Book review? Native son

[Allegra]

I’d love to, but the reading assignment is due in two days (first 94 pages)

FYI the book lists have changed at our school and I’m not up on all the lit choices. Everything has changed with Common Core. I’m playing catch up, sadly.

If your daughter has the book already, you can skip to the parts that concern you. You don’t have the read the whole book. THere’s also cliff notes and even some free online reading guides.

 

[Allegra]

sparknotes.com/lit/nativeson/summary.html

Here’s a reading guide you can look at.

 

[Kat127]

I read that book in high school and I think it is deplorable. I’m furious I was told to read it.

The sex is disturbing. He rapes and murders a girl in it and dumps her down a shaft in the slums. I would not consider it good material for a 16 year old girl if you are at all concerned.

To be fair, I was far more disturbed by the violence and the utter disregard the main character had for human life. I don’t remember if the sex was explicit but I have vivid memories of the descriptions of violence.

I remember not telling my parents about the book because I knew they would have been horrified. I also remember being utterly furious the teacher didn’t even warn us that the book could be disturbing.

If someone told my kid to read it I’d tell them no. They can read it in college if they want but there is no reason a high school student should be TOLD to read that filth.

Obviously, I have strong feelings about the book. In my experience other people weren’t as disturbed by the book, but I couldn’t read it without getting sick.

 

[MomaMary8]

I read that book in high school and I think it is deplorable. I’m furious I was told to read it.

The sex is disturbing. He rapes and murders a girl in it and dumps her down a shaft in the slums. I would not consider it good material for a 16 year old girl if you are at all concerned.

To be fair, I was far more disturbed by the violence and the utter disregard the main character had for human life. I don’t remember if the sex was explicit but I have vivid memories of the descriptions of violence.

I remember not telling my parents about the book because I knew they would have been horrified. I also remember being utterly furious the teacher didn’t even warn us that the book could be disturbing.

If someone told my kid to read it I’d tell them no. They can read it in college if they want but there is no reason a high school student should be TOLD to read that filth.

Obviously, I have strong feelings about the book. In my experience other people weren’t as disturbed by the book, but I couldn’t read it without getting sick.

Thank you Kat. I agree. Filth is not literature

 

[StSentry83]

“Sexually explicit” is the least of it. “Native Son” is a fairly graphic story of murder, poverty, and racial conflict. Richard Wright was a Communist of the Stalin era.

I’d be really curious to learn who you would recommend when it comes to reading about the black experience in the U.S. in the first half of the 20th century. Anyone?

 

[heidi_storage]

I’d be really curious to learn who you would recommend when it comes to reading about the black experience in the U.S. in the first half of the 20th century. Anyone?

Langston Hughes? Zora Neale Hurston? Ralph Ellison?

By the way, Wright’s Black Boy is, I think, better than Native Son.

 

[on_the_hill]

I think if you were to approach the teacher with a sense of collaboration and cooperation you will set up a better experience for your daughter than if you approach it from an adversarial perspective.

You both have a common goal: your daughter’s education. See how you can share that goal and make good decisions togrther.

 

[MomaMary8]

Our children have had this teacher for prior courses so we are familiar with each other. I let her know how I thought it was very problematic for young teens to read a sex/rape scene enacted by the protagonist and have this as the possible first exposure to a description of the sex act. Seriously, what are they thinking!?!

Discussion of race relations and the discrimination faced by many is a worthy topic somewhere in a class (history?) but perhaps not the best place to introduce the sawing off of a head of a murdered young woman. Definitely not a good place to describe a rape followed by the smashing of the victim’s head with a brick. I’ll let you read what he does to the bodies…

The teacher said kids in AP classes needed to be mature enough to handle thematic scenes such as these. I guess I’m still not mature enough.

My daughter will only be reading certain portions, most importantly the communist themed sales pitch at the end of the book. What ever happened to Counte of Monte Cristo?

