I suppose "results" isn't really the right word. It's more like I've reached some conclusions.
One conclusion I've come to is that I would not assign On Such a Full Sea by Chang-Rae Lee to my AP students. This is not to suggest that it is not AP worthy, though.
Let me explain.
Currently, my AP students read two dystopia novels: Brave New World and The Handmaid's Tale. They start BNW over the summer, and we finish it together in the first week of school. Then we read The Handmaid's Tale. They are great novels to start with as there is some built in interest in dystopias on the part of students and, particularly with Atwood's novel, the book is compelling enough that students (generally) put up with the complexities of the narrative and so I am able to introduce them to many of the stylistic devices that I want them to pay attention to for the remainder of the year: allusions, syntax, repetition, motif, foils. I also pair these two novels to give them some perspective and contrast when it comes to dystopia fiction.
On Such a Full Sea is another dystopia, and I, myself, am a little tired of reading dystopia lit, so I can only imagine how my students would feel about reading a third negative view of the future. There would be some interesting points of contrast with Lee's novel, as it is certainly not as bleak as the other novels, and in many ways the people and societies of the novel resemble our own more than Huxley or Atwood's novel. And Lee's writing, though it has far fewer flourishes than Atwood's and it far more spare and less experimental than the other two authors', is certainly powerful in its articulation. There's also that really interesting first-person collective narrator, which would be fun to analyze with students.
But, 400+ pages is just too long. I'd have to spend too much of the precious time I have with students on this one novel and, rewarding as such an experience may be, I want to introduce my students to a variety of texts. A long novel gets in the way of that goal.
I will, however, add On Such a Full Sea to the suggested reading list for AP students. It is accessible and interesting, offering unique perspectives and raising important questions about how we go through our lives.
Sorry to hear that we will not be reading the book, it sounds like a unique book. However, I do agree that three dystopia-based novels would be a little much. Would you consider the writing in On Such a Full Sea more similar to the writing in Brave New World or The Handmaid's Tale? I ask this because I personally enjoyed reading The Handmaid's Tale much more than Brave New World and I was wondering if you would ever consider swapping out one of the old novels for this new one instead? Also, I remember you saying that you did not like the first-person collective narrator at the beginning of this unit; do you still feel the same way after finishing the book?
ReplyDeleteI suppose if I were to replace one, it would be Brave New World, as I also prefer Handmaid's Tale. I think this novel is a bit too subtle to be a summer read though, as its world is not as clearly structured or explained as the world of Brave New World.
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