Week 7

[morgan...@gmail.com]

• Post responses to at least 3 discussion topics
• Optional - post a reply to at least 1 person

Discussion topics

1. Like some of you, I often find it fun to use What If discussions and papers in my lessons.  With that in mind - What if the scout plane had been the Enola Gay?
2. P249 - Put yourself in Gen's place.  You don't know about your family, you're surrounded by horrors, you are close to home but can't tell which is yours - Would you stop to help the people who did so much harm to your family?  How would your students answer?  
3. Describe the baby being born at the end of the book and in literary terms does this ending diminish the work as a cast of played out archetypes might diminish a modern work?  Now factor into your thoughts that she really did give birth then and there (although Nakazawa did not appear until after the birth.  His mother was already holding the baby when he arrived at home, a fact he has stated that he was not immediately aware of).
4. There is a controversy about Barefoot Gen, especially in schools, under Week 7 there is a link entitled "Article on Banning of Barefoot Gen."  Read the article and reflect on it.
   
5. Would you have your students do a character analysis with this book?  What might that look like?
6. The father and others (like the drunk soldier) are constantly blaming the higher ups who started the war for all the problems and deaths (but never the emperor).  Is this at least partially because of the influence of the Tokyo Trials and American media censorship/propaganda during the occupation?
   
7. What major themes do you pull from this book (power/abuse of power, resistance/questioning, loyalty...) and how would you use them in your classes?
   
8. If you were to teach this book in your class, since it has no chapters how would you break it up?  Would you use the whole book or just parts?  How would you use the book (memoir, non-fiction, as an example of graphic novels, as a stand alone text... And finally would you use it by yourself or as a piece of cross-curricular material?
   
9. Read some of the survivor poetry under Week 7 entitle Poems by Atomic Bomb survivors from "Voices" and talk about them in relation to this book and/or your use of the book in your classroom.
10. Is there anything else from this chapter that you want to highlight or that you would bring up in your lessons?
11. Any questions

[mgbl...@gmail.com]

QUESTION 1:

“What if” scenarios turn life experiences into narratives of possibilities, reducing in a sense the degree of fatalism and predestination from history and introducing the agency of free will. In this light, we can imagine the end of WWII without the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Or, the war would have ended sooner, if the emperor and the military had given up their military campaign, and so many “what ifs.”  

In relation to the context of the final moments before the atomic tragedy happened in Hiroshima, my “what if” hypothetical recreation of the past would have resulted in a, slightly, better outcome than the actual event, as it happened, for a couple of reasons. On the one hand, at face value it appears that many people would have escaped direct death, if the scout planes that flew on that day in the skies were actually the Enora Gay, instead, and the majority of the people were forewarned about the anticipated air raid and taken refuge at the temporary shelters scattered around the city and the surrounding areas. Of course, there would have been several citizens who would have failed to escape to those reserved safety nests, and would have died, either because of sleeping, or being ill, weak, or elderly, so unless there was an able family person, or individual, to wake them up, or help them out, these individuals would have failed to escape the blast in either cases. Considering the hopeful scenario though, of citizens escaping in the underground encampments, their lives would have been saved a direct death, but not the indirect threats of imminent death due to black rain, radiation sickness, and lacking of medical supplies, water, or food. Everything was levelled off. Hiroshima became a city of ashes, in the aftermath, so all the necessary resources were lacking.

Finally, the death toll of citizens would have been large irrespective of the change of the circumstances, as described above, in my view, because in short they would have died a slower death.

QUESTION 2:        

  Being trapped by the horrific circumstances that Gen finds himself after the bombing, I would have experienced a temporary black out on my decision-making abilities that drive action, because the reality that I knew was no longer visible, or too large and incomprehensible for my mind to grasp. My instincts, then, would have been to go to my family house, first, and seek out my family members and see where they are, whether anyone needs help escaping, while at the same time doing my best to help others along the way, if by helping them, I wouldn’t lose precious time to reach back to my house and help my family.  The many injured people would have devastated me and, thus, I would have done my best to help them, later, if unable to do so earlier.  

         My students, it is my feeling, would have said the same thing: they would have sought out to return to their houses and look out for their family members, first, whereas they would promise to the injured and needy people that they would come back with help to assist with their escape and wellbeing. Gen acts the same way, but since he is a 6-year-old boy and thinks he can help everyone, he can hardly anticipate that reality can be cruel, particularly when he soon realizes he could not save his two siblings, or his father, from a collapsed-and-about-to-be-devoured-by-flames house.

Finally, Gen’s desire to help the people that harmed his family demonstrates how in times of crisis it is a human instinct to help others, without thinking about whether one can help them or not, or whether one should, or should not, do so.

QUESTION 8: 

 It would be my objective to use parts of Barefoot Gen for a couple of reasons.

