts events leading to an attempted Black take-over of

Manhattan. Conclusion Is open-ended. In Captain Blackman (1972) Williams creates a time-traveling character. “Blackman” Is an American soldier In each war In U.S. history, epitomizing the history of the Black American soldier. Final scenario of the novel pictures an America In the late 1970s or early 1980s without a nuclear retaliatory capacity because Black people at crucial posts In the defense command have neutralized it.

17. Greenlee, Sam. The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1969). "Freeman”

Is playing for all the marbles against a racist U.S. establishment. Joining the CIA

In token Integration program, the too-competent Freeman Is bumped upstairs until he Is the assistant to the director of the CIA, becoming “the spook who sat 119

by the door”...of the director. He thus learns all the lore of CIA counterinsurgency techniques, resigns, and from a civil service counselling post in Chicago creates

a nationwide guerilla organization that begins a violent revolution with substantial

hope of success.

18. Patterson, Raymond. “After the Thousand Day Rebellion ”(1972). A

micro-picture of defeat of the Black revolution in America. Several lines characterize it: “After the destruction to the major cities has ended,/The surviving

Negroes relocated, all Black men removed/From public office.../After the records

of carnage; the mass reprisals, the planned/Assassinations, the secret executions.../After so much suffering and unimagined grief, /America was finally free of her dream of democracy.” This is a poem. 19. Dee, John. Stagger Lee (1973/1974). A folk epic fantasy ... Stagger

Lee is one of a blood-line of Black folk heroes who, at the age of eleven, becomes a Robin Hood-like super-vigilante to redress the wrongs of U.S. Blacks. Story's end finds him leading an exodus of the Black American population to live

in Africa, destined to survive and flourish while the world's other races deteriorate

and vanish. Samuel Delany is left out of this list due to Pfeiffer’s belief that his work is

so well known and that Delany has won recognition as a writer of excellent speculative fiction rather than as a Black writer. In order to extend Pfeiffer’s

premise and present a more comprehensive picture of speculative fiction since the publication of the above lists, the following survey by the investigator is

provided. Several factors have to be kept in mind that apply to the above surveys

and the one that follows. First, Octavia Butler was just coming on to the 120 speculative fiction scene after the publication of the surveys, thus the inclusion of only one of her works. Second, the role of peripheral characters to the plot of the stories may explain the omission of some works by compilers due to many Black characters occupying this role versus that of protagonist. Finally, primary emphasis is giving to book length stories except in cases where critics have listed short stories for their special focus on the topic. There is no mention by Saunders (1984) as to why the first of Butler’s books, Pattemmaster (1976), was not included in his survey. Salvaggio’s (1984) in-depth analysis of Butler’s work may offer some explanation. In her discussion of this book, she states that the plot does involve the fight between two brothers for their dying father’s empire. These two individuals are white, but a black female healer (Amber) is an integral part of this plot and commands as much attention. Amber, sensing powers of healing in Teray (the younger brother), decides to become his mentor. She helps develop his humane tendencies which eventually aides him in defeating his older brother and inherits the mental pattern. She is also intensely sought after as a mate by both brothers, but refuses to marry either treasuring her independence and autonomy instead. Perhaps, for

Saunders, the plot was focused more on the heroes rather than the heroine. However, in Salvaggio’s opinion and one that this investigator shares,

Pattemmaster‘s focus is definitely on the black heroine.

Other books in the Patternist series are: Mind of My Mind (1977) featuring

Mary (mentioned in Sounder’s survey). Survivor {^97S) featuring Alanna,lV/7d

Seed (1980) featuring Anyanwu and Ciay”s Ark (1984). All these heroines are

Black. Butler’s recent works {Dawn, 1987; Aduithood Rites, 1988; Imago, 1989) 121 have been published as an omnibus volume entitled Xenogenesis (1989). The following discussion focus on the first four Patternist books.

Survivor takes place primarily on a planet that is known as “second Earth" because it becomes the new home for Mutes (humans with no telepathic powers): due to the domination of “Old Earth” by the Pattemists. Alanna is one of these colonists. She is of African-Asian heritage and is adopted by European-

American missionaries after her parents are murdered in a raid by Clayarks

(mutated humans). The planet is inhabited by Kohn, furry creatures of human form, thus additional prejudices and conflicts erupt. Intermingled with the conflicts of the Patternist society and conflicts of the new society is Alanna'a ability to survive as a strong Black woman in both. From age 8 (parents death) to 15 (adoption) she exists as a wild child on Old Earth.

Alanna survives forced drug addition, imprisonment as a captive of societal conflict, and marriage to one of the Kohn leaders without the blessing of her adoptive parents. Salvaggio states that, “Alanna is Butler’s study of the power of human endurance” (1984, p. 80).

Wild Seed reveals the origins of the Patternist society and provide the basis for the other novels in this series. It is the story of Anyanwu and Doro and takes place in Africa in 1690 and colonial America. They arrive in New England on a slave ship and Doro, a genetic mutant, who must kill others to inherit their body in order to live sets out to build a race of beings like himself. It is through

Anyanwu, a healer, that Doro exploits as a breeder of this race. Anyanwu is a supernatural being who is able to change herself physically and can transform herself into other creatures. Salvaggio (1984) states that: 122

Though all Butler's protagonists are black, only Anyanwu Is bom in

Africa. Both her African origin and her feminist determination give

us every reason to think of her a s the ancestress of Amber, Mary,

Alanna, and the host of other prominent black women in Butler’s

fiction....Anyanwu help to explain the yearning for independence

and autonomy sought by Amber, Mary, and Alanna. (p. 80)

Clay’s Ark explains the origin of the Clayarks, chief antagonists of the Pattemists. The protagonists of this story are Dr. Maslin and his twin daughters who are kidnapped as they cross the California desert to be hosts for a parasitic life form. The plot emphasizes the violent conflict between the human Pattemists and Mutes and the virus infected transfigured humans (Clayarks). Still the only Black female consistently writing in the science fiction genre, Butler is praised for her style, clarity, and themes. Realistic portrayals of of racial and sexual themes in future societies has gamered the genre's highest awards for Butler (Metzger,1989; Clute & Nicholls 1993). However it is her portrayal of strong Black women that tends to stand out in critical commentaries. To conclude the discussion of Butler works, comments from two of these critics are presented here. First, Foster (1982) states:

Each of these women is black. This is given as a fact, and it does, at times, affect their attitude and influence their social situations; however, racial conflict or even racial tension is not the primary focus of the novels. Butler explains that she feels no particular need to champion black women, but that she writes from her own experience and sensitivities... (p. 42) Salvaggio (1984) adds:

Butler heroines...can tell us much about her science fiction precisely because they are the very core of that fiction. These novels are about survival and power, about black women who must face tremendous social constraints....Though Butler’s heroines are 123

dangerous and powerful women, their goal is not power. They are heroines not because they conquer the world, but because they conquer the very notion of tyranny, (p. 81 )

In discussing the works of Samuel Delany, both of the compilers of the surveys listed above agree that his works deserve special scrutiny due to his preeminence as a Black writer in the speculative fiction genre. However,

Saunders (1984) states that additional scrutiny is deserved because, “In most of his stories, blacks are absent (p. 165).” Govan (1984) disagrees with Sauders's premise. She states that there is an insistent presence of blacks in Delany’s novels. What may account for the divergent views is the lack of attention to the presence of blacks and other non-whites in the stories by critics and, perhaps for Saunderis, Delany’s subtleness of this issue in his writing. Govan sums it up in the following manner;

Yet most discussions of the text [ Babel-17 ] wholly ignore Delany’s subtle stress on ethnicity ...In Nova, a black man moves from the role of strong support to that of hero proper; but again, most of the critical response to the novel concentrates on Delany’s wedding of form to theme: space opera to the mythic quests for power, for art, for meaning, for free will....Samuel Delany’s vision of future and possible world’s is a vision in which race, however subtly manifested, is as emblematically significant as any of the other concerns his works treats....His black characters may be heroic, or they may merely assist the protagonist. What most matters is that, in science fiction worlds in which very few blacks have appeared, they are there....[she concludes] While he does not dwell on a “black experience” as we would encounter it in the familiar mainstream Afro-American literature, Delany does give us memorable black characters, and his science-fiction novels affirm the diversity and vitality of black life....Other science-fiction writers may have tried to omit or obliterate black folk in their versions of the future, but in Samuel Delany’s speculative world a black consciousness Is, and black folk are, an insistent presence [author’s italics]. (1984, pp. 45, 48) From 1962 to 1987, Delany has written and had published approximately twenty books of fiction. He has received science fictions highest awards for some 124 of these works. Dharlgen, mentioned above, brought him national recognition and

Babel-17, also mentioned above, was a Nebula winner (Metzer, 1989). The chief characters of African origin in his works are briefly discussed below.

Saunders (1980) discusses the major role Blacks portray in Dharlgren and

Govan (1984) concurs with this view. However, she highlights this role as that of a group/gang (Scorpians) led by a male of half-Indian, half-white ancestry. Three- fourths of the gang members, consisting of male and females, are Black. Also in a peripheral role is the Reverend Amy Taylor, a Black evangical minister, who sponsors a program for the hungry and preaches against the moral state of the city. Govan (1984), Metzger (1989), and Clute & Nicholls (1993) presents further insights into Delany’s characters and the plots of his works.

In Babel-17 (1966); there is Rydra Wong, an Asian poet and linguist, and Dr. Markus T’mwarba, an African and Rydra's pyschtherapist. The plot of this story is the cracking of an alien code that is being broadcasted over the radio and suspected to be associated with an invasion. It is a story focused upon language and its ability to shape experiences and perceptions. Rydra breaks the code with the assistance of T’mwarba.

In Nova (1968); the protagonist is Captain Lorq Von Ray, son of a Bengalese woman and a Norwegian man. This is the story of a galatic quest to obtain a rare elem ent called lllyrion which will enhance the economic development of the galaxy. Govan also states that among the many themes of power, there is a racial motif of mythic proportions that involves a sexual power struggle - a black man in love with a white woman.

The Einstien Intersection (1967) presents the reader with a mythical “Pan” figure named Lo Lobey who is described as black as well as his partner, Friza, is 125 a black woman and a friend is a black man. All of the characters in this story are alien and the plot focus upon these aliens taking on the corpeal form of humans and “trying to understand and fit into human cultural traditions through the mythic structures of a vanished humanity” ( Govan, 1984, p. 46). This book was also a

Nebula winner. Other peripheral, yet significant black characters in Delany’s works are: 1. Joneny Horatio Pwabaga, a university student who rediscovers the meaning of a ballard about an old Earth “generations” starship, the Beta-2. The novel he appears in is The Ballard of Beta-2 (1985). 2. limmi, a university student who has taken a position as a sailor for the summer. He appears in The Jewels ofAptor (1962), Delany’s first novel. A quest novel featuring a group of friends who journey to Aptorto rescue the kidnapped High Priestess of the Goddess of Argo and restore three jewels of immense power to the control of Argo Incarnate, the reigning High Priestess. 3. Miriamne, a black woman, and Sam, a black man, formely a white woman. They appear in Triton (1976). A sexual utopia exists in this book where an exotic new world is created that honors every form of sexual behavior. Sex change operations including refixations to alter sexual preferences are emphasized also.

Finally, Delany has published a series of four books entitled:Ta/es of

Neveryon, 1979; Neveryona, 1983; Flight from Neveryon, 1985; The Bridge of

Lost Desire, 1987 that are considered as sword and sorcery (heroic fantasy) literature. These are tales of Gorgik, a slave who rises to political power and abolishes slavery. Gorgik is described as a black man and critics have placed the setting as either Asia or Africa in some magical distant past, just as civilization is 126

being created. This is a world of barbarians, Amazons, primitive precocity,

prehistoric splendor, and dragons. There is a focus on power - racial (slavery),

sexual, and economic. These books were well-received, but due to publishers’

perceptions of explicitly controversial topics, subsequent books exhibited lower

sales (Steiner, 1987; Metzger, 1989). Steven Barnes, also an African American writer of science fiction, is a

newcomer to this genre. His solo works \nc\ude:Streetlethal (1983), The Kundalini

Equation (1986), Gorgon Child (1989), and Firedance (1993). Co-authored works with Larry Niven include Dream Park (1981), The Descent of Anansi

(1982), The Legacy of Heorot (Niven and Jerry Pournelle, 1987), The Barsoom

Project (1989), Achilles' Choice (1991), and The California Voodoo Game (1992). Due to Barnes collaboration with Niven, several critics believe that he

has yet to develop his own voice (Clute & Nicholls,1993; Miesel, 1986). The solo works are of interest here and the co-authored titles are not in the above table. Reflected in his works are his interest in the martial arts, his academic studies in communications, and later employment in the film industry as a writer of screenplays (Miesel, 1986). In the collaborative works. Blacks seem to have peripheral roles in the

stories. Achilles’ Choice serves as an example. The Olympics have been modified in the 21st Century to become a test of athletic skill as well as academic

ability. This competition is also a m eans of selecting the future world leaders for the planet-dominating corporate elite council. Since only the winners were eligible

for membership, many of the athletes choose to undergo a medical procedure

referred to as “The Boost.” The procedure bestowed super intelligence as well

as superhuman strength. The protagonist of this story is a white female 127

American, Jill Shomer. The peripheral character is Holly Lakein described as a short black woman with tightly curled hair cropped very short, first introduced on page 25. Holly is Jill’s roommate at the North American Olympic training center and as the story progresses they become friends. They compete in separate events.

Jill is a cross country runner. Judo expert, fractal artist, and sociologist/chaos theory. Holly is a molecular biologist, gymnast/balance beam, and chess expert.

Through the disqualification of Jill’s judo competitor she recieved the gold and with her total performance is eligible for “Linkage” with the Council. Bronze medals prevented Holly from “Linkage”, but she is eligible for the next Olympiad. Holly is one of several developed characters. However, she appears only on approximately 30 of the 214 pages. Additionaiy, noted fantasy/science fiction illustrator Boris Vallejo provide black and white sketches for the text. These drawings were primarily of Jill. Holly did not appear in any. One the cover a Black female is pictured running with Jill. Although this female is drawn as Holly is described in the text, the scene depicts the cross-country competition in which

Holly is not a competitor. The text does describe the nine runners and of the nine,

“three held varying degrees of African blood in their veins” (p. 156). The reader can either assume that poetic license is being used by the illustrator to promote Holly or a generalized depiction of the Black characters is portrayed. Thus,

Holly’s characterization seems to be a reflection of the joint authorship; Niven’s first author, Barnes second author. Barnes solo works interweave urban environments and African material.

Of Streetlethal, Miesel states that, “behind those 21st-century brown faces we glimpse the familiar wronged convict, golden-hearted hooker, and slimy gang lord” 128

(p.34). Gorgon Child and Firedance continue the story of Aubry Knight, an

African American urban hero trained as a street fighter in a 22nd century post-

Great Quake California society. Descent of Anansi (with Niven) is a romantic space thriller based on a West African spider myth. Thus, protagonists of African origin dominate his solo works.

Further investigation by the researcher revealed other works that can be considered as additions to this survey.

Moskowitz (1976) led the researcher to John Jakes's Black In Time

(1970). This science fiction story is also a brief presentation of African American history. It is at once a story of Professor Harold Quigley, an African American theater scholar whose work had won him the opportunity to study historic theater as an onlooker. This was possible through the invention of the Nexus, a time traveling device, by an eccentric rich White scholar to do historical research.

Professor Quigley become caught up in a struggle between two extreme factions who discover the Nexus and uses it to change history. One faction led by Jomo, an African American, desires to alter history so Blacks will be the dominant race; whereas Whisk, a Caucasien, desires to use Nexus to keep Blacks in their place. Harold's objective is to keep history as it is to ensure that they will be born and resume their lives in 1977. Jakes is a white author and in his introduction to the book, he comments on his attempt to create a literary work that authentically portrays Black History.

“Odds and Ends, a new Amazon fable" (1983) by Michelle Parkerson.

This is a five-page story described by Gomez in the article cited above. This is a story set in 2086 during race wars in which Colored people of Earth have had enough and take up arms. It focuses on Loz and Sephra, women who are 129 warriors and lovers, sustainig a pitched battle against invasion and trying to maintain some semblance of a personal life. An attack on traditional views of women in general and black women in particular. Also, an example of “unfettered human possibility” that is indicative of fantasy fiction (Gomez, 1986). Parkerson is an African American and this story is found in author’s book of poetry and prose, IVa/Y/ng Rooms..

Beloved (1987) by Toni Morrison. A story similar to Butler's Kindred and

Hamilton's Sweet Whisper’s, Brother Rush . Each has a ghost as a central character and like Kindred the story’s setting moves through time and focuses upon the slave period. The story of Sethe and her murder of her baby daughter. Beloved, to prohibit their return to slavery after escaping. Beloved returns as a ghost haunting Sethe and eventually possessing her body.

And We Are Not Saved: The Elusive Quest for Racial Justice (1987) by

Derrick Bell. Professor Derrick Bell, employs allegorical tales to examine and discuss the failure of the 1960s’ Civil Rights Legislation to bring about racial equality with his long-time friend (and heroine of the book) Geneva Crenshaw, African American female civil rights attorney. Commenting upon his format. Bell states:

In order to appraise the contradictions and inconsistencies that pervade the all too real world of racial oppression, I have chosen in

this book the tools not only of reason but of unreason, of fantasy,...In resorting to the realm of fairy tale-and its modern

counterpart, science fiction-1 have devised ten metaphorical tales,

or Chronicles....These Chronicles...follow as well an ancient 130

tradition in using fantasy and dialogue to uncover enduring truths.

(p. 5-6)

Faces at the Bottom of the Well : The Permanence of Racism (1992) by Derrick Bell. Professor Bell returns with a follow-up to the above book. His heroine, lawyer-prophet, Geneva Crenshaw is back to assist in the quest for new directions in the struggle for racial justice. The focus in this series of stories is acknowledging the permanence of racism in society and redirecting the quest.

Fire on the Mountain (1988) by Terry Bison focuses also on an alternate

U. S. history. His alternate society features an independent Black nation in the

South that is the result of the John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry being successful and leading to a slave rebellion rather than a civil war. This second

American revolution brings about a socialist utopia. The book is two stories of past and present lives. The past is told from the memoirs of Dr. Abraham, a Black

M.D. It documents his childhood adventures at time of John Brown’s raid and afterwards. The present is the story of the journey of Dr. Abraham’s great- grandaughter, Yasmin, and Yasmin’s daughter, Harriet across the South to deliver Dr. Abraham’s papers to the museum at Harper’s Ferry.

Give Me Liberty: An American Dream (1991 ) by Frank Miller is a work of science fiction that features African American female protagonist, Martha

Washington. The story follows her growth from birth in a low-income housing project that Is separated and secured from the rest of the city, which gives it an aura of prison, to her escape and eventual rise to leadership in an international military organization. This work is significant in that it is a graphic [pictorial] novel.

The pictures were drawn by Dave Gibbons. 131

The Gilda Stories (1991) by Jewelle Gomez. The author, an African American female, describes her book as:

...stories...about Gilda, who escapes from slavery in 1850 and the tales trace her life through the next several centuries [2050]. Gilda, you see. becomes a vampire. My idea was/is to create a super heroic black woman who interprets our lives through a phenomenal perspective. While the premise falls into the fantasy fiction genre, the stories themselves, like all good fantasy or science fiction are really about the human condition: loneliness, love, families, and heroism....l chose to make my black woman hero a vampire because no one would understand the cycles of blood and life more than a woman and because I wanted a character who had known the intimate horrors of our past and still had the capacity to dream grandly of our triumph. (1986, pp. 8,13)

Piers Anthony’s Race Against Time (1973) and I Feel Like The Moming

Star (1989) by Gregory Macguire present multiethnic teen protagonists in examining possible future societies. In Race Against Time six teens representing

Caucasians, Blacks and Asians are featured. This book offers a look at a possible future grounded in racial purity and cultural equality. Similarly, I Feel

Like The Moming Star (1989) focuses upon a racially diverse group of post- nuclear holocaust survivors. Set in the mid-21st century in an underground community; three teens, a black female, white male, and Filipino-Greek male begin to question the community’s complacency in remaining underground after five years and lead a clandestine movement to retum to the world above if it still exists. Charlotte Watson Sherman brings together eleven stories that feature the experiences of African American women in Killing Color (1992). These tales are described as “contemporary magical realist stories” (Windling, 1995). The stories draw upon the folkloric tradition and the mythical dimensions of African American 132 women’s lives that Gomez (1986) argues is often obscured in the heroic fantasy genre. Sherman is an African American writer.

Similarly in concept and form is Randall Kenan’s Let the Dead Bury Their

Dead (1992). Also an African American, Randall draws on his North Carolinian heritage to produce a collection of 12 tales that speak of the supernatural. His characters range from a talking pig, ghosts haunting their murderers, a three-year old child receiving messages from the grave, etc.

Jewell Parker Rhodes creates a fictionalized account of the life of Marie Laveau, a Black creole and nineteenth-century Voodoo Queen of New Orleans in

Voodoo Dreams (1993). The supernatural permeates the pages of this novel highlighting African American female empowerment. Ms. Rhodes is an African American.

Octavia Butler reappears with Parable of the Sower (1993). This science fiction story takes place in a futuristic California (the year 2025). It is the story of an 18 year-old Black woman who is a “sharer”-one who shares others pain as well as her own. It is a coming of age story in a society that must protect itself from scavengers and “paints"-drug addicts who rape, bum, and murder. Seeking a place of refuge she sets off on a joumey up the coastal California highway.

Pastwatch: The Redemption of Columbus (1996) is a futuristic story of Pastwatch, a small group of scientists and historians who view the past through a machine called TruSite II. It is the story of Tagiri, a racially-mixed young woman who prefers her matrilineal line from which she derived her identify. It was this preference that was the focus of her study of the past-the observation of her mother’s line in ancient Africa and by coincidence slavery. 133

Pastwatch's objective was searching the past to identify the causes that had brought about an Earth devasted by war, plague, famine, and drought in hopes of renewing the planet. When the slaughter of the Caribe tribe of

Hispaniola by the Spanish is seen as a critical moment in history by Tagiri,

Pastwatch must decide if the past can be changed and the Earth restored? Is it their right to change the past and wipe out a time line in history? For Tagiri, the opportunity to rid the world of slavery provided only one answer!

To conclude this survey, the following books and discussions were also uncovered during the investigation. These discoveries are significant here due to their omission from the initial surveys of Saunders (1980) and Pfeiffer (1975) discussed above and illustrating the limits of surveys when Dodd states, “ one person’s evaluation of a book is often inaccurate and influenced by personal preferences and prejudices" (1968, p. 8-9). Govan (1984), noting exceptions to the absence of Black folk in the worlds of science fiction literature, identifies four works and give a brief historical analysis.

Heinlein’s Starship Troopers and Farnham's Freehold mention by

Saunders (1980) is listed with the notation of the racist views (reverse slavery, blacks as savage cannibals and fulfilling their “true” sexual desires of white women) of the latter, a fact also noted by Saunders. New additions are Ursula

Leguin’s Left Hand of Darkness (1969) and Theodore Sturgeon’s More Than

Human (1953). Scholes and Rabkin (1977) briefly concurs with Govan about Left

Hand of Darkness in their discussion of race in science fiction. They state that, “Leguin’s protagonist...and the only major character who is a human being of our own sort, is described as dark skinned and flat-nosed” (p. 189). 134

Staying with Scholes and Rabkin (1977), Starship Troopers and “Way in the Middle of the Air” are mentioned as in the surveys discussed above. New additions are William Hjortsberg’s Gray Matters (1971) and William Stapledon’s

Last and First Men (1931). Of Gray Matters they state, “ the aggressive hero who breaks out of the mind-shaping hive and succeeds in fooling the machines into putting his brain into a perfect body chooses as his body that of a

Tropique’....because it is beautiful” (p. 188-189). The final colony of humans are

non-white in Stapledon’s book. In a more recent study (1993), Clute and Nicholls discusses race in their politics of science fiction section. Previously mention works are Black No More, A

Different Drummer, The Siege of Harlem, The Spook who Sat by the Door, and Mack Reynold’s and John Williams’s works. Only one new addition was mention

T. Shirby Hodge’s The White Man’s Burden (1915). The works from the United Kingdom and South Africa that deal with race relations are also mentioned in their research. In a separate section entitled “Black African SF,” a sample of works are given due to the lack of a limited amount of research into this topic. Most is published in English, but there are rare books in other languages. Also, much of this literature is for children. The spy/adventure novels containing science fiction elements are more common for adults. For purposes of this research the pure science fiction novels in English are included in this survey. Joumey to Space

(1980) by Nigerian Flora Nwapa, The Adventures of Kapapa [a scientist’s discovery of antigravity] by Ghanaian author J. O. Eshun (1976), and The

Chosen One [a play for adults set in the 30th century] by Azize Asgarally of

Mauritius. 135

The books in this survey are primarily science fiction titles unless stated otherwise and are mostly adult works. They are included here to offer a comparison to the fantasy works that feature major characters of African origin.

This survey also illustrates the impact individuals of African origin have had upon this genre. Presently, the most prolific of African American science fiction writers are Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and Steven Barnes.

Speculative Fiction

■ Authors

44% 0 African-Origin 56% 1 Non-African Origin

Figure 4 - Ethnic Origin of Authors of Speculative Fiction - Protagonists of African Origin

Within this realm of “speculative fiction” (works of science fiction / science fantasy), 88 books are identified that feature characters of African origin. These works were published between 1859 and 1996. Thirty-two or (56.1%) of the 57 136 authors are of African origin and wrote 61 (69.3%) of the books. Thus, 25

(43.9%) non-Black authors wrote 27 (30.7)% of the books.

The authors of African origin are: Azize Asgarally, Steven Barnes, Derrick

Bell, Lorenzo Blackson, Octavia Butler, John Dee, Martin Delaney, Samuel

Delany, W.E.B. DuBois, J.O. Eshun, Ronald Fair, Jewelle Gomez, Sam Greenlee, Sutton Griggs, Werter Gross, Denis Jackson, Edward Johnson, Leroi

Jones, William Kelly, Randall Kenan, Warren Miller, Toni Morrison, Flora Nwapa,

Michelle Parkerson, Raymond Patterson, Ishmael Reed, Jewell Parker Rhodes,

Thomas Roach, George Schuyler, Charlotte Watson Sherman, Douglas Ward, and John Williams.

Speculative Fiction

31% I Books D African-Origin

I Non-African 69% Origin

Figure 5 - Speculative Fiction with Protagonists of African Origin

by Authors' Ethnicity 137

Sam Moskowitz who is considered to be science fiction's leading historian

provided a survey of works that included Blacks. Published in 1967 as “Negroes

In Science Fiction” and later in 1976 as “Civil Rights: Rockets To Green

Pastures”, approximately 33 works from 1864 to 1970. He believes that the works

from 1879-1940 presented “millions upon millions of white youngsters who read these boys' books were given a very friendly and positive view of the Negro (p.

57, 1976)” and that “It was indeed fortunate that early writers of teen-age

science fiction exercised personal responsibility or they could have infected white youths with an even greater virus of color hate (p. 68-69, 1976)." It must be noted that Moskowitz does state that during the 1920s science fiction materials

approached extremes of preaching genocide. Govan, Pfieffer, and Saunders would agree with the latter statements moreso than the former which is a primary reason why these scholars/critics did

not include the works identified by Moskowitz in their recommended lists. Govan

(1984) states this conclusion for all: There are a few additional novels and a handful of short stories in

which black characters are somehow a part of the plot, but in most of these works the roles for blacks are minor and/or stereotypic, the underlying assumptions being essentially, though perhaps

unconsciously, racist, (p. 44)

Conclusions The purpose of this survey was to determine the state of multicultural

fantasy literature that features protagonists of African origins. The following insights are gained from this investigation. Of the children's literature works 138 identified, 54% of the books were written by authors of African origin. Also, a significant number of the works identified are folktales that contain fantasy elements and there are a significant number of fantasy works for children as compared to those available for young adult readers.

In the young adult category, a significant majority of the works were written by authors of African origin, with many having multiple works. Although 56% of the young adult authors are of African origin, the contingent variable here is that these writers have produced more works in other genres and wrote one or more books within this genre because it was the best format to express their ideas. Walter Dean Myers and Virginia Hamilton, the most prolific of the writers, are thought of more as contemporary realistic/ historical fiction writers. Only Charles Saunders is thought of as a fantasist and he is no longer writing in the genre.

Octavia Butler and Andre Norton are thought of as exclusively speculative fiction writers, primarily science fiction. Thus, there is not a young adult fiction writer of African origin that specializes in this genre nor presently producing works consistently in the genre. The writers in Pfieffer’s (1975) survey also utilized the concept of experimentation within a genre to express a particular view. Many of these Black writers wrote of societies that were vastly different from those in which they lived. Concepts of freedom, separatism, empowerment, and social revolution in a near future were expressed in these texts. Once expressed, the authors returned to more mainstream topics or realistic fiction and non-fiction. Saunders’ (1980) list of writers are exclusive writers of science fiction and are primarily Caucasien.