 

[kosull2]

I remember reading this in high school - I do not think it was for class (but I could be wrong), just happened to be one of the many and varied books I checked out of our school’s library. I loved that place - never could get enough of it.

Odd thing is that I can’t remember anything specifically about the book but more more and more is coming back from reading the comments (I may have to find a copy to refresh my memory). I know this isn’t necessarily helpful to the OP other than to say it did not scar me for life and I was quite the sheltered teenager.

Oh, and I went to an all-girls Catholic high school in Chicago that is now shuttered .

 

[PhiloMed]

Our children have had this teacher for prior courses so we are familiar with each other. I let her know how I thought it was very problematic for young teens to read a sex/rape scene enacted by the protagonist and have this as the possible first exposure to a description of the sex act. Seriously, what are they thinking!?!

Discussion of race relations and the discrimination faced by many is a worthy topic somewhere in a class (history?) but perhaps not the best place to introduce the sawing off of a head of a murdered young woman. Definitely not a good place to describe a rape followed by the smashing of the victim’s head with a brick. I’ll let you read what he does to the bodies…

The teacher said kids in AP classes needed to be mature enough to handle thematic scenes such as these. I guess I’m still not mature enough.

My daughter will only be reading certain portions, most importantly the communist themed sales pitch at the end of the book. What ever happened to Counte of Monte Cristo?

Count of Monte Cristo was read in my Freshman Honors English class- not an AP class.

Perhaps if you are so interested in sheltering your daughter to this degree, you shouldn’t be sending her to school. After all, she is likely exposed to much more from the other kids than from a piece of literature.

Also, you and she may be in for a rude awakening when/if she goes off to college.

Good grief!

I’d also add that if I was a student I would be royally bothered by one student in the class being able to do less work and still get credit. Why should one student be so special as to not have to complete the same assignment as others?

 

[MomaMary8]

Count of Monte Cristo was read in my Freshman Honors English class- not an AP class.

Perhaps if you are so interested in sheltering your daughter to this degree, you shouldn’t be sending her to school. After all, she is likely exposed to much more from the other kids than from a piece of literature.

Also, you and she may be in for a rude awakening when/if she goes off to college.

Good grief!

I’d also add that if I was a student I would be royally bothered by one student in the class being able to do less work and still get credit. Why should one student be so special as to not have to complete the same assignment as others?

Why thank you for your earnest opinion PhiloMed. It was utterly unhelpful. insulting and unhelpful. Kudos to you.

Why is refusing to permit my daughter to read about a man performing a sexual act “sheltering” her? How is this an edifying piece? She is the one who brought this to me to view. She is contemplating a single vocation right now. Is this really going to enlighten her to Gods beautiful world? Is this literature going to elevate her heart and mind in helping to form and nurture her? What do you believe the purpose of literature should be?

She and I know the pitfalls of college life. I clearly remember being raped and going with a young lady to report her rape to the police. No. We won’t be surprised.

You do have a point. My daughter read Count of monte Christo in 8th grade. Would you have an enlightened choice??

 

[PhiloMed]

Why thank you for your earnest opinion PhiloMed. It was utterly unhelpful. insulting and unhelpful. Kudos to you.

Why is refusing to permit my daughter to read about a man performing a sexual act “sheltering” her? How is this an edifying piece? She is the one who brought this to me to view. She is contemplating a single vocation right now. Is this really going to enlighten her to Gods beautiful world? Is this literature going to elevate her heart and mind in helping to form and nurture her? What do you believe the purpose of literature should be?

She and I know the pitfalls of college life. I clearly remember being raped and going with a young lady to report her rape to the police. No. We won’t be surprised.

You do have a point. My daughter read Count of monte Christo in 8th grade. Would you have an enlightened choice??

You are right. That probably did come across as harsh. My apologies.

Everyone has a right to raise their family in the way they see fit regardless of how baffling it may be to others.