 

One reason is to teach students about memoirs, a non-fiction style of writing, that is based on autobiographical accounts and reflective thinking. Students, at the same time, would learn about the life of a young boy who lived during the WWII and experienced the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. Many students would have heard about the events of the WWII with all the movies that have been created around WWII thematic threads, or would have read literature about the Holocaust in their earlier years of education. Such an introduction to the story, also, would be connected to the study of graphic novels, and how they function to represent reality and character development, what makes them successful, or what principles are in place to make a graphic story a narrative with an important meaning to share. Such an approach would involve techniques of making graphic texts, and ways of interpreting them to enhance appreciation of ideas communicated within. By approaching the piece as a non-fiction on WWII and a great source for illustrating graphic novelization, the essence of memoir would become more explicit, the events of the WWII would be seen from the perspective of a non-western individual, and the value of image would be better appreciated. Such an experience of using the story would prompt a higher interest in reading more about Japanese narratives on the WWII, render students more open to critical thinking, a balanced perspective, and a willingness to be creative with reimagining the past and the future in terms that are philanthropic, humane, war-free, and nuclear weapons-safe for local and global communities.

 

Finally, the parts that I would select from the book would include, first, the air raids scene, pages 1-20, where description of the lacking of food supplies and military and social oppression are given a description. Another part that shows similar circumstances would be pages 51-68, where bullying takes place at a school and social level. The part encompassed in pages 120-140 demonstrate another example of social pressure/propaganda/bullying that was prominent in WWII Japan with the pictures of Roosevelt and Churchill on the pavement, and the story of Akira, who escapes from the country strongholds. An example of military pressure can be deduced from pages 142-160. Lack of food supplies and money can be highlighted using pages 184-200. Pages 207-223 are great example of military coercion with the physical beating of soldiers, while pages 228-240 can be used to highlight poverty, deprivation, lack of resources to sustain life that makes people desperate and cruel, or force them to commit misdemeanors, such as destroying property(glass) for survival reasons. The last part would help introduce the direct effects of the atomic bombing. 

[epi...@homewood.k12.al.us]

Week 7 (July 17, 2017) Liz Pipkin's responses  

Question 1

Like some of you, I often find it fun to use What If discussions and papers in my lessons.  With that in mind - What if the scout plane had been the Enola Gay?  

“The B-29 that flew in that morning was a reconnaissance plane to check the weather conditions over Hiroshima and to photograph the target before the bombing. Had the atomic bomb been dropped then, many would have survived because they’d run to the trenches.  The “all clear” came, and reassured, the four hundred thousand residents of Hiroshima all began the day’s activities.”  The Japanese radar operators, detecting only three planes, supposed that they comprised a reconnaissance.  In the New Yorker Magazine 1946, there was an article on survivors.  This used with the issue of the timing of the drop of the atomic bomb would give students some parameters to help them use the information in the what if this had happened thinking. (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima)

Question 

Would you have your students do a character analysis with this book?  What might that look like?

Liz Pipkin’s response to the question on character analysis

To help students be successful in the character analysis in Barefoot Gen students  would infer abstract traits and values from literal details contained in a text.

  

By using a simple graphic organizer students would choose a character from: Gen, Father Daikichi, Mother Kimie, younger brother Shinji I, sister Eiko, or the older brother to gather direct text from book  under the heading Action, then correlate the action with Traits demonstrated by action. Students as readers are to draw a conclusion about the character's traits (to infer them) from what the character says, thinks, and does. 

 

Keeping this a simple graphic organizer will help students as they read and respond to their character.  By explicitly teaching the three most important characterization aspects, such as: personality, motivation, and author’s purpose students will be able to connect to the text for the character analysis.

[bac...@pps.k12.mi.us]

2. P.249-I would like to think that even in the chaos of unknowing, I would stop to help others, even if in the past that had been anything but helpful to me. As far as students, that could go either way and they wouldn't be shy about answering yes or no. I suppose a lot of that comes with the age of the student. My hope would be that all students would help.

3. I believe the symbolism inherent in the birth at the end of volume 1 easily outweighs any possible sense of diminishing the ending. If Nakazawa finessed the facts to make the ending even more powerful, I see no issue here. 

9. The survivor poetry contains some powerful imagery. I don't think I can ever forget the intestines section. I would definitely want students to read these poems and experience what was seen after the bombing and the sheer horror people had to live through, even if only for a very short time before they died. The suffering, physical and psychological, must have been beyond belief.

