I pursued the issue of alcoholism in “Where I Am Calling From” and also extended it to include underage drinking. I was thinking about this more in terms of how to apply it to students even though it was not a short story we would normally consider using in class. Students would likely not want to talk about alcoholic family members, but they are always quick to point out their peers who do too much of anything. No names would be used if it came to it, just “a friend” or “someone I know.” I am not looking to change how kids act, but I do not think a discussion about it could hurt.
So many popular songs talk about being in clubs, drinking or actually addressing alcoholics (Shots by LMFAO) that it is obviously relevant to students. And Four Loko was a popular topic only a few months back and I know plenty of students who talked about it.
As far as quotes for this overall idea go, the whole story is a representation. There is nothing glamorous about it; it’s observation of lost men and their meandering conversations with a neutral ending. It paints a drab picture of addiction. I suppose the fact that “he was eighteen or nineteen years old and out of high school and had nothing whatsoever he wanted to do with his life” until he began cleaning chimneys and became an alcoholic might come up in conversation, but the underage drinking discussion is not about directionless students; it applies to all students (454).
If you want students to be bored and disengaged, give them this government article full of lists and minutiae…http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001940.
This article covers slightly more provocative topics and statistics that could be excerpted for discussion…http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/649993.html.
This picture is the downward slope and upward struggle of alcoholism. The concise phrases to describe the steps in either direction…http://www.addictionz.com/images/alcoholism-chart.gif.
Finding youtube videos that are related to alcoholism without being too colorful is difficult, but this news story gives the cops and story keeper’s point of view on underage purchases. It contrasts with the businessweek article that says students are given drinks by parents…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKlJVvjTG3s&feature=fvst.
I am not very happy with how this turned out, but I was covering Mel’s character from “What We Talk About…” and I did not want to use that story twice. I found “Pastoral” to be narrow in every way, so I avoided using it. I feel like Carver’s stories are so realistic that they do not provide exaggerated avenues to pursue.
I agree that "Where I'm Calling From" could lead to interesting, and perhaps loaded discussion. I think it would be worthwhile to have this conversation. In fact, I just realized that this may be a good story to use with Catcher in the Rye. Thanks for those links as well.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading I was thinking of giving this story to a few students I know who are drinking pretty much every day. I overheard one say that he had a wine cooler for breakfast. I would give the story to these students without judgment, but with a follow up conversation. There's a fine line with student trust. As you, I think wisely, say, I'm not out to necessarily change student behavior, but if a few of them can see the big picture more clearly through my actions, and what we read, I'll have made a difference.
Do I respond too much with cliche? ugh.
Rob,
ReplyDeleteI think that "underage drinking" would be an interesting thing to discuss in relevance to this story (especially with, as you point out, the onslaught of songs/videos about drinking). I also think that this story could be juxtaposed with "What We Talk About" (at least the parts where there isn't cursing all over the place) and a bigger discussion on the topic of "love" could be opened up. I mean, Teri from "What We Talk About" was in an abusive relationship and J.P. from this story is in a relationship where he and his wife hit each other, but at the end of the day she's still there for him while he's trying to sober up. I don't know... just a thought.
At the end of your response you say, "I feel like Carver's stories are so realistic that they do not provide exaggerated avenues to pursue." I agree with you on some level, here, but couldn't we consider the realism in his stories as an avenue to pursue? Perhaps the realism and anti-climactic endings in his stories could be used as a discussion starter for the question: do all stories need to have a clear-cut ending? I think it would be cool to have students write their own endings to one of the stories read in class. They would have to consider all of the information within the story they choose and, while writing the ending, would have to take multiple aspects of writing and characterization into consideration.
P.S. Students should also be given the opportunity to share their endings with the class and give one another constructive criticism.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about "Where I'm Calling From" possibly being too heavy for students, especially if their lives are impacted by alcohol. I like that you are able to connect the story to the classroom anyway. I sometimes lose focus of that in these posts. You're in teacher mode...nice. I think there's more to "Pastoral" than you think. It just depends on personal experience. What seemed meaningless and narrow to you might illicit something powerful in a student. I know for me, i agree with you on a superficial level, but upon inspection, I saw that the story spoke to me in many ways. I think it would be important to not let your personal feelings get in the way of what your students might get out of something.
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