Fiction Modern Fiction Qs Modern

Fiction

Modern Fiction Qs

Modern fantasy necessarily has a moral. This is clearly seen in all both Harry Potter and the Lovely Bones: Harry must forego his personal desires for the greater good; Susie and her family must move past their grief or be destroyed by it. There is also a great deal of wish fulfillment, which leads to the willing suspension of disbelief. Despite the horrors and loss that occur in these books, there are fantastical elements that make these worlds exciting for the reader to inhabit.

Realistic fiction such as Belle Prater's Boy involves elements that are often extreme, but fully plausible. That is, everything in such a story is possible, however improbable. The value for young adult readers is found at least partially in a less personal way of dealing with very personal issues. The loss of a parent by whatever means, for instance, finds and echo in Belle Prater's Boy; the grief and anger dealt with in the novel can allow a young reader the opportunity to deal with similar emotions in a displaced and less painful way.

3)

The controversy in teaching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is found almost entirely in religious objections. The books is predominantly about witchcraft, and though this magic is not evil within the context of the novel a strict reading of the Bible interprets any attempts at magic inherently evil. With this issue aside, it could also be claimed that the "good vs. evil" argument in the book is overly simplistic. This constitutes a misreading of the book, however, as there is nothing straightforward about this issue in the novel. Harry is tempted to evil many times, and good characters become involved in foolish and questionable acts (a fact which becomes more pronounced as the series progresses); it is not simply a struggle of good vs. evil, but a struggle for the good to remain good. This book makes it clear that being good is neither easy nor especially rewarding. Professor Quirrel represents the anti-Harry more than Voldemort in that he allows himself to be corrupted, whereas Harry feels similar temptations at times but resists.

4)

Both the Lovely Bones and Belle Prater's Boy could be very effective in teaching a Social Sciences course on the loss of a family member, and the effect that this has both on the family and the larger community. The sense of identity for the adolescent characters in these books is an essential element and conflict in the story. Family, especially at this age and developmental stage, is essential to the concept of the self. These books both explore the ways in which identity can be disrupted by familial dysfunction, and suggest real ways in which to overcome such disruptions -- as well as the effects of failing to do so.

5)

One of the primary ways that Ruth White achieves a sense of verisimilitude in Belle Prater's Boy is through the use of dialect. There are many mundane events that take place that also lend the story a sense of reality; the fact that Gypsy's mother is a simple small-town school teacher helps to reduce her mythic proportions, for instance. But it is the use of words like "lookit" (24), "tater cakes" (24), and "figger" (141) that occur throughout the novel that truly help to root this story in a sense of realistic time and place. The simple every-day dreariness of much of the language makes it clear that this fiction is not a fantasy.