Thus, in the adult speculative fiction genre, three authors of African origins are consistently producing works of quality: Octavia Butler, Samuel Delany, and 139

Steven Barnes. Approximately 25 works between these writers are available to readers. This is especially of significance due to the number of books in

Saunders’ and Pfieffer’s surveys that are out of print. Conversely, a smaller number of fantasy works of African origin are available to younger readers, especially African American children, due to the number of works out of print in this grade/age range. Finally, it is beyond the scope of this study to present a conclusive list of fantasy literature by and/or about about African Americans. The task presents many difficulties due to specialized genre reference sources that rarely reveal ethnic identities of authors, explicit ethnic/cultural identities of characters, and distinguishing fantasy from science fiction. Dodd (1968) encountered similar problems as she searched for “negro” literature for high school students in her published work by the same name. She states that "Finding books by and about Negroes is not always easy....lists give only the title and sometimes a sentence description....The most difficult information to find is material on contemporary writers" (pp. 7-8). Also, African American involvement in speculative fiction

(science fiction/fantasy) is a recent phenomenon (Saunders, 1984). Again, the above list of titles cannot be taken to be an exhaustive listing of fantasy works by and/or about African Americans. However, each of the children’s and adult literature researchers and critics referred to above are noted individuals in the field of fantasy and in the field of African American or multicultural children’s and young adult literature and are often cited when these subjects are discussed. Thus, some degree of comprehensiveness is suggested in this survey. Many of these titles are out of print, but were available at local libraries. 140

In the next chapter, findings are presented on young adults response to their reading of Myer's Tank and Saunders’s Imaro. These novels are identified in the young adult section above as heroic fantasy literature whose protagonists are of African origin and were written by authors of African origin. CHAPTER V

FINDINGS: FOUR AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS RESPONSES TO TWO NOVELS

OF HEROIC FANTASY LITERATURE WHOSE PROTAGONISTS ARE OF AFRICAN ORIGIN

In this chapter, findings from an analysis of African American adolescent readers' responses to heroic fantasy literature are presented. This chapter focuses on two research questions : Question Two: Will four African American adolescents of competent reading ability respond in qualitatively different ways to fantasy literature when the characters and settings are reflective of their cultural origins? Question Three: What literary genres do African American adolescents of average reading ability indicate as their preferences in their reading? The findings for question two, the response data, will be presented first. To obtain the response data; four African American adolescents, two males and two females, volunteered to read two books of heroic fantasy about protagonists of African origin written by an African American and an African-

Canadian. The books selected were The Legend of Tarik by Walter Dean Myers and Imaro by Charles R. Saunders. The participants read the books at their homes and once they completed each book, participated in booktalks with the investigator to discuss their responses to the books. The booktalks were held in

141 142 conference / study rooms at the main branch of the public library in a large midwestern city where the study was conducted.

Seven weeks were required to obtain the response data. It generally took two and a half weeks for the participants to read the books and one and a half sessions to complete the booktalks. Transcribed audiotapes of the booktalk sessions provided the response data. From content analyses of these transcripts, coding categories were developed. Eighteen categories were formulated that could be divided into two distinct sets of data; biographical data and response data. Biographical data was gleaned in two different ways: First, an informal interview was completed during the first day book discussions. A set of questions formulated by the investigator were utilized to make the participants comfortable in preparation for the booktalk. These questions informed the investigator about the participants' household and family background, age, experiences with literature at home and school, and their general attitude toward reading. Once the participant responded to these questions and achieved some level of comfort in conversing with the investigator, the book discussions began.

Second, references to biographical and/or demographic information during the booktalk sessions were coded as biographical data. For example, when a participant was asked about her courage in relation to the discussion of this concept in the novel, the response was: “Well, to keep living around here you have to be brave. To try to keep your head on, because there’s a lot of stuff out there, trying to bring you down, drugs and stuff. 143

This response was coded within the biographical data due to the participant’s reference to her personal history although it was made in response to the text being discussed.

Response data were defined as the responses given by the participants that focused on the text being discussed. For example: “Well, it just didn’t seem like it would be happening now. Not the way the story line went. It just seem like something being told as a story by somebody else”. This response was made in reference to the setting of the plot of the story being discussed, a literary feature. In each section a table of simple mathematical data (number of responses per categories and percentage data) has been constructed for comparison purposes among the novels and subjects of the study. Each of the above sample responses would count as a single tally for the respective category, whereas the response below yields data for two categories:

They need more kinda books like this for older children cause it takes you away from the real world and lets your imagination explore a little... (R/2) Cause now kids my age, well, I don’t know. Its just hard now and everybody’s trying to treat you like an adult and they not letting you be a kid anymore. So it [fantasy] kinda takes you away for awhile (B6).

Thus, each utterance could have multiple codings. See descriptions below for category names. Ten categories of response data and eight categories of biographical data were developed from student responses on the assigned readings. These categories are discussed below to facilitate the presentation of the response data findings. The following eighteen categories of analysis are presented with definitions and examples of responses that were coded within each. The coding 144 symbol is also included for category recognition i.e., [B# = Biographical/R# = Response].

Biographical Data

Single-Parent Household (B1) was used to describe the parental composition of the home from which the participants of the study came from. In this case the term was used to indicate that the participants resided with either the mother or father for the duration of this study.

Positive Attitude Toward Reading (B2) was used to describe the participants’ general attitude toward "reading” as it was defined by the participants' conception of the term., e.g., reading in school, reading at home, etc..., and their experience with this activity was viewed as being enjoyable or favorable.

Negative Attitude Toward Reading (B3) was used to describe the participants’ general attitudes toward "reading” as it was defined by the participants’ conception of the term., e.g., reading in school, reading at home, etc..., and their experience with this activity was viewed a s not being enjoyable or favorable.

Vicarious Experience With Literature (B4) was used to describe the participants’ experiences with literature as it was realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another; in this case characters in stories read previously or during this study.

African American Literature Experience/Exposure (B5) was used to describe the participants’ experiences with or exposure to literature written by and about African Americans. 145

Sense Of Personal/Cultural History (B6) was used to describe the participants’ awareness of their own history and / or that of their culture. For example, young adult relating to family, peers, and others; African American youth responding to the nuances of life as it manifests itself in the individuals day-to-day activities.

Literature Background (B7) was used to describe the participants’ general experiences with literature in its various forms. Literature In The Home/Personal Library (B8) was used to describe the participants’ exposure to literature in their homes and whether or not they have a collection of literature that they describe as their own. Response Data

Knowledge Of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics (R1) was used to describe the participants’ awareness and/or responses to depictions of historical periods and characteristics literature previously read or literature used in this study. Connecting With Characters (R2) was used to describe the participants’ establishing direct relationships with situations and / or feelings exhibited by the characters in the literature. Connecting With Text (R3) was used to describe the participants’ establishing direct relationships with situations depicted in the literature. Gender Role Distinctions (R4) was used to describe the participants’ responses that made disctinction between male and female roles within the literature. 146

Knowledge Of Literary Genres (R5) was used to describe the participants’ awareness of various literary genres as related in their responses to literature

previously read or the literature used in this study.

Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant (R6) was used to describe the

participants’ responses to racial and cultural factors depicted in literature

previously read or the literature used in this study. In this instance, the response

to these factors was one of neutrality or having no importance to the story. Race/Cultural Factors Important (R7) was used to describe the

participants’ responses to racial and cultural factors depicted in literature previously read or the literature used in this study. In this instance, the response

to these factors was that they were relevant to the story. Positive African American Images (R8) was used to describe the participants’ responses to the depiction of African Americans in the literature

previously read or used in this study. Racial Role Distinctions (R9) was used to describe the participants’

responses to distinctions among racial roles within the literature previously read

or used in this study. Comparative/Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts (RIO) was

used to describe the participants’ responses that depicted similar or dissimilar distinctions among elements within and across previously read literature or the

literature used in this study. Booktalks The first interviews took place three weeks after the participants received the novels because the Fourth of July holiday observance delayed the

interviewing sessions. The participants’ selection of the novels that they would 147 read first were made strictly through their examination of the bookcovers and a brief description of both novels provided by the investigator at the participants’ home. Individual case profiles that contain Biographical Data: demographic and biographical data; Response Data for both novels; and comparisons across texts are presented first followed by Data Comparisons Across Students for each text.

To facilitate the presentation of data, participants’ responses will be presented within the categories having codable data.

Diane’s C ase Profile

Imaro Booktalk

Biographical-Background Data

Imaro was Diane’s first reading choice of the two novels. She felt Imaro was the more interesting of the two novels. Diane was interviewed twice within a six-day period to discuss her responses to the novel. Diane is an African

American 14 year-old female who had just completed the eighth grade at a middle school in a large midwestern city in Ohio. She ived with her mother, but visited her father regularly (B1). Her initial responses revealed what she considered important about reading books and participating in this study. Her response was, “ 'Cause the books seemed interesting and I don't like boring things. And I really had nothing else to do; so it took up time I had” (B2). 148

Table 5 - Diane’s Biographical Data: Imaro

Biographical Data Categories ______No. Responses ______%

BI. Single-Parent Household 1 1.9 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 2 3.8 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 2 3.8 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 13 24.5 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 11 20.8 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 6 11.3 B7. Literature Background 17 32.0 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library _L 1.9 Total 53 100.0

Although she had nothing else to do during the summer, Diane’s participation also depended upon the interest level of the books. Her responses suggested that there were several factors that determined whether she read or not and these factors provided insights into how she perceived school reading.

First, she responded with, “I can’t stand a boring book. It’s got to catch my attention” (B3) and when questioned further about this response she stated:

It depends on what the story Is cause I don’t like to read boring things; and a lot of times in school we read a lot of boring stuff, so I don’t really read that much. But if I have my own books and stuff. I’ll read. (B3) Diane’s dislike for boring things is reflected in her school encounters with reading and, in turn, this limited the amount of reading that she did. Conversely, if the book is one that she owned, then she was more likely to read. She only recalls reading a novel entitled Siiverspoon in school. She did have a favorite book, Stephen King’s It , which contains horror and suspense. 149

In her home Diane stated that magazines were the primary source of reading material and these focused on African American issues. Thus, it seems that her experience and exposure to this type of literature was also limited. She stated, "...I never really read them when I was younger and I want to know more about black people. ‘Cause I really, you really, don’t find too many black books out there. At least not in school” (B5). In this response Diane expressed a desire to experience African American literature. The lack of access both in and out of school to African American books were factors that had an significant impact on her knowledge of her people. In the following responses to the investigator’s questions about access to this literature in school this impact is readily seen. When asked how many books or stories that she had read in school had

Black characters in them, she stated; “Not that many. There wasn’t that many, that I recall. Maybe one book" (B5). The investigator inquired further as to whether there was completion of any special assignment on Blacks.

No, the only assignment I’ve ever done on a Black person was in Reading. We had to do a report on an author that the teacher gave us and we had to find out where they cam e from and all this other stuff. I happen to get a Black author. So that’s the about the only one I did on a Black person. (B5) The Black author she was assigned was Gwendolyn Brooks. However, in the following response it is evident that she did not recall much about this author’s work:

I don’t know if it was a book or if it was just a poem, but it was something about the bean eaters or something like that. I remember it was a real long poem. I don’t know what it was about, because I really didn’t understand it. (B5) Black History Month is usually one time during the school year that African

American literature is included in the curriculum. When asked to comment on her 150 exposure to African American literature during this time of the school year, Diane responded with the following statement:

Well not really. We didn't, cause in school, well we did in history. We just talked about Black people mostly and read about it in history. But really [there] wasn't too much to do. But they had like Black History questions and all that stuff, but it didn't [wasn't] too much. (B5)

These experiences in history classes and text-like questions did not have a significant impact upon her. Later in this conversation, Diane did offer information that represents an individual effort at compensating for her limited experience with African American literature. She reported visiting the public libraries to check out books and her topics of interests were highlighted in her response: “Yeah, especially about history or different religions. I did that on my own" (B5).

At the conclusion of the book discussion of Imaro, the investigator asked

Diane for her thoughts on fantasy as portrayed in this text.

Well, I think it lets your mind rest for a while. You can have fun with it because most of it just, I don't know. I like fantasy books, cause it lets your imagination go. You can do whatever you want with it. (B2/B7) She also provided further insight into her experience with fiction other than fantasy and compared this with fantasy literature. She stated, "...they [other fiction] just seem more realistic and sometime they can get boring" (B7). The fact that fiction, or in this case fantasy, can be realistic to a reader can best be illustrated by using a few samples from book discussions. In this, Diane shared how the book Im aro allowed her to reflect on her own personal experiences. This reflection process also allowed the investigator to understand how she related books to her personal experiences. 151

The investigator asked for her thoughts on the possibility of events from the text as experienced by Imaro happening in today's world. Diane’s response was:

I think so. If you take away most of the stuff that was surrounding him , you could. People can talk about you, call you names, and basically you have to fight a war to live. Yes, I think it could happen if all that other stuff was taken away, the jungle setting and all that. (R3/R10)

Diane gave specific examples of what she meant by “you have to fight a war to live” when she further stated that, “Drugs, and just trying to walk down the street without getting shot. Or trying to keep your grades up in school. Things like that”

(RIO).

Diane was also asked for her comparisons of Imaro with other books that she had read with Black characters.

I like this a lot more than most of the books I've read, because I haven't read too many books on [with] black characters. So I really couldn't say; but I think I would like this one because, well the only thing I think I've read about black characters is maybe about slaves and how slaves were treated and everything. So I kind of like this book more. (85)

Additional comments concerning the novel were:

It's more exciting, doesn't put Black people down! I mean, in the beginning, it doesn't put him [Imaro] down; I don’t know. When you read books about slavery, it's sad, because you found out what Blacks went through. Imaro was a book about a Black person coming up doing good in away. (B6) In summary, Diane's individual codable responses to all Biographical categories, and the percentages of her responses across these categories indicated the importance of vicarious experiences (24.5%), literary background (32%), and exposure to African American literature (20.8%) to her life as a young adolescent female (see Table 5). The following discussion examines Diane's literary responses to the novel. 152

Response Data

In this section, eight of the ten categories of Response data are discussed. Diane’s responses during the booktalk did not yield codable data for categories R1 (Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying

Characteristics) and R4 (Gender Role Distinctions). Table 6 below shows the number of responses and percentage comparisons for the each of the categories discussed in this section.

Table 6 - Diane’s Response Data: Imaro

Resoonse Data Catégories No. Responses % Rl. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 0 0.0 R2. Connecting With Characters 17 22.4 R3. Connecting With Text 28 36.8 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 0 0.0 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 3 3.9 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 1 1.3 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 4 5.3 R8. Positive African American Images 2 2.6 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 2 2.6 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts 12 25.1 Total 76 100.0

In general, across the three interview sessions, there were three strong impressions left with the investigator from these sessions. First, Diane clearly had 153 had limited exposure to high fantasy, but was captured by this genre as she participated in the study. Second, as a new reader of fantasy, Diane stated that

Imaro allowed her to relax and this allowed her an opportunity to “get away" from the problems she faced in this world. Finally, this escapism happened in part because she aligned herself with the character of Imaro, and she identified strongly with the female characters. In the following discussion, her responses are explored in greater depth by identifying her responses within the coded categories. Connecting With Characters

Diane established relationships with characters in the textimaro in 22.4% of her responses (see R2). Her comments were focused primarily on Imaro and his relationship with the llyassai tribe, particularly their ill treatment of Imaro:

Well in the beginning how they treated Imaro during the, what's the word, I can't say that word. Oh, the mafundushi-ya-muran. I didn't like the way they treated him through that because I don't think he should have been treated like that. He was still part llyassai. Just because his father wasn't, that didn't mean they had to treat [him] like that. In this response Diane related to the ostracism Imaro was subjected to by his fellow tribesmen during the warrior training that the llyassai male youth participate in during their transaction to adulthood. Her primary objection was to his treatment as an outsider although his mother was llyassai. Diane's feelings were very strong on this issue and when asked why this was so, she stated, “Yes

[thoughts about life], about how people would treat me in the future. I would wonder if people would treat me wrong like that and would I have enough brains and heart to take it like Imaro did".

Diane felt just as strongly about the effect of the tribe's treatment of Imaro upon the personality development of Imaro: 154

Because for all that fighting he had to do and, [the] where [‘sj the word, ah, mafundushi-ya-muran. As much as they beat on him, I guess he got used to it. So it didn't really bother him when he was fighting in all those wars and animals. It probably didn’t phase him too much. Diane was concerned with the lack of feeling Imaro displayed when he killed and attributed this personality trait to the ill-treatment Imaro received during his warrior training.

...I don’t know, he really didn’t, it seemed like he didn’t have any feelings for anybody. Well he did, but, I don’t know. He was kind of weird to me, as far as the way he killed people. It was a reason for it, but the way he did it. ...I just wondered how he felt as far as killing all those people because I don’t see how one person could kill all those people and just walk on, without feeling anything. Diane viewed this situation as resulting from Imaro’s adapting to his environment. She saw no other path he could have traveled;

I think of him as overcoming his life battles and trying to move on with his life...Well, he attempted to prove that {he was a warrior} to them at his olmaiyo and they turned against him. So I guess he just forgot about it and went about his business. The final area of concentration within this category was the connections made with the female characters. In these instances, Diane used life experiences

(coded as Biographical data originally) to draw comparisons and contrasts. These statements are included at this point to illustrate how important previous literary experiences (B7) were for Diane in helping her relate to book characters.

Diane thought that these women were portrayed as individuals of strength and courage: First, she states that, “In a lot of stories that I read, as far as women [are concerned], they’re not as brave as the women in this story. I don’t think they endure as much pain “ (B7). When asked about her perception of the women in the story she responsed with the following statements: 155

They were brave! As far as going through all the fighting. Tanisha, she was pretty brave, as far as risking her life to be with Imaro. I mean, at the end of book, risking her life to go back to Cush after he did tell her there would danger; she gotta be brave. I thought she must have loved him a lot for that.

I think they were pretty strong because Tanisha stuck by him through the war...and Keteke, I don’t know why, I don't understand why she wanted to die...Maybe because she was away from her people...l think his mother was a very strong woman because, if it was me, I wouldn’t have been able to let my child go like that and never be able to see him again. So, I think the women were pretty strong.

During the discussions, Diane was asked for her thoughts about the exposure of children to fantasy literature: What type of readers do you think should read this book, or rather, at what point do you think a person would be able to read this book? Do they have to have strong reading skills to read this book?

Not really. I think that you should be able to have an imagination and an open mind...Actually, I think that’s for younger readers, the imagination, because I think older readers try to be too sophisticated. Younger readers have an imagination. Well, maybe older readers do, but I think younger readers do think about it more. Probably people younger than me have a wider imagination and then as you get older you tend to look at things more realistic. People might think that the book isn’t logical, with all those wild animals, because I didn’t understand how he could; well after a while I understood it. How he could kill all those animals and not get hurt. Some people might not understand that. Maybe people my age, I don’t know.

Saunders, the author, used African terms to give authenticity to the story.

Diane made several references to uncertainty about the pronunciation of the terms although a glossary was included in the book. The investigator asked her what, if any, impact this had on the readability of the story.

Yes [some impact], because you really don’t see that too much. You don’t really read books with that kind of language in it...I was able to follow it. It was kind of hard, but I followed it. Cause after a while, I figured that was what the word meant. So it really didn’t bother me. 156

Connecting With Text

In this section of the data, 36.8% of Diane’s responses were directly connected with certain aspects of the text. The majority of her responses were for the purpose of Clarifying details of the story and connecting situations presented

in the story with concepts of life were the focus of the responses. When asked whether the book revealed any lessons or insights into life, Diane referred to

Imaro’s parentage and his expression of anger which were focal points of the story. Her response was that, “You should be treated the same or equal no

matter who [your] parents [are], for one, and you shouldn’t carry around hate all your life”. As follow up on this concept, Diane was asked whether she thought life

experiences determined the type of person one becomes. In responding, Diane used Imaro’s relationship with the llyassai to illustrate her point. Her response was, “Yeah. Like the way you live and who you around, and how you're treated.

How you treat other people. Since they [llyassai] treated him bad, well he really didn’t have too much hope, as far as other people”.

As a final illustration of her responses in this category, Diane talked about a surprise turn of events that referred to a maxim of life-forgiveness.

Like when he was at the place of stone and the llyassai tribe followed him and told him that they were wrong for what they did. I thought he would forgive them, but he just walked away! I didn’t understand that part. I thought he was forgiven and [would] go back, but he didn’t. He just went on away. Diane thought that a “happy ending” would result from the llyassai finally accepting Imaro as a true warrior and as one of them. However, the story did not follow this pattern and revealed Imaro as unwilling to forgive them for their 157 previous non-acceptance. Thus, she didn’t understand how Imaro could walk away from acceptance after he had tried up to this point to prove his worthiness. As illustrated by her responses in this category, Diane derived meaning from the text through establishing connections to her understanding of life.

Acceptance for the person you are, dealing with hate from others, relationships with others, and forgiving others are all principles of life that Diane was familiar with and responded to as they were expressed in the text. Knowledge of Literarv Genres Several responses were made by Diane that reflected knowledge of literary genres. These statements comprised 3.9% of her responses to the text.

In some, the references were explicit in the naming of the genre and others were references to elements of the genre. In describing her favorite book she stated,

“...It by Stephen King...Cause I like a lot of suspense and horror, and that book pretty much did it all". in this statement, Diane recognized the elements of horror and suspense that generally characterize Stephen King's works of fiction. Responding to

Imaro’s character and actions, her response was:

I think of him as overcoming his life battles and trying to move on with his life. I mean, yes it's heroic, but it’s just the way he didn’t want people to worship him. Yes, he could be a hero, I think, freeing all the slaves.

In this statement, she recognized Imaro’s physical action of freeing the enslaved individuals as a heroic action. However, she did not readily identify Imaro’s shying away from worship by those individuals as characteristic of the

hero and as an element of this genre. Diane viewed Imaro’s demeanor here as characteristic of any individual’s daily encounter with life. It was what anyone would do and there was no need for accolades. 158

Her response to the Investigator’s Inquiry Into what type of reader would enjoy this book revealed other elements of literary genre recognition as well as references to connections between these elements and age;

Probably people younger than me have a wider Imagination and then as you get older you tend to look at things more realistic [-ally]. People might think that that book isn't logical, with all those wild animals b ecause I couldn’t understand how he could...well after a while I understood It, how he could kill all those animals and not get hurt. Some people might not understand that. Maybe people my age, I don’t know. Diane believed that Imagination rather than logic was much more of a key element In understanding fantasy. She felt Individuals her age and younger would be more accepting of the fantastic due to a “wider Imagination.” Although the responses that developed this category were fewer than some of her others, they were significant due to the Insights gained Into Diane’s experience with literature. She distinguished the fantastic from reality In literature and recognized that others may not make this distinction due to age differences. Race / Cultural Factors Unimportant

As previously stated, Imaro is of African origin and the setting is that of an ancient Africa. The responses in this category, and the next, revealed whether Diane thought race and culture were significant to the plot of the story. Only 1.3% of her responses were applicable to this category. The following statement was in reference to having a favorite author. “I really do not pay too much attention to who write books, I just read the book,” she stated. In this response, Diane revealed that the author’s background was rarely important to her in choosing what she read. Her previous responses in the biographical section revealed that a book had to be interesting for her to read it.

Although she liked the horror and suspense, Stephen King was not considered a favorite author due to her lack of attention to who wrote books. She recognized 159

King’s authorship of It due to the book having both horror and suspense or as she stated, “that book pretty much [doing] it all."

Race Cultural Factors important

In specific reference to Imaro, race and cultural factors emerged as a

leading area of response - 5.3%. Diane’s responses revealed her experience with

African American literature and her perceptions of African Americans in literature and society. In the following response, the focus was on the former. She was asked tell what made Black literature different:

Well, because really I never, really ah, read them when I was younger and I want to know more about Black people. Cause, I really, you really don’t find too many Black books out there. At least not at school. She specifically identified a desire for knowledge of her people that existed since childhood and school as a place that perhaps should have introduced her to African American literature. Diane contrasts the perceptions of

African Americans, specifically in literature she has read, to Imaro in the following

response:

It’s more exciting, doesn’t put Black people down. I mean, in the beginning, it doesn’t put him down. When you read books about slavery, it’s sad because you found out what Blacks went through and Imaro was a book about a Black person coming up doing good in a way. In the above response; Diane recalled her previous reading experiences of the slave period, one of the most often mentioned and painful aspects of the

African experience in America, and views Imaro as offering a contrasting although fictional experience. This statement and the proceeding reflected positive African American images (R8) from her encounter with the text and 2.6% of her responses. When asked about the feeling Imaro evokes, she stated,

“Pretty good, because you know that Black people aren’t what everybody says they are. No good and everything, nothing but trouble“. 160

Racial Role Distinctions Emerging also from the data were responses that made references to race as a distinguishing characteristic. These distinctions encompassed African

Americans as a people and African American women specifically. First, her

response concerning African American women was, “Well, most of the women

I’ve read about, they always stood up for what they believed in and they never gave up, even when people put them down...these were basically Black women”.

And as a race, “The only thing that would make a person believe what they hear about Black people is all the fighting they do. That’s about it. Otherwise we live

pretty well”. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

The data in this category was the third most frequent response area

(25.1%). In this category, Diane’s responses to Imam reflected either knowledge from previously read texts or experiences (across) or knowledge gained or

experiences derived from the text during the reading (within) in a comparative or contrastive manner. In this first response, a comparison across text was made:

It was interesting cause it kinda reminded me of, ah, the book Roots. Well, not actually the book, but the movie Roots, as far as the beginning of it...The part where he [Imaro] had to go through mafundishu-ya-muran. Because in Roots the Mandingo taught basically the same thing. The youth had to go through something similar. Basically that was it which reminded me of that part where they had to go through that same thing to prove their manhood. Diane recalled her viewing of the television movie based on Alex Haley’s

historical novel Roots and the portrayal of the African Mandingo tribal ritual for

adulthood. Additionally, sh e differentiated between mediums - the written text and

television movie. The following response was more experiential within and across

texts. 161

Yes, Bomunu, him. He reminded me of a lot of people I know, because he seems two-faced and I know a lot of people like that...because when Imaro became leader of the haramia, Bomunu felt that he should be in Imaro’s place and that he should have Tanisha...[Bomunu acted like he Imaro’s] friend, but despised him.

Diane contrasted the characterization of Bomunu as a fraudulent friend to

Imaro, who actually envied Imaro becoming leader of the haramia and being the recipient of Tanisha’s love, to her experiences with people that she knew who behaved in this same manner. Thus, she responded to the portrayal of friendships within the book and her experiences with friendships outside of the text. This type of response was displayed again when Diane related what was most important thing about the book for her. She said, “I guess it taught me how not to give up, to believe in what I do. Believe in myself and not let anybody bring me down".

When asked to identify the part of the story that led her to this insight, she recalled, “When Imaro kept going, even when the people put him through the Shaming; beat him down and made him feel like an outcast., lied on him". Diane contrasted this painful experience of Imaro’s life and his tenacious demeanor through it all with that of her potential response to life as she knew it. She didn’t limit this experience only for herself. She validated the relevancy of this characterization for others in her response to the investigator’s query as to whether this book should be shared with other children. She stated that, "Maybe it will inspire some people, get them off the streets. Well not particularly off the streets, just maybe make them feel better about themselves if they think about it".

At the heart of this response, Diane’s concern was for the self-perception of those individuals that she referred to as “street people". She seemed to perceive that the reading of the book would not motivate these people to 162 abandon the street, but at least it might promote feelings of self-worth once they had pondered its message. The reference here is not to the homeless, but to young adults who gather at a particular spot on a street (a popular “corner” or intersection within the community) for what she viewed as a seemingly an unproductive experience.

Conclusions Diane's biographical data revealed that, like many children in this country, she was being raised by a single female parent. In this case, however, Diane’s parents were married and later divorced. She saw her father, who has remarried, quite regularly. During the course of this study, the researcher had to phone her father’s home several times to arrange interview hours with Diane.

Diane’s attitude toward reading was primarily dependent upon whether the reading material was interesting or boring. Her attitude toward reading was positive when she selected the reading material. School reading materials, on the other hand, that limited her opportunity to self-select; were in most circumstances boring. The school curriculum and home offered Diane limited exposure to and experience with African American literature even though she had an interest in acquiring knowledge of the African American experience and culture. As a result of this interest, Diane frequented the public library to obtain personally relevant information, particularly in the areas of history and religion.

The response data reveals connections with characters, texts, and comparisons and contrasts within and across texts were areas that evoked a majority of response (84.3 %) from Diane. The context of these responses were 163

experiential. That is, Diane responses to Imaro were in many ways couched in direct or indirect personal experiences whether academic, social, or cultural.

The Legend of Tarik Booktalk

Biographical Data

Much of the information in this section was concentrated into three categories: (1) Vicarious Experiences With Literature, (2) African American Literature Experience and/or Exposure, and (3) Literature Background . Of these, data in the latter category was most prominent (83.4%). The data in the other two categories were evenly distributed (See Table 7 below). This is due to the discussion of much of Diane’s personal history during the first interview sessions.

Table 7 - Diane’s Biographical Data: Tarik

Bioeraohical Data Categories No. Responses % Bl. Single-Parent Household 0 0.0 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 1 8.3 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 1 8.3 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 0 0.0 B7. Literature Background 10 83.4 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library JQ. Total 12 100.0 164

The responses focused primarily on Diane’s likes and dislikes concerning some elements of the novel and comparisons with her previous reading of Imaro.

In the following response she also confirms her limited exposure to African

American literature. She stated, "Well I liked this book. Like I said, I haven't really read too many books with black characters in it. I liked Imaro better, but this

[Tarik] was okay” (B5). Tarik's witnessing the death of his family and his subsequent survival and mourning evoked empathetic responses from Diane. Her response was, “Well when Tarik lost his family, yeah I knew what he was going through. Of course anybody would be affected when they lose a family member " (B4). She believes her feelings are characteristic of all humanity. Finally, the remaining responses in this section highlight her literature background. When asked about her perception of when the story was taking place, Diane refers to the literary elements of the novel in her response when she stated that, "Well it just didn’t seem like it would be happening now; not the way the story line went. It just seems like something being told as a story by somebody else" (B7). Additional reference to the story line were made when comparing Tarik to other books with Black characters. Her immediate reference was Imaro due to her recent experience with it.

No, it [Imaro ] didn’t get to the point quicker; just while they were getting there, it kept your attention... Tarik wasn’t really boring, but it just lost my attention after awhile cause it seem like they were doing the same thing...They were just sitting around waiting and it got boring (B7). Response Data

The data for this section congregated into five of the ten categories.

Connections with text and comparative/contrastive elements across texts were leading categories as illustrated in Table 8. 165

Table 8 - Diane Response Data: Tarik

Response Data Categories No. Responses %

R1. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 3 5.4 R2. Connecting With Characters 6 10.7 R3. Connecting With Text 23 41.1 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 0 0.0 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 0 0.0 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Uitimportant 0 0.0 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 4 7.1 R8. Positive Afiican American Images 0 0.0 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 0 0.0 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements 2Q 35.7 Within and Across Texts Total 56 100.0

Knowledge of Historical Periods In this discussion, Diane revealed insights into the story’s historical setting. Her initial response was one of uncertainty of exactly where the story’s setting was with the exception of her familiarity with the American terrain. She stated that, “It couldn’t have happened anywhere. It wouldn’t have happened in the United States. I don’t think it would have. Well maybe in a...I don’t know. It just wouldn’t be able [ to have] happened anywhere”. When asked for the type of setting that she believed this story would need, she speculated on the types of terrain and civilizations where they might be found.