[Geoffrey Smith]

2: In Gen’s place after the atomic bomb, I am not sure how I would act in face of the horrors around me (page 249, and following pages).  I imagine that I would look for my family, despite the urgent needs of neighbors and strangers.  I would like to think that the previous unkind acts by neighbors would not be a factor in my decision, which probably would be more instinctual than deliberate or conscious.  Pausing to help a lady, Gen he is helpless from shock or immaturity or both, and he cries out for help, “She’s…she’s DEAD! Help! Mamaa!” (page 253, box 5).  It will be interesting to see what my students would think that they would do in this situation.  Typically, students tend to overestimate their own agency. 

6: The father and others (like the drunk soldier) are constantly blaming higher ups who started the war and for all the problems and death, but they never blame the emperor.  It is an interesting question, obviously, about whether the American occupation had an effect on this (positive, optimistic) postwar attitude.  I think it would be normal for the Japanese who suffered so much and who had their traditions challenged to want to retain some aspects of the past, including the emperor.

8: I intend on using this book in my ninth-grade history class in Quarter 1.  I probably would use this work as a memoir, and I would invite students to consider the strengths and limitations of this genre.  Because the book does not have chapters, I am not sure how to divide the assignments, especially given that our school has a modified block schedule.  Classes meets only three days per week, and students are expected to use “work periods” on alternate days.  In the past, I have successfully completed cross-curricular assignments with English and science classes.  With this work, I am intrigued by the possibilities for cross-curricular connections with the visual arts. 

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Mgblake

I think there is a certain degree of universality that most people would prioritize reaching home/their loved ones.  In a large metropolitan area I think it might perhaps be easier to have some tunnel vision in Gen's place.  But I wonder in a small town 1940s type environment where you knew your neighbors and may even be related (even distantly) to many of them, if this tunnel vision would still exist and if it did would the survivors guilt be even worse?  Granted Hiroshima wasn't a small town but the partitioning of areas to create the small town like neighborhood within the larger city is still something that many cities still have in Japan and something I believe we used to have more of in the US.  

I like the detail and ideas you have for using Barefoot Gen.  The only question I have is are you planning on using the free digital copy available online (I believe a link was sent out during the registration period of the class), will you be copying just specific parts out of your copy (if you have a copy of the book) or will you be trying to get a class set of the books?  

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Liz

Thanks for the link.  I haven't read the whole thing yet, but one thing from the first story did strike me.  "The soldiers were coming out of the hole, where they should have been safe, and blood was running from their heads, chests, and backs."  As we see from that first story, even 2 miles away from the explosion you were not necessarily any safer in a sheltered area then you were nestled between two large rocks above ground.  So even if the people of Hiroshima had made it to the shelters, there's no guarantee that they would have survived (especially those closest to the explosion).  

That would definitely impact any what if scenario.  

[mgbl...@gmail.com]

Hi Morgan--

Many thanks for the insights. I forgot about the possibility of accessing the book online. In that case, students can access the book using this link, or my digital copy. There are computer labs, or students have their own computers, so that would probably be feasible.   Otherwise, it is my hope our school has copies available of this book, or I would. be obligated to make few copies from the book. Recently, I bought three volumes in the Barefoot Gen series to have available in the classroom. 

[Lori Stubben]

4. Banning Barefoot Gen- I’m still wondering if the abuse of Gen by his father, plus all the other physical abuses will be too much for some of my 8th graders.  If I teach the book to the whole group over a week I would prepare them for this and discuss it. But then I will need to purchase 24 copies (a chunk of my yearly budget). If I have it as one of my selections of children of WWII memoirs with Yoko’s Diary, Girl with the White Flag, and two European memoirs they would read this in a small group over a week and I would only need to purchase 6 copies(they would rotate over 4-5 weeks), but I would need to be with this group every week for their discussions.

The reason this book was banned isn’t clear. Was it the anti-emperor/government message or the increasingly graphic nature of the series- how can it get more graphic- actual rape scenes- I definitely couldn’t show that to my class. Will my immature boys giggle over Gen’s nude sister being abused by her teacher? I would be so disappointed in them. I will check with the curriculum head before I buy this book for the class- but I do think it is powerful- especially as an artistic memoir and psychological reconing.

8. I would need to cover this entire book in a week of classes with discussion every day Friday - Thursday at the end of my  5 week long WWII unit. I would introduce the book on a Friday and give the first big chunk for the weekend intro-124.  When we got to class on Monday they would come prepared for our discussion- we’d review, discuss and make connections with that section and I would pre-teach the next chunk and so on. I would spend about 40 minutes a day on this literature connection to history. The group or whole class would have many mini-activities each day to show me thier understanding of the novel and its connections to history. I especially like how it all happens in the last five months of the war so I could chronologically cover the war in the Pacific and Europe and what was happening at this time.  I would also be able to compare the styles of writing in Yoko’s Diary (a middle school girl’s class writing assignment about her daily life in Hiroshima at almost the same exact time period) and The Girl With the White Flag (an adult’s prose memoir of the invasion of Okinawa at age 5).  These are in 3 styles, two written after the fact, all experiences of the war as children; all top level powerful.

