I enjoyed The Grass Dancer more than The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I think I liked that it had more mysticism and history of the American Indian culture. The book is written in a confusing way. I am not sure how students would react to the style of writing. When starting each chapter I was unsure of exactly who I was reading about, as there are many many characters in this book.
I think some students would enjoy the multitude of characters because there is a better chance they would identify with one. Students also might enjoy having the opportunity to learn about so many different character types. An assignment idea could be contrasting ancestors such as Charlene's great great aunt with the younger generations, such as Charlene. This teaches students about how the culture has changed and how it has stayed the same.
Lately I have been looking at books from all points of view because I will need to see how my students view the books. While I think some students would enjoy the multitude of complex characters, I think some students might get left in the dust. It would be a good idea to give advanced students this book and students who don't like to read complex novels The Absolutely True Diary because it has less characters to keep track of.
The complexity of this novel is definitely a challenge. Do you think using one or two of the "stories" would be a good alternative for students? Maybe even teaching "Absolutely True Diary" with a few of the stories from "Grass Dancer". It would offer a good combination of modern Native American literature with a more traditional story. Either way would offer students a good opportunity to learn and educate themselves about Native American culture, tradition, and lifestyle.
ReplyDelete-Allison