Some place where there’s a lot of open ground. Some type of Roman country. I don’t know, it just sounds like something the Romans would do. 166

because Romans do games. I wouldn’t really say Africa, cause it didn't seem like it was Africa. Maybe Asia or something.

Clearly the story’s setting causes her some uncertainty; however her

response shows familiarity with historical periods. Her reference to the Roman

games and the manner of execution of Tank’s father and brother is valid as well

as her certainty that the events could not have taken place in America. At this

point, her not recognizing the African influence is unimportant. Further examination of her responses address this point. The least number of responses

(5.4%) were in this category. Connecting With Characters

Diane responses in this category were slightly favored toward the female

character. Stria. Three out of the six responses were direct references to this character and in a fourth response she is indirectly mentioned. The comments focused primarily on Stria’s personality as in the following response in which

Diane observed that, "She doesn’t have a heart. She doesn’t! I don’t think she cared about too much”. Diane thought the researcher found her response surprising because she

laughed when giving the response and sought to affirm this response when she

stated, “She [Stria] didn’t speak and just didn’t communicate too much. And at the end, when she was killing the captain, he was already dead and she was still

hitting him with that dagger; so it seem ed pretty disgusting to me”. When asked whether any of the characters reminded her of people she knew, she referred to this character again. Her response was, "Stria. I know a lot

of people like her that are mean; well have no heart and are quiet and keep to

themselves”. Although not the principal character in the story. Stria made a

definite impression upon Diane both within and outside of the story. 167

CQnngcting..yyilt]J.g2rt This was the leading category of Diane’s responses (41.1%). Most of comments focused upon what she found interesting, boring, or worth learning. Of interest to her were the quests Tarik pursued. She stated that, “The parts I liked most was when Nongo and Docao sent Tarik out to get those different things like the crystal and sword. Well its kinda interesting”. Her example of this:

When he went to get the crystal, I don’t know [what] that monster was or whatever it was, but I thought it was kinda funny how he just pulled its eye out. It was kinda nasty, but interesting to me. The part of the text that was boring to her were the passages that lacked action.

Well, there was a part where it seems like they was putting everything off. It took too long to do everything, like when they were trying to kill El Muerte. It took too long. I was just waiting for it to hurry up and get there. What she found to be worth learning was one of Tank’s training lesson focusing on controlling one’s anger. When asked about whether this was the only lesson she may have encountered in Tarik^ her response was, “No I seriously doubt it, except I can’t think of any other ones [lessons]. That was the main thing that stuck on my mind, leam how to control your anger before you went out and did something”. Race/Cultural Factors Important The fourth leading area of responses were in this category (7.1%). Race and/or cultural factors were significant factors in one manner or another to Diane.

For example in clarifying her position on what the setting would exhibit if it was

Africa, she states:

Probably, maybe more fields and not as much activity as the book had. I don’t know, it just seem different from what I read on Africa. Like in the other book [Imaro ]. In the other book they barely had clothes, didn’t have like houses, and in this book seemed like they had something more like a house. 168

Diane did not believe that Tarik being Black had much impact on the setting of the story.

Maybe. Well, maybe when it started. Once the story started going, it seemed like everybody was White maybe or light-skinned or something. Cause it seemed like they were calling him or saying he was the blackest thing. Maybe it started in Africa and led to somewhere else.

Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

Many of Diane’s responses in this category focused upon the comparison of Tarik with her previous reading of Imaro. This category contained 35.7% of the responses, thus becoming the second leading area of response for Diane. One of the first questions from the booktalks focused upon predictions made from the cover of the novels. Diane's response to this question was, “I wasn’t sure on this one [cover of the novel]. It could have been a lot of different things. Seems like somebody w as going to be fighting in a army or something”. She related some difficulty in predicting what the story would be about as compared to her prediction of the content of the previous novel from the illustration on the novel’s cover. However, after reading the novel, she found out that an army was part of the content. Diane was asked about her involvement with this story and she replied,

“No, not this time”. She did not feel as if she was one of the characters in Tarik as compared with her reading and involvement with imaro . However, she did feel as if she was an observer of the events. She stated, “Where they were at the games. I felt like a side watcher, watching everything happen as the people were getting killed. Like when they were in the forest, you could be up in a tree watching everything happen”. 169

Of course, her overall perception of the novel involved an evaluation

based upon her reading of Imaro.

Well, I liked this book. Like I said, I haven't read too many books with black characters in it. I liked imaro better, but this was okay...I don't know. I don't know what it was. Imaro seemed to interest me more cause Tarik got kinda boring...No, it [Imaro ] didn't get to the point quicker; just, while getting there it kept your attention. And Tarik wasn't really boring, but it just lost my attention after awhile cause it seem like they were doing the sam e thing.

Clarification of the details of the story's setting was an important concept:

I think it took place in the homeland of El Muerte and it started in Tarik's homeland...That could have been Africa, maybe! ..It seem s like it may have been a little more out in the open. I was not paying too much attention, but it seemed different from the other place. Diane was accurate in her interpretation that the changing of the setting occurred

within the story. Tarik and his remaining family members were transported from their homeland to the homeland of El Muerte as captives. The story does take

place in a medieval African setting. Tarik's homeland is generally perceived as being West Africa and El Muerte‘s homeland is medieval Spain.

Conclusions

The data from Diane's reading of Tarik focused upon: (1) comparisons

made with her previous reading of Imaro, (2) her lack of active engagem ent with the text until the climax of the story was reached, (3) the personality of Stria, (4) the female character, and (5) clarification of the setting of the story. Her

engagement with this text is less than that of Imaro. A total of 68 codable

responses were obtained for Tarik; whereas for/maro, a total of 129 codable

responses were obtained; almost twice as many responses. 170

Summary Interview Data

This data was obtained from the final interview with Diane. In this session

Diane talks about each of novels and her participation in the study. The data obtained is coded in the sam e manner. Fifty-two responses were coded in this part of the study. The leading response areas were Diane's textual comparisons

(RIO) and those that reflect her background in literature (B7). Table 9 shows the number of responses and percentage comparisons for the eight total categories discussed in this section.

Table 9 - Diane's Summary Interview: Biographical Data

Biographical Data Categories ______No. Response

B l. Single-Parent Household 0 0.0 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 4 14.8 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 3 11.1 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 5 18.5 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 2 7.4 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 4 14.8 B7. Literature Background 8 29.7 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library _1_ _ 1 2 Total 27 100.0 171

Biographical Data

Positive Attitude Toward Reading

The data in the category reflects Diane thoughts about being a participant in this study. She speaks of her motivation to participate and what was of benefit to her. Her responses were, “Cause the books seemed interesting and I don't like boring things; and I really had nothing else to do. So it took up some time I had”.

Later in the discussion she stated, “Well, I guess I learned how to concentrate more on my reading, cause for awhile I never did read too much.” She asserted once again her dislike of reading boring texts and the books presented to her as a potential participant in the study did not seem to have this quality. In addition to this she had some free time that she needed to fill. Finally, she read more than usual as a result of participating in the study. Negative Attitude Toward Reading

Diane's responses still reflected some aversion to reading. As stated above and restated here, Diane had “nothing else to do with her free time” and although willing to read the two novels, reading was not really a primary choice for filling this time. Recalling her reading experiences, she stated, “...I just read different kinds of books when I was reading books. I didn't read too much at school. Seem like all the books at school were boring." Vicarious Experiences With Literature

This category contained 18.5% of the responses in this section making it the second leading response area. The responses in this category focused on her perception of the role of fantasy literature. She stated that, “They [libraries] need more kinda books like this for older children cause it takes you away from 172 the real world and lets your imagination explore a little. They don’t have too many books like this". When asked for her reasons for this statement she stated that, "It'll maybe clear their mind for awhile to take all the worry out of your head just so you could relax. Cause seems like kids now just worried about everything”. She believed that the things kids worry about are pregnancy, crime, being on the street, and other adult problems. The researcher asked about her interest in fiction that address these issues and she stated, "I see a lot of books like that, that you hear about all the time and after awhile you don’t want to hear about them anymore. Cause after while it gets sad”. Diane did not deny an interest in these books, just not a preference to read them often. Her response was, “Well it would, it could inform me more. I don’t really read too many of them cause after awhile they get on my nerves”. She felt that fantasy could also inform her, but with a different effect than realistic fiction.

Well, it open my mind to a lot of things. It taught me a lot of different things like how to control myself and just little things you need to know. Like controlling your temper, looking at the truth, and not being so coldhearted. Little things like that.

African American Uterature Exoerience/Exposure

Diane’s responses in this category relate her encounter with African

American literature in and out of the school setting. 7.4% of her responses were codable for this category. When asked about her opportunities to read multicultural literature, her response was, “No, cause there are not too many books out there unless you go to somebody who sells books on African 173

Americans”. The researcher asked her about her encounter with this literature at school and her response was, “Not really”. Sense of Personal/Cultural History

This category also contained 14.8% of Diane’s responses. Her responses focused upon children becoming adults too quickly and why she thought it was important to escape from reality at times:

Cause now kids my age, well, I don’t know. Its just hard now and everybody’s trying to treat you like an adult and they not letting you be a kid anymore. So it [fantasy] kinda takes you away for awhile.

Asked for examples of kids being treated like an adult her response was, “Like with school and kids being put in jail and out on the streets; having babies and all that other stuff, little adults”.

Uterature Background The majority of Diane’s responses for this section were in this category.

Diane discusses her reading interests and experiences as well as literature encounters. When asked about her previous fantasy literature exposure, her response was, “none really, besides stuff when I was a little kid. You know Mother Goose and all that other good stuff. Asked to talk about the type of literature she read the most, she stated that it was “Mysteries". However, she was unable to give recent titles. Her response was:

...I haven’t read too many mysteries lately. I just read different kinds of books when I was reading books...Most were nonfiction books trying to find information about stuff. That was all I ever read, if I did read books.

The researcher asked her for topics of interest and Diane’s response was,

“Well, I don’t know cause there are a lot of different ones. Maybe learning more 174 about what happened in history....Maybe relationships between a man and a woman or just between each other”. Literature In The Home/Personal Library

The least amount of responses were in this category. Diane’s response here related her family’s interest in the novels she were reading for this study.

She stated:

My stepmom wants to read this one [Tarik ] next. She just wanted to wait until I got finished with it. She already finished Imaro. She finished Imaro in one day. She didn’t tell me anything. I know she wrote something about it. She said she did like the book.

Response Data The data in this section encompassed six areas of response; 60% of the categories. The categories are Knowledge of Historical Periods (R1 ), Connecting With Text (R3), G ender Role Distinctions (R4), Knowledge of Literary Genres (R5), Race/Cultural Factors Important (R7) and Comparative and Contrastive

Elements Within and Across Texts (RIO). The majority of Diane’s responses

(40%) were applicable to the category of Comparative and Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts followed by Knowledge of Literary Genres (20%). The categories of Connecting With Text and Race/Cultural Factors Important contained 16% of the responses each (See Table 10 Below). 175

Table 10 - Diane’s Summary Interview : Response Data

Response Data Categories No. Responses %

R1. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 1 4.0 R2. Connecting With Characters 0 0.0 R3. Connecting With Text 4 16.0 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 1 4.0 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 5 20.0 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 0 0.0 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 4 16.0 R8. Positive Afiican American Images 0 0.0 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 0 0.0 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts 10 40.0 Total 25 100.0

Knowledge Of Historical Periods The data in this category revealed more of a lack of knowledge rather than an awareness of a period of history. In discussing interesting topics for reading,

Diane talks of history, “...Maybe learning more about what happened in history. What you didn't learn in history. Cause there’s a lot of things you don’t learn in

history class about what really happened back then”. More than just considering

history an interesting topic, she desired to go beyond the history presented to her

in school. 176

Connecting With Text The text of the books used in the study promoted an examination of the

“real world” by Diane:

They need more kinda books like this for older children cause it takes you away from the real world and lets your imagination explore a little... Cause now kids my age, well, I don’t know. Its just hard now and everybody’s trying to treat you like an adult and they not letting you be a kid anymore. So it [fantasy] kinda takes you away for awhile. Distinctions were made between the need for books for older and younger readers and the real and the imagined worlds in the responses. Also, Diane seemed to make a plea for the enjoyment of childhood and in the following response some additional insights.

Well it [the studyjopen my mind to a lot of things. It taught me a lot of different things like how to control myself and just little things that you need to know...like controlling your temper, looking at the truth, and not being so coldhearted. Little things like that.

Gender Role Distinctions In discussing topics of interest when reading, Diane stated, “Maybe relationships between a man and a woman or just between each other”. Further elaboration was not given as to the choice of these topics. Knowledge of Literarv Genres Several genres were mentioned in the discussion. As stated above, she believed that there should be more fantasy for older readers. Mysteries were the books she was more likely to read and she reaffirmed her appreciation for horror.

She was used to nonfiction books mostly in school and realistic fiction she has had enough of.

Race/Cultural Factors Important Accessibility to and the knowledge she could derive from African

American literature were themes that permeated Diane’s responses within this 177 category. In discussing her reading preferences, she was asked how much

multicultural literature she preferred to read and her response was, “a lot."

Following up this question, she was asked if she would be more willing to read if the books were about African Americans and her response was, “ Yes, if they were interesting”. Once again, the qualifying condition is that the book must be interesting to her. She believed that there does not exist too many African American books and then to find them one must go to “...somebody who sells books on African

Americans”. However, the relevancy of this genre for her was communicated as, "I guess it would teach me more about Black history or Black people. “ Comparative and Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

This section’s data combined several themes taken from the discussion: real versus the imagined world, adulthood versus childhood, school history versus a multicultural history, interesting versus boring books, and accessibility to

majority books versus multicultural books. As stated above, Diane believed that it was hard being a kid today due to children encountering adult problems too soon.

Thus, the reading of fantasy permitted a child, especially the older reader, an opportunity to escape from the adult world for a little while. She is aware that the history she has been told in school does not provide her with a complete image of the past, “...Cause there are a lot of things you don't learn in history class about what really happened back then”. This is due to

her limited access to multicultural literature in and outside of school. Additionally,

most of the books she encountered in school are boring to her versus those she chose. 178

Conclusions

Diane’s responses were applicable to thirteen of the eighteen data categories. It is important to take note of the five categories in which there were no responses in this summation data. Insights gained from the lack of data in these categories are revealed in the following discussion. Although Diane mentioned teen pregnancy as one of the adult problems kids are having to deal with, she does not explicitly associate single parenthood with this issue. Additionally, other than providing the researcher with the information that she lives with her mother, no further mention is made to single parenthood although it applies to her household. There is no direct mention of characters from either novel in the summation interview data, although characters were a significant response area when discussing each novel individually.

The unimportance of racial/cultural factors was a category with no codable responses across data sections two out of three times. The exception is one applicable response in the booktalk of Imaro. Conversely, the importance of the racial/cultural factors category has had responses across each data section. Relatedly, the Positive African American Images and Racial Role Distinctions categories has had responses only during the discussion of Imaro. The categories with data offer significant insights, however those categories having no data provided relevant insights also. 179

Tina’s Case Profile

The Legend of Tarik Booktalk

Biographical Data

Tarik was Tina's first reading choice of the two novels. Only one interview session, one hour in duration, was required to discuss her responses to the novel. Tina, an African American female, was 13 years old and had completed the seventh grade at the time of this study. Tina lived with her mother and a younger sister (Bl). Table 11 below shows the number of responses and percentage comparisons for the eight biographical categories discussed in this section.

Table 11-Tina's Biographical Data: Tank

Biographical Data Categories No. Responses % B1. Single-Parent Household 1 4.5 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 1 4.5 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 3 13.6 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 3 13.6 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 3 13.6 B7. Literature Background 10 45.7 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library -L 4.5 Total 22 100.0

Tina volunteered to participate in this study and when asked whether she enjoyed reading or not, she enthusiastically replied that she did. The investigator asked Tina what she found appealing about reading and her response was, “I like the characters. I like being able to put myself in somebody else's life. That's how how I feel when I read a book or something" (B2). 180

She expanded upon this concept as we discussed Tan/c.

It’s just like I put myself in the main character’s position. I just take the advice and look to myself. I put myself in the characters’ position so I can get really the whole feel of the book and understand it better; instead of just reading it. That makes it better (B4).

Thus, the reading experience is more enjoyable and meaningful for Tina when she assumes the characters’ roles, especially the role of the main character. When asked whether she had a favorite book or books, her response was,’The volumes of Mildred Taylor’s books; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Let

The Circle Be Unbroken: and The Road To Memphis “ (B5). The investigator inquired as to why those books and her response was:

Because they gave me , I like the characters and they gave me a sense of what happened when there was slavery and Black people had to pick cotton instead of white people; and they showed me how Blacks had to live and gave me a sense of back then instead of now. (R2/R7/R10) She also stated that Mildred Taylor was her favorite author.

Comparing Tarik with Taylor’s books, she speaks of reality versus fantasy:

Different, but not really as good as I thought those (Taylor’s books) were, because those really gave me a picture; like for instance, things aren’t how they are now. They talked about the family bonding, like how I want to live. That’s how I want to shape my life when I get older, but without being a slave and everything. That’s how I want to live. I like those better than others. I really liked Tarik. Tarik was good, like fantasy and legends and everything like that with a Black person, but that (Taylor’s books) gave me a little more sense of reality (B6/R5).

Thus, she was able to enjoy both genres of historical fiction and heroic fantasy and recognizes characteristics of each. Taylor’s works were very influential in that Tina looks forwards to the day she has a family of her own and creating an environment for family bonding. 181

Asked to recall some of the books she read In school the previous year;

The Summer of My German Soldier and The Secret Garden were mentioned in addition to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (B7). She was also asked to recall how many of those books had Black characters?:

Two. That was The Secret Garden ; I mean The Summer of My German Soldier, because they had a Black cook named Ruth who was really involved in the story and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; which is really based on Blacks and I had read that before in fifth grade (B5/B7).

Tina stated that she preferred to read books with Black characters because,"...that gives me a little bit more about my own color and lets me know stuff, more things" (B6). She also stated that she owns many books that feature

Black characters. Among them were:

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; Let The Circle Be Unbroken; and I have a whole lot of books. The Summer of My German Soldier, Island of the Blue Dolphin; I think they were Black, but they were Indians...said they were Black. I have a lot of books, I just can't name them all. (B8) Tina seemed to have a good literature background. Forty-five percent of her responses were applicable to this category. She had been exposed to African American literature and had her own personal library at home. This exposure had created for her a personal and cultural history. She enjoyed reading and those experiences seem to have been positive. The next section examines Tina’s responses to Tarik within specific coded categories.

Response Data Comparative and Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts (RIO),

Connecting With Characters (R2), Knowledge of Literary Genres (R5), and

Connecting With Text (R3) were leading response categories. Table 12 below shows the number of responses and percentage comparisons for the categories discussed in this section. 182

Table 12 - Tina Response Data: Tarik

ResDonse Data Catégories No. Responses % R l. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 7 8.6 R2. Connecting With Characters 13 16.0 R3. Connecting With Text 10 12.5 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 4 4.9 R5. Knowledge of Literary Gemes 11 13.6 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 4 4.9 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 6 7.4 R8. Positive African American Images 4 4.9 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 3 3.7 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts 19 23.5 Total 81 100.0

Knowledge of Historical Periods Tina revealed insights into this category immediately upon examining the

novel's cover. Her thoughts about the cover were:

I thought that he was really like old and in medieval times because of the horse cover, and the helmet, and the sword, and the army behind him; and the grass looked all brown and everything. Nothing like compared to now.

She is aware of a time in the past that was referred to as the medieval period and the characteristics of that period. In discussing the setting of the story, she

expanded upon these characteristics:

I think it could happen it Scotland because of the shore. It could happen in the Pacifica there were Black slaves and everything. A long time ago it could have been castles, and princesses, and queens, and everything. It could have happened anywhere. 183

She seems to think that as long as the time period was medieval with castles, royalty, Black slaves, and a shoreline the story could have happened anywhere. However, she did not think that Blacks would reside in castles unless it was, “...like in Egyptian time and everything, yeah. But no”. Thus, her knowledge does reflect an awareness of African royalty who resided in palatial surroundings in a similar time period. This category represents 8.6% of Tina’s responses. Connecting With Characters

As stated above, this was one of Tina’s leading response areas (16%). Her responses focused upon the characters actions, her understanding of or lack of understanding of those actions, and her probable response if she was the character. In discussing what she liked most about the story she states that it:

...is when Tarik was getting on his quest...to get the Sword of Serq and the specter was there and turned himself into his father and then turned himself into a giant. He could see death on his face, but he still kept on going, he got right through there. Eventhough, like if it would have been me, I guess I would have turned around. Relatedly, when she discussed what she didn’t like, she states it:

...is where they took the people from Tarik’s land and El Muerte, well he took them and slayed all of them; especially the little brother. I felt if that had been my little sister, I guess I would have been upset too. I guess just like a little connection there with me. I would have been very upset. That part made me upset a little because his little brother died. And then when he met that boy, that was like a soul brother, I guess.

She questions her bravery in pursuing the quests in the first response and in the second she “connects” with the anger and sorrow Tarik feels. Bravery is mentioned again during her discussion of one of the battle scenes. She stated, “I thought I was part of it except when they were fighting in the center. I don’t think I would have been that brave". 184

Connecting With Text

Another leading response category with 12.5% of the data that centered primarily on Tina’s attempts to understand the text, especially the allegories. The relationships among the characters is one example of her attempts:

Well there was Docao and Nongo, the situation between them two. I wanted to understand more about how they met, but they really wouldn’t say anything. I wanted to know more about that girl Stria, but they didn’t say a lot about about that either. I wanted to know more about the horse [Zinzinbadio], because I wanted to know why did the guy [the Great Spirit] think [of] a horse, he should change him [Si] into a horse. Another attempt focused upon the quest for the magical weapons and horse and the lack of guaranteed success for Tarik once they were obtained in his final quest for revenge against El Muerte:

Why did he have the Sword of Serq and the priceless Crystal of Truth and the black steed [Zinzinbadio]? I mean Nongo said he could fail at all these things. I don’t understand, if he was just going to fail with them, why did he get them? ...I found the page where he [Nongo] says he [Tarik] could fail. He [Nongo] says, ..."With them you will fail unless you bring to them [the weapons] such a spirit as will overcome his [El Muerte] great evil.” So I didn’t get this “spirit that could overcome this evil..” In this response she utilizes the page reference to illustrate her point. A final example illustrates Tina’s attempt to comprehend a parable. This one involved a snake, a sparrow, their perception of themselves, and the destruction of one by the other.

At first I thought it was confusing, but I got it. The sparrow, because he thought he was so perfect and everything. Maybe he was perfect, but you knew that he thought that he was perfect. I don’t think anything can be perfect right now. That, it was El Muerte, because I think he thought he was perfect. I think he could have everything he wanted. I think he thought he could do whatever he wanted to. Everybody would bow to him. Nobody would try to kill him. 185

When asked what she learned from this parable she stated, That really nobody is perfect and if you think so, you're going to get eaten alive!” In each instance, the rereading and discussion of specific passages from the text by the investigator and subject assisted in reaching a level of understanding that Tina was satisfied with. In many instances, Tina wished the author had provided more information as reflected in her first response above involving the characters. Gender Role Distinctions

Tina's responses in this category focused on the female character Stria and her role in the story. She was surprised at Stria's role as a warrior. She was asked if she would expect a female characterized as a fighter.

No, not in a story like this; because I expected it to be like in medieval times because of that picture on the front of the book. What I know is that women really fight, it was really men. The jousting and all the other stuff, but it was really men. That's what I thought. Asked whether she had read other books that portrayed women as heroines during medieval period; she responded to the heroine role rather than the time period. Her response was, “Like in the Black books, I read about working in the cotton fields, Cassie and everything. She is a girl and she's usually the hero a little bit, but everybody in their family is usually the hero". Tina refers to her experience with African American literature, specifically

Mildred Taylor's works that feature the female protagonist Cassie, in her search for a heroine. Additionally, she finds more than one as this role is shared by other members of Cassie’s family. Knowledge of Literarv Genres

This category was the third leading area of response (13.6%). The responses in this category illustrate Tina's experience with the fantasy genre. In 186 the following responses she discusses how Tank differs from other fantasy that she has read.

Well he [Tarik] had two wise people to lead him and usually only one person does and he doesn't really come back to them. This one, he came back to them really until the end; and they never have females coming with them.

The role of mentors and the gender of the hero's companions in fantasy literature is highlighted in this response. In the responses below, the hero traits displayed by Tarik are discussed.

He didn’t really pray or anything. He just thinks he can do it and hopes that he can do it; he got a lot of pride. A lot of the other heroes are scared, you know, don't expect themselves to do it...

Well, at first, I didn't think he was that strong. I don't really think he's that strong at all anymore. I just think that that’s just the way, how they [wise men] prepared him... Tarik seems not to display any fear of failure in achieving his quests as other heroes seem to do. She believes Tarik was able to accomplish his quests due to the training his mentors provided him, but his pride and desire for revenge were also responsible as highlighted in this response.

I think that it was pride and revenge he wanted for his family and his father; and the fact that I didn’t think he wanted anyone to go through that. I think he put [it] upon himself at first, because he was the one who wanted revenge and he was the one who said "I can do the quest.” He was so proud of himself and he got the quest done and everything. So I think it was a little bit of pride and vengeance and hope he could accomplish it.

Additionally, a concem for others is another characteristic displayed by Tarik.

Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant

The setting and descriptions of Tank were the subject of the responses in this category (4.9%). Initially Tina didn’t recognize Tarik as an Black African nor the setting as particularly African: 187

Yes, I didn’t think he was Black, until I kept calling him black, the knight. Oh he's Black, not just black night! They call him a black knight because the way he had the sword, he had the leather on. They were calling him a black knight, not "Black" the skin and the culture. I really didn't pay a lot of attention to his skin on the cover, because on a lot of covers people skin look like that and they usually end up white. Although Tarik is depicted on the cover as an individual with a brown skin color, Tina saw this as insignificant because of her experience with other book covers that have inaccurately portrayed characters racially. Referring to a comment one of the characters (Capa) made to Tank that his race was unimportant to knighthood, “A knight is a knight.” Tina states:

Well, I thought it was a compliment sort of to Tarik. Eventhough he was Black, a knight is a knight. It means whether you're White or you're Black; or orange or peach, you're still a knight. You're not going to change because of your color. I mean like they weren't prejudice. Tina attributes Capa's comment as being complimentary and she agrees with the his appraisal that it is not the color of one's skin that makes one a knight. Finally, Tina believed that the story could have happened anywhere. The setting is neutral, especially due to the time period. She states, ” ...because of the shore,...there were Black slaves. A long time ago it could have been castles, and princesses, and queens and everything. It could have happened anywhere”. Race Cultural Factors Important There were some things about the story that made race and culture seem unimportant to the story as illustrated above. However, there were more characteristics (7.4%) of the story where race and culture were relevant. The primary factor for Tina was Tarik's portrayal as a hero. She was asked if the characters' race made a difference.

I think it made a difference, a little bit, because I think I've only read about Black people's struggles. I never read a fantasy book about a Black person that really accomplished what he went after... 188

Well, I just thought that it was nice that a Black person was put in a book and be a hero. There's a lot of prejudice and I don’t think a lot of people want a Black person as a hero. I think a lot of people love the person that failed.

Tina builds upon the above statements as she discusses what was of

personal relevance in the following response:

The most important thing about it for me is that it gave me like just a little bit of proof that; because a lot of people now, except in the literature, don’t think Black people won’t really amount to anything, especially here in Ohio. So it gave me a little bit like better understanding that maybe I can be like Tarik, but in a different way because I’m in a different time and everything. I can accomplish what I want to accomplish if only I put my mind into it and everything. So that helped me a little bit; it gave me a little bit of good advice, if I put it into my life.

Tank seemed to have served as a role model for Tina “a little bit” because of his accomplishments. If she acts upon the advice given, then she may succeed in her quests also. Again, she distinguishes between fantasy and reality in that she is aware that she lives in the real world with those who don’t expect

her to be a success due to her race. Positive African American Images

The responses in this category were intimately tied with those of the

previous category. Tina’s experience with literature, especially that that included Black people, focused on their struggles. Tarik is presented as hero and that is something she didn’t expect. Her surprise is due to her awareness of a

prejudiced real world of which she is a resident:

Well, I just thought that it was nice that a Black person was put in a book and be a hero. There’s a lot of prejudice and I don’t think a lot of people want a Black person as a hero. I think a lot of people love the person that failed. 189

Racial Role Distinctions The responses in this category focus on Tina’s distinction of who is

portrayed as hero and a failure. Her beliefs are that Whites are heroes and Blacks primarily fail or stmggle. The following response during the discussion of

El Muerte’s [Tarik’s adversary] ethnicity illustrates this point:

I thought he was white...Because of the castle...You wouldn’t think Blacks were really put high in the story. Maybe a little bit, but not as high as he was. I don’t think that they would let a Black get that high. As expressed in previous categories, Tina also did not expect a Black fantasy

hero. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts Most of Tina’s responses were in this category. The focus of the

responses were the characters of the story. She wanted to know more about them or understand their actions.

Yeah, that the girl [Stria] showed up on his [Tarik] way to find El Muerte when he was about ready to fight. I didn’t understand why she was there at first, but then I understood that she had the same goal as Tarik, just didn’t have the same things. Tina didn’t think that Stria would accompany Tarik in his quest for vengeance

against El Muerte and be involved in the eventual battle. As she continued reading, she realized that El Muerte had harmed her in much the same way as

he had harmed Tarik and she sought revenge also. However, the things that Stria

did not have were the weapons and horse that Tarik had obtained. Nongo’s characterization presented a special intrigue for Tina:

I wanted to know why he was so wise and he was blind and everything. I wanted to know how he knew all he knew, because they had been through the same thing Tarik had been through and they were still alive... [he] knew about all this stuff and I just wanted to know how? 190

Nongo, one of Tank's mentors was blind, yet wise. He, as well as, Docao had been injured by El Muerte and survived as Tarik had. Tina believed that the

author did not provide enough information about Nongo’s life. Similarly, she had her own perceptions as to the character traits of Tarik’s

mentors.