12. Thanks for the poetry.  I will use these with my students as another form of sharing the stories of hibakusha. Some students respond to poetry more than others. Not to diminish the power here, but I didn’t know the word pikadon and I would have students search for the meaning- many of them grew up with pokemon’s pikachu and it seems the bright light may be the same kanji. Does anyone know? And it would fit with my Japanese onomatopoeia lesson as well.

[step...@brpsk12.org]

2.  Gen shows his true self when he helps others.  I feel this is a reflection of his father's teaching.  The scene where he stops to help (and promises to bring water) is a good place for class discussion.  With the Japanese painted as willing to die, Gen is willing to help others live.  

7.  I do a lesson on "standing your ground for what you believe is right."  Gen is an example of this, although family is very important he is headed that way.  Would you do the same thing?  When have you stood your ground?

 Loyalty would also be a subject around the military, emperor, and family.  What does loyalty look like?  First, where is loyalty shown in the book.  The  students could make a picture showing what loyalty looks like to them. Or design a person with the traits embodied in them.  Question:  is loyalty a  good 

9.  The poetry is very powerful.  After reading some students are to draw or tell about the scene, the people, the feelings.  Maybe write a haiku in response to one of the poems. I want them to feel the emotions. 

[step...@brpsk12.org]

Lori,  I am still wondering about the abuse of the father.  It contradicts his beliefs.  Why is all this violence put into the book?  Did it really happen or was it a view of Gen to show the power his father held in the family??

[glas...@shaker.org]

GLASIER Discussion:

2. How would I respond to people begging for help, the same people that treated my family terribly?  This is a great question.  I think it is an especially thoughtful question for our students to be able to discuss.  With so much horror happening around you, it some ways seems so pointless?  Gen survived by a miracle and then to have all these people surrounding him in so much pain and agony must have been almost too much.  As an adult, I could see myself helping others but I could also see myself shutting down and running away.  I hope I would chose the later but who knows.  That is what makes it such an interesting questions.

4. The banning of any book, I believe is not necessary but also criminal.  Education is built on controversy and understanding your place in the world.  Books help students do that.  This book in particular is very important in confronting two countries’ history and war in general.  It is graphic and I believe that is the only way to deal with such a harsh reality.  The reason I am going to use this book in the classroom is because it does leave many questions and it does deal with many issues.  This complicates our understanding of the issues and helps us grow as human beings.  This book does just that for my students and myself.

[semba...@gmail.com]

Response from Laura Semba:
#3) I think the baby being born in the midst of the horror of the bombing is powerful on many levels. I don't think it diminishes the work. The birth of the baby is at once hopeful, but also crushing because we know the baby does not survive. The fact that she gave birth surrounded by such horror gives the event even more power and significance. Giving birth is already fraught with danger, but in this case it's an experience taken to the extreme.

#6) I think the characters never question the emperor because that was still a forbidden place in their minds that they were unable to access. People in China had a similar experience with Mao. Even after seeing evidence of his wrongdoing, their indoctrination was so strong that they just couldn't bring themselves to criticize him. The emperor in Japan was of course a "living god" to them and only the strongest minds could even begin to enter into the realm of criticizing him.

#7) I'm fascinated by people throughout history who have been able to be courageous enough to put themselves at risk in order to stand up for their beliefs. I would like to have my students explore that topic with this work and to also research figures throughout history who have displayed those characteristics.

[epi...@homewood.k12.al.us]

I too, would also like to thank you for the link for the book.  In fact I want to thank the whole group for such wonderful participation with this book. The teaching techniques given have been excellent to engage in best practices with the wide range of students we all teach.

Liz Pipkin's response 

[nahow...@gmail.com]

Topic 1- As the narrator suggests in the story, if the Enola Gay had been the scout plan in the story, many of the population would have survived the initial bombing. Being underground in the shelters meant that the blast would not have affected them; however there possibly would still be many instances of radiation sickness from those exposed to the radiation still in the air. On a sadder note as it pertains to this story, it would also mean that Gen and his family would not have taken cover, and all of them would have perished.

Topic 4- I find the banning of Barefoot Gen interesting, as we can look at many books that have been banned in our own history for various reasons (Huckleberry Finn, Catcher in the Rye, etc.). While I understand that argument over the graphic nature of some of the images, it is also important to consider the age group and the reasoning for reading this material and what it is trying to tell the reader. Is the story appropriate for say a 3^rd grade class? No. On the other hand, if this material were given to a group of 8^th graders or high school students, they (hopefully) would be at the age level to handle the content. The imagery also is important in that it is showing the reader what this event was like, and the controversies of the real events surrounding it; it is a warning of how war has an impact on regular people.

