What do I do with a book once I have read it?
This section of the Virtual Literacy Centre will give you some ideas of what to do once you have read a book. There will be things to notice about the book's contents and discussion points raised. An activities section will provide you with further tasks or research which you can carry out. Also included in this section are activities relating to literacy and works of art.
The example here has been taken from the book The Foxman by Gary Paulsen (Puffin, ISBN 0140343113)
When you have finished reading a book, perhaps you could make some suggestions as to what other readers might notice about the book and what further tasks could be carried out.
In
The Foxman, the narrator and his cousin find the Foxman, a
recluse with a horribly disfigured face, in a remote cabin in Northern
Minnesota. The narrator has been sent to live with relatives in
Minnesota because of the violence of his alcoholic parents. The
relatives have accepted him and made a place for him in their lives,
including him in the storytelling on winter evenings or, rather,
including him in the audience for storytelling. It is two of the men
who tell stories each night and their stories are always about their
adventures in World War I. The audience is expected to laugh at many
of them and the narrator finds nothing to laugh at, feeling instead
the horror of war. As the boy's relationship with the Foxman grows, he
becomes aware of the contrast between the Foxman's handling of the war
experience and that of his two uncles.
Things
to Notice and Talk About
You'll want to focus on the Foxman as the book does. What caused his
disfigurement? Notice the ways in which he deals with it, living away
from society, hiding his face even hiding himself so that the boys
don't have to look at him. Find examples of his behavior which show
his constant awareness of his physical appearance. Imagine the horror
of being horrible to look at.
Look at some of the minor characters here. The uncle is concerned about the boy. He asks if he is happy and if he knows the woods well enough now so that the uncle can relax a bit when the boy is gone for long periods of time. Does the uncle know about the Foxman?
What about the person who brings the supplies once a year to the Foxman? What does he/she know? How does that person deal with it? How was the routine established? Did the Foxman go to town once?
The Foxman says at one point, "Science kills beauty." What does he mean? What is his example of knowledge ruining wonder? What are some other examples?
Talk about the effects on both boys of knowing the Foxman. Why is Carl's reaction different than his cousin's? What will change in the boy's life after this book? Will he stay in the north? With the family? Alone? Will he go back to his alcoholic parents?
Finally, there is the burning of the cabin with the Foxman and all he owns inside. Is that what Foxman wanted? Why did the boy take only the fox pelt? Was he right?
Activities
Another quote says that the storytellers are "plucking roses
from manure." What about that one? Can you cite examples of it in
the book and in life?
There is violence throughout this anti-war novel. Pick out the references to it and debate their cause and effects.
Speaking of alcoholism, investigate Alanon and Alateen. Could they have helped the boy?
The battle of Verdun in World War I is talked about in the book. Find out what you can about it. We're hearing a lot about poison gas now in the Middle East. What was said about it then? Why was it outlawed? Can there be rules to war? Who makes the rules?
The work on the farm is important to the book. Everyone does his or her share, even the animals. Talk about the draft horses. Do some research on the different breeds and their particular strengths.
The cold plays a part in this story. He talks about the blue of cold. What does he mean? Frostbite is dealt with. Is rubbing snow on frostbite recommended? At one point the boy is freezing to death. Are his experiences consistent with those of real people in the cold? What about snow-blindness? Is it a real thing? Talk to an eye doctor about it. How would the author have known about such things?
A distinction is made in the book between killing and hunting animals. How do you feel about it? Is hunting still necessary? Is there a connection between the killing of animals and the killing during war in Foxman? Is trapping necessary? Why? Is there a humane trap? Contact animal rights organizations and furriers to get their sides of the debate. There are some pretty graphic descriptions in the book of preparing killed animals for food. Who prepares the meat you eat?
There are other disfigured characters in literature and in real life: the Elephant Man, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Phantom of the Opera, the boy in "Mask." Compare their handling of the problem with that of Foxman. What would you do?
Related
Books
Tree by Leaf by Cynthia Voigt
(Macmillan, 1988 ISBN 0-689-31403-5)
Compare The Foxman to the father in Tree by Leaf. The
father was also gassed and is hiding out in the boathouse rather than
facing his family.
Collected
Stories by Richard Kennedy
(Harper, 1987 ISBN 0-06-023256-0)
This book contains a story called Oliver Hyde's Dishcloth Concert.
In that story Oliver hides his face with a dishcloth, not because of a
physical disfigurement, but because of an emotional one.
Fireweed
by Jill Paton Walsh
(Farrar, 1988 ISBN 0-374-42316-4)
This novel deals with war more directly.
Other works by Gary Paulsen, author of The Foxman. Read some of his other books (they're all good) and see if you can decide what his values are.
Demonstration reference material for this page is taken from Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
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