I lived to tell about reading The Pigman

I figured that if we're going to look at gender, why not look at a novel where the narration alternates between a male and female point of view with each chapter. The narrators, John and Lorraine, feel a sense of responsiblity to type up their experiences with Mr. Pignati (The Pigman), and they take turns doing so on an old manual typewriter while a four-eyed librarian they've dubbed 'the Cricket' keeps a close eye on them from across the library. Despite the gender differences, the novel mostly stresses their similarities: both youths are bored, depressed, intellectual, imaginative loners who seem to hang out with each other because they can't stand other people and can barely stand each other at times. As the result of a 'crank call', John and Lorraine stumble on to the pathetically lonely Mr. Pignati, who invites them in for a glass of wine. I was a little nervous that he'd be some sort of pervert, but he turns out to be quite harmless. The Pigman spoils John and Lorraine like they're grown-up kids of his own, and they take advantage of this new-found freedom. However, they're not grown-up, they're only sophmores in high school, so eventually (wouldn't you know it) their new-found freedom is curtailed by a downward spiral of events that bring all three crashing back to earth.

A reading in the course pack mentioned the rather negative portrayal of the parent characters, and yes, it's there. As a teacher, I've seen how stories are often told through what I call the 'kid filter', which puts the spin on the truth that a student desires. John and Lorraine's parents are a bit nuts, but what American adolescent doesn't nit-pick and exaggerate the shortcomings of their parents during adolescence when talking to their friends, trying to one-up each other on how rough they have it at home? The tone is negative towards parents, but realistically, that's what I would expect from a couple of sophmores in high school. It's also worth noting that at the novel's conclusion, when John and Lorraine are busted and the status quo misery is reconciled, you'll find traces of devotion to their parents and understanding of their parent's disciplinary reactions and hints of regret about their own actions. I think it's fair to chalk this up to the 'growing up' that's supposed to happen in these 'problem novels', but it feels authentically familiar, and you can easily find yourself saying, 'I when through some sort of hell like that before,' even if you never exactly met a Pigman.

I savored 150 pages in one sitting after school with only a brief nap somewhere in the middle. When I closed the cover around midnight, I was quite satisfied, even to the extent that I may actually hunt down The Pigman Returns, even though I'm suspect it won't measure up. What a sucker for the YA formula I am!

I wanted to write briefly about the Bowman article in the course pack as well. I had one high-ability class of thirty-two students last year, and categorization of the learning log characteristics couldn't match them any better. That particular group of students never impressed me as particularly "gifted" or even hard-working. --But what a difference a year can make... this year I'm teaching two sections of high-ability students for a total of thirty-six students, and I'm seeing much more patient, reflective, critical thinking from the group, even from the fellas. I would characterize the majority of this group of students as "gifted" or at least 'faking it pretty well'. This leads me to suspect that boys can 'catch up' to the girls in their interpretive abilities, but I would add that boys often add a relevant historical, cultural, or philosophical nugget to the girls' background with each seminar discussion that we've held. The jury's still out on how the oral discussion affects the different genders as well.

How can I not comment on the raunch culture article as well. I kept having to pick my terrified jaw off the floor. I'm not sure why though, because I've seen the advertising and the MTV videos, but maybe I've just become a bit numb to it all. It's almost like these people have put their development or their self-actualization or their identificaiton process on "pause". --And the shameless willingness to do so, just blows me away. When I read about the winner of The Bachelor saying that she needed Prince Charming to "feel like a real woman", I could just hear Carol King or Aretha Franklin singing "Natural Woman" in rebuttal. It's hard to know where to begin after reading this. All I know is that it's going take me a little while to process. Maybe we'll plan out a counter-revolutionary strategy of our own on Tuesday evening. :)

That's all for now, YA Reader-Fans. See you Tuesday.