It would be better not to have an outright ban on the book, but to leave it to the teacher’s discretion if they can justify teaching the book (content relation, etc.). At my school, we are asked to make a list of books that we will be teaching that year, to let parents know so that they can preview the material, in case they have an issue with students reading a certain book. They may have political, religious, or some other objection to the content; in which case we give that student optional readings and they go to another classroom to read and do work related to the exception for them. We have only ran into this problem once in the four years at our school that I have been there. We read the Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis, which is about a young girl living in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban. It has some pretty heavy scenes and discussions of the difficulties of living under the Taliban. We had a parent complain about the story, as they thought the content was not appropriate for 6^th graders (though it is written for that grade level); so we gave the student  another book to read.  In the end, we always give the parents the option if they choose.

It can defiantly be a fine line to walk when it comes to finding age appropriate material for students that tackle difficult subjects. I would probably not use this book with a sixth grade class, which I currently teach because of some of the imagery and the maturity level of my students; however I would look into using this with my higher level students, or possibly my AP students who may be able to handle it.

 

Topic 8- I would probably not use the entire book with my class, for time issues. I would present it as a graphic novel, in conjunction with other readings about the bombing of Hiroshima. It is a great “primary resource” and shows the side of the Japanese people; that could be used along with sources on the American side. This can be done in cross-content with my Social Studies teacher when the students get to Asia and Japan.

[Donna Kokojan]

Question 2- P249 - Put yourself in Gen's place.  You don't know about your family, you're surrounded by horrors, you are close to home but can't tell which is yours - Would you stop to help the people who did so much harm to your family?  How would your students answer?  

I don’t think anyone truly knows how they will react when they are placed in life and death situations.   I think the age or maturity of a person will make a difference in the way that person reacts.  For example, when I was a small kid I was involved in a tornado with my family out of state.  Once the hotel we were staying in was hit by the tornado, everything changed.  I was scared and could only think of the fact that I had been standing next to my sibling one minute and the next everything was destroyed.  I immediately searched for family, but part of that was because I had been next to them when the tornado hit.  Part of my family had been at a ball game.  For hours we did not know if they were okay or injured.  After the initial shock, we started helping other people at the hotel.  That’s all we could do.  I believe Gen was in shock and reacted the only way he knew.  He had never seen people injured to the degree that they looked like monsters. In his mind he was trying to figure out what had happened and what was happening, so finding his family was a priority.  I think it was interesting to show that an older person  helped Gen and his mother.  

Questions 3- Describe the baby being born at the end of the book and in literary terms does this ending diminish the work as a cast of played out archetypes might diminish a modern work?  Now factor into your thoughts that she really did give birth then and there (although Nakazawa did not appear until after the birth.  His mother was already holding the baby when he arrived at home, a fact he has stated that he was not immediately aware of).

I don’t think the birth diminishes the work.  I saw the birth as being two fold- the birth of a new world because the bomb changed the world’s  innocence and the actual birth of Gen’s sibling.  The actual birth showed that even in the midst of chaos life goes on, plus it shows how stress affects people.  Gen’s mom just watched family died yet she was strong enough to give birth.  The author was able to use artistic license to figuratively describe how Japan and the world had been forced , without warning, into a new era.

Question 8- If you were to teach this book in your class, since it has no chapters how would you break it up?  Would you use the whole book or just parts?  How would you use the book (memoir, non-fiction, as an example of graphic novels, as a stand alone text... And finally would you use it by yourself or as a piece of cross-curricular material?

I plan to use this book this year in one of my high school classes.  I like that there are no chapters because it allows me to select where I want to stop each lesson.  This book will allow me to do more than just read the story about Gen.  I plan to introduce it as a memoir and explain why I wouldn’t call it an autobiography.  The graphic novel style will allow me to explain that words speak volume, but pictures can say things that words don’t describe.  I also feel that pictures leave a lasting impression on the mind and make it easier to recall facts and /or themes.  I plan to use this book to help explore the cultural differences and similarities between the US and Japan during WW II.  This will allow me the opportunity to present information beyond the story that will hopefully, allow my students more of a chance to see the overall impact of war on the world both local and abroad.  