I would improve Tarik’s questioning to Nongo and Docao because I would want to know more about how they met. That’s one thing I would really like to know about this book. I want to know how that got so wise...! figured them as old men, wise. Like the guy in Star Wars, the little green guy - Yoda. I guess the things I knew before I read this book brought it more to life for me. This response was given to the investigator’s inquiry as to how the book could be improved. It was important to Tina to have more information about Tarik’s

mentors. To compensate for this lack of information, Tina provided her own from the knowledge she possessed from George Lucas’s 1980s Star Wars science

fiction/fantasy movies. The protagonist, Luke Skywalker, desired to become a Jedi warrior like his

father who was supposedly killed by The Darkside.” In order to become a Jedi, Luke had to be trained and the Jedi fighters’ mentor was a being called Yoda.

Tina assigned Yoda’s attributes to those of Nongo and Docao, Tarik’s mentors. Capa, the baker, benefactor of Tarik’s sword, and Tarik’s unwilling

companion posed a different type of intrigue for Tina:

I just didn’t like the way he [Capa] acted around the girl [Stria] and Tarik. I didn’t think he really, well he helped them, but I didn’t think he really wanted to. He was just different from everybody else. I guess that made him fake some. I guess I’m used to all the all the other characters in the book and he was sort of different from them. Tina detected an unwillingness in Capa’s behavior to be of real help to Tarik and

Stria, thus her description of him as fake. 191

Finally, an African parable told to Tarik by Nongo of a contest between a

Great Spirit and a supernatural being called Si in the creation of man and the subsequent changing of Si into the horse Zinzinbadio seem ed to conflict with

Tina’s awareness of God. She states, “I know that really the Great Spirit now is

God, but I don’t think he would have turned somebody into a horse because he hate time.”

The focus of this contest was whether or not Time would be controlled after its creation. Tina’s awareness of God seem to be that of a “just” and “forgiving” entity and changing a being into a horse because a contest was lost didn’t fit.

Conclusions

Several patterns emerge from Tina’s responses to the novel The Legend of Tarik. First; only one category contained no data. Negative Attitude Toward

Reading. This lack of data would suggest that Tina’s reading experiences have been positive.

Second, Tina’s literature background seems to be extensive. She has been exposed to several genres including fantasy and African American literature. Mildred Taylor, a children’s book author, stands out as Tina’s most read writer.

Third, Tina consistently refers to the knowledge she possess from previous exposure to different texts, written and audiovisual, to help her comprehend new texts. Also, it is clear that she distinguishes between the fantasy worlds created by fictional texts and the context of reality in the world she is a resident of. 192

Finally, Tina was very appreciative of a fantasy hero with an African heritage. Except for heroes and heroines in historical or realistic fiction, all fantasy heroes she were aware of had a European heritage. She was surprised at the inclusion of a female warrior, however, her appreciation of this portrayal was not stated.

Imaro Booktalk

Biographical Data Four categories of response were significant in this section. That is, codable data were applicable to these categories. Of these four categories.

Literature Background (B7) was the leading response area (52.2%). The remaining categories are Positive Attitude Toward Reading (B2), Vicarious

Experiences With Literature (B5), and Sense of Personal/Cultural History (B6).

Table 13 - Tina's Biographical Data: Imaro

Biographical Data Categories No. Responses % B1. Single-Parent Household 0 0.0 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 1 4.3 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 4 17.4 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 0 0.0 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 6 26.1 B7. Literature Background 12 52.2 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library _o 0.0 Total 23 100.0 193

Tina stated some concerned as to the age of the reader that should experience this novel:

...I know at the beginning It was very confusing and some parts were very boring and If people younger than me like to read...! know a lot of people who are you than me and I have friends younger than me, they like to read. If the book Is boring they're going to throw It away; unless It’s a library book, they really will. I’ve seen some of my friends do It! If It was confusing they would just put It on the shelf and not read lt...l know It was confusing to me, so my age and older I think would be the best to read It (B2). Tina believes that readers thirteen years of age and older are Ideal for this novel; however readers of a younger age are potential readers of this novel. If they like to read as she and some of her friends do. The confusion extended further to her relationship with the characters In the story.

No, I couldn’t even put myself Into a character because when I started reading about [the] characters I don’t want to put myself Into the characters...! just wanted to read (B4). I suppose I was behind the character watching everything he did (B4).

Tina desired only to be an observer while reading Imaro. It seem ed difficult for Takesla to establish connections with the characters In this novel. This concept will be explored further In the response data section. The Integration of African terms and concepts within the language of the novel caught Takelsa’s attention. Her first guess was that It was an Native American dialect and later African. Her response was, "Because I’ve never heard any of this voice before. They’re speaking Indian or African" (B6). To support her deductlon,she stated, "I thought that It was Indian because they called him [Imaro] the "son-of-no-father" and they called the lion a [Ngatun], I don’t know how to pronounce It" (R7). She could not decide whether It was Indian or African 194 due to some experience with both contexts. Her response was, “Well I’ve heard that [son-of-no-father] in African and Indian context, so that’s why I couldn’t decide if it was Indian or African" (B6).

The extent of this experience may be due to Takeisa’s heritage that she informed the investigator of during the discussion. She stated, “...not all Indians are White. I didn’t really know that. My great-grandmother was Indian, she was

White. My grandfather and his family were Indian and they were all Black" (B6). As the discussion of the novel proceeded, Tina concluded that the language and setting was African. Tina’s literature background became evident when she discussed the shortcomings and strengths of the novel in literary terms. An example of a part she didn’t like was a description of a confrontation between Imaro and the leader of a rival tribe who attempted to take Imaro’s heart. She states, “The descriptions were nice, but when they come to the gross parts they could have eased off a little" (B7). Additionally, Tina believes that the author could have “eased off a little” in the description of Imaro’s suffering at the hands of the lllyassai tribesmen.

I think they could have skipped that part of how much pain and everything he had because you could tell by, if you smart, that he was going to go through some pain. Then just go on to the good part and then go on from there. Some parts they needed to skip (B7). Tina seems to think that the author underestimates the experiences of the reader by a continuous focus upon Imaro’s sorrow. Responding to whether or not authenticity was added to the story due to the use of African terms and concepts, she states:

A little, but they used them too much. It gave some authenticity, but it also was very confusing. So I think that it should have been a little, but not as 195

much as they had because it was very confusing. If they were going to have a glossary they should have had it bigger, much bigger (B7).

Conclusions

Tina found Imaro to be confusing due to some of its literary elements. The integration of African terms and concepts were helpful, but overused as well as too much detail of the violent acts. Emphasis on Imaro’s sorrow was also taxing to her. Finally, she used her family background and knowledge of African and

Native American contexts to comprehend aspects of the text. Response Data Codable data was obtained for all but two categories in this section. Table

14 below shows the number of responses and percentage comparisons for the categories discussed in this section.

Table 14 - Tina's Response Data: Imaro

ResDonse Data Categories No. Responses % Rl. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 5 7.7 R2. Connecting With Characters 11 16.9 R3. Connecting With Text 18 27.7 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 1 1.5 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 2 3.1 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 2 3.1 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 3 4.6 R8. Positive African American Images 0 0.0 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 0 0.0 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts 23 35.4 Total 65 100.0 196

Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics

The data In this category focused upon clarification of whether the setting

and characters were African or Native American. As stated above, the language

was one factor, the description of people and the setting were others. In trying to

decide which culture was being portrayed by the author, Tina states, “Well, It was sounding like It was more African than Indian [talking] about the plains and the

fields, but I thought that It would be more Indian because of the tribes. They had chiefs and everything." For Tina, both cultures share similar geographical

characteristics, however the social configuration of the communities within the

cultures as portrayed gave the advantage to the Native Americans. The religious practices of the culture were for Tina an Indication of the time

period. She states, “Because there’s a lot of voodoo and everything, but I have heard of taboo and stuff from the past. When people talk about how It Is past, I haven't heard anything about [It] now." Conversations with adults In her life have

given her Insights Into the past and some of the terms In the text were familiar. Connecting With Characters

Responding to questions conceming whether there were boring aspects of the text or not, Tina focused upon the lengthiness of some of the story line. In the

following response, there Is a continued emphasis on the author's underestimation of the knowledge the reader Is bringing to the text and Tina's

Identification of the concept of prejudice:

Well, actually It was before the boy had given, Tanoko had given Imaro's cow the ants. That was very boring at first. Until he gave the cow the ants, they were just going on and on. All before they were just talking about this stuff and how [much] pain he had went through and everything. That was 197

really boring because they said they hit him. I figured pretty much because his mom had left the tribe and everything they were going to treat him worse than any of the other boys, because he didn't have anybody to take care of him really while everybody else did. So I figured our time and their time, I figured prejudice was still around. Wasn’t the same kind of prejudice, but it was prejudice.

When asked about the cause of this prejudice Tina stated that, “He stood for his mother I suppose. That he was something that wasn’t supposed to happen out of the tribe. She had a child by a person that was not in the tribe and that wasn’t allowed." She identifies this prejudice as that of Imaro’s birth as half-breed with no knowledge of his father. The investigator wanted to know if she thought that this was enough to promote hatred. Tina thought that is was and stated furthered that:

...sometimes it is not even for what you stand for. I think it is just because of the way you are and the way they want you to be; but you’re not that way, so they try to get you to go the way they want you to be. If you don’t be that way, you’re in trouble!

Connecting With Text Clarification of events in the text were indicative of the responses in this category. Tina found most of the text confusing, contradictory, and gross.

Responding to an inquiry as to whether there were parts of the book she liked, she stated that:

There really wasn’t any part that I liked the most. The book was really confusing and especially if he did one thing, then he turn to the next thing and it’s like [he] contradicted himself sort of. It was very confusing and I didn’t like all the sorcery and magic, it was really gross... The tribe’s agreement to train Imaro as a warrior in return for his mother’s agreement to exile herself from the tribe was another area of confusion and contradiction: 198

...when I read it I was confused. I didn't understand why, if they were going to let her son go in, why not let her go in. If they didn’t kill her, why have a reason to kill her. It’s like the book contradicts itself again.

This confusion and contradiction, seemed for Tina, to originate from her inability to invoke her imagination to this work as she stated that, “...it was not a good picture sometimes of all that was going on....it was just, to me, I couldn’t imagine.” Gender Role Distinctions The one response applicable to this category focused on what Tina detected as a pattern, not only in this novel, but in the novel she had previously read as a part of this study. When asked which of the characters was of most interest to her, she stated:

His [Imaro] mother, because I wanted to know more about her before she left. They just left her out. When you gave me Tarik, they left the girl [Stria] out; most of her. So it’s just like a pattern in these books, Tarik and this book; they left the women out. The female characters seem not to be fully developed for Tina. Knowledge of-Literat^Gsnces Insight into this category was immediately available when Tina made predictions about what the text of the novel would contain from the novel’s cover illustration. Her response was, “When I looked at the cover I thought the book was about a Black guy and a bunch of legends; like killing a beast or something.“

An additional comment permitted insight into her perception of the differences between a good and fair fantasy novel. She stated that, “This book had too much magic and stuff in it. Tarik had a few magic [sidstuff in it; I mean it didn't have all this [these] beast. Well it had some beast, but not as much.“ 199

Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant

Expanding upon the earlier discussion of whether this novel's language and setting was African or Native American, the researcher asked Tina whether the depiction of Imaro on the cover gave her any clues. Her response was;

“...well a Black man can be Indian." As stated earlier, she referred to her heritage to confirm this. Race/Cultural Factors Important

Continued discussion of the setting revealed that Tina did believe that this was an important part of the story and other elements of the story would reflect the setting. She stated, “Yeah it mattered where it happened because from

America to Africa and from Europe to Africa there are a lot of different things. I mean the tribes, the magic, the rubies, the beast, the killings, a lot different." Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

The responses within this category encompassed a diverse range of topics, many that are extensions from those discussed above. The responses that stand out are Tina’s comparisons of this novel with Tarik. the lllyassai treatment of Imaro and his mother (Katisa), and a personal comparison of life's experiences. Tina was asked to compare this novel to others that she had read that featured Black characters and her immediate response was to the previously read novel, “I didn't like this book compared to Tarik at all. Tarik was the best book." When asked to explain why, she mentioned magic, beasts, and:

What I took from Tarik is that I thought that you shouldn't give up. You can accomplish whatever you put your mind to and that a little practice doesn't hurt anybody sometimes. He kept practicing with the water in his hands so that he could be ready to face El Muerte. So that's pretty much what I learned. Imaro. I think, was just a little bit, for me, confusing. I think 200

it was a little too old for me to understand right now. I guess if I read it when I get older; I suppose I'll understand better than I did now.

When asked whether there were any practical aspects to this novel, she stated, "Well, the people were prejudice against him because of his mother and like prejudice now, but that was it." In clarifying this statement, the investigator asked Tina if she meant that it was an awareness of prejudice and dealing with it that she took from her reading of Imaro ? Her response was:

Yes...I thought it was strange that the people hated him so much, when he had never done anything to them really. They would lie on him and they would lie on him and they would just do all kinds of things. I didn’t understand why because he had never done anything; he never really talked. Tina gave an example of a personal experience of people hating you for the way you are rather than the way they want you to be:

My old friends always used to go out shopping and they would tell us how they stole in the shops and tell me how to do it. But see, I wouldn’t steal from the mall because I didn’t want to be be caught and I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. So they always used to get mad at me and one time they tried, one of them used my coat in the store; they stole and I didn’t know it. They had asked me for my coat before they had gotten in the store. They stole with my coat and they used me to try and show that I could do it. So when I told them I didn’t want them to use my coat anyway. I told them they should take the stuff back, I was going to tell. They got really mad at me and they haven’t been talking to me ever since.

Responding to what she found puzzling in the text, she spoke of Imaro’s mother predicament.

I wondered at the beginning of the story, it was very puzzling because I didn’t understand why she left. How come she didn’t take her son with her? Who is this dude that’s his father? Why couldn’t she stay in the tribe?

Conclusion

Tina’s response data revealed that she found Imaro to be confusing. This confusion stemmed from contradictory behavior of characters and situations 201 depicted. Her responses seem to Indicate that the author underestimates readers' experiences by focusing too much on Imaro’s sorrow as a despised member of the tribe. The roles of female characters were not fully developed for her. She desired to have more information about them. Finally, many of her responses compared Imaro with her previous reading of Tarik. It was difficult for her to derive anything of significance from her reading of imaro as she had with

Tarik.

Summary Interview Data

Biographical Data Responses that comprised the data for this section were applicable to four categories: Positive Attitude Toward Reading (18.2%), African American Literature Experience/Exposure (18.2%), Sense of Personal/Cultural History

(27.3%), and Literature Background (38.3%). Table 15 below shows the number of responses and percentage comparisons for the eight categories discussed in this section. 202

Table 15 - Tina's Summary Interview : Biographical Data

Biosraohical Data Catégories No. Responses % Bl. Single-Parent Household 0 0.0 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 2 18.2 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 0 0.0 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 2 18.2 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 3 27.3 Bl. Literature Background 4 36.3 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library _o_ 0.0 Total 11 100.0

Positive Attitude Toward Reading

Tina commented on the books she read at school and the reception she perceived Black books received from her White peers.

A couple of people did [object] because they thought it would be better to read about Whites instead of Blacks because Whites are more up top and Blacks are more down bottom. I didn't really mind what I read, Black or White. I like reading about Black and I like reading about Whites. I'm used to reading about White, but [reading about] Blacks; it gives me, lets me know that people do write about Black people. So they do think about it, instead of always writing that the person is White; they do think about Blacks. Due to her enjoyment of reading, the race of the characters does not matter much, but she would like to have more encounters with African American

literature because she reads literature with White characters much more often than literature with Black characters. 203

African American Literature Experience/Exoosure

Tina thought that her knowledge of authors of African origin and African fantasy was enhanced through her participation in this study.

I think it was pretty neat. I’m glad that you let me get involved in it because now I know some authors that I can look up sometime and maybe find other books written by them. I found out I can read more books about Blacks instead of White people all the time. I read more African fantasy and not the fantasy of America and the different times, instead of White people. Her awareness of fantasy written by and about an ethnic group other than those of European origin seemed to be enlightening. This enlightment could possibly lead to future readings of these authors' works. Sense of Personal Cultural Historv

The above statements encapsulate the nature of the responses for this category. Tina’s personal history reflects the traditional exposure to White literature to the extent that exposure to literature other than this type is a new experience. As she stated previously, “I’m used to reading about White, but [reading about] Blacks; it gives me, lets me know that people do write about Black people." This knowledge seemed important to Tina. Her plans for making use of this knowledge should enhance her personal cultural history. She stated that, “...now I know some authors that I can look up sometime and maybe find other books written by them. I found out I can read more books about Blacks instead of White people all the time.” Literature Background The responses in this area revealed what Tina thought of fantasy and includes comments on her perception of her peers at school responses to the possible reading of Imaro and Tarik. After having read both novels, she stated, “I think that it [fantasy] can be funny. I think that it can be good. I think it can be a 204 little gross, but it depends on the kind of books you read; I think, the author you choose." Her choice of the two novels (and those of her peers) would be Imaro for the reasons she gave in the following response:

A lot of people would love to read Imaro because they like the stuff Imaro does in the book. But Tarik, people would be like; I don’t want to read this book; it's so stupid!’ Like some people would just shut the book and say they thought it was stupid too. But I think everybody will like Imaro at my school, because it doesn’t have any white people in it. Well, it has prejudice, but not prejudice that we re used to. The responses in the four categories revealed a literary experience that was positive for Tina. Positive in exposing her to additional authors and fantasy of African origin, an awareness that books written by and about individuals of African origin exist and are accessible to her, and fantasy has many characteristics.

Response Data Seven codable categories emerged in this section. As illustrated in the table below, Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts (R10,

35.0%) Race/Cultural Factors Important (R7, 30.0%), and Racial Role Distinctions (R9, 15.0%) were leading categories. Each of the remaining four categories percentages were similar (5.0%). 205

Table 16 - Tina's Summary Interview : Response Data

Response Data Categories No. Responses % Rl. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 0 0.0 R2. Connecting With Characters 0 0.0 R3. Connecting With Text 1 5.0 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 0 0.0 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 1 5.0 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 1 5.0 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 6 30.0 R8. Positive Aftican American Images 1 5.0 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 3 15.0 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts _2 35.0 Total 20 100.0

Connecting With Text The response in this category provide descriptors of fantasy as Tina experienced it. As discussed above she described fantasy as funny, good, and a little gross. Which of these prevail in the story is dependent upon the author or book you read. Knowledge of Literary Genres

Tina provides an example of what good fantasy is based upon her reading of the Imaro, Tarik, and other works of fantasy in the following response;

Well Tarik was a very good fantasy. Imaro, I suppose, for [some]; they would think its a very good fantasy book because of the taboo and how he had to fight all these beasts and the chief of the other tribe [that] had the hearts around his neck. I think that would show that it was a good fantasy 206

book because I don’t think nothing like that would happen today. That didn’t happen in Tarik nor any of the other books I read. So, I think that [Imaro] would be like a number one fantasy book, if someone likes that kind of gross stuff; but I don’t. It seems as if the grossness (fighting with beasts and displaying hearts of animals around one’s neck) found in Imaro prevents it from being an exceedingly good fantasy for Tina. However, it is a good fantasy in that it does not reflect realism as she knows it to be today.

Racial/Cultural Factors Unimportant Asked for her thoughts about these novels of fantasy having African origins, Tina’s response was, “I don’t think they’ll [gig] make much difference if it was a White person or African. I mean it would still be the same, I think." In this response race and/or culture seems irrelevant to the story. Tina did make some distinctions in subsequent discussions. Race/Cultural Factors Important Follow-up questions focused upon whether the race of Imaro and Tarik made the reading of the novels more enjoyable and/or more significant. Tina’s response was:

Yeah, sorta, [in] Imaro. I guess the only reason I think that is because I’m Black. But I guess it was just nice to read a story about some Black heroes. Because I’ve always read about White heroes and I’ve never read anything about a Black hero. So I think it was p re^ good because I’ve always heard of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, you always hear ever^hing about them. But I never read two fantasy stories about anybody that was Black, where they turned out to be a hero. White people in fantasies, to me, they turned out to be the hero. She affirms the relevancy of race as to her enjoyment of being exposed to the novels and the significance of Black characters depicted as heroes.

Referring to her literature experiences in school, the investigator asked

Tina if she would have liked to read these novels in school. She stated that, “I 207

would love to read Tarik in school, because my school is mostly based on White

people. I would like to see what they thought. I would be very interested."

Positive African American Images

The data in this category was derived from Tina's appreciation of Black characters being depicted as heroes in fantasy novels. Additional pleasure is derived from the opportunity of reading two fantasy novels with Black heroes as

evidenced in her response, "...Because I've always read about White heroes and

I've never read anything about a Black hero....But I never read two fantasy stories about anybody that was Black, where they turned out to be a hero.” Racial Role Distinctions In this category Tina commented on the novels in the study and novels

she had read in school. As discussed above, her experience with fantasy has been with, “...White people in fantasies, to me, they turned out to be the hero."

Commenting upon her class's reading of Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder,

Hear My Cry and her perception of White students' responses, she stated, “I think that some people thought that it was [an] injustice and some thought it was right how the Whites treated the Blacks because some people are prejudice and some people are not." More specifically toward racial role distinctions, she

stated, “A couple of people did because they thought it would be better to read

about Whites instead of Blacks because Whites are more up-top and Blacks are more down bottom...”; when asked did she perceive White students having

objections to reading books about Blacks. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

The responses in this category focused upon the differences between the

novels in the study, the distinctions between Whites and Blacks being depicted 208

as heroes in fantasy literature, and preferences of reading among White and

Black students as each are discussed above. Tina’s additional comments In this

category make distinctions between genres as evidenced In the following

response in which she stated, “Our teacher assigned Roll of Thunder, Hear My

Cry which Is mostly about a Black person, but it wasn’t like this [fantasy]. It was

much different. “ She also commented upon White students’ preference for either of the

novels. She stated, “I think they would pick up Imaro instead of Tarik because

Imaro has like the creature of the black lagoon and I think that is what they would like better." Tina compared the creature from Imaro to a movie she had

seen that had a similar creature.

Conclusions In examining Tina’s responses across novels, one response remains consistent, her attitude toward reading was very positive. Tables 6, 8, and 10

shows that no responses emerged in category B3 - Negative Attitude Toward Reading. Several responses that have been related in the above discussion indicate that she enjoys reading and that enjoyment is internally motivated. This enjoyment for reading is reflected in her experiences with literature. Tina liked the experiences she obtained from becoming fully involved in

what she reads. She has a favorite author and reads books written by this author

and others. She knew what appealed to her in a text and was able to critically

examine text. She was familiar with a variety of genres of literature and actively

participated in her reading experiences.

Tank appealed to Tina more than Imaro. She believed there was too

much of an emphasis on magic, “gross beasts”, and “gross killings” in Imaro. 209

However, there were connections she could make with Imaro’s experiences as related in the story. The prejudice Imaro experienced from his “adoptive" tribal family was of some importance for her. References to her “real world” experiences of prejudice in her responses to Imaro are illustrative of the connections made.

Tank’s appeal is reflected in the differences in total number of responses made to Tarik as compared to those made to Imaro and 33% of the categories for Imaro had no response data. Tank was more comprehensible than Imaro and Tina was able to make more connections between the fantasy world of Tarik and her real world. Achieving one’s goals through practice and patience was one of the more prominent real world concepts she saw reflected inTarik. This seemed especially meaningful for her as a young African American female.

Gary’s Case Profile

The Legend of Tarik Booktalk

Biographical Data Gary is an African American male, 14 years old who had completed the seventh grade at the time of the study. He lives with his divorced mother and an identical twin brother (B1 ). Gary and his brother, Jerry, volunteered to participate in this study and both chose Tarik as the first novel to read. Three interview sessions of approximately forty-five minutes were required to discuss Gary’s responses to this novel. 210

Table 17 - Gary's Biographical Data: Tank

Biographical Data Categories ______No. Responses % BI. Single-Parent Household 1 3.8 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 3 11.5 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 3 11.5 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 4 15.4 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 6 23.1 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 3 11.5 B7. Literature Background 3 11.5 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library 11.5 Total 26 100.0

Gary was somewhat indifferent to reading in school. He stated that, “It’s alright. If I must, I'll do it. But if I don't have to. I'll just sit back and listen to other

people read (B2).“ A more positive attitude was expressed by Gary toward school reading when he stated that, “I like books to do reports on. Those are different.

You have to check one out, like Indian books..." The factors of choice and library visitation seem to be influential in this exception. Gary was asked if he had a favorite book or books and his response again

presents a view of indifference when he stated, “I don't have really a favorite, they all about the same to me. The ones I read at school and stuff, they almost have the same story. Like Robin Hood, Sir Lancelot, King Arthur and stuff (B3).“

A more negative attitude toward reading is also expressed when he stated, “I don't like reading in front of a lot of people." School reading practices of read 211 alouds and presentation of similar story concepts do not appeal to Gary ‘s reading interests. A genre that did captivate Gary’s interest was revealed when the investigator asked if he had a favorite author and he stated,"Not really. I like sometimes poems [sic]. Like Langston Hughes and stuff (B2/B5)." Thus, he has a positive attitude toward reading poetry and he particularly enjoys the poetry of the late African American poet Langston Hughes. When he was asked what he found appealing about this poet and/or the poet’s works his response was, “They

[poems] like the symbol of his life and stuff. They tell like a little part of his life or story. Something that you can get interested in (B5).“ Insights gained into the poet’s life through the poetry appeals to Gary and allows him to get into the reading. Following up on Gary’s lead into African American writers and their works, the investigator asked him about books he has read in school that featured Black characters. He response was, i don’t think any of them really. Blacks. I know we did reports on Black History Month. We did reports on Black people. But that’s the only book i read about Black people. What I did was on Malcolm X (B5).“

When asked if this was the only book read, he introduced earlier experiences with this literature in his response that states, “Uh-huh. In school, yeah. I read a lot over years and stuff when I was little. My mom told us, taught us about that stuff and read books [to us] about Martin Luther King (B6/B5)." Though there seems to be limited exposure to African American literature, Gary’s mother had introduced her sons to their cultural history when they were younger.

In extended discussion of home literary experiences, Gary related his reading of other African American literature. He stated: 212

We had this one book, a lot about Black people. It had Black people who Invented different things and a lot of stuff. And how one Black person [Benjamin Banneker] did the planning for Washington, DC or something....It was a little thicker than this[Tarik novel], about this big [shows width with hands]. It was yellow. It had a lot of pictures of Black people. It talked about Malcolm X, Martin Luther King. Several more [books] at home. Like different war chiefs, Shaka Zulu, and a lot of them who did different things (B8/B5). Thus, there was literature In Gary's home and he was able to recall the literature that featured African Americans and Africans. The Investigator asked Gary If he would have preferred African American literature. Gary’s response was:

Yes, they are more Interesting to my culture and stuff. They seem to be more Interesting than reading about a lot of White heroes and stuff like that. We have a comic book at home; I used to read comic books when I was little and my mom got me a Black comic book called Brother Man. It’s like a new series book. It’s about a Black hero. He’s kinda like Batman and stuff, but he’s Black. My daddy use to tell me about a superhero called Sun Man. He w as Black and I seen [sic] a picture of him In Ebony Magazine. My Dad used to tell me stories about him, a long time ago when I was little (B6/B8). A personal sense of culture was gained from reading this literature and

Gary found this literature more Interesting to read. The most Influential factor seems to be that this literature offers exposure to a Black heroic figure rather than the White heroes he has been exposed to often.

Conclusions Gary Initially seemed to display an Indifferent attitude toward reading. It further seemed that this Indifference was related to his experiences with reading within the school environment. As stated above, read alouds and a redundant story line in the literature presented to him In school did not appeal to him. The exceptions were book reports and this seemed to be due to the opportunity 213 provided to visit the library and select his choice of books to satisfy the assignment. When Gary talked of his reading at home, a more positive attitude toward reading was evident. This literature featured African/African American characters and a variety of genres and mediums; poetry, informational, comic books, and magazines. Although his parents are divorced, his responses indicated that when the father was living with the family, both parents introduced this literature to their children. The above responses provided insight into Gary’s school and home literary experiences. Table 17 shows the number and percentages of responses for this section. The next section examines Gary responses to Tarik within specific coded categories.

Response Data Connecting With Characters (R2) and Comparative or Contrastive

Elements Within and Across Texts were leading categories of response (24.6%). No data emerged for the category of Knowledge of Literary Genres (R5). See

Table 18 for remaining percentages for each categories. 2 1 4

Table 18 - Gary's Response Data: Tarik

Resnonse Data Catégories No. Responses % Rl. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 5 8.6 R2. Connecting With Characters 14 24.1 R3. Connecting With Text 7 12.1 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 3 5.2 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 0 0.0 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 3 5.2 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 7 12.1 R8. Positive African American Images 4 6.9 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 1 1.7 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts 14 24.1 Total 58 100.0

Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics

The first response that revealed an awareness of the historical period focused upon in this novel was given in the discussion of the novel’s cover. Gary recognized the portrayal of the character on the cover as a knight. The investigator asked Gary what was on the cover that gave him this impression. He stated that it was, “His sword, him [Tarik] on the horse with different clothing and a helmet." Tarik’s and the horse’s mode of dress were recognized as clothing worn by knights. In addition to the period dress, responses to questions concerning whether the story was in the present or past revealed further insights. He stated that the story was not happening in the present, “...cause you could tell because people 215 don’t run around in bushes anymore. And killing people with swords and axes.

Ain’t no creatures like that with one eye, look like lizards." The weapons used and creatures portrayed in the story indicated to Gary that this story was of a past time period. Finally, a significant factor in recognition of accompanying characteristics within historical periods was Gary’s awareness of changes in the setting of the story. In discussing the river Niger, he recognized it as a river in Africa and then stated, “...They took him [Tarik] somewhere else." As to whether that somewhere else was Africa, he states, “It could have been..." And, “...It could have taken place about anywhere really. Anywhere that got different, like different lands. Like lakes, grasslands and stuff. It could’ve really happen [sic] anywhere." Thus, it seemed that Gary was aware that part of the setting for the story was a historical

Africa and somewhere else. Connecting With Characters

Much data emerged for this category as stated above. Illustrative of the significance of the data in this category were the responses in which Gary made personal connections between his experiences and those of the characters in the novel. In the following response, Gary recalled the wisdom and death of his grandfather as compared to the character Mongo:

My grandfather, he was like Mongo. But he wasn’t blind or nothing. But he just wise. He died. Like sometimes, tell you stuff. He got killed when I was two, not even two....I was little when died. Me and my brother were close to him and stuff. Then the day he died we wanted to come with him, but he like told us to stay home with mom and we stayed. He used to stop my mom; when my mom liked to whip us, me and my big brother. He used to say, that ain’t the way to get through to no kids," and stuff like that. He got hit by a truck, I think.

