Freshmen English Students Close Out the Year with Dystopian Book Clubs by Trishala Joshi
Throughout the year, freshmen looked at many different concepts in their various units, starting with the Odyssey and character arcs, various pieces (like the “Raven”) for fear and what people like about it, and Romeo and Juliet for the concept of true love. For their last unit, “At World’s End,” students explored popular dystopian novels which both enhanced their understanding of the concept and gave them the opportunity to decide what they want to read.
Most freshmen loved this idea, as they could read what they enjoyed rather than something they don’t particularly care about. Freshman Joli Ferry read Divergent, which is about “A world with different factions that base off your personality and experiences, you get sorted into the one you choose.” In the book, Beatrice (Tris) was passing her initiation test to get into her chosen faction, and Ferry hopes that she gets into Dauntless.
Another option was Matched, where characters didn’t have the option to choose their future. “Matched is about a society where everything is controlled for you, you have a set limit on opportunities you could have. It mainly focuses on a girl, Cassia, who is going to find out her match (the one she will marry) and in the process it glitches out for the first time, leading Cassia to question her society,” said Freshman Ciya Puppala. This book showed Cassia living a perfect life where everything was controlled for her, and we are able to see her reach her conclusion that life isn’t what it seems. She has to choose between two people, her seemingly perfect match Xander and a person she hasn't paid much attention to before but is noticing more and more Ky. Puppala said “I hope that she ends up with Xander cause like the trope of childhood friends is so cute but still makes a change in her society where everything isn’t limited and the next generation can explore more options.”
But another option for books, Scythe, gave the main characters a deadly choice. Freshman Liam Thies said “Scythe takes place in a futuristic society where death cannot occur due to natural causes. ‘Scythes’ are the people given the duty of gleaning (killing) people. It is about two kids who are forced to leave everything behind to become the apprentice of a Scythe. They will both train for a year, and one of them will get selected to be a Scythe.” Scythe presents main characters tasked with killing, but writes the act to be merciful and necessary. It explores many moral concepts, having the protagonists still be perceived as ‘good’ though their job is to kill people. Thies’ favorite character is Scythe Faraday because “He is patient and kind yet still has to glean people,” he said. He shows how Scythes aren’t always seen as a necessary evil, but with respect.
On the other hand, no respect is shown for the citizens in the Hunger Games, the book featuring a tribute system where teenagers are pitted against each other in a fight to the death. Freshman Elizabeth Clark said “[The Hunger Games] is about a dystopian world where North America was split into 12 districts, all having to give up one boy and one girl to compete in a challenge to the death with all the other districts but the main character, Katniss, has volunteered and is trying her best to prepare for the challenge.” It is set in a futuristic world and the games are portrayed as a spectacle and a punishment for a rebellion which occurred before Katniss’ story. Clark hopes that Katniss and Peeta (the other competitor) somehow avoid dying.
Another challenge is in the Maze Runner, which is about a “group of teens trapped in a maze who must work together to escape and uncover the truth about their imprisonment,” said freshman Maria Moreno. Right now, she hopes that the main character, Thomas, survives the maze. She likes Chuck but doesn’t like Gally because “at this moment he is very fishy,” she said.
All the students like the choice of getting to choose what to read, Ferry said “I love that we had the option to choose our book because I don’t think I would have been drawn into the other books like I’m drawn into Divergent.” Students do not have to read a book they dislike, making them more involved in the story and doing better on their work. Mrs [Jamie] Reynolds said “[The 9th grade team] thought it would be nice to have student choice at the end of the year while still touching on all the same standards and concepts we’ve been teaching.” And all these books do connect with all the topics, having a bit of fear and romance, giving the characters their own ‘Hero’s Journey,’ and being set in different interpretations of the future, giving students the opportunity to connect everything back together.