[Donna Kokojan]

Geoffrey Smith, 

I agree with you that Gen was in shock and not thinking.  He was reacting and reaching out to his one source of strength- his family.  I think it is important to remember people had never seen the horrors of the effects of the atomic bomb on people.  Many people were instantly blinded, so it looked like some adults could help but couldn't because they could see.  If Gen did stop to help, how could he help?  He had no supplies.  At Gen's age, he hadn't experienced death up front, so he hadn't learned how to deal with it yet.  I think he did what most parents teach their children- found your family in emergencies.  Donna

[mdz...@gmail.com]

Question 1. There’s nothing quite like a ‘What if …’ and comics as a form have always made good use of it. (My favorite remains Superman: Red Son – something that a fair few of my students have heard of, even if they hadn’t read it themselves.) I think my students would quite enjoy that question as well. I suspect that many of them would likely focus on the efficiency of the previous drills – the father’s behavior notwithstanding – and would talk about how many lives would have been saved. That, of course, could lead into a somewhat harrowing discussion about the sheer destructiveness of the atomic bomb, and the truth that no one on either side could have been fully prepared for what would follow.

Question 2. I think that it was important to show the horrors of the atomic bomb’s aftermath as chaotically and as viscerally as possible. That image of the burning horse will stay with me for some time, as will the drowned children. I can only imagine how these vivid images will affect my students, especially the myriad melted people. That said, I think that the practicalities raised by this question would be intriguing for them. For example, how would Gen navigate his way home through an unfamiliar apocalyptic landscape? (And how would they?) Would they help the Chairman and Ryukichi? (And is their failure to return the favor really a surprise?) I think that my students would come up with some unexpectedly creative ways to find their own ways back and survive. I also believe that they would be compassionate, like Mr. Pak, and do their best to help others along the way.

Question 3. In truth, I rather appreciated the birth at the book’s end. All stories, at the end of the day, can be broken down into archetypes. (It’s something I’ve studied for quite some time.) Modern works cannot escape this fact, also the archetypes might be a little more subtle. And though I haven’t thought about it in quite these terms before, it might be that the very nature of the graphic novel, its blending of words and images, lends itself to such mythic forms. From the inescapable sun, in frame after frame; to the changing readings of Gen’s barefootness, as he poaches his way through Hiroshima-turned-horror; to the contrasting compassions of the Chairman and his son and Mr. Pak; to Gen’s mother giving birth in the face of so much death (which was done far more elegantly than some modern versions I have seen – Anakin and Padme, to name but one regrettable recent example). In fact, I think that the promise she asks of her newborn would lead in nicely to a discussion of postwar Japan – and the ongoing debates about the changing role of its military. One last point: I think that the biographical nature of the birth would help sway anyone still on the fence about including it here.

[genjimu...@gmail.com]

 
#2: This scene was particularly difficult for me because of how his neigbours repaid his kindness. I hated the fact that they acted like cowards. I'm not sure how I would have reacted if i was in Gen's shoes. I teach my students about being an upstander. Some of my students would have said no to helping these people and some would have said yes. 'll have to lead by example. I would have stopped to help them out and run home afterwards.

#3: The scene is a bittersweet one. Her birth signifies hope. Hope for the future. Hope for a better tomorrow. I don't believe that her birth diminishes the work as a whole. I sort of like the idea of him being there when his mother delivered the baby. The image of him raising the baby up like Samba was lifted up in the Lion King :-)

#11: I hate the ending of this story. Did his brother and sister really died? What about his brother who joined the pilot program and his other sister, did they make it? Did he ever confronted his neighbours who refused to help his family?
  

[crenn...@gmail.com]

4. The article from Japan Times on the banning in Matsue was interesting, but I felt that I needed more information to really judge the situation. It does seem like the district was responding to political concerns. Removal almost never seems like the best choice.

It would be unusual for my school to ban a book, but we do sometimes hear complaints from parents. We are most likely to hear complaints about racist language. Sex and rape come next. I haven't usually heard complaints from parents about violence, but students have sometimes come to me to let me know that they find descriptions of violence disturbing. I'm sure those same students would find Gen upsetting as well. Of course, that wouldn't be a reason to keep it out of the library. The back of the book is clear that the book deals with "the bombing of Hiroshima and its aftermath." I think that would be enough to let students who would find the material too horrifying keep their distance.

But what about for a class? The final part of Gen is shocking, even when you know what is coming. It bothers me to see people who have been burned all over their bodies, even in the form of a cartoon. I found it painful to watch Gen witness his family burn to death, trapped by their demolished house.

On the other hand, I think you could make an argument that it would be ethical to include the book in a high school class, even if it would upset some students. You might argue that a responsible citizen should be aware of the impact of her country's actions. This is certainly a book that would make a student aware.

 

5. Character analysis might be challenging with Gen (though I'll be curious to look at other responses to see if anyone has a good idea). The most interesting character analyses usually come from characters who change or who appear to change. It also can be interesting to analyze characters who have conflicting values. I think it would be hard to argue that any of the characters change. Or rather, we don't have a lot of information at the end of Vol. 1 to suggest that the characters change. Gen and his mother's lives have been changed in the worst way, but we don't see a change in attitude or belief in the final pages.

