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It has been
said that if you want to know who someone really is, browse
through their book collection. For many of us, what we read both
shapes and reflects who we are. This semester in the Literature
of Identity elective at Yorktown High School, we took time to
reflect on the role of literature in our personal development,
and then as an extension project created web pages documenting
some of our most valued literary encounters. We hope you enjoy
browsing our collection, perhaps finding some new texts to add
to your own library. If you have any questions about this
project feel free to contact me.
Literature of
Identity
White Oleander by
Janet
Fitch is about a mother Ingrid, a poet
imprisoned for murder, and her daughter
Astrid. The young daughter Astrid has many
struggles throughout her life in this novel.
In the beginning of the novel Ingrid and
Astrid had a very strong relationship.
Ingrid was always teaching Astrid about life
and the world that surrounds them. After her
mother murdered her boyfriend using a white
oleander flower and putting the stem in a
glass of milk, Astrid was put into numerous
foster homes and had a horrible
experience throughout her journey of being
alone, and away from her mother.
 Throughout
each foster home something horrible always
happened to Astrid. Her first foster home
was in a poor neighborhood. The mother was
always drinking and only took in foster
children for the money. Astrid began to have
feelings for her foster mother's boyfriend.
they developed a sexual relationship. When
the mother found out she treated to kick
Astrid out of the house. The mother was
always drinking and one night she got into a
fight with Astrid and took out a gun and
shot her in the arm. Then it was time for
the next foster home. She moved in with a
struggling women trying to become a movie
star. They women became really depressed
when she found out that her husband had been
having an affair with another women. The
mother took a bunch of pills and
killed
herself. Another foster home Astrid was
home alone and the family dog attached her.
Astrid moved into many other foster homes
and had many other dreadful experiences.
Along the way she meet a boy, he helped her
along the way to realize who she really was
and what Astrid's true identity is. If you
want to know more about Astrid's life read
the novel, it is an extremely impacting
book, with a great ending that I don't want
to give away.
This
book can relate to me in several way. It
shows the relationship with a mother and a
daughter. My mother and I have a very strong
relationship. Like Astrid and Ingrid, my
mother and I talk about everything. She has
and will continue to teach me about life and
the obstacles that will come about in my
life. Another example of how this novel
shaped my identity is the feelings of being
alone and being loved. Astrid throughout
this novel felt very alone when her mother
was taken away from her and she also felt
very loved when she found a home that she
thought helped her to grow as a person. I
have felt alone at times and also have felt
loved. The time that I feel most alone is
when my family and I fight. Just like every
family we fight but we always make up, its
just at that moment during the fight, one
doesn't know how to feel but the feeling of
being alone. Making yourself happy and doing
what one thinks is best for your life is
another example of how this book shapes my
identity. Astrid tries to do the right
thing, and so do I. I feel that in order to
make my life right I have to make the right
chooses. This novel has helped shaped my
identity and make me realize all the things
the life can make one feel. |
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Harry
Potter
Growing up I really didn't enjoy reading all that
much, until I came across one of
JK. Rowling
books
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers
Stone.
The story took place in London where a boy named
Harry Potter was rescued from the outrageous neglect
of his aunt and uncle. While his great destiny
proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry. At the school Harry becomes
friends with Hermione who busies herself with
studies, Ron who loves chess. Harry
learns that his mother and father were at once
famous in the wizarding community. His mother and
father were killed by Lord Voldermort, the most
powerful dark wizard in their community. While
attending school, he becomes an expert flyer and is
allowed to play Quidditch for his house Gryffindor's
team. Draco Malfoy is a well known trouble maker
around school, and continually tries to get the
Gryffindor kids in trouble, by setting them up and
dragging them away from their beds at the wrong
time. On top of Harry learning about his parents
death, he also learns that one the school
groundskeeper is removing something top secret from
the wizarding bank, Gringotts. Harry forgets about
the top secret removal, until one day, Ron and Harry
come across a large troll in the school and rescue
Hermione from his menance. The three believe that
the troll was placed in the school by the dark
followers in an attempt to remove what they believe
is the Sorcerer's stone, and what was removed from
the bank. From then on, the threesome spies on Snape
and Quirrell, two professors working at Hogwarts,
and seek to discover the secrets at Hogwarts. They
realize that the Sorcerer's Stone is at Hogwarts and
in fact is being hidden by a three-headed dog at
Hogwarts and is the secret to eternal life created
by Nicholas Flamel. They believe Snape is the
culprit behind the evil and try to stop him from
destroying Harry and Hogwarts. One day they find
that the three headed dog that is guarding the the
stone is sleeping and the trap door is wide open,
immediately the three assume it is Snape trying to
steel the stone. The three go down the trap door
and land in the Devil's snare, a plant that
strangles anyone who lands in it. They make it past
the plant, and land on another challenge, Ron is
faced with a giant chess board and wins. Lastly
Harry has to find a key for the door, by riding a
broom. He gets the key and makes it into the door
only to find that it is not Snape trying to get the
stone, but rather it is Professor Quirrell. Potter
defeats Quirrell and does not let Lord Voldemort
come back into power.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is one of
the most inspirational books I've because it opened
the doors for me to become more creative and
imaginative as a writer. JK. Rowling has inspired me
to become a better writer and a avid reader. Reading
her books makes me feel that I'm in the story. By
Christine
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The Catcher in the Rye
I may not be much of a heavy reader but one book
that really stuck out was The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger. Catcher in the Rye was a story of
a teenager running away from his life and going to
New York City on his own. The reader goes into great
depths to see how the main character; Holden, thinks
and acts along his journey throughout the city.