Mongo was one of Tarik’s tutors and was later killed by El Muerte while

Tarik watched, unable to prevent it. In this response, Gary emotionally relates to 216 the attachment developed between Nongo and Tarik; the wisdom shared by

Nongo, the healing of Tarik by Nongo, and loss Tarik feels when he helplessly witnesses Nongo’s death. In the novel, Tarik eventually has to question the killing he has had to do and the ease of doing It. When asked If he has ever felt like the characters, Gary made personal connections to this depiction through the Insights he has gained through his Involvement In fights:

Sometimes like when them people [characters] get Into flghts....Somebody has to do something to you cruel. Like somebody have to get me really mad for me to fight them. Like I try hard, I don’t wanna fight. I don’t like fighting a lot...Llke, let me see, Tarik and Capa really; like mixed together. Capa don’t really like fighting. He just like sticking to his everyday life. Tarik, like, he just like fighting...It just like he uses his skill like he wanted to get back at somebody for what they did to him...So It was like, I think that’s how a lot of people feel when they fight. Like a lot [of] fighting starts from “cracking,” like talking about each other. Like you say something about somebody, then they say something about your mom or something like that; It teach you to fight...It’s just like you have to stick up for yourself, so that they can’t be bullying you around...he [Tarik] was forced, cause he [El Muerte] killed his family. It was just like the right thing to do, because he was the only one left...It [book] said that he had already took lives of several people, but he still had to take one more, El Muerte’s. He had to do It, that was his mission. That was his plan, to kill hlm...lt was just like he didn’t really want to fight them. But the knight that he first fought came at him. He just stood there and the knight came at him, pulled his sword, then Tarik pulled his sword, so they started battling. Just like tackling with the monster at the lake, he came at him first. In this final response, Gary was appreciative of Tarik’s tenacity In his quest. He spoke of what he would take away from the reading of this novel.

Like It says In the book, his quest will lead him to victory or destroy him. Just like he would either kill El Muerte, or he will get killed trying to do so, or El Muerte would kill hlm...Just like he wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t stop trying to avenge his mother, father, and his brother; until either he died or the person that killed them died...It was Important to me because he had faith to do It. Bravery and courage to do all that. So It was like. If anybody can do It, like It tells you to never give up. 217

Gary believed that one of the ideas expressed In Tank's actions was that a person should never give up In the face adversity. Being faithful to one's quest would eventually lead to success. Connecting With Text

Closely related to the preceding responses, Gary also believed that another theme expressed In the novel was that an Individual should learn, To take up for yourself. To watch out for people close to you.” In the discussion of the necessity of having to fight sometimes, Gary's mentioning of looking out for oneself and avenging a wrong done to family, parallels Tank's quest. Parts of the text that Gary viewed as really attracting his attention were the fight scenes. One that stood out In particular was El Muerte's treatment of Tank's mentors, Docao and Nongo, as related In the following responses:

The one that really caught my attention, I thought was sad and cruel. Is when El Muerte killed Nongo, I mean Docao first. And then, ah, back In the next chapter he killed Nongo. I thought that was sad cause Nongo was blind and Docao only had one hand. And he [El Muerte] had already chopped up Docao's hand and he killed him anyway.

Yeah I thought It was kind of strange when El Muerte killed Docao and Nongo. I didn't really, what’s the use of killing 'em. But In the end he [El Muerte] said It would draw Taiik or something. But I didn't think that was right because why would you kill a handicapped person? They were both handicapped. That's not right.

Although Gary understood that capturing Nongo and Docao was a tactic used by El Muerte to attract Tarik, he didn’t think It was necessary to kill them, especially after he had already maimed them In earlier encounters. Gender Role Distinctions

Gary found Stria’s role In the text unique. He stated, "YVhen Stria helped Tarik when he was fighting four knights, that took me by surprise..." When 2 18

questioned whether he appreciated this role, he referred to general personality traits of women that he seemed to be familiar with. His response was, “Uh hum, they can fight. All women do have that inside of them. Like they got their violence

in them. Like they go off if you say something wrong to them."

When asked if there was a particular woman or women he was referring to, he stated:

People in my family, yeah they off. They might not be the biggest, anything like that, they go off....Because some girls like...they’ll go off on you. They’ll fight! They’ll fight like boys, like Stria. Cause like Tarik, in here [the novel] with her, they do in real life. I seen that before. Following up on women/girls “going off on you” or being able to fight like

boys and whether this was a good or bad thing, Gary stated:

It’s good that they know how to protect theirself [sic]. It’s like they’re standing up for theirselves. It’s not bad. It’s really good though! Because they stand up for what they believe in. It don’t matter what race you are or nothing. It don’t mean that they’re bigger than you are, nothing, they’ll come at you. Again, Gary’s views about fighting remain consistent. It is a matter of

sticking up for yourself and standing up for what you believe in, regardless of the

size of your adversary. Also, it is not a racial characteristic. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant As stated above, race is not an issue when it involves fighting for your

beliefs and for yourself. Another instance where Gary saw race as irrelevant was

in the novel’s depiction of Capa’s surprise in encountering a Black knight. His

response to this reference was, “Just a joke. It was somewhat like a wasted joke. It wouldn’t do nothing...”

Race/Cultural Factors Important Several instances in which race was important was during the discussion

of the book’s cover, the setting, and the importance of talking about the book 219 after having read It. His response to what he thought the book would be about based upon the cover was, “About knights. A knight, knight heroes. Like King

Arthur or something like that for Blacks."

The landscape of the setting and those inhabiting the landscape presented somewhat diverse views:

It didn't really matter where it happened, but I think it was a lot racist. Its kinda like racism cause like it [novel] says, ah they say, th e Black man’ or something. It was like everybody that called him black was white or a, ah, different culture or they're either yellow or something. It made difference because they [characters]used to say ‘he was a black knight on an ebony horse'. On one hand, the physical characteristics of the landscape presents an indifferent stance culturally. However, the populous residing within the landscape; that is, the land Tarik was taken to as a captive, seemed to display characteristics of racism to Gary. Finally, Gary thought the concept of booktalk was beneficial to readers especially when the discussants shared similar traits or interests among themselves and the text.

Like you can talk to your parents about anything. It will probably be something interesting. Your parents might can relate to it or a person like you [researcher], because you're a man of the projects. Not really a teacher because it depends if they're black or white or if they're interested in Black culture. Like some white teachers they don't really spend that much time on Black history. They just want to get through their usual stuff. So you could really discuss it with family or church member or somebody's that close to you. The relevant factor here seems to be that this book is Black literature.

Therefore individuals of African origins (parents, teachers, church members, researchers) would probably find the book interesting and would discuss it with him. Caucasian individuals, especially teachers, probably would not spend time discussing the book unless they had an interest in Black culture. An interesting 220 factor in this response is Gary’s assumption that the researcher is a product of the “housing projects" based upon the researcher’s race. Positive African American Images

When asked whether this book should be shared with others Gary stated,

"Uh huh, if they want to know about Black heroes." He believed that Tarik is a worthy example of a Black hero to be shared with others. Racial Role Distinctions

In discussing the uniqueness of the book characters, Gary generalized

Tarik’s actions to those of the Black populace.

...It’s like anything about Black people, you do something to them, they’re going to do it back to you. Cause that’s like everyday life. El Muerte killed his [Tarik] family, so he killed El Muerte’s cousin. I think that’s who he killed, he killed his cousin. And then he went to go kill El Muerte... The researcher asked Gary was he stating that Black people were vengeful? His first response applied to himself and then the researcher asked him if this was applicable to all Black people. His responses were;

It’s just like, if you do something to me, if you kill my brother. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill somebody in your family that you were very close to. You kill my mom. I’ll kill as many people out there. Try to.

Everybody has something inside of them. Like if you hurt them or somebody close to them, they’ll try to get you back for it. You see that in a lot of movies too. It’s a couple of movies that they do that stuff in. All that stuff, get revenge. Finally, the researcher asked Gary if he felt that these movies portrayed real life and he stated that:

Sometimes, but not all the time. Because it don’t seem like some people would go through all of that just like to avenge somebody....lt’s up to them [to] go overseas just to find somebody and kill them. Some people might do that. I don’t know. 221

Thus, reality is portrayed in some instances in movies. Seeking revenge is real, but the extremes [pursuing someone overseas] one would go to to achieve it is an individual choice. Gary believed that Tarik was following a principal adhered to by Black people, but does acknowledge that everyone possesses a natural tendency to avenge a wrong done to someone close to you. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

In this category Gary compared this novel with the movie Star Wars, compared Tarik lessons on anger to athletic competition, and highlighted the elements of a good novel. Tarik did not meet all of Gary’s initial expectations.

When questioned about this, his response was:

...It’s kinda like mixed Star Wars and King Arthur or something like that. Because like he has Docao and Nongo as his teacher[s] and in Return of the Jedi it was Yoda [the teacher). He [Tarik] has a sword and he fights knights, like in King Arthur,

Cause he [Docao] taught him [Tarik] how to fight like, ah, Yoda and Ben Kenobi. He [Yoda] taught him [Luke Skywalker] to fight. And Yoda used like different forms, like different words, like Nongo and Docao used. Like Nongo, he like, he’s more wise; because he’s been around long like Yoda. And Ben Kenobi, he was just like a warrior, like Docao. It was just like that. Like Ben Kenobi taught Luke Skywalker how to fight and Docao taught lessons to Tarik. And like Nongo, he was like Yoda; wise, taught him [Tarik] things in words and different lessons.

The similarities of the mentors’ roles in Tarik and Return of the Jedi were easily recognized by Gary. One of the first lessons taught Tarik by his mentors was to control the anger he had for El Muerte. In discussing the necessity of this lesson, Gary compares it with athletic competitiveness.

Cause your anger can defeat you. It will get you to lose. Like if you are in a game... [and] you hate somebody on the other team. If they’re still keeping [their mind] on the game....They’re [going to] win probably. They’re going [to win] against you cause you’re not thinking, you’re just using your anger. 222

That’s just like your boy [Tarik]. That’s [anger] the first thing that came to his mind. Gary believed that although you may hate someone on the opposing team, you should always remain focused on the game. If you let your anger dominate your thinking, then your opponent will probably beat you.

Finally, in discussing his experience with other books of this genre, Gary again mentions King Arthur and contrasts the literary elements of both novels.

No, not really. This was the first one. King Arthur was kinda. He really got killed in the end....He didn’t come out on top. This [Tarik] was interesting. This the best book we’ve [he and his brother] ever read.

It [Tarik] got a lot of adventure and a moral that good always defeat evil, and like if someone does something to you, you should get them back; like revenge.

It had a lot of adventure, action, drama, comedy; it’s all like that. That’s why I thought it was a good book. Cause it said in one part he jumped off Zinzinbadio and ran into the grass and relieved himself. It was like, "Dog, I didn’t think I was going to ever find a tree!” The fact that Tarik triumphs over El Muerte without losing his life and the inclusion of comic episodes as Tarik having to relieve himself were primary reasons Gary enjoyed Tarik more than Khg Arthur.

Conclusions

The most outstanding characteristic of the responses in this section was

Gary’s connections of events from the story to experiences in his life. The triggering of remembrances of his grandfather’s wisdom and protection from his encounter with Nongo in the reading. Stria’s ability to hold her own in a fight brought images of the women in his family possessing similar skills, and Tarik being forced to fight in some instances contrasts to his ability to hold his own in a

“cracking” session and ready to defend himself if the “cracking” gets out of hand. 223

Additionally, note must be taken of the contrasts Gary makes between the elements of the novel within the genre and across mediums. Tank reminds him of

his reading of King Arthur. The concept of knighthood was the most identifiable characteristic. The Star Wars movies, especially The Return of the Jedi (1983), was readily recalled due to the introduction of the characters Yoda and Ben

Kenobi who served as mentors to the protagonist Luke Skywalker who becomes a Jedi knight of the "Force" in this episode. Gary compares Yoda and Ben Kenobi to Nongo and Docao overseeing the training and development of Luke and Tarik into knights to avenge the deaths of their loved ones by defeating Darth Vader and El Muerte, thus saving their respective “worlds” from a threat that extends

beyond personal retributions.

Imaro Booktalk

Biographical Data The data in this section is very limited. Table 19 shows the codable data that emerged only for two categories: Negative Attitude Toward Reading (B3) and Single-Parent Household (BI ). This is due to the unfinished reading of the

novel. 224

Table 19 - Gary's Biographical Data: Imaro

Biographical Data Categories No. Responses % B1. Single-Parent Household 3 60.0 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 2 40.0 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 0 0.0 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 0 0.0 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 0 0.0 B7. literature Background 0 0.0 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library _Q 0.0 Total 5 100.0

His explanation of the unfinished reading is coded in category (83) and stated below. When asked if he would complete the book on his own, he stated:

...I was, like, w as busy, kind of....I made some money. I was doing things for the summer...! was just having fun. When I got the chance to do something it takes me off the book [sic]. Like I go outside or like if my mother went out of town. She went out of town when you gave me the book, so I went over my grandmother’s and I took the book with me. But I didn't really read it, because I have, I got cousins over there, about five or six of them...so I just really played. I played basketball and went riding around. If I could do something outside and if it’s a good day I want to go outside, so I just go....Uke if this was school I wouldn’t have really did that because this was school work, this was a grade. This dependent on if I pass or not. But this is summer time. It’s kind of the same, like I always read a little time to time. But its just like I’ll just go outside, it’s a good day, everybody leaving; so I go with them. Although Gary doesn’t state that he didn't enjoy reading, other factors such as his mother leaving town, playing with his cousins, enjoying summer 225 days, and the similarities to a school assignment placed the reading of this novel low on his list of priorities. In the following response he refers to others' opinion of reading that influences him somewhat:

Yes, it's a good book. It's interesting. It depends if you’re going to get into it. Like if you serious enough to read. Like I'm not that into books, yet. I think I maybe get into it like my mother. She said that she was always into books. But I talk to other people and they say they didn't really get into reading until they were teenagers. Single-Parent Household Several of Gary's responses makes reference to he and his brothers being raised by their mother as Imaro was for a limited time until she had to depart from the tribe. In this response he refers to his mother’s dual role as both mother and father. He stated that she is, “Both Parents, really to us. We see our dad, kind of. They not together though. She does a lot for us.” Additional references will be discussed below as the remainder of Gary's responses are analyzed in the

Response section.

Response Data Data emerged for 50% of the categories in this section. Foremost among these categories is Connecting With Text (R3) with 45.5% of the data. See Table

20 for the categories for which there was no codable data and distribution of remaining percentages. 226

Table 20 - Gary's Response Data: Imaro

Resoonse Data Categories No. Responses % Rl. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 0 0.0 R2. Connecting With Characters 6 23.1 R3. Coimecting With Text 13 50.0 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 0 0.0 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 0 0.0 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 0 0.0 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 1 3.8 R8. Positive A&ican American Images 1 3.8 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 0 0.0 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts _5 m Total 26 100.0

Connecting With Characters

As in the discussion olTarik, Gary makes personal connections to the experiences of Imaro. The following response was a result of being asked about characters he may not have liked in the story:

No. Like som e of the village members probably. C ause they made his mom leave and that’s not right....Like me and my brother we need our parents. We need our mom because she tells us what to do and when we need to do things and stuff like that. Just like, she been like both really to us.

[Both] Parents, really to us. We see our dad, kind of. They not together though. She does a lot for us. 227

Gary does not specifically dislike any one of the characters in the story,

although he did not think it was right for the tribal members to send Imaro’s

mother, Katisa, away, thus separating mother and young son. Parental guidance

and support is a necessity. He and his brother only have their mother, but she

serves as both mother and father.

In the response below, Gary compares Imaro’s mother with his:

...she [his mother] has a strong backbone and will...She [Imaro’s mother] took care of one. Our mom is taking care of three. She works and she did her best that she can for us [sic]. I think that’s what Imaro’s mother was trying to do for him. He saw both mothers as strong women and they were doing their best to look out for the best interest of their children. When asked if he felt as one of the characters in the story, Gary stated:

I don’t really know because the way I was brought up, I was brought up with my mother; with women really....I probably would be affected more, just like imaro. He didn’t really know his father, I knew my father a little. Like when I was young, he was there. But I can’t remember it, when I was young. I don’t have a good memory.

He connects with Imaro again through the concept of parentage. He refers to his mother and other women in his family raising him and memories of his father presence when he was a young child. Connecting With Text

The responses in this category continue to contain references to Imaro’s

parentage in addition to the action and adventure portrayed in the story and clarification of some of the details of the story. In response to questioning of whether the story read thus far was as he expected it to be, Gary stated:

Yes, cause in one part he [Imaro] fought another boy from his tribe or something like that and he was fighting him and in the story they said [sic] detail of what happened and why he started fighting the boy. The boy was talking about his mother and his gnombe or something like that. 228

Gary w as asked to clarify what was a gnombe. He identified it and its importance to Imaro in the following response:

Friend, it’s like his animal. It’s like cattle. Like a cow or something like that. He gave it its own name...that meant friend. Because that was the only friend he had besides his mother and she got kicked out the village.

Gary was also asked whether the story line could have taken place anywhere and he stated that:

It’s probably still happening now. Like the mother leaving the son and they don’t know who their father is. That’s probably how kids need to get [sic] adopted, their mothers just abandoned them. Cause they can’t take the responsibility. Gary recognized that Imaro fought to defend his mother’s name and the only friend he had among the tribe, his cow; after his mother departed. He believed that the story line was one of the present as well as the past as portrayed in the novel, although he mistakenly implies that Imaro’s mother couldn’t accept the responsibility of raising him; thus abandoning him. Race/Cultural Factors Important In discussing the setting of the story, Gary identified two countries and characteristics associated with them.

Africa. Like South America. No, not South America. Like never mind. I was going to say, I can’t remember the name of it. It’s like in the rain forests and stuff like that. Like it said panthers and lions. It had to be some place like that. Couldn’t have been the United States.

He seemed to be uncertain of where the story takes place, although he identified the terrain and its inhabitants. Positive African American Images

Gary found the portrayal of Imaro’s mother, Katisa, positive and compared his mother to her. ...she [his mother] has a strong backbone and will... She [Imaro’s mother] took care of one. Our mom is taking care of three. She works and she did 229

her best that she can for us [sic]. I think that's what Imaro’s mother was trying to do for him.

Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

The responses in this category primarily focused upon the similarities and differences between Imaro and Tank. One of these was the use of African terms in the story. Gary found them to be puzzling but manageable. He states, “Some of the names like in the other book Imaro, I mean Tan7c...like you can improvise if you can’t pronounce the name.”

When asked if he had read other books like this one he referred to Taiik.

I would say Tarik s kinda like this book, but it’s not really like this book; because it takes place in different times. It’s like Tarik comes in when they got armor and horses. They got different villains. Tarik, he was raised in an African village, but he was taken away; it was like slavery or something like that. He was took away for a game. Imaro was raised, he was raised in the jungle. He was just raised that way and his mother was taken away.

He identifies Tarik as being similar although he does not specify in what manner.

He does enumerate the differences though.

The one response that deviates from a comparison with Tarik is a statement by Gary that refers to Imaro’s warrior training. He stated that he didn’t find anything strange in the story, especially this part. His response was:

...cause some people say this is kinda like an African tribe. I read somewhere that some African tribes just take their sons out until they learn to be a warrior. No matter how long it takes they just do it. Gary brings some reality to the story by recalling previously read factual information pertaining to African warrior training. Gary’s final response in this category refers to his preference for one of the books. He stated, “I think I liked Tarik better because I finished reading the book. Maybe I will like this one better if I finish it. ” 230

Conclusion

Parentage is the most outstanding concept evident in Gary’s responses.

This was a prevailing theme in the novel, imaro’s mother, Katisa, leaves him at age five with her tribe to go through warrior training. Her departure is due to

Imaro’s father not being a tribal member. This was a major affront to the dignity of the tribe and could be only assuaged by her exiling herself from the tribe. Gary believed that this was an example of a strong woman. He sees this strength in his mother and it is exhibited in her raising of her sons without their father. The father figure is also a distinguishing factor in that Imaro did not know his and although Gary did know his father from his earlier childhood, his father had not been a part of the family since that period of time. Thus, Gary felt some connection to Imaro in this manner.

Summary Interview Data

The responses in this section reflects Gary's assessment of both novels

[Tarik and Imaro ] and his participation in this study. Gary and his brother were interviewed together following their final individual booktalks of Imaro. To establish consistency in the reporting of the data, each boy’s response was isolated in order to facilitate discussion within their section of the data analysis.

Biographical Data Codable data emerged for four of the response categories in this section:

Vicarious Experiences With Literature (84, 28.6%), African American Literature

Experience/Exposure (85, 14.2%), Sense of Personal/Cultural History (86,

28.6%), and Literature Background (87,28.6%). See Table 21. 231

Table 21 - Gary's Summary Data

Biographical Data Categories ______No. Responses

BI. Single-Parent Household 0 0.0 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 2 28.6 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 1 14.3 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 2 28.6 B7. Literature Background 2 28.6 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library _o 0.0 Total 7 100.0

Vicarious Experiences With Literature When asked what his thoughts were about fantasy after participating in the study, Gary stated that, “fantasy can be real; some things.” His example of this reality was stated In the following response:

Well, some things, like in this book [Imaro] you can tell how a mother leaves her child and let the villagers take care of it. It;s like how foster parents takes care of a kid they adopt. Or how people sometimes finds cats and pick them up off the street.

Gary believed that fantasy could reflect real aspects of life in some things. The adoption of children and animals was an an example of this concept. African American Uterature Experience/Exposure

In this conversation, Gary mentioned that he recommended Tarik to his friends because he enjoyed reading the novel. The investigator asked him if he 232 would like to see similar books at school. His response was that he would and then explained why.

...Its like we do reports and last year we used to do reports for different periods at school. Like every nine weeks or every grading period, we had to write a report on a book or on a story. But most of the books of that we did [sic], they were White stories. Gary did note one exception. He had an African American teacher and this teacher introduced him to Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin In The Sun (1959).

However, he remembered this teacher for much more than novels as revealed in the following response given when asked about this teacher use of Black books:

Black books? Not really. It depends. Like some stories we did. Yeah, Raisin In The Sun. We did that book, that story. We did things to help us get jobs. Howto help us in life. Introduced us to different images...

Sense of Personal/Cultural History Continued discussion of his literature experiences within school, Gary expanded upon what he saw as a shortcoming to his school experiences after the subject is introduced by his brother.

We have one month for Black History, but all the rest of the months are for White History; so it don’t really help. It’s just like a little part and some teachers tell you stuff that you already knew [sic]. They don’t tell you anything new. They’re mostly all White teachers.

The discrepancy in the degree of emphasis upon academic concepts introduced in school that have African or European origins were a concern for the brothers. As stated, Gary’s response is a comprehensive assessment of school.

However, he is more specific on the aspect of literature. The following response by Gary is a result of his brother mentioning of their exposure to Black books only during Black History Month and the need for a variety of cultural books in the classroom: 233

Not all White I.... Not all one race! It’s just like, more people would be interested in school. Because some people don’t like school. They [teachers] don’t tell you enough about your history or it’s boring because the kind of teachers they have or the subject that they always talking about; it's like like you already know half of it. Some people might know more than the teachers think they know or they want to know about Black history or a different culture. Gary advocates the inclusion of, not only more Black history, but different cultural histories as well. He seeks credit for what students already know about their histories and desires to have that knowledge and knowledge of other cultures increased. He believes that this focus in the curriculum will keep students interested in school. Literature Background

Gary was asked to explain what it was that he liked about Tarik since he enjoyed it and recommended it for others to read. He stated that it was “ the action, drama, things like that....how you can really tell about the characters in the book. That’s why I really liked the book." Thus, Gary thought that the book was well written. He was also asked if he would like to read more Black fantasy novels and his response was, “Yes; fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, any of them! Just a s long as it’s a new Black author or if not exactly black, anyone.” Gary desired to read

Black literature in all the genres. If the authors are not Black, then anyone as long as it is produced. 234

Response Data

Data emerged for three categories in this section: Connecting With Text

(R3, 21.4%), Race/Cultural Factors Important (R7, 57.2%), and Positive African

American Images (R8, 21.4%). As reflected in Table 3, Race/Cultural Factors was by far the leading response area.

Table 22 - Gary's Summary Interview: Response Data

Resoonse Data Catégories No. Responses % Rl. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 0 0.0 R2. Coimecting With Characters 0 0.0 R3. Coimecting With Text 3 21.4 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 0 0.0 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 0 0.0 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 0 0.0 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 8 57.2 R8. Positive African American Images 3 21.4 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 0 0.0 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts _û 0-0 Total 14 100.0 235

Connecting WithText When asked to reflect upon the experience of reading the two novels as perhaps learning experiences, Gary commented upon the prosperity of life. He stated,

That other people have it worse than you and other people's lives are harder, how they’ve been through more traumas than you. It’s like when you think your life is bad, remember how other people got it.” Further inquiry into this concept led Gary to state. That makes you, like, feel you can accept it more. It’s like you might as well forget about it. Like, to them, you might have it made." Race/Cultural Factors Important Gary stated earlier that he had not previously encountered Black fantasy literature, thus the investigator asked what were his thoughts about this genre after reading Imaro and Tarik. His response was:

I think that Black fantasy is good for Black people. Black youth, because we’ll get more into it. Like instead of reading about White people, like Tarzan or like King Arthur. We get more into it when it’s about Black people. In Tarik, I really got into that book because I thought it was real interesting and I started telling my friends and other people that they should read this book; because I thought it was good. Gary found himself more involved with these novels and was eager to recommend them to others, especially Tank. It seems that Tarzan nor King

Arthur were as interesting to him as Tarik and he credits the race of the protagonist as the reason for this interest. As part of his final comments about the study, Gary commented on the value of reading African American fiction. He stated, “I think it’s good. I think that it’s good for young Black people and even older people. I think it’s good for everyone.” 236

Positive African American Images

In the discussion above of the biographical data, Gary mentioned his

African American teacher introducing him to the novel A Raisin In The Sun and indicating that there was another objective the teacher had for the students:

...We did things to help us get jobs. How to help us in life. lntroduce[d] to different images. Like you can clean up your act when you trying to get a job, so that you will be prepared to get a job. It's like you can be wearing jeans, but when you trying to get a job put on a suit maybe. Get your hair cut....How to present yourself so that you'll get a job. That's what our teacher taught us. And he made us, we did different skits. You would get a partner and you ask your partner a question. Like you’re qualifying for a job. Then you'll switch around and you'll be the person trying to get the job and they'll be asking you questions. The teacher did introduce his class to African American literature, but what Gary recalled more from the class was the teacher's concern that the students prepare themselves for future employment to enhance their lives.

Conclusions Gary's responses in this section expressed his disappointment with his exposure to African American literature in his school experiences. Black History Month observance in school was viewed as not being particularly effective. African American literature was utilized at this time, but it was most often previously read selections. Also, rarely was exposure to the literature continued after February.

He wants new Black authors and books across the genres. He wants more exposure to Black history and other cultures to increase interest in school. He wants teachers to recognize that students want more of this knowledge instead of just more of the same. 237

Gary’s response data indicates that he found African American fiction

more interesting and thus he was able to become more involved in the reading of the novels. One aspect of this involvement was the realization that one should

not bemoan the traumatic experiences of life because another individual’s traumas are perhaps worse. Finally. Gary admired his African American teacher

due to the teacher’s exposing the students to experiences that would help them

when they start seeking employment.

Jerry's Case Profile

The Legend of Tarik

Biographical Data Jerry is an African American male, 14 years old who had completed the

seventh grade at the time of the study. He lives with his divorced mother and an identical twin brother (81). Jerry and his brother, Gary, volunteered to participate

in this study and both chose Tarik as the first novel to read. Three interview sessions of approximately fifty minutes each were required to discuss Jerry’s

responses to this novel. 238

Table 23 - Jerry's Biographical Data: Tarik

Biographical Data Categories No. Responses % B1. Single-Parent Household I 7.1 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading I 7.1 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 1 7.1 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 2 14.3 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 3 21.4 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 2 14.3 B7. Literature Background 2 14.3 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library J l 14.3 Total 14 100.0

Jerry stated that he liked reading. The investigator asked him about his enjoyment of reading. His response was:

When I pick up the book or go to the store and buy it....It depends on what the subject is....lt has to be like something with adventure and action and stuff like that. I like that instead of like reading about Sherlock Holmes or something, cause it’s too slow. It’s not enough. It gets boring (82).

There were also times when he didn’t enjoy reading:

...Sometime when I go to school I’m tired and I can’t read. And the teacher hands you a book and we read this many pages and tell what it’s about. And she tell you, she tell you what to do and I’m sitting there. I’m almost half asleep now. I’m still trying to read the book. Reading and reading. I’m half way through it, just in the middle, and I fall asleep. I can’t finish the book. That’s why I hate reading when I’m sleeping cause I never get done with it. Thus, in order to enjoy reading Jerry has to select the book, it has to have adventure and action, and he must not be tired when asked to read. 239

When asked if he had a favorite book or books, he stated that he liked,

“...just about any kind of comic book....And what else?....Tom Sawyer books." Of these, one of the comic books had a Black protagonist called Brother Man (B5).

In his response as to why he liked these books he stated that, “...Sometimes the fantasies in the comic books, you could just wish that you could do some of the stuff them people do. Cause you can get away with so much stuff (B4).“ He had a difficult time recalling African American books he had read in school. However, he recalled reading biographical information on African

Americans.