 

7. I could see the text fitting in with a lot of different themes or units. I've taught a unit on loyalty in the past, and I could see the book working well for that. Many characters in the text believe that they are being loyal. The characters who are least sympathetic believe that they are being loyal. In fact, misguided loyalty drives some characters to do horrible things to the Nakaoka family.

Nakaoka himself is loyal to his ideals and believes he is a true patriot, but he does not believe in the emperor or that loyalty requires that one never question the government or the military.

The end of the book isn't a comment on loyalty per se, but it does interest me that there is no poetic justice for any of the characters in the book. The Nakaokas are not saved by their views. The chairman and Ryukichi are saved by Gen, but then do nothing to help the Nakaoka's or return Gen's favor.

It's also interesting that the book seems to argue that living and witnessing is a powerful form of loyalty. The willingness to give up one's life is not a value that the book seems to believe in. Nakaoka insists that Kimie and Gen should live, not remain and die. Nakazawa's text shows us images of soldiers and civilians as they kill themselves, but this is never glorified or even admired. 

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Bachpe

I have used that selection of poems for several years and the lady with the intestines always strikes my students, I'm glad you found it powerful too.  I really like the book those poems are from, it isn't polished or pretty and it was a bit spendy but powerful. I think using poetry as accompanying pieces with books is a great way to add to the students' knowledge and mix thing up.  

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Geoffrey 

I agree that there are a lot of fun art crossover activities, a few of which I've already included in a response to someone else (either this week or last week).  I'm sure your art teacher would be able to come up with a lot more.

As for not blaming the Emperor there is something noteworthy there.  As historians we can look back and know that there was a long history of the Emperor not being much more than a figurehead.  So we know that this blaming of the higher ups, but not the Emperor, is more justified.  But I think some of not blaming the Emperor for people of the 1940s might fall back on the view of the Emperor.  For many of the commoners the Emperor being infallible and above reproach was a fact and a constant of the universe.  You looked at the Emperor almost like we look at gravity.  You trust it to always be there, to always do what it is supposed to do, to protect you in certain ways... Obviously this is something that our students would find difficult to grasp (and us perhaps even more so).  So the characters pointing the finger at the higher ups, but stopping short of the Emperor, might have something to do with this.  

[aethe...@kapaun.org]

1. Like some of you, I often find it fun to use What If discussions and papers in my lessons.  With that in mind - What if the scout plane had been the Enola Gay?

If the Enola Gay had come first, would we even have this story? Gen would have been home and probably would have been trapped under his house like most of his family. However, as many colleagues mentioned, numerous other people may have survived the initial atomic blast and not have been seared/melted/injured. If more people survived, but resources were ruined in the blast, how would that have played out? I tend to agree with one statement that the death would come at a more painful point: starvation and residual radiation.

1. Describe the baby being born at the end of the book and in literary terms does this ending diminish the work as a cast of played out archetypes might diminish a modern work?  Now factor into your thoughts that she really did give birth then and there (although Nakazawa did not appear until after the birth.  His mother was already holding the baby when he arrived at home, a fact he has stated that he was not immediately aware of)

For this volume, the ending works for me. With birth, there is a hope for the future and I see that things are (can be) hopeful--maybe the war will end, etc. It plays well for a start into a series like a cliffhanger of sorts into the next book. (Do the books follow in chronological order?) The hope is fleeting as we know that the baby will die a few months later.

1. If you were to teach this book in your class, since it has no chapters how would you break it up?  Would you use the whole book or just parts?  How would you use the book (memoir, non-fiction, as an example of graphic novels, as a stand alone text... And finally would you use it by yourself or as a piece of cross-curricular material?

I would use this as a cross-curricular item with the World History teacher for my 9th graders when WWII is discussed, and I would use it as a non-fiction memoir--experiences of someone who was there. (I might even pair it with NIGHT to look at two different parts of the war and two different styles of memoir).  I like the graphic novel part of it as well since it gives the students another vehicle to convey a message/story. Not all students love paragraphs and picture-less pages of information and would enjoy a break in style. I think that I would use chunks (as much as I would love to read the whole story, but time constraints would prevent me). I would use p 142-162 with the failed Kamikaze pilot; p 180-181 with reactions of Japanese families when fighting got close; 242-end with the birth and death of Gen's family members

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Lori

In response to your #8 reply, don't forget that there are free copies of Barefoot Gen available online.  If you have 1:1 tech, computer labs or rolling racks of devices this could be a way to avoid spending any money and not have to worry about any copyright laws or making photocopies.  