Holden had to deal with problems that an average
teenager goes through in their life and one major
difference is he actually tries to do something
about it. Most of the time it is not noticeable what
decade the story takes place and feels like it can
occur at any time. This book has shown me that the
way I act and think must not be all that different
from everyone else. Holden was a very lonely person
that really only needed a good friend at the time.
The story was very unique because it almost seemed
like you were inside Holden’s mind and wasn’t just a
straight forward story. I became more appreciative
of the things I sometimes take
advantage of
after seeing what Holden didn’t have in his life.
For interesting
observations and some fan fiction
click here.
For a recent
article on The Catcher in the Rye
go here. |
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Sleepy
Hollow
In May
of 2000, I was living in Ohio and stumbled
upon a newly released movie called Sleepy
Hollow, starring Johnny Depp. I was
naturally curious mainly because of its
intriguing cover with the headless horsemen
on his horse with an axe in hand. I had
never known the legendary tale, I had only
seen tv shows or episodes based on the
story. There was an "Are you afraid of the
dark?" episode on Nickelodeon that tried to
retell a modern version.
Two months later I found myself in
Westchester county New York house hunting.
My father became a new executive at Bayer
Healthcare in Tarrytown. While driving
around with the family one afternoon I
looked up on a hill and saw Sleepy Hollow
High School. Could this be the real
Sleepy Hollow? I knew nothing of the town
and until questioning thought it was simply
made up. But it was a real town, and
I was in it. Oddly, I found it very
fascinating. It took a little researching
online to realize what had happened. On my
map the town was still labeled “North
Tarrytown,” apparently the town had been
recently renamed to its former name. When I
got back to our apartment in Tarrytown I
ordered the book
“The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow”
from Amazon.com and gave it
a good
read.
Set in Sleepy Hollow in the early 1800's,
Ichabod Crane is in love with Katrina Van
Tassel, but is frightened away by another
man with a deep infatuation for her, Brom
Bones, who is the headless horseman.
I thought
the movie
was created very well and the story seemed
plausible. A noticable difference is how
Icabod Crane is portrayed. In the book he is
a school teacher, but the movie made him an
investigator sent up the Hudson river from
New York City to find the cause of
mysterious deaths. It wasn’t one of these
attempted Hollywood failures that strayed
far from the original book or tale. The
movie had extra special effects and
conflicts to make it more exciting. I highly
recommend it to anyone that wants a scare
and flowing adrenaline.
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Peter Pan
by Fawn F.
One of my
favorite Disney books/movies of all time
is without a doubt,
Peter Pan. There are many different
ways that it has helped to shape my
identity. When I was younger I had
always wanted to fly to Neverland with
Peter, Wendy, Michael and John.
Neverland was a magical place, where
kids could stay kids forever. They never
had to worry about growing up or what
was going to happen to them if they did.
They got to fly though the air using
only their "happy thoughts" and a little
bit of pixie dust. Some of my favorite
characters in the book are the Lost
Boys. They're the ones that have no
desire what so ever to grow up. Even
though I knew as a young child that I
would have to grow up at some point, I
kept wishing and hoping that one day,
before I grew up, that I could travel to
Neverland. Wendy eventually had to grow
up, and that book taught me a lot about
having responsibilities that you're
eventually going to have to take on.
Aside from just that, she is a motherly
figure to the Lost Boys, who had never
had a real mother before. She reads them
bedtime stories, and cares for them as
if they were her own. I think that I've
grown up to be the person that I am
today, very well rounded and good with
young children, partially because I
absolutely loved Peter Pan. I realized
at a young age that responsibility is
important and life isn't always about
fun and games.
Check out
the newest version of
Peter Pan that came out in 2004. |
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