I don't know. I don’t know if we did read any books, but I know that we read some ah, like, I don’t know what you call them; that had little piece of paper with ah something about they life and stuff on them. It wasn’t a book though....It was real life people like Thurgood Marshall...and Malcolm X and other people and boxers...Old people and people who are still alive now (65). The investigator asked Jerry when did he read this information and he stated that it w as during Black History Month. When asked whether he preferred reading this information, he stated, “Ah yeah....For I can know [sifij.-.About the person or about history....Black history (B6)." When asked if there was African American literature in his home, Gary’s response was, “Yeah a couple of them [are] about Black people (B8).” He also stated that he got some of this literature from the public library. He saw many Black books, especially biographies, during Black History Month. His visits to the library were more for his own reading purposes rather than completing a school assignment (B6). 240

Response Data

Table 24 - Jerry’s Response Data: Tarik

ResDonse Data Catesories No. Responses % Rl. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 1 3.7 R2. Connecting With Characters 8 29.6 R3. Connecting With Text 8 29.6 R4. Gender Role Distinctions I 3.7 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 4 14.8 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 0 0.0 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 2 7.4 R8. Positive African American Images 1 3.7 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 0 0.0 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts _2 JL4 Total 27 100.0

Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics The data for this category emerged from Jerry’s response to his discovery that The Legend of Tarik was about an African hero. His response was: Really from the cover and the names and stuff. It didn’t sound like no English person. And how they describe where they came from, the rivers and stuff. You can just picture in your mind.

Like a village in Africa or somewhere along there, with rivers and [the] sun real hot. You can just picture that quicker than you picture a place in England or something [sic]. 241

Jerry had no difficulty identifying the setting of the story. Elements in the story such as the use of authentic African terms and geography made it easy for him.

Connecting With Characters The focus of the responses in this category was upon the harsh treatment and yet fortitude of the characters. The death of loved ones at the hand of a cruel individual was immediately picked up on by Jerry.

At first, when I first started the book, I knew who the evil people were and I knew what they had done wrong and everything soon as I started reading it. I thought it was real wrong for Tarik to see his brother and his mother killed. I think that’s one of the things that made him want revenge. I know I would if I saw somebody that I was close to killed....Then I thought Tarik, he was real brave and patient cause I couldn’t did that [sic]. I might, I know I would have went for revenge, but I wouldn’t have been that patient to wait and go into training and stuff and get all ready. I probably would have started up in my mind and went straight ahead and probably would have got killed too....He was lucky that ah Nongo or that other one, Docao, that found him and helped him to his health cause he was hurt. And he was real lucky that he had somebody kind beside him... Jerry admires Tank’s patience in not immediately setting out for revenge, but also recognizes the role his mentors played in this exhibition of patience. In that, Tarik is lucky due to Jerry’s desire for immediate revenge if he was in Tank’s place. Of the other characters, he describes what he sees as their most outstanding characteristics and connects them to people he knows or to characteristics displayed by others he knows.

Stria, she was kind of mysterious...

I didn’t like El Muerte cause he killed too many people....And ah who else? Ah, that baker [Pen], he was too sneaky. He just wanted to stay with them for the money. He wasn’t a friend to them or anything....Ah, that monster; that monster in the water. Ugh, how he killed that fox. Ugh, that was nasty. 242

Stria reminded me of my cousin, she the kind that do everything by herself....He [Tarik] was brave enough to do something about it, but wouldn’t rush into it. That reminded me of a lot of people. They brave enough to something about it, make a difference. But they wouldn’t rush into it without a plan and a backup plan. Gary also saw one of the monsters Tarik had to face as being a relevant character in the story and commented on the description of the monster killing a fox. Connecting With Text In a similar stance, Jerry made connections with the text in places where he thought some of the killings were irrational. When asked to respond to any part of the text that caught his attention, Jerry stated:

The sad part when El Muerte killed Docao and Nongo, that’s sad. I didn’t like that part. Cause those are the people from the beginning, during the times when Tarik was hurting and....getting him into training. Helping with the sword and sending him on the quests so he could get the weapons that he needed and help him rebuild hisself [sic] and gave him somewhere to stay and stuff. And he [El Muerte] just killed them with ease and didn’t even care about it. Jerry saw Docao and Nongo as good friends as well as mentors to Tarik and the ease and uncaring manner in which they were killed by El Muerte didn’t make sense. Even more senseless was the slaying of the captives in the initial opening of the novel. Jerry asks:

The soldiers when they tried to jump him [Tarik]; yeah that was necessary [killing]. But them slaves man, all they were armed with was a stick and he [El Muerte] had a sword. What they gonna do with a stick? They were gonna hit him, what they leave? A little scratch, maybe. One of those little white scratches on your skin and that's it. Or maybe a blister. Ain’t nothing else. They can’t cut you. Unless you were just gonna let them hit you. Put the sword down and “hit mel“ They couldn’t do nothing to them, the army.

In discussing parts of the text that surprised him he mentioned Stria’s departure at the end of the story. He was a little surprised that she decided to go her own way. He response was, “And Stria left; that’s one of those things that 243 kinda surprised me....Cause, ah, I don’t see her kinda close with Tarik, but she act kinda alright, I guess.” Jerry noted that Tarik and Stria had not really established a friendship, but they had been together as comrades-in-arms due to their similar objective of defeating El Muerte. Jerry also found the ending to be meaningful in that Tarik was portrayed in a noble and humble manner. He stated:

...And how Tarik was not selfish. He didn't take all the gifts that the townspeople gave him. He said these gifts are not being life [his remaining days of life was gift enough]. He didn't really have nothing to fall back on really. He didn't know where he was going to go after that. He didn't have no family cause all of them were dead. And Stria left....And Capa he had his wife to go back to... Jerry viewed Tarik's refusal to take the gifts from grateful citizens for the defeat of El Muerte as an unselfish act, especially when Tarik was in a strange land with no family to return to and his friends going their separate ways. Finally, the issue of killing was again a topic of concern. This time the focus was on the description of it by the author. Jerry provided suggestions for the author. He stated, “Ah, a little more action and not as much killing. But not as much detail of the killing. It could be killing, but not as easy to see when people [are] dying. “ Gender Role Distinctions

Stria participation in the warrior training was a learning experience for

Tarik as well as Jerry. His response to this part of the text was:

...That girls are equal to boys, I learned that. He [Tarik] didn't think she was equal to him cause that was a man's Job. He thought he was going to whoop her and send her about her way cause she was a girl. He thought her place was at home. Then when he went up against her, she fought him good and he had to fight his best just to get out of there. She showed him that she was equal to a man and there was no reason for him to treat her some special way. 244

Jerry enjoyed this scene in the text. He thought that it was funny and full of action. Knowledge of Literary Genres

In this category Jerry identified some elements of fantasy and has some difficulty understanding others. His response to the cover revealed familiarity with this genre. His response was:

I thought it would be...something like it is. One of those books with knights and stuff in it. People have to fight a lot. People getting hurt. This book is a little different....The cover it kinda explain most of it, kinda, if you just look at it and you see Tarik on that big black horse and he’s covered with, ah, that head piece and stuff that he wear. Shows the sword clear...and shows, if you look close in the background, all the knights after him...So if Tarik is the good guy then those have to be the bad guys. But you didn’t know that his horse would have to be fast, like faster than any of the other horses. I liked it. The presence of knights, swords, helmets and clothing, fighting, and good guys against the bad guys were indicators of the genre. Good versus evil was also a recognizable element of fantasy for Jerry. He discussed the ending of the novel which depicts the spirit of El Muerte being pursued and killed by Tarik’s spirit. Jerry response was, “I like the way they ended it saying Tarik, they say that El Muerte’s spirit roams...and a black knight, everywhere the spirit goes, he goes and kill it....That good always conquer over evil... ” The elements of fantasy that Jerry found difficult to understand at times were the didacticism used by the mentors in the novel. He described it with the following statement:

All those stories and riddle kind of things that Nongo told him [Tank]. The stories that he told; that puzzled me sometimes. I didn’t know what to think. I w as like hum [questioning facial display], what’s he talking about? I had to keep reading and reading. I had to read it over just to understand it cause I didn’t know what he was talking about. I would say,“why did this 245

person put this in this book? Jerry did later state that he understood why these stories were a part of the novel.

Racial/Cultural Factors important

When asked about the setting of the story, Jerry mentioned items such as skin color and temperature as indicators of the country where the story may have taken place. He stated:

...Probably in Egypt. Probably around Africa, somewhere around there. Egypt or Africa cause everyone is dark skinned and if it was somewhere like, ah, if it was England or Australia they wouldn't be like that. It would be hot, but not that hot as it was there. And people wouldn't be that same color skin as suggested in this book. Dark-skinned people and very hot temperatures identified the setting as Africa or Egypt. The separation of Egypt from the continent of Africa would seem to be an incorrect statement. However, Egypt has been portrayed in some mediums as not being a part of Africa due to past cultural biases. Positive African American Images Data for this category emerged from Jerry's response to a question about what he found interesting in novel. He talked about Tarik being the main character of the story. He described Tarik as follows:

...Tarik was the main character. They talked about him a lot. He was brave, they made that clear. He was big, but he wasn't big; giant big! He was big enough, but he wasn't stronger than any other man. But he had the courage. He had enough courage to get the job done. Jerry recognized that although Tarik was cast as a hero, he was an ordinary man with courage to get the job done. 246

Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

As stated earlier; Jerry was fascinated by the horse, Zinzinbadio, that was the focus of one of Tarik’s quests. In the following response, Jerry’s fascination was the description in the text of the horse’s creation:

Zinzinbadio, yeah, I like that name. Zinzinbadio! How he [Great Spirit-god] made the horse out of the dirt. I can just picture that. Cause like how they say in the Bible, like how Adam and Eve were made. About how they breathed the breath of life into them. How the horse was made. You could Just see it in my mind [sic]. Jerry contrasted the creation of Zinzinbadio by the Great Spirit with the creation of Adam by God:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [Genesis 2:7].

A long time ago, in the beginning of the beginning...there was a being called Si, neither man nor god, but a force greater than the mind can grasp. It was Si who looked to the heavens and challenged the Great Spirit to a test of powers....When the Great Spirit saw this, he reached down and took into his hand the dust beneath Si’s feet, and from this dust he created a living creature above all others, and he raised it above his head and called it Man....When the Great Spirit saw this, he was so vexed that he changed Si into a horse with no memory of his former greatness, and named him Zinzinbadio [The Legend of Tarik. p. 66]. Thus, it was the circumstances surrounding the creation of the horse rather than the creation itself that Jerry refers to.

Conclusions Self-selection of books that contained elements of action and adventure are influential in Jerry’s attitude toward reading. When he is able to exercise this freedom of reading choice his attitude was positive toward reading. However, when teachers assigned the reading and the questions that were to be answered 247 after the reading to assess comprehension and he came to school tired, unable to complete the reading, he didn't enjoy reading.

Jerry could not recall reading African American books in school, but he did recall reading informational sheets on African Americans during Black History

Month. He recalled having African American literature at home and most of what he read in this genre w as obtained from the public library after seeing displays during Black History Month. Jerry made strong connections to the characters and situations portrayed in the text. The killing of Tarik’s family, the captives, and his mentors were viewed as merciless and irrational. Jerry stated that he would have sought immediate revenge, but saw where patience and preparation were necessary. The geography and use of authentic terms helped Jerry recognize the setting as

African. He was also able to identify elements of the genre in the text and contrast some elements of the text with other texts he had previously read.

Imaro Booktalk Biographical Data

The data in this section is limited (see Table 25). Codable data emerged only for two categories. Negative Attitude Toward Reading (B3) and Literature

Background (B7). This is due to the unfinished reading of the novel. 248

Table 25 - Jerry's Biographical Data: Imaro

Biographical Data Categories No. Responses % B1. Single-Parent Household 0 0.0 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 2 66.7 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 0 0.0 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 0 0.0 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 0 0.0 B7. Literature Background 1 33.3 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library _0 0.0 Total 3 100.0

Jerry stated that he falls asleep sometime when he reads. He found the book to be interesting up to the point read so the investigator asked him why he didn't finish the book. His response was similar to his brother’s.

It is, it’s pretty interesting. But if I wouldn’t have went outside and all that, I think I could have got this book finished. I didn’t think about reading that much. I just wanted to play with my friends too much and I didn’t take the responsibility to read the book. Sometimes I did think about reading it, but my friends talked me out of it sometimes. I shouldn’t let them do that to me, but sometimes they want to go somewhere [and say] “I’m leaving, leaving “ and everyone starts to leave, i’m here by myself, I just leave on with them. I shouldn’t let them intimidate me like that (B3). Jerry and his brother were influenced by their friends to go outside and play, thus the reading of the novel became secondary to enjoying the summer days. What is unique to Jerry’s response is that he perceives his attitude toward reading as being one of irresponsibility and he believes that he should have been aware of the intimidation by his friends. 249

Literature Background

In discussing the setting of Imaro, Jerry explained why he believed a setting is important to a story. He stated that, “...it would be hard to visualize what it looks like.” Although limited, his single response provided some insight into his previous experience with literature.

Response Data

Codable data emerged for only 40% of the categories in this section. These categories are Knowledge of Historical Periods (R1), Connecting With Characters (R2), Connecting With Text (R3), and Comparative or Contrastive

Elements Within and Across Texts (RIO). See Table 26.

Table 26 - Jerry's Response Data: Imaro

Response Data Categories No. Responses % R l. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accoiripanying Characteristics 2 10.0 R2. Connecting With Characters 5 25.0 R3. Connecting With Text 6 30.0 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 0 0.0 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 0 0.0 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 0 0.0 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 0 3.8 R8. Positive African American Images 0 3.8 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 0 0.0 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts J7 mo Total 20 100.0 250

Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics

Jerry associated the warrior training as probable experiences of the past and present Africa. He response was that,"...like people being trained and stuff to be warriors and stuff like that. That’s probably still happening In some places In

Africa."

Further discussion of the setting revealed that Jerry did not think the story could take place anywhere else other than Africa. He stated, "cause it couldn't have happened here In America or In England. That would be a whole different story! Or Russia. Where are you going to find a jungle In Russia? Not fsic] that I know of." Connecting With Characters

When asked whether there were things In the text that caught his attention he referred to the cover illustration and a fight between Imaro and Kanoko, one of

Imaro’s childhood antagonists. His response was:

The cover mostly; that started me out wanting to read It Sunday. And then in the middle, when I started to read It and well, when he got In a fight with this other boy when they were training. Learning how to fight and all this other stuff. He punched him and this other guy fell Into the grass, that caught my attention! The action of the book is what Jerry found most appealing.

Another Incident he connected to was Imaro’s mother leaving the tribe. He stated that, “When his mother had to leave, that’s kind of sad..." This was a part of the story that he didn’t like. Connecting With Text

Jerry referred back to Imaro’s training when asked were there parts of the book that bored him. He response was,"..just going through it, cause he didn’t; there wasn’t no fighting or nothing. I like the fighting In the book. But when he 251 had, what he had to go through to learn how to fight and all that stuff [was boring].” He did admit to recognizing the purpose of the training. He response was, “Yeah, he gotta learn how to fight or he going to get beat up and stuff."

When asked whether he had an opportunity to get to know what the characters were thinking, he referred to Imaro’s thoughts about his mother’s departure. He stated:

Yeah, when his mother leaves. He’s wondering when all the other boys and girls, I mean, when all the other boys went to go see their parents on that one day and he couldn’t go see his, cause his was gone. His mom left. Throughout the book Imaro is referred to as “son-of-no-father” as a means of disgrace by the people of the tribe. His mother never revealed to the tribe nor

Imaro who his father was. All that was known was that he wasn’t a member of the tribe, thus the necessity of her exile from the tribe. Only once did Imaro wonder why did she leave him behind and that was on the day of her departure. Thus, once again Jerry adds details to a particular scene from the text.

Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

The data for this section reflects comparisons made with the previously read novel Tarik. Comparisons are made to the similarity of experiences of both protagonists and literary features of the novel. Jerry stated that there wasn’t anything he had read thus far that surprised him, “...because it's kinda like the other book a little bit.” When he was asked to give examples, his response was that, “Both boys have to go through training to learn how to fight and both of them end up not having their mothers with them for one reason or another."

As to the literary features that both authors used, Jerry attempted to confirm his position that the setting of Imaro is Africa and stated, “They got some similar nam es as the other book [Tarik]. Kinda similar names and stuff like the 252 other book. Jungles and stuff." Both Saunders and Myers use of authentic African terms and the jungle as a setting indicated for Jerry that Africa was the setting for both stories. Finally, Jerry related a personal experience that he believed connects in some manner to an experience depicted in Imaro. Jerry stated that, “I got in a fight with one of my friends one time." When asked about his feelings afterwards, his response was:

Kinda bad that we got in a fight in the first place, kinda stupid. I don’t think we should’ve got into a fight. I felt kinda bad cause I know I was going to see him again. And I didn’t want him to be sore at me or nothing and I didn’t want to be sore at him or nothing. Jerry was asked whether he thought Imaro shared similar feelings. He stated that, “I don’t know. He might have been a little hurt inside after he fought. I feel like that after I fight somebody every time."

Conclusions

The responses to Imaro focused upon the historical settings, connections with characters and text, and comparisons between the two novels used in the study. The African setting was easily identified by Jerry due to the authors’ geographical descriptions and the use of authentic terminology interspersed in the text. The departure of the mother was a significant event to Jerry, primarily due to the sadness it evokes. The fighting depicted in the novel provided action enough to keep Jerry interested, but it was also a means of evoking a response in which Jerry assesses his feelings after fighting. 253

Summary Interview Data

The responses in this section reflects Jerry’s assessment of both novels

[Tarik and Imaro ] and his participation in this study. Jerry and his brother Gary were interviewed together following their final individual booktalks of Imaro. To establish consistency in the reporting of the data, each boy’s response for each category was isolated in order to facilitate discussion within their section of the data analysis.

Biographical Data Codable data emerged for four of the response categories in this section:

Vicarious Experiences With Literature (84, 16.7%), African American Literature Experience/Exposure (85,50%), Sense of Personal/Cultural History (86,33.3%).

See Table 27.

Table 27 - Jerry's Summary Interview: Siographical Data

Biographical Data Categories No. Restwnses % B1. Single-Parent Household 0 0.0 B2. Positive Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B3. Negative Attitude Toward Reading 0 0.0 B4. Vicarious Experiences With Literature 1 16.7 B5. African American Literature Experience/Exposure 3 50.0 B6. Sense of Personal/Cultural History 2 33.3 B7. Literature Background 0 0.0 B8. Literature In Home/Personal Library _o 0.0 Total 6 100.0 254

Jerry’s response to what he thought about fantasy after participating in the study was;

That sometimes fantasy, eventhough it can reflect real life, sometimes it can't. Cause sometimes, like, when like he [his brother] said a parent can leave the kid. But there are some things that fantasy....Fantasy can stretch the truth by saying people can change shapes and stuff like that and stuff like that doesn't happen in real life. You don't see people in your days and nights changing shapes (84). Jerry picking up on his brother's introduction of the concept of reality, gives his example of instances in which fantasy reflects real life and those instances when fantasy is fantasy. Responding to the novels featuring African protagonists, Jerry stated that he found the novels more appealing because, "they're not that many fantasies about Black people (B5).“ Relating his feelings about having had the opportunity to read two such fantasies he stated, “...I’m glad we got to read these two books and I wished there w as a little bit more. I’m glad that Black authors got the chance to write their book (B5).“ Jerry discussed his feelings about having these books in school so others can read them. He stated:

Weren’t hardly no Black books except for Black History Month and that was one month for Black history, that’s cold! We should at least have the same amount of Black books as we have White books. Its like if you’re only going to have one Black book, we should have only one White book (B5/B7). He tells how Black books are used primarily in February and the disproportionate use during the rest of the school year. His use of the euphemism and slang term

“that’s cold” expresses his feeling of the injustice of this situation. In the following statement Jerry discussed further his reasoning for the inclusion of more Black books in school: 255

If there were more Black books in the classroom I think more people would know more about Black history. And know what the Black people have accomplished in the past and in the present. Be more up-to-date with things we have done and understand what we re talking about when we want more books and stuff in here; they'll know why. Not necessarily all Blacks. It could be any other race... [Gary: “not all white” ] ...yeah (B6)l

Jerry believed more knowledge would be gained about “The Black Experience” and an awareness would develop of Black kids requests for more Black books and other items in the classroom. Unselfishly, Jerry requests that other cultures be included also and he brothers reaffirms that it must not be about all White materials.

Response Data Data emerged for fifty percent of the categories in this section. As shown in Table 4, the leading category of response was Racial/Cultural Factors

Important (R7). Many of these response were discussed above in the

Biographical section (B5/B6) and are repeated here. 256

Table 28 - Jerry's Summary interview : Response Data

Response Data Categories No. Responses % Rl. Knowledge of Historical Periods and Accompanying Characteristics 0 0.0 R2. Connecting ^ th Characters 3 21.4 R3. Connecting With Text 1 7.1 R4. Gender Role Distinctions 0 0.0 R5. Knowledge of Literary Genres 0 0.0 R6. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant 0 0.0 R7. Race/Cultural Factors Important 7 50.1 R8. Positive A&ican American Images 2 14.3 R9. Racial Role Distinctions 0 0.0 RIO. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts J. 7.1 Total 14 100.0

Connecting With Characters When asked what was most meaningful to him about the two novels, Jerry stated, “In Tarik; when his family was killed and in Imaro, when his mother had to

leave." He went on to explain why this was meaningful to him; Because of the losses they had to deal with, to cope with. I don’t know if I could deal with it if my mother died and my mother had to leave. Because I don’t know where I would go. Cause it would be hard; it would be too hard on me. The loss experienced by the protagonists were more than Jerry believed

he could handle. It is difficult for him to think of what his destiny would be if he

lost his mother. He did state that as Imaro and Tarik did, he would, “...try to deal 257 with and accept the facts that they [parents] were gone. I’d try to go on with my life, but I would always remember though. I know that." Connecting With Text

Commenting on lessons learned from the texts, Jerry’s example was:

...you always complaining about what you don’t have. When you don’t want to do this and that. That you’re hungry. You don’t want to eat this or eat that. When other people don’t have any of that. They don’t have a roof over their head or anything to eat at all. Nor clothes on their backs or any family at all. Or when your brother is getting on your nerve and they don’t have a brother, sister, mother, or father; and you do.

Jerry believes you should be more appreciative of the things life has given you- food, a home, clothes, and family. Race/Cultural Factors Important When asked for any final statements concerning the novels or their participation in the study, Jerry’s response was:

I think that Black fiction books are good for teenagers and adults to read [and] to know that there are Black books out. Because some people just don’t know because it’s not that many. I think that might encourage some people to put out more. Then maybe, somehow in the next few years, there will be a couple more books come out. Jerry believes his participation informed him of more Black books and hopes more become available soon. Positive African American Images

The response for this category was also discussed in the biographical section. Jerry discussed the need for more Black books in the classroom to increase the knowledge of the contributions of Blacks in past and present history.

He also called for a variety of cultures to be included in the classrooms. 258

Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts

The response for this category was also discussed above in the

Connecting With Characters category. Jerry commented upon whether he would be able to cope with the possible loss of his mother as Imaro and Tarik had to.

He contrasted his knowing that he would have to try to go on with life while remembering his mother with the coping methods of the protagonists of the novels.

Conclusions

Jerry gave examples that revealed his understanding of reality and fantasy. He w as also aware of his limited exposure to African/African American fantasy and desired to read more of it. Black History Month continues to possess duality in the school curriculum. It is positive in that African American literature is introduced, yet it disappears after February. This message is not lost on Jerry and he suggests an alternative to make the classroom more culturally inclusive. At the heart of his suggestion is a true sharing of knowledge: A more inclusive classroom throughout the year for all cultures. If this classroom came into existence, Jerry believed the knowledge that would be gained would create an understanding of why this literature is necessary and why Black students ask for more of it. He enjoyed the two fantasy novels and desired to read more. He also hoped more African American literature would be produced soon. Jerry connected with the experience of loss suffered by Imaro and Tarik.

He questioned his ability to cope in a similar situation. He also believed that one of the lessons to be learned from both novels was to appreciate life in whatever 259 condition it is presented, because there are others whose life experiences are little more difficult than yours.

Subjects’ Data Comparisons

In this section, comparisons of data across subjects and novels will be presented. As used in the above discussion of the subjects responses, data is reported in terms of percentages. These analyses begins with the comparisons of responses by each subject to both novels followed by gender comparisons of responses to novels.

Within Subject Comparisons

Table 29 - Response Data Comparisons Across Subjects and Novels

Responses to Novels

NOVELS Imaro Tarik Both Novels

Total %a M Tot^ %a M Total % DIANE 76 40.6 57.6 56 25.2 42.4 132 32.3

TINA 65 34.8 44.5 81 36.5 55.5 146 35.7 GARY 26 13.9 31.0 58 26.1 69.0 84 20.5

JERRY jm . 10.7 42.6 _2% 12.2 57.4 47 11.5 187 100.0 222 100.0 409 100.0

%a - across subject comparison %b - within subject comparison 260

Diane

A total of 132 responses were coded within the response data section from Diane’s booktalks. Imaro elicited 76 responses (57.6%) whereas 56 responses (42.4%) were obtained from the discussion of Tank (see Table 29).

Examination of the categories reveal that 50% of the categories yielded no data for Tank "s booktalk (see Table 8), whereas 80% of the categories for the booktalk on Imaro yielded data (see Table 6). Insight into this difference is given by the subject when she stated her preference for imaro and a lesser degree of engagement with the text than her reading of Tarik as discussed earlier in this chapter.

Tina A total of 146 responses were coded within the response data section from Tina's booktalks. Tarik elicited 81 responses (55.5%) whereas 65 responses (44.5%) were elicited from Imaro "s booktalk (see Table 29). Data was coded for each category as a result of the booktalk of Tank (see Table 12).

Codable data was available for 80% of the categories from Imaro "s booktalk (see

Table 14). As discussed earlier in this chapter; Tina found Imaro to be confusing in situations depicted, seemingly contradictory actions of characters, and a prolonged focus on the protagonist’s emotional state. Thus, her engagement with the text was limited to a lesser degree than her engagement with Tarik. 261

Gary

A total of 84 responses were coded within the response data section from

Gary’s booktalks. Tarik elicited 58 responses (69%) whereas 26 responses

(31%) were elicited from Imaro ‘s booktalk (see Table 29). Examination of the categories reveal that 90% of the categories yielded data for Tarik (see Table

18), whereas 50% of the categories yielded data from Imaro (see Table 20). The difference in the number of responses was due to the unfinished reading of

Imaro. Interest in the novels was not a factor.

Jerry

A total of 47 responses were coded within the response data section from

Jerry’s booktalks. The booktalk of Tarik elicited 27 responses (57.4%), whereas

20 responses (42.6%) were elicited from Imaro ‘s booktalk (see Table 29). Examination of the categories revealed that 80% of the categories yielded data for Tarik (see Table 24), whereas 40% of the categories yielded data from Imaro

(see Table 26). As in the case of his brother, the reading of Im aro w as incomplete and interest was not a factor in this case. This analysis revealed that the novels elicited more total responses from the girls than the boys. A combined total of 131 (32%) responses were recorded for the boys and 278 (68%) for the girls (see Figure 6). 262

Gender Comparisons

32% ■ Response Data

D Boys

68% ■ Girls

Figure 6 - Gender Response Data

Category Comparisons

There are differences within categories as to the number of responses elicited. In Tarik, eight of the ten categories were influential in terms of quantity of response for the girls. Two of the categories [Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant

(R6) and Race/Cultural Factors Important (R7)] had a difference of one response to separate them from the males and one category [Gender Role Distinctions (R4)] had an equal quantity of responses among the genders. All categories were leading categories for the girls in Imaro. Two of the categories [Gender Role

Distinctions (R4) and Positive African American Experiences (R8)] had a difference of one response to separate them from the males. Thus, across both novels, Knowledge of Historical Periods (R1), Connecting With Text (R3),

Knowledge of Literary Genres (R5), Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant (R6), Race/Cultural Factors Important (R7), Racial Role Distinctions (R9), and 263

Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts (R10) were leading response categories for the girls.

Influential categories for the males in Tarik were Connecting With

Characters (R2), and Positive African American Images (R8). The boys shared an equal quantity of responses with the girls for the Gender Role Distinctions

(R4) category and the R8 category had a difference of one response to separate them from the females. Responses to Imaro reveal that there were no significant categories for the boys. However, two of the categories [Gender Role Distinctions (R4), and Positive African American Images (R8)]had only a one response difference between the boys and girls.

Legend of Tarik

Knowledge of Historical Periods (R1): A leading response category the girls. Takesia and Gary provided most of the data for this category. Significant elements they identified were clothing and titles of the characters, weapons, fighting techniques, and the landscape. The subjects recognized that the story was taking place sometime in the past. Connecting With Characters (R2): This was a leading response category for the males. The boys connected the actions of some of the characters in the novels to their family members, friends, and African Americans as a whole. Tina connected with the characters in a similar manner, but in fewer instances. She focused more on understanding the characters actions as did Diane. Again,

Takesia and Gary provided a significant amount of the data for this category

Connecting with Text (R3): This was a significant leading response category for the females. Most of the responses were made by Diane. The boys 264 presented an approximately equal amount of responses. The responses were focused on understanding the text. Authentic terminology, mythical symbolisms, relationships between characters, the quest, and their interest in the book were topics of discussions. Gender Role Distinctions (R4): Although the boys had responses for this category, Tina had as many. Diane’s responses provided no data for this category. The boys’ responses focused on the role of the female character’s role as a warrior. Takesia took note of this role in a similar manner, however she compared the character’s role to other female roles she was familiar with in other books. Knowledge of Literary Genres (R5): Tina and Jerry provided the data for this category and Tina responses greatly outnumbered Jerry’s. She discussed the differences between this fantasy novel and other fantasy that she has read, as well as, this African American novel to other African American literature.

Jerry’s responses focused on the elements of the fantasy genre. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant (R6): Gary and Tina provided data for this category. Tina had one additional response for this category than Gary. He referred to the setting of the story, female characters, and a remark by one of the characters about race. Her responses focused on Tarik’s race and the setting of the story. Race/Cultural Factors Important (R7): The girls had one more response than the boys in this category. Gary and Tina were leading respondents for this category. The role of the Black protagonist as a hero, interest in novel, quality rapport with others within or outside one’s culture, and setting of story, knowledge of one’s culture were topics discussed by the subjects. 2 6 5

Positive African American Images (R8): A leading response category for the boys. Gary and Tina were leading and equal respondents for this category with Diane providing no data for this category. The portrayal of the Black protagonist as a hero, accomplishing dreams, comparison with other African

American literature, and Black heroes in the “real world”. Racial Role Distinctions (R9): A leading category for the girls. Gary and

Tina were respondents for this category with Diane and Jerry providing no data for this category. Comparisons of the behaviors of characters in the novel with real individuals, the role of a Black protagonist as a hero, and class, lifestyles, and education of Blacks. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts (R10); A leading category for the girls. Tina and Diane provided an approximate equal amount of responses. Gary provided most of the data for boys. Comparisons/Contrasts between genres, characters, real people, races, settings, genders, situations, movies, and novels.

Imaro

Knowledge of Historical Periods (R1): Tina and Jerry provided data for this category. She focused on distinguishing between an African or Indian setting and peoples due to the descriptions provided. He focused on distinguishing between a past and present African setting. Connecting With Characters (R2): Diane was the leading contributor to this category. She explored all of the characters and their relationship to Imaro, especially his ill treatment by the tribe. Tina, Gary and Jerry focused on the 266 fighting Imaro was involved in and Imaro’s mother leaving him alone with the tribe.

Connecting with Text (R3): Again, Diane contributed a significant of responses to this category. Gary led for the boys. The focus here was on clarification of aspects of the text and the interest of the book. Diane found some of the characters behaviors strange and Tina thought the text was confusing. Gary focused upon Imora's status as a child without parents, especially a father.

Jerry responded to the fighting Imaro was involved in, the setting, and Imaro’s mother leaving. Gender Role Distinctions (R4): Tina provided the only data for this category. She felt that women were not mentioned enough in the book. Knowledge of Literary Genres (R5): The boys provided no data for this category. Tina thought that the book contained many legends and much magic whereas Diane discussed the elements of fantasy and other readers’ possible responses to it in this book. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant (R6): The girls provided data for this category. Diane’s focus was on the reading of the book rather than who authored the text. Tina’s responses centered on racial characteristics of individuals. Race/Cultural Factors Important (R7): Jerry provided no data for this category. The setting, language, and African American literature were topics discussed by the subjects. Positive African American Images (R8); Diane and Gary provided the data for this category. Gary contrasted his mother’s role with that of Imaro’s mother.

Diane discussed the portrayal of African Americans in this book versus public perceptions. 267

Racial Role Distinctions (R9): Diane provided the data for this category and the topic was the tenacity of women and fighting problems within the race.

Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts (RIO):

Tina was the leading contributor. Comparisons of the two novels and discussions of movies, books, and life that were related to aspects of the novels were the focus of the responses in this category.

Biographical Data

Table 30 - Biographical Data Comparisons

Biographical Data: Both Novels

NOVELS Imaro Tarik Both Novels

Total %a M Total %a M Total % DIANE 53 63.1 81.5 12 162 18.5 65 41.1 TINA 23 27.4 51.1 22 29.7 48.9 45 28.5 GARY 5 5.9 16.1 26 35.1 83.9 31 19.6

JERRY _ 1 6 17.6 _I4 l&O 82.4 17 10.8 84 100.0 74 100.0 158 100.0

%a - across subject comparison %b - within subject comparison 268

Diane A total of 65 responses were coded within the biographical response data section from Diane’s booktalks. Imaro elicited 53 responses (81.5%) whereas 12 responses (18.5%) were obtained from the discussion of Tarik (see Table 30).

Examination of the categories reveal that 62.5% of the categories yielded no data for Tarik’s booktalk (see Table 7) whereas 100% of the categories for the booktalk on Imaro yielded data (see Table 5). Insight into this difference is given by the subject when she stated her preference for Imaro and a lesser degree of engagement with the text than her reading of Tarik as discussed earlier in this chapter. Additionally, Diane's reading of Imaro followed the initial interview in which biographical data was obtained and not repeated in the second booktalk.

Tina A total of 45 responses were coded within the biographical response data section from Tina’s booktalks. Imaro "s booktalk elicited 23 responses (51.1%) whereas 22 responses (48.9%) were elicited iromTarik (see Table 30). Data was coded for all but one (87.5%) of the categories as a result of the booktalk of

Tarik (see Table 11 ). Codable data was available for 50% of the categories from

Imaro s booktalk (see Table 13). As discussed earlier in this chapter; Tina found

Imaro to be confusing in situations depicted, seemingly contradictory actions of characters, and a prolonged focus on the protagonist’s emotional state. Thus, her engagement with the text was limited to a lesser degree than her engagement with Tarik. 269

Gary

A total of 31 responses were coded within the biographical response data

section from Gary’s booktalks. Imaro ‘s booktalk elicited 5 responses (16.1%) whereas 26 responses (83.9%) were elicited from the booktalk of Tarik (see

Table 30). Data was available for each of the categories during Tarik’s booktalk

(see Table 17), whereas data was available for only two (25%) categories during

imaro "s booktalk (see Table 19). The difference in the number of responses was due to the unfinished reading of Imaro.

Jerry

A total of 17 responses were coded within the biographical response data

section from Jerry’s booktalks. Imaro ‘s booktalk elicited 3 responses (17.6%) whereas 14 (82.4%) responses were elicited from the booktalk oiTarIk (see Table 30). As in the case of his brother, data was available for each of the

categories during Tarik’s booktalk (see Table 23), whereas data was available for only two (25%) categories during Imaro’s booktalk (see Table 25). Again, the

reading of Imaro was incomplete. This analysis revealed that the novels elicited more total responses from the girls than the boys. A combined total of 48 (30.4%) responses were recorded

for the boys and 110 (69.6%) for the girls. See Figure 7. 270

Gender Comparisons

30% Biographical Data

G Boys

70% ■ Girts

Figure 7 - Gender Biographical Data

Category Comparisons

There are differences within categories as to the number of responses elicited. In Tarik, seven of the eight categories (87.5%) were significant in terms of quantity of response for the boys. One of the categories [Single-Parent Household (8.1)] had a difference of one response to separate it from the females. Six of the eight categories (75%) were leading categories for the girls in

Imaro. One of the categories [Literature in the Home/Personal Library (88)] had a difference of one response to separate them from the males. Across both novels, Literature Background (87) was a leading response category for the girls; whereas Single-Parent Household (81) and Negative Attitude Toward Reading

(83) were leading categories for the boys. 271

Legend of Tank

Single-Parent Household (B1): Tina, Gary, and Jerry all stated that they lived with their mother during the initial book discussion. Diane responds below during the discussion of Imaro. Positive Attitude Toward Reading (B2): Tina, Gary, and Jerry all made positive statements about reading. Gary provided more responses than the other participants, focusing on genres, writing assignments, and his preference to listen to others read.. Negative Attitude Toward Reading (B3): Gary and Jerry provided the data for this category. Again Gary provided more responses. Here his focus was on reading out of boredom and the lack of a favorite book. Vicarious Experiences With Literature (B4): All of the subjects provided data for this category. Gary was the leading respondent followed by Tina. Topics discussed were family, African Americans’ responses to wrongs committed against them, man’s cruelty to man, placing oneself into the story, and empathy for the characters’ circumstances. African American Literature Experience/Exposure (B5): All of the subjects provided data for this category. Gary was the leading respondent followed by

Tina and Jerry who had an equal amount of responses. Topics discussed were books read at home and school and responses to them, parental involvement in introducing books to subjects, and library as a resource for books. Sense of Personal/Cultural History (B6): Gary and Tina led this category, providing an equal amount of responses for this category. Diane provided no data. Topics discussed were books read and knowledge of race and culture gained from reading, role differences between previous books read and books 272 used in study in conveying this knowledge, intrinsic desire for this knowledge, parental role in conveying this knowledge, and teachers’ role in conveying this knowledge.

Literature Background (87): Diane and Tina led this category with an equal of responses followed by Gary then Jerry. Topics discussed were knowledge of: stories, story format, literary elements, necessity of response, genres, books read and responses to them. Literature in the Home/Personal Library(88): Gary, Jerry and Tina provided data for this category. Gary was the leading respondent followed by

Jerry then Tina. Diane provided no data. Topics discussed were books owned and the topics and genres, and sources for books.

Imaro

Single-Parent Household (81): Diane and Gary provided data for this category with Gary as the leading respondent. Diane stated that she lived with her mother during the initial book discussion and other topics discussed by the

Gary were his mother serving as both parents, her enduring strength as a parent, and being raised by women through an extended family.

Positive Attitude Toward Reading (82): The girls provided the data for this category with Diane providing one more response than Tina. Topics discussed were self-selection of books as a motivator to read, fantasy allowing one to let go, and an appropriate age to read fantasy. Negative Attitude Toward Reading (83): Diane, Gary, and Jerry provided data for this category. Each of the subjects had an equal amount responses. The topics discussed were interesting reading material, boredom from school reading 273 assignments and some realistic fiction, and permitting other things to interfere with reading.

Vicarious Experiences With Literature (B4): Diane and Tina provided the data for this category with Diane provided more responses. Topics discussed were perceived feelings of the characters: love, anger, hate; an understanding of those feelings; and responses to those feelings.

African American Literature Experience/Exposure (85): Diane provided the data for this category. This is due to Imaro being the first book read and the initial background information obtained during this booktalk. She discussed books she had read, her desire for the knowledge gained from reading them, the role school has had on this reading, and the portrayal of African Americans, especially women in the books read. Sense of Personal/Cultural History (86): Diane and Tina provided data for this category with an equal amount of response. Topics discussed were knowledge gained from reading African American literature, being strong enough to resist the negatives aspects of society, looking as things more realistically as one matures, positive images of African Americans, language similarities and differences, racial characteristics within cultures, and life’s struggles. Literature Background (87): Jerry, Diane, and Tina provided data for this category with Diane providing the most responses. Topics discussed by the girls were favorite books reads, school reading, the portrayal of women in books read, reading strategies, literary elements, book formats, appropriate age for encountering fantasy, escapism of fantasy, learning from fantasy, and assessing one's knowledge from reading a book. Jerry discussed use of details in a book. 274

Literature in the Home/Personal Library(B8): Diane provided the data for this category. She discussed having magazines in her home.

Summary Interview Data

The data discussed below is from the final booktalk sessions with the subjects of the study. The focus of these sessions were the subjects’ assessment of heroic fantasy as illustrated by the two novels read and their participation in the study. The data is presented in the format used throughout this chapter: discussion of the biographical response categories followed by the literary response categories. Only those categories with data are discussed.

Biographical Data

Table 31 - Summary Interview Comparisons: Biographical Data

Summary Data: Both Novels

Both Novels B1 B2 B3 B4 B$ B6 B7 B8 Total

DIANE 0 4 3 5 2 4 8 1 27 TINA 0 2 0 0 2 3 4 0 11

GARY 0 0 0 2 1 2 2 0 7

JERRY 0 0 0 1 3 2 0 0 6 FEMALES 0 6 3 5 4 7 12 1 38

MALES 0 0 0 3 4 4 2 0 13 275

Positive Attitude Toward Reading (B2): Diane and Tina provided data for this category with Diane giving more responses. Topics discussed by the girls were focused on the pleasure derived from reading literature with African

Americans appearing in it. genre of books read recently, and school reading.

Negative Attitude Toward Reading (B3): Diane provided the data for this category. She found school reading assignments boring. Vicarious Experiences With Literature (B4): Gary. Jerry, and Diane provided data for this category, with Diane giving more responses. Gary gave one more response than Jerry. Diane discussed the therapeutic aspects of fantasy's escapism and feelings of sadness from too much reading of problem novels. The realism portrayed in fantasy was discussed by Gary and Jerry discused readers being able to recognize the possible from the impossible. African American Literature Experience/Exposure (B5): Each subject provided data for this category. Jerry gave more responses followed by the girls with an equal number of responses. Gary discussed the one book of African

American literature he called reading in school during the previous year. Jerry discussed the inequity of African American literature read in school as compared to White literature and his appreciation of having this opportunity to read the novels used in the study. Tina discussed her appreciation of African American literature being written, of being involved in the study, and of being introduced to two more African American authors. Diane discussed the limited accessibility to African American literature both in school and major bookstores, unless she visited speciality bookstores. Sense of Personal/Cultural History (B6): Each of the subjects provided data for this category. Diane gave more response followed by Tina with one less 276 response. The boys gave an equal amount of responses. Diane discussed fantasy taking one away for awhile and allowing one to be a kid, escaping the sadness of the real world. Tina discussed her belief that her classmates would choose Imaro over Tarik, the perceived position of Blacks and Whites in society, and not having to read books about Whites all the time. Jerry discussed the necessity of African American literature in the classroom to inform students of African American history, especially current titles, and the limited exposure to African American literature in school during Black History Month. Gary reemphasized Jerry’s points and added the repetition of content during Black History Month by White teachers and the need for content on a variety of ethnic groups. Literature Background (B7): Gary, Diane And Tina provided data for this category. Diane gave more response followed by Takeiska then Gary. Diane discussed the need for more fantasy like the novels in the study for older kids, the limited fantasy she has read, the books she have read, and her need to to begin reading more. Tina discussed the humor, grossness, and good she found in the fantasy novels read; her exposure to White and African American literature, but preference for more African American; and the reasons why her classm ates would prefer reading Imaro . Gary discussed the elements of Tarik that made a good book and his desire to read new African American authors or any author from an ethnic group, rather than exposure to White authors all the time. Literature in the Home/Personal Library(B8): Diane provided the data for this category. She commented upon her stepmother reading the novels of the study as soon as she was finished reading them. 277

Response Data

Table 32 - Summary Interview Comparisons: Response Data

Summary Data: Responses to Novels

Both Novels R1 R2 R3 R4 R^ R6 R7 R8 R9 RIO Total DIANE 1 0 4 1 5 0 4 0 0 10 25 TINA 0 0 1 0 1 1 6 1 3 7 20

GARY 0 0 3 0 0 0 8 3 0 0 14 JERRY 0 3 1 0 0 0 7 2 0 1 14

FEMALES 1 0 5 1 6 1 10 1 3 17 45

MALES 0 3 4 0 0 0 15 5 0 1 28

Knowledge of Historical Periods (R1): Diane provided the data for this category. She commented upon her desire to learn more about the history that is not taught in school. Connecting With Characters (R2): Jerry provided the data for this category. He commented upon whether he would be able to handle the loss of family as Tarik and Imaro had to in the novels.

Connecting with Text (R3): All the participants provided data for this category. Diane gave more responses followed by Gary with one less response.

Jerry and Tina gave an equal amount of responses. Diane commented upon her personal learning experiences from reading the novels, such as controlling one's 278 temper and looking at the truth. Gary discussed the literary elements that made the novels interesting and personal learning experiences with the text.

Experiences that focused upon handling traumatic events that occur in life. Jerry confirmed his brother’s comments that traumatic events seem less traumatic once viewed from others’ perspective. Tina commented upon the feelings that fantasy can evoke from a reader. Gender Role Distinctions (R4): Diane provided the data for this category. She commented upon her interest in reading books that explored various gender relationships. Knowledge of Literary Genres (R5): Diane and Tina provided the data for this category. Diane gave more responses, commenting upon her desire to read more fantasy literature, as well as, the genres she found interesting and those that bored her. Tina discussed the elements of good fantasy she found in the novels used in the study. Race/Cultural Factors Unimportant (R6): Tina provided the data for this category. She believed that the race of the characters didn’t matter in the novels.

Race/Cultural Factors Important (R7): All the participants provided data for this category. Gary gave more responses, followed by Jerry, Tina, and Diane.

Gary discussed how he was very interested in reading the novels because the protagonists were Black, exposure to mostly white teachers who taught the same history each year with limited Black history, his belief that reading African

American literature is good for teens and adults, and his hope that more African

American literature will become available as well as increased exposure to the books that do exist. Jerry confirmed his brother’s comments. Tina commented upon finding the novels interesting to read because the protagonist were Black 279 and that this was due to her being an African American. She also discussed her beliefs about reading preferences of Black and White students in her classes.

Diane discussed the reasons she believed limited her exposure to African

American literature as well as what she believed she would gain from reading this literature; namely learning more about her heritage.

Positive African American Images (R8): Gary, Jerry and Tina provided the data for this category. Gary gave more answers followed by Jerry then Tina. Gary discussed how he found African American literature to be a motivator to read and the positive experiences in an African American teacher's class. Jerry discussed his desire for multicultural history classes. Tina commented upon the positive feelings she experienced from reading about Black heroes. Racial Role Distinctions (R9): Tina provided the data for this category.

Tina commented upon the positive feelings she experienced from reading about Black heroes in a genre that she had not seen Black protagonists. Also discussed how prejudices influences individuals beliefs about right and wrong as evidenced by classmates responses to Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Comparative or Contrastive Elements Within and Across Texts (RIO): Jerry, Diane, and Tina provided the data for this category. Diane gave more responses followed by Tina then Jerry. Diane commented upon the challenges teens face in today’s society and how fantasy may be therapeutic, the genres she found interesting, and her personal learning experiences from the study. Tina discussed her preferences between the novels used in the study and comparisons between other books read (fantasy and African American literature).

Jerry discussed the loss of family experienced by Tarik and Imaro as being very 280

meaningful to him because he didn’t know if he could cope under similar circumstances.

Question Three; What literary genres do African American adolescents of average reading ability indicate as their preferences in their reading? The data for this question was provided from the investigator’s questions to the subjects about their reading habits during the booktalks.

Diane: Horror and mysteries were Diane’s reading preferences. Her favorite author is Stephen King. These genres were able to keep her interest.

She strongly dislikes reading books that bore her. Tina: Historical fiction was Tina’s reading preference. Mildred Taylor is

her favorite author. Her preference for this genre is centered around a sense of history and a sense of family. Gary: Poetry appeals to Gary, especially that of Langston Hughes. His

interest in this genre stems from the insights he gains into the author’s life when

reading the author’s poems. Jerry: A genre preference was not stated by Jerry. He did state that he

preferred anything that contained adventure and action. He found this adventure and action in reading comic books. Another appealing element of comic books for

him was the fantastic. He thought it would be nice to have the ability to perform the feats of the characters portrayed in the texts. 281

Conclusions

All but one of the subjects could state a specific genre and author preference. The girls could more readily state their preferences than the boys.

The boys were more specific about the elements that they found appealing in books they read. The genres preferred by these readers were horror, mystery, historical fiction, and poetry. CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSIONS

The purpose of this study was to examine the present state of multicultural fantasy literature, to explore the responses of African American adolescents to heroic fantasy literature that features a protagonist of African origin, and to ascertain what literary genres African American adolescents prefer in their reading. The study investigated the verbal responses of four case study subjects to the young adult novels The Legend of Tarik and Imaro and the substantiveness of fantasy literature that features protagonists of African origins. Findings, conclusions, and implications from this study are presented and discussed in this chapter. Major Findings and Discussion

Question One: What is the present state of African American children’s and young adult fantasy literature? The search for African American fantasy literature and children’s responses to this literature were the motivating factors for this investigation. The results of the literature review produced a few texts that include the novels used in the study. However, the responses to the texts by the children in the study were more substantial. Specific findings related to each of these areas are discussed below within the context of each question posed in the study.

The findings from this investigation suggest, as Bishop (1990) reported, that fantasy is still a limited genre in African American children’s literature. 282 283

Within the context of the survey of African American fantasy literature in this study fantastical elements were most often found in folktales; both traditional and contemporary, most often with talking animals who also displayed human intelligence and emotions, stories with a magical quality that alters the reality of the everyday world, the supernatural, and the literary fairytale. In young adult fantasy literature the most frequent motifs were myths, travels into the past, and stories with futuristic settings containing elements of folklore and legend. This survey identified sixty-six books that met the criteria of fantasy children’s literature featuring protagonists of African origin. Fifty of the books are classified as children's works and sixteen are for young adults. Also of interest to this study, is the authorship of the works from the survey. Twenty-seven of the fifty children’s works were written by fourteen authors of African origins. In contrast, five of the nine authors of the young adult novels are of African origins.

Several of these authors have multiple works within the survey resulting in a greater percentage of works. The data from this survey suggests that the state of fantasy literature featuring protagonists of African origins is very limited. Sixty-six works within thousands of children’s and young adult books published does not significantly impact the field, especially in terms of accessibility for children. Evidence of this phenomena can be found in several well known children literature reference texts. Huck, Hepler, and Hickman’s (1987) text discusses 300 fantasy selections published between 1865 and 1985. Of these selections five (1.7%) feature protagonists of African origins. Three are authored by Virginia Hamilton and one each by Belinda Hurmence and Andre Norton. In the fifth edition 284

(1993) of this same text 323 selections, published between 1885 and 1991, are discussed. Four (1.2%) of the selections feature protagonists of African origins.

Two of Hamilton’s works are again listed, as well as Hurmence’s and Norton’s books. Donna Norton (1995) discusses 266 selections published between 1871 and 1994. Five (1.9%) selections feature protagonists of African origins. Four selections are authored by Virginia Hamilton and one by Belinda Hurmence. Finally, Helen Williams’ (1991) anthology of African American works lists

242 selections for the very young reader (K-4) published between 1932 and 1990. Approximately 15 (6.2%) of these may be classified as works of fantasy and Virginia Hamilton’s "Jahdu" tales are among those listed. For middle and junior high readers (grades 5-8), 267 selections are listed and nine (3.4%) of the selections may be classified as fantasy. Five works by Virginia Hamilton and Walter Dean Myers’s Tarik are included. In her young adult section

(grades 12- adult), thirteen (1.9%) selections may be classified as speculative fiction of the 702 selections listed. Hamilton’s Pretty Pearl is included. This illustration confirms several insights from this study. First, Virginia

Hamilton's works are recommended by each text’s author and may be found across age classifications. Hurmence’s A Girl Called Boy is included in the general literature texts as well and does not appear in Williams’ anthology due to the focus of the collection (books by African American authors). Second, the percentages of fantasy works that feature protagonists of African origin are indeed low in spite of the criteria the literature texts authors use in making their selections i. e., creating a balance between recently published works and those that have passed the test of time and are the best examples for a specific discussion (Norton, 1995). Less than 2% of the fantasy books presented in 285 literature texts for classroom use feature protagonists of African origins. In the anthology of African American selections written by African Americans, a decline in the number of fantasy works available is evident as a reader progresses through the grades or ages. The greater amount of resources seem available for the very young. This may be due to the propensity of folktales that contain elements of fantasy found at this grade level. Speculative fiction proved to be a more significant field for the existence of protagonists of African origins for the young adult reader. Eighty-eight titles were identified through this survey and only three of the African American authors in this survey consistently writes in this genre. Although many of these works are out of print, some are available in libraries and some have been reprinted as part of special collections. However, as discussed above, these are still few in number and it is still questionable whether teachers and librarians will make them accessible to children due to lack of knowledge of their existence, teacher decisions about appropriate subject matter, and lack of

“classic” designations by critics. Within the realm of multiculturalism in children's literature; the rationale for having a significant quantity of quality literature available to all children, especially for those children that have not traditionally seen themselves in these works are applicable to the fantasy genre as well. The primary emphasis for the existence and use of African American literature in the classroom continues to be a means of portraying endurance in the face of overwhelming odds, heroism, caring, self-discovery and affirmation, voice, independence and dependence, an awareness of similar and a appreciation of differing experiences, and seeing beyond old prejudices. Within the realm of fantasy literature, this emphasis also 286 includes questions raised due to the lack of this literature’s existence. Namely, are Black women [and men] somehow lacking in either epic experience or mythological substance Gomez (1986)? Through the writings of the authors of African origins in this survey it is evident that non-stereotyped protagonists of African origin can be developed and exist in outer space, a not too distant future, and in mythic medieval settings. Thus, through the consistent efforts of Octavia Butler, Samuel Delany, and Steven Barnes, the young adult reader of science fiction and fantasy is offered a different perspective. The retelling of family stories and histories and the revival of interest in African American folktales are promising areas of fantasy for children. Authors who have shown consistency in addressing these areas are Virginia Hamilton, Patricia McKissack, Faith Ringgold, Julius Lester, and Robert D. San Souci. Although no African American fantasy writer emerged, Virginia Hamilton has explored this genre more frequently and may continue to do so in the future. Additions to the field will also continue to come from writers like Nancy Farmer who choose an African setting and individuals of

African origins as protagonists for an occasion of exploration. Question Two: Will four African American adolescents of competent reading ability respond in qualitatively different ways to fantasy literature when the characters and settings are reflective of their cultural origins? In assessing the findings related to this question, comparisons of

"qualitative response" seem appropriate. Spears-Bunton (1990) described her subjects’ responses as finding enjoyment in the literary experience, identification with protagonist, and the articulation of responses that were previously passive. Positive responses to related experiences, distinctive 287 cultural and gender experiences, strong character portrayals, humorous situations, and lyrical language are described by Sims (1983). Finally, Poe’s

(1986) descriptions of high involvement when reading involves familiar situations and the quality of involvement is enhanced by personal experience with the situation portrayed in the text were reflected in this study. The young adults in this study exhibited similar “qualitative" responses. Each of the novels elicited different responses from the subjects; however, there was general agreement concerning interest in the novels. This interest was focused on both the surprise of reading a novel of heroic fantasy with a protagonist of African origin and the situations depicted in the text. The subjects identified with the characters of the novels in similar and different ways.

Perhaps due to their experiences as children living with one parent, strong connections were made to Imaro's desire for knowledge of his father, the abandonment he felt by his mother’s banishment from the tribe and Tarik’s loss of his parents. Positive responses were evoked from the females in the study toward the females portrayed in the texts. Most centered on the portrayal of these females as strong heroic women. The males also provided positive responses toward the portrayal of these females, especially the positive portrayal of motherhood.

Additionally they were surprised at Stria’s role, but appreciated her bravery and fighting skills. Although a medieval/tribal African perspective is implied in the texts, the subjects made the experiences their own as evidenced by the above descriptions of responses. However, the experiences are not too distanced from the subjects’ cultural experiences as Manning and Baruth (1996) conclude from 288 the work of Hale-Benson (1986) that the survival of the tribe and the oneness of being are principles of African ethos that account for strong kinship ties whether actual kinships exist or not. Related!/, their relevant conclusion below based upon the work of Bell-Scott & McKenry (1986) is affirmed in this study:

There has been considerable concern for the African American adolescent's identity formation, especially in poverty-ridden households and in father-absent homes. Evidence, however, indicates that this concern may be ill-founded, because the African American adolescent might not be as detrimentally affected as once believed. Specifically, individuals from female-headed homes do not usually perceive their families as "broken," because fathers and the extended family and kinship network continue to play a role in their lives. The physical presence or absence of adult males in the home says little about the availability of other male models. Adolescent males living in single-parent households often identify male models in their neighborhood, in classrooms, and even in instruction from their mothers (p. 101).

Thus, similar to Sims (1983) findings from her study of Osula, there were cultural markers in the texts that ignited cultural markers within the individuals of this study which evoked positive responses. Several of Bishop’s (1990) literature themes were visible in the texts.

Particularly evident to the subjects was “the ability to survive, both physically and psychologically, in the face of overwhelming odds.” The subjects responded to the adversity Imaro faced as an “outsider” within the tribe and Tarik’s patience in avenging his family. They also responded to it in their lives, from their mothers’ efforts to “instruct" them to the challenges they and their peers face just being alive. Thus, as Poe (1986) concludes, familiar situations and personal experience intensifies involvement with text. In this context, cultural factors provided the familiar situations and personal experiences. Based upon the subjects’ biographical data, many of their previous responses to classroom literature were passive. They perceived the reading as 289 a task and only in times of self-selection during Black History Month or leisure reading and parental introductions did they become actively involved with their reading. Only in one of the cases did it seem that there was some effort at an inclusive curriculum. However, this drew a limited positive response as reflected in Tina’s response:

I didn’t really mind what I read, Black or White. I like reading about Blacks and I like reading about Whites. I’m used to reading about Whites, but [reading about] Blacks, it gives me; lets me know that people do write about Black people. So they do think about it, instead of always writing that the person is White, they do think about Blacks. The responses articulated by the subjects in this study suggest active engagement with the literature presented and read by them. Question Three: What literary genres do African American adolescents of average reading ability indicate as their preferences in their reading?

Seven genres are traditionally used when discussing children’s literature: Picture books, traditional literature (fairy tales/folktales, fables, myths), modem fantasy (including science fiction), poetry, contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction and nonfiction (biographies and informational books).

Multicultural literature has begun to appear as a separate genre of focus in literature texts also. In this study, the participants were asked to talk about their favorite books, authors, and their preferences for books with characters of African heritage. The discussion below focuses on these responses.

Poetry was the only explicitly stated literature genre and this genre was preferred by one of the male readers of this study. However, during the book discussions, other reading interests were identifiable as evidenced by the subjects’ past reading experiences. An additional genre identified from the book discussions was historical fiction by a female participant. 290

Of the remaining participants, their responses are more appropriately classified as subgenres of contemporary realistic fiction. Mystery, horror, and family stories were stated by the female and adventure was stated by the male. Nonfiction was also represented in the discussions. Historical and religious works were stated by one of the females. All of the adolescents stated a preference for African American protagonists and three of the four participants stated a favorite author. Of the three authors mentioned, two were male and one was Caucasian. Monson and Sebesta’s (1991) review of reading interests revealed agreement of types of subject matter that appeals to students of particular age levels. The findings related to seventh and eighth grade students are applicable to this study. Preferences for girls were mysteries, romances, biographies, stories about animals, humorous stories, religion, and careers. Boys preferred stories about animals and sports, adventure stories, mysteries, science fiction, biographies, and histories. There is an increased interest in books dealing with adolescence, historical fiction, romantic fiction, and nonfiction by boys and girls.

Books that contain humor and adventure are enjoyed by all children. The findings from this study support the above conclusions. Mysteries and historical fiction were the preferences for the girls. The boys preferences were poetry and books that contain adventure and action. The subjects in this study were of average reading ability and when considering reading interests in relation to reading ability, the findings of this study are reflective of previous research. Susan Swanton’s (1984) survey comparing the reading interests of gifted and average reading ability students indicates that the top four choices of average reading ability students were mysteries, comedy/humor, realistic fiction. 291 and adventure. Although not ranked in this study, each of the reading interests were choices of the participants in this study except comedy or humor.

Summary of Major Findings

Major findings from the examination of the present state of multicultural fantasy literature, the exploration of the responses of African American adolescents to heroic fantasy literature that features a protagonist of African origin, and the reading preferences in literary genres stated by African

American adolescents were: Survey Data 1. Fantasy in children’s and young adult literature that features human protagonists of African origins is a contemporary phenomenon.

2. Fantasy elements existed primarily in traditional folklore where the African American experience was portrayed through animal characters and the use of the supernatural. 3. The genre of speculative fiction has held the most promise for

exploration of the African American experience. 4. A significant amount of existing African American fantasy continues to

be written by authors of non-African origins. 5. Only a few authors of African origin write consistently in the

speculative fiction genre. 6. No author of African origin writes consistently in the children’s/young

adult fantasy genre. 292

7. Ethnie identities of authors and characters are primarily omitted from

bibliographic references and this omission makes it difficult for

potential readers to find existing works.

Response Data

1. African American adolescent readers of heroic fantasy literature that

featured protagonists of African origins produced responses that were directly connected to their lives.

2. Female readers produced more response than male readers across

both novels. 3. African American adolescent readers preferred protagonists of African

origins. 4. Mystery, horror, and poetry were preferred reading genres of African

American adolescence readers.

Implications This study’s purpose was to investigate response to literature by adolescent readers of African American heritage with the hope of adding to the limited knowledge base of this phenomenon. The findings support the challenges put forth by other scholars to classroom teachers and publishers of the benefits of using and producing literature which increases the visibility of those students who have been and continue to be marginalized in contemporary society. Implications for Teachers and School Officials

The basic premise of this research was that reader response would be enhanced if characters and settings in the literature are reflective of the reader’s 293 cultural background. This study affirms that premise. It is generally accepted that prior knowledge plays a significant role in effective learning in the classroom.

Throughout the book discussions the participants utilized prior knowledge/experiences to create meaning and develop ownership of the texts, especially in a genre that they had limited experience with. As a result of this familiarity, the reading experience became more enjoyable.

Another factor related to experience is the enhancement of students’ self esteem. One of the most resounding responses provided by the participants was the portrayal of an individual of African origin as a medieval mythic hero. I make this distinction due to a respondent’s literary experience with a contemporary African American heroine. Positive images of characters of

African origin were welcomed by the participants, especially in an era where “knights” were White and the hero of the African landscape was “Tarzan”.

Additionally, the portrayal of the multifacetedness of “womanhood” (brave warrior, strong and compassionate parent, lover) was welcomed by the male respondents as well as the females. In a society that seems intent on reclaiming and conserving ideologies that portray those physical features that diverge from White and Male as negative attributes, books and other media that oppose these views seem to be positive reinforcers of African American self-images.

Finally, the observation of Black History Month in school settings was a significant issue for the respondents when reference was made to the introduction of African American literature. Two factors are at the heart of this issue. First, proponents of multiculturalism have consistently tried to illustrate for teachers and other school officials the ineffectiveness of using this time of the year (February) as the only time when African American literature is reflected in 294 the curriculum. The respondents In this study were very vocal on this point. Their culture seemed to be relevant only at this time and then cursory attention was only given, especially in the form of “old or prior knowledge”. The introduction of Harriet Tubman and Dr. Martin Luther King, J r , for example, are individuals whose experiences are consistently introduced each year and at each grade level rather than built upon to introduce new knowledge. This instructional response may be due in part to the second factor within this issue-teacher education. Scholars of multiculturalism have also advised teachers to educate themselves first about their culture and then of other cultures, particularly those that are increasingly becoming the majority in the classrooms across the country (African-, Hispanic-, Asian-, and Native-

American) in general, as well as the diversity within each group. This then would provide teachers with a wealth of knowledge to be shared with students. At the very least, teachers should use the students as experts in the classrooms. As with any area of pedagogy, what tends to be reflected in the classroom is the teacher’s attitude and beliefs about learning. Thus, if multiculturalism is not part of the teacher’s belief system and there does not exists a positive attitude toward multiculturalism, then its manifestation in the classroom is highly unlikely. Additionally, informing oneself about other cultures informally or formally through readings and/or in-depth study probably will not occur either. As an example of the learning that could be shared is taken from one of the male respondents in this study. In discussing this issue, he was very adamant about Black History’s observance in the month of February due to it being the shortest month of the year. This is a point that is frequently heard by 295 youth and needs to be addressed by teachers. However, the appropriate response requires knowledge of the observance’s origin. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, noted African American scholar and lecturer of

African American history, came up with the idea in 1926 for a nationally week- long observance of the achievements of Black Americans. He chose the second week in February due to the birthdates of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and

Frederick Douglass (February 14, generally accepted). Additinal factors were Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation and its role in ending slavery and Douglass’s role as an abolitionist and his speeches against slavery.

The observance became a month long event in 1976. Thus, there was no conspiracy by Whites to assign the shortest month for this observance. The conspiracy exists when knowledge like this is not shared with all students and books or posters of African Americans are confined to display cases as statements of compliance, rather than sincere and authentic infusion in the school’s curriculum. Publishers If schools are to be effective for all students, then a variety of instructional materials are needed. Purves, Rodgers, & Soter (1990) provide the following insights:

Language and literacy do not make any sense without literature, because it is literature that binds us as a nation, a nation made up of interesting and quirky subgroups. Literature is functional in our lives, and it supports and sustains us as individuals and groups. Young people have a remarkably broad range of experience... So we are for cultural literacy. We want to broaden the definition and include both Shakespeare and Achebe; Austen and Baraka, Homer and Plath; Thomas Wolfe and Tom Wolfe. Some we think are more 296

central than others, and we want both the center and the fringes. Students should join the Canon Club but be free to join others too. (p. 39)

Surveys of multiculturalism in children's books completed by Augusta

Baker of the New York Public Library in the 1930s, Charlemae Rollins of the

Chicago Public Library in the 1940s, Nancy Larrick in the 1960s, Rudine Sims

Bishop in the 1980s and 1990s consistently documents the significantly low publishing records of African American literature by the major publishers and

the crucial role small presses are playing to keep this literature accessible to teachers, librarians, and parents. This study’s survey illustrated the limited amount of works available in a specific genre. This dearth of available literature

is further complicated by the issues of limited number of authors from inside the culture producing authentic works and whether or not teachers will lead

students to the books that are available. The former issue is significant in that a majority of the existing African American literature has been written by authors who were first published through the advocacy efforts and contests sponsored by the Council on Interracial Books for Children in the 1960s and 1970s (Homing & Kruse, 1991). This study reflected this phenomena through the works of Virginia Hamilton and Walter Dean Myers for children. The efforts of CIBC along with the social

consciouness of the United States Civil Rights movement, an increasingly

diverse pluralistic society, and a demand for authentic literature also helped

Octavia Butler and Samuel Delany become successful as primarily adult

authors. 297

The latter Issue of teachers leading students to the existing texts Is discussed In the preceding section. Additional insight may be gained from

Nodelman’s comments below;

Children who experience nothing but conventional books do quickly learn to be Intolerant of the unconventional. That's a pity, because being able to respond to more unusual or more complicated books makes one's life more Interesting, one's knowledge of the world deeper and subtler, one's tolerance and humility greater. (1984, p. 38)

All literature promotes language and literacy learning, not just the conventional texts. Both publisher and teacher have a significant role to play in children's response to literature, especially as It pertains to the accessibility to a wide variety of books. Publishers need to take a more active stance in publishing first time authors, keeping books In print and reissuing those works of quality that are out of print, and recruiting writers from diverse cultures that specialize in all genres. Additionally, they should not view multiculturalism as fad - In today, out tomorrow, and perhaps reemerging as fashionable in a decade or two. Researchers

This study focuses on the response of four African American adolescents to heroic fantasy literature that featured protagonist of African origins. The research utilized a case study approach in an out-of-classroom setting. The implications the results may suggest are limited to these factors. Thus, future research should focus on other genres, other cultural settings and characters, and other instructional and non-lnstructlonal environments. 298

Concluding Remarks

One of the inspirations for this study was the concept of “hero” and the study of this concept by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With A Thousand Faces.

When I looked to find my face or rather my cultural face translated from

Campbell's ideologies into the trade literature, I could not find it. Thus, I set out on an investigative journey to found out why. Additionally, I knew the feelings evoked and the responses I made to works by Lloyd Alexander {The Prydain

Chronicles ), Ursula LeGuin’s "Earthsea" books, Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sw ord, David Eddings’ "Belgariad" series and

Anne McCaffrey’s "Pern" series. What I did not know was what type of responses would be evoked if this genre reflected an African culture. In 1941 Langston Hughes wrote in “The Crisis” magazine an article entitled “The Need for Heroes." There is a statement that asks:

But where, in all these books, is that compelling flame of spirit and passion that makes a man say, "I, too, am a hero, because my race has produced heroes like that!’?... We have a need for heroes. We have a need for books and plays that will encourage and inspire our youth, set for them examples and patterns of conduct, move and stir them to be forth-right, strong, clear- thinking, and un-afraid. (p. 184)

At the end of this journey, I found too few books that featured mythical heroes that mirrored my cultural values, attitudes and behaviors. There are a few contemporary heroes as evidenced by one of the respondent’s identification of Cassie Logan as a heroine (Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder,

Hear My Cry ). However, a few books cannot represent the myriad of experiences nor the diversity of "hero-dreams" occurring within one culture. 299

Hopefully, the hero's face will become more diverse allowing for more diverse response. The intent of this study was to explore whether African/African American children’s and young adult fantasy met two important criteria; universality and multicultural authenticity. First, if children’s fantasy’s is “universal", will its inherent message speak to all readers; regardless of gender, race, and age?

Second, as in all multicultural literature, is it important that the reader see his/her experience reflected in the pages? Thus; in exploring these issues, a case could be made that the genre of fantasy, as in other genres, should have a subgenre of multicultural works that reflect authentic multicultural themes and characters. The answer is a resounding “yes” to all questions. Earlier in this study, a review of research confirmed the above question.

Altieri (1995) found that the level of aesthetic involvement was not significantly influenced by culture or text. Yet, African American and Hispanic students strongly preferred stories about their own cultures. Additionally, Windling (1995) believes that, “ the basic themes of myth and legend do not change in cultures around the globe, but each land has its distinctive voice, including Turtle Island. The voice of this land is a chorus of disparate voices” (p. 77). The voice from this study that affirm these questions and seek additional voices is that of Tina, Gary, Jerry, and Diane as they “tell us:”

...I didn't really mind what I read, Black or White. I like reading about Black and I like reading about Whites. I’m used to reading about White, but [reading about] Blacks; it gives me, lets me know that people do write about Black people.

...Be more up-to-date with things we have done and understand what we re talking about when we want more books and stuff in here; they’ll know why. Not necessarily all Blacks. It could be any other race... APPENDIX A

BIOGRAPHICAL PROTOCOL

POST-READING PROTOCOL ORAL BRIEFING

300 301

BIOGRAPHICAL INTERVIEW

1. What is your full name?

2. What is your age?

3. What is your birthdate?

4. What grade have you just completed? 5. What grade will you be in when school begins in the Fall?

6. What are your parents’ names? 7. Do you live with both parents? 8. Which parent do you live with? 9. What was the name of the school you attended last year? 10. What school will you be attending next year?

11. Do you enjoy reading in school? 12. Why or Why not?

13. What grades did you get in reading? 14. Do you have a favorite book or books?

15. Why is this your favorite book?

16. Who is your favorite author?

17. Why do you like to read this author’s books? 18. What are some of the titles of books you read in school last year?

19. How many books did you read in school last year had black characters in

the story?

20. What were the titles of these books? 302

21. Would you prefer to read books that are about black people?

22. Why would you prefer to read these books?

23. Do you have books about black people at home?

24. What are some of the titles?

25. Which of these have you read? 303

POST-READING INTERVIEW

1. Tell me when you first saw the book, even before you read it, what kind of book did you think it was going to be?

2. Can you tell me what made you think this?

3. Now that you have read it, is it like what you expected?

4. Tell me about anything that particularly caught your attention.

5. Tell me about the parts you liked most?

6. What was interesting about these parts of the story?

7. Tell me about the parts you didn't like.

8. Were there parts that bored you?

9. If you gave up reading, can you tell me where you stopped?

10. I wonder what stopped you?

11. Was there anything that puzzled you?

12. Was there anything you thought strange?

13. Was there anything that took you by surprise?

14. Have you ever read other books like this?

15. Tell me about them.

16. What sticks in your memory most vividly?

17. Can you tell me how they are alike?

18. How are they different?

19. When you’re reading, do you hear the words being said in your head? If so whose voice is it you hear? 304

20. Which character interested you the most? Why?

21. Is that character the most important person in the story?

22. Which characters(s) didn't you like? Why?

23. Did any of the characters remind you of people you know?

24. Who was telling the story?

25. Do we know who was telling the story?

26. How long did it take for the story to happen?

27. When you were reading the story did you feel it was happening now?

28. Did you feel it was happening in the past and being remembered?

29. Can you tell me about anything in the writing that made you feel like that?

30. Did you feel as if everything were happening to you, as if you were one of the characters in the story?

31. Did you feel as if you were an observer, watching what was happening but not part of the action?

32. If you were an observer, where were you watching from? Did you seem to watch from different places-sometimes, perhaps, from beside the characters, sometimes from above them as If you were In a helicopter?

33. Can you tell me places in the book where you felt like this?

34. Has anything like this ever happened to you? Did you feel the same as the people in the story?

35. Where did the story happen?

36. Did it matter where it happened or could it have happened anywhere?

37. Do you remember thinking about the place as you were reading?

38. Did we ever get to know what the characters were thinking about?

39. One of the characters [name] thought [thus and such]. Do you agree with him/her?

40. When you’re reading a story do you see it happening in your imagination? 305

41. What kinds of details in the story help you see it most clearly? Tell me some of them.

42. If the author asked you what could be improved in the story, what would you say?

43. When you think of this story now, after all we’ve said, what is the most important thing about it for you?

44. Do you think I should give this book to other people?

45. Should I give it to people your age or older, or younger?

46. Should we talk about it afterwards, as we have done, or not?

47. How well did you like this book as compared to other books with black characters in them?

48. How many days did it take for you to read this book?

Adapted from A. Chambers’ (1985) “Tell Me:” The Framework. 306

ORAL BRIEFING OF SUBJECTS

My name is Randy Rush and I am a graduate student at the Ohio State University. My area of interest is Reading and Children’s Literature. I am here to conduct a research study on the topic of “African American Young Adult’s Response to African American Heroic Fantasy Literature.” I am looking for four African American eighth-grade students, two males and two females, to read two books of heroic fantasy that feature a main character that is of African origin. Each participant will have a copy of the books and will be asked to read both books within a two-week period. You are encouraged to read the books during your free reading time at school and away from school. You will be required to keep a reading log of your thoughts about the story, any questions the story brings to mind, and any feelings the story invokes as you read the book. Once each book has been read, participants will be required to spend an hour and a half with me to discuss the book. Once both books have been read, all participants will meet with me for a group discussion of the books. When the study is completed participants may keep their copies of each book. The study should last about four weeks. You will not incur any risks by participating in the study. You will not be named in the study, pseudonyms will be used, and only the researcher will have access to your identity. None of the information will go into your school files and you will not be penalized for withdrawing from the study at any time you wish to do so.

Thank You! APPENDIX B

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

307 308

Booktalk Schedule

1. Interviewee: Jerry Age: 14

Initial Interview and Booktalk -The Legend of Tank

Date: July 8,1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 2:10 p.m. Stop Time: 3:30 pm

2. Interviewee: Jerry

Continuation of the Novel - The Legend of Tank

Date: July 16, 1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 2:40 p.m. Stop Time: 3:30 p.m.

3. Interviewee: Jerry

Booktalk - Imaro

Date: August 9,1992

Location: Interviewee’s Home

Start Time: 3:10 p.m. Stop Time: 3:45 pm.

3 B. Interviewee: Jerry

Booktalk Summary Interview:/maro and Legend of Tank

Date: August 9,1992

Location: Interviewee's Home

Start Time: 4:10 pm Stop Time: 4:40 p.m. 309

1. Interviewee: Gary Age: 14

Initial Interview and Booktalk - Legend of Tank

Date: July 8, 1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 3:30 pm Stop Time: 4:30 pm

2. Interviewee: Gary

Booktalk: Continuation of the Novel - The Legend of Tank

Date: July 16,1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 1:55 p.m. Stop Time: 2:38 p.m.

3. Interviewee: Gary

Booktalk: Imaro

Date: August 9,1992

Location: Subject's Home

Start Time: 3:45 pm Stop Time: 4:10 p.m.

3 B. Interviewee: Gary

Booktalk Summary Interview: imaro and Legend of Tarik

Date: August 9,1992

Location: Subject's Home

Start Time: 4:10 pm Stop Time: 4:40 p.m. 310

1. Interviewee: Diane Age: 14

Initial Interview and Booktalk - Imaro

Date: July 9. 1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 3:50 pm Stop Time: 4:50 pm

2. Interviewee: Diane

Continuation of Imaro Booktalk

Date: July 15,1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 2:30 pm Stop Time: 3:35 pm

3. Interviewee: Diane

Legend of Tank Booktalk

Date: July 31. 1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 2:35 pm Stop Time: 3:10pm

3 B. Interviewee: Diane

Booktalk Summary Interview: Imaro and Legend of Taiik

Date: July 31, 1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 3:10 pm Stop Time: 3:25pm 311

1. Interviewee: Tina Age: 13.

Initial Interview and Booktalk - Legend of Tank

Date: July 9,1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 6:05 pm Stop Time: 7:00 pm

2. Interviewee: Tina

Imaro Booktalk

Date: August 1,1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 1:20 pm Stop Time: 2:00 pm

2 B. Interviewee: Tina

Booktalk Summary Interview: Imaro and Legend of Tarik

Date: August 1,1992

Location: Public Library

Start Time: 2:00 pm Stop Time: 2:15 pm CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT FANTASY LITERATURE WITH PROTAGONISTS/CHARACTERS OF AFRICAN ORIGINS

Ansa, T. M. (1989). Baby of the Family. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Anthony, P. (1973). Race Against Time. UK: Hawthorn Press.

Anthony, P. (1 986).Race Against Time. New York: Tor Books

Aadeema, V. (1989). Rabbit Makes A Monkey of Lion. New York: Dial.

Aadeema, V. (1991). Traveling to Tondo. New York: Knopf.

Aadeema, V. (1994). MISOSO. New York: Knopf.

Avi (1988). Something Upstairs. New York: Orchard.

Berger, T. (1969). Black Fairy Tales. New York: Atheneum.

Bethancourt, T. (1978). Tune In Yesterday. New York: Holiday House.

Bryan, A. (1985). The Cat’s Purr. New York: Atheneum.

Bryan, A. (1989). Turtle Knows Your Name. New York: Atheneum.

Bryan, A. (1993). The Story of Thunder and Lighting. New York: Atheneum.

Brittain, B. (1979). All The Money In The World. New York: Harper.

Burgess, B. H. (1991). Oren Bell. New York: Dell.

Butler, O. (1979). Kindred. New York: Doubleday.

Carew, J. {^980).Children of the Sun. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

Chesnutt, C. 973).Conjure Tales (retold by Ray Anthony Shephard). New York: Dutton.

Cummings, P. {^986).C.L.O.U.D.S. New York: Lothrop.

312 313

Farmer, N. (1994). 7/76 Ear. the Eye, and the Arm. New York: Orchard Books

Feelings, T. (1991). Tommy Traveler in the World of Black History. New York: Black Butterfly Children’s Books.

Freeman, D. (1 966).Corduroy. New York: Viking.

Freeman, D. (1978). A Pocket for Corduroy. New York: Viking.

Gray, G. (1972). The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody. New York: Lothrop.

Gray, N. (1988). A Balloon for Granddad. San Francisco: Orchid Books.

Hamilton, V. {^973).Time-Ago Lost: More Tales of Jahdu. New York: Macmillan.

Hamilton, V. (1978). Justice and Her Brothers. New York: Greenwillow.

Hamilton, V. (1980). Dustland. New York: Greenwillow.

Hamilton, V. (1980). Jahdu. New York: Greenwillow.

Hamilton, V. {^96^).The Gathering. New York: Greenwillow.

Hamilton, V. (1982).Sweef Whispers, Brother Rush. New York: Philomel.

Hamilton, V. (1983). The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl. New York: Harper.

Hamilton, V. (1985). The People Could Fly. New York: Knopf.

Hamilton, V. {^99^).The All-Jahdu Storybook. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace & Co.

Hooks, W. (1990). The Ballad of Belle Dorcas. New York: Knopf.

Hurmence, B. (1982). A Girl Called Boy. Boston: Clarion.

Lester, J. (1987). The Tales of Uncle Remus. New York: Dial.

Lester, J. (1988). More Tales of Uncle Remus. New York: Dial.

Lester, J. (1990). Further Tales of Uncle Remus. New York: Dial.

McKissack, P. (1986). Flossie and the Fox. New York: Dial.

McKissack, P. (1988). Mirandy and Brother Wind. , New York: Knopf.

McKissack, P. (1989). Nettie Jo’s Friends. New York: Knopf. 314

Mendez, P. (1989). The Black Snowman. New York: Scholastic.

Myers, W. D. (1972). The Dragon Takes A Wife. New York: Bobbs-Merrill.

Myers, W. D. (1980). The Black Pearl and the Ghost. New York: Viking, 1980.

Myers, W. D. (1980). The Golden Serpent. New York: Viking.

Myers, W. D. (1981 ). The Legend of Tarik. New York: Viking.

Myers, W. D. (1995). Shadow of the Red Moon. New York: Scholastic

Norton, A. (1967). Octagon Magic. Albuquerque, NM: World.

Norton, A. {^972).Dragon Magic. New York: Crowell.

Norton, A. {^974).Lavendar-Green Magic. New York: Crowell.

Norton, A. (1976).l/Wa/Yhs of'Tlme. New York: Atheneum.

Parks, V. D. (1985). Jump! The Adventures of Brer Rabbit. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace & Co.

Parks, V. D. (1987). Jump Again! More Adventures of Brer Rabbit. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace & Co.

Parks, V. D. (1989). Jump On Over! The Adventures of Brer Rabbit and His Family. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace & Co.

Ringgold, F. (1991 ). Tar Beach. New York: Crown.

Ringgold, F. (1992). Aunt Harriet Underground Railroad In the Sky. New York: Crown.

San Souci, R. (1989). The Talking Eggs. New York: Dial.

San Souci, R. (1989). The Boy and the Ghost. New York: Simon & Schuster.

San Souci, R. 992). Sukey and the Mermaid. New York: Four Winds.

Saunders, C. (1981 )./maro. New York: Daw

Saunders, C. (1984). The Quest for Cush. New York: Daw. 315

Saunders, C. (1985). T/re Trail of Bohu. New York: Daw.

Seldon, G. (1973).T/je Genie of Sutton Place. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux,

Shecter, B. (1974).T/7e Whistling Whirligig. New York: Harper.

Steptoe, J. (1987). Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. New York: Lothrop.

Mollel, T. (1991).The Orphan Boy. Boston: Clarion.

Wallin, L. (1983). The Slavery Ghost. New York: Bradbury.

Walter, Mildred P. (1985). Brother to the Wind. New York: Lothrop. ADULT / YOUNG ADULT SPECULATIVE FICTION LITERATURE WITH PROTAGONISTS/CHARACTERS OF AFRICAN ORIGINS

*Asgarally, A. {^969).The Chosen O n e.

Barnes, S. (with L Niven). (1982). The Descent of Anansi. New York: Tor Books.

Barnes, S. {^963),Streetlethal. New York: Ace Books

Barnes, S. (1986). The Kundalini Equation . New York: Tor Books.

Barnes, S. (1989).Gorgon Child. New York: Tor Books.

Barnes, S. (with L. Niven). (1991 ). Achilies' Choice. New York: Tor Books.

Barnes, S. {^993).Firedance. New York: Tor Books.

Bell, D. {^987).And We Are Not Saved. New York: Basic Books.

Bell, D. (1992).Faces at the Bottom of the W ell. New York: Basic Books.

Bison, T. (1988). Fire on the Mountain. New York: Arbor House.

Blackson, L. D. (1968). The Rise and Progress of the Kingdoms of Light and Darkness. Brookfield, VT: Gregg Press.

______. (1867). The Rise and Progress of the Kingdoms of Light and Darkness. J. Nicholas.

*Brackett, L. (1949). The Vanishing Venusians.

Bradbury, R. (July 1950). “Way In the Middle of the Air.” Other Worlds Science Stories.

______. (1950). The Martian Chronicles. New York: Doubleday.

Brunner, J. (1975). The Shockwave Rider. New York: Harper.

Butler, O. {^976).Patternmaster. New York: Doubleday.

316 317

Butler, O. {^977).Mind of My Mind. New York: Doubleday.

Butler, O. (1978).SumVor. New York: Doubleday.

Butler, O. (1980). l/W/d Seed. New York: Doubleday.

Butler, O. (1987).C/ay's Ark. New York: St. Martin’s.

Butler, O. {^9Q9).Xenogenesis. New York: Warner Books.

Butler, O. {^993).Parable of the Sower. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows.

______. (1995). Parable of the Sower. New York: Warner.

Clarke, A C. 953).Childhood’s End. New York: Ballantine Books.

Cooper, E. (1969). The Last Continent. New York: Dell.

De Camp, Sprague L. (1963). The Tower of Zanid. New York: Avalon.

*Dee, J. 97A).Stagger Lee. Manor Books.

Delaney, M. R. {^970).Blake, or, The Huts of America. Boston: Beacon Press.

(June-August, 1859). “Blake, or. The Huts of America.” Anglo-African Magazine.

Delany, S. R. (1962). The Jewels of Aptor. New York: Ace Books.

Delany, S. R. (1965). The Ballad of Beta-2. New York: Ace Books.

Delany, S. R. (1966).Sahe/-/7. New York: Ace Books.

Delany, S. R. (1967). The Einstein Intersection. New York: Ace Books.

Delany, S. R. (1968).A/ova. New York: Doubleday.

Delany, S. R. (1 975).Dharlgren. New York: Bantam.

Delany, S. R. (1976). Thton. New York: Bantam.

Delany, S. R. (1979). Ta/es Of Neveryon. New York: Bantam.

Delany, S. R. {^983).Neveryona; or. Tales of Signs and Cities. New York: Bantam.

Delany, S. R. 995).Flight from Neveryon. New York: Bantam. 3 1 8

*Delany, S. R. (1987). The Bridge of Lost Desire. Arbor House.

DuBois, W.E.B. (1975). The Quest of the Silver Fleece. Millwood, NY: Kraus Intl.

*______. (1911). The Quest of the Silver Fleece. A. C. McClurg.

DuBois, W.E.B. {^975).Dark Princess. Millwood, NY: Kraus Intl.

______. (1928). Dark Princess. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, & Co.

*Eshun, J. 0. (1976). The Adventures of Kapapa.

Fair, R. L. (1965).Many Thousand Gone. San Diego: Harcourt.

Gomez, J. {^99^).The Gilda Stories. Ithaca, NY: Firebrand.

Greenlee, S. (1985). The Spook Who Sat by the Door. New York: Schocken.

______. (1969). The Spook Who Sat by the Door. Allison and Busby.

Griggs, S. E. {^969).Imperium in Imperio. Coral Gables, FL: Mnemosyne.

*______. (1899). The Editor Publishing Company, Inc.

•Gross, W. L. (1946). The Golden Recovery. Golden Recovery Corporation.

Heinlein, R. A. {^959).Starship Troopers. New York: Putnam.

Hjortsberg, W. {^97^).Gray Matters. Hastings-on-Hudson, NY: Ultramarine Pub.

Hodge, T. S. ( Roger S. Tracey, psued). (nd).The White Man’s Burden. Salem, NH: Ayer.

* ______. (1915). The White Man’s Burden.

•Jackson, D. (1967). The Black Commandos. The Cultural Institute Press.

Jakes. J. (1970). Black in Time. New York: Bart Books.

Johnson, E. A.(1974). Light Ahead for the Negro. Coral Gables, FL: Mnemosyne.

•______. (1904). Light Ahead for the Negro. Grafton Press.

Jones, L. (Imamu Amiri Baraka). (1964). The Slave. New York: William Morrow &Co. 319

Kelly, W. M. (1962). A Different Drummer. New York: Doubleday.

Kenan, R. (1992). Let ttie Dead Bury Tfieir Dead. San Diego: Harcourt Brace.

LeQüin, U. (1969). Left Hand of Dad

Lightner, A. (1969). Day of the Drones. New York: Norton.

Lupoff, R. (1967). One Million Centuries. Alexandria, VA : Lancer.

Maguire, Gregory. (1989). I Feel Like The Morning Star. New York: Harper & Row.

* McDonald, S. (nd). The Janus Syndrome.

Miller, F. (1991 ). Give Me Liberty. New York: Dell Publishing.

Miller, W. (1964). The Siege of Harlem. New York: Fawcett.

Moorcock, M. (1974). The Land Leviathan. New York: Doubleday.

*Nwapa, F. (1980). Journey To Space.

*Parkerson, M. (1983). “Odds and Ends, A New Amazon Fable.” Ground Press.

Patterson, R. (Winter-Spring, 41, 1972). “After the Thousand Day Rebellion.” Transatlantic Review.

Reed, I. (1985). The Free-Lance Pallbearers. New York: Avon.

______. (1967). The Free-Lance Pallbearers. A/ew York: Doubleday.

Reed, I. (1987). Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down. New York: Bantam.

______. (1969). Ye//ow Back Radio Broke-Down. New York: Doubleday.

Reed, I. (1987). Mumbo Jumbo. New York: Bantam.

______. (1972). Mumbo Jumbo. New York: Doubleday.

Reynolds, M. (1972). Blackman’s Burden. New York: Ace.

______. (December 1961-January 1962). “Blackman’s Burden.” Analog.

Reynolds, M. (1972). Border, Breed nor Birth. New York: Ace. 320

(July-August 1962). “Border, Breed nor Birth.” Analog.

Reynolds, M. (1978). The Best Ye Breed. New York: Ace.

Rhodes, J. P. (1993). Voodoo Dreams. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

*Roach, T. E. (1952). Samson. Meador.

Robinson, S. (1976). Telempath. New York: Berkley

Schuyler, G. S. (1971 ). Black No More. New York: Collier.

*______. (1931). Black No More. MacauIray.

Sherman, 0. W. (1992). Killing Color. Corvallis, OR: Calyx Books.

Silverberg, R. {^97S).Shadrach in the Furnace. New York: Bobbs Merrill.

*Stapledon, W. (1931). Last and First Men. Cape and Smith.

Sturgeon, T. (1953). More Than Human. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.

Ward, D. T. (1966). Day of Absence. New York: Dramatists Play Service.

Williams, J. A. (1972). Captain Blackman. New York: Doubleday.

Williams, J. A. (1969). Sons of Darkness, Sons of Light. New York: Little Brown.

Williams, J. A. (1967). The Man Who Cried I Am. New York: Little Brown.

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