In response to your #12, I have never been very good with Kanji (Hiragana and Katakana have always been so much easier for me), so I can't answer your question about the Kanji being the same or not.  However I can you something about the word Pika.  When the Japanese took the Northern Mariana Islands from Germany in WWI they utilized the islands considerably well before WWII (for example the Sugar King company was big on Tinian).  One of the things they found on the island was a very small and very hot wild pepper.  This pepper only grows in the Marianas (Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Rota...) and there's a bit of a debate about its origins.  The pepper is called the Pika Pepper or Pika for short.  The indigenous people (called Chamorro) claim the word is Chamorro, but many "Chamorro words" are German, Spanish and Japanese due to colonialism.  The pepper is famous for being blindingly hot and has been called Pika since at least the Japanese colonial era.  Just something interesting about the word Pika.

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Glasier

You obviously have some strong feelings about book censorship.  Passion like that leads to great discussions in the classroom.  Personally I do find it interesting that some people have wanted the book banned because the pictures of the atomic bomb's aftermath.  It seems like being shocked by a graphic novel showing pictures, arguably mild representations given the lack of color and detail, shouldn't really happen.  I would think anyone grabbing a graphic novel or comic book about surviving the atomic bomb should be able to figure out going in that there will be depictions of the atomic bomb.  And perhaps it's just me, but compared to the poetry and other literary works about the bomb by survivors, the drawings in Barefoot Gen seem almost tame.  

I believe the ban was short lived because of the outcry, but it does remind me of schools in the US banning Harry Potter (religious grounds), Goosebumps (deemed too scary) and even books like Huck Fin (N word).  Given your passion I imagine bringing this banning, albeit a short one, of Barefoot Gen could be an engaging addition to your unit.

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Laura

I completely agree with your answer to #6.  If you do decide to use this book with your kids, I think keeping the fact about the baby not surviving hidden could be useful for a class discussion.  Wait until the kids finish the book and ask them about the ending.  Depending on where your kids are at with literary analysis they might bring up something about the baby being a symbol of hope or a promise of the future or something, or they could simply say they liked the baby being born at the end.  Then when you tell them that the baby dies you should be able to get a strong reaction from your students.  In fact you might get a stronger reaction at that point from your kids than you get with everyone else dying from the bomb.

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Nahoward

I like your school's policy on books.  You mention the purpose of the imagery/book and I think there are two things that as readers we should also consider.  First, as a survivor of a horrendous event there can be a true need to share your story.  Many war memoirists have said that their telling of their story was a catharsis and helped them move on with their lives.  I have to imagine that for this catharsis to happen the story needs to be as real as possible.  

The second thing I think we should consider about the graphic nature of the Little Boy's affects is the time period in which the story was released.  The original story was released in the early 1970s.  Given the world during the Cold War (the threat of nuclear war, the people demanding nuclear weapons be used in Vietnam, the buildup of nukes...), I think there was a need for the graphicness to be high to present an anti-nuclear message.

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Donna

I like your reasoning for why the lack of chapters is a good thing.  The fact that it can allow you to insert it more organically into your classroom is a very real advantage.  I think we've all been in the spot where we have student read a book and we make them stop before the end of the chapter or wish the chapter ended at a different spot.  

One question to consider is if you'll tell your students about the baby dying later on because of the radiation or if you'll leave your students with the hopeful message you mentioned.

[morgan...@gmail.com]

mdzanko

I love the mention of Red Son Superman.  There's another one that's also fairly interesting called JLA: The Nail (I believe) - Superman was raised by an Amish family when the Kents get a flat tire stopping them from being near the crashing escape pod.  The inner comic nerd in me just had to mention that.

I think you make a good point about graphic novel archetypes.  Way back when I was student teaching I was forced to teach the Secret Life of Bees.  After reading it I couldn't think of anything big about the story or the writing to focus on, so instead my big focus was using the book to cover archetypes and other basic parts of storytelling.  As you mention graphic novel archetypes are just as available.  With all the variety we're seeing in graphic novel styles and the creativity I think this might become an interesting area of study moving forward.

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Genjimurasaki

Yes his siblings and parent did really die in the fire.  It is a sad ending and if you read further on (the memoir continues in 9 more books), Gen's mother and the baby won't survive the radiation either.  But as you mention this particular book does end on a more uplifting scene (both literally and figuratively).  I think the reference to the Lion King could be a good one to bring up with your students if you end up teaching this book.  Chances are that at least some of your students will be familiar with that scene and the comparison can help them delve deeper into the meaning behind Gen's new sibling being raised up.

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Crennertmay

You make some interesting points about loyalty and character growth/change.  You are correct that we don't really see much character change in book 1.  Some of this can be attributed to the author having a static and likely romanticized image of his dead family members.  Some of this could be attributed to the short time period in which book 1 takes place and some of it could be attributed to the fact that it is only part one of the 10 part/book series.  If we look at the series as a whole, Gen goes through some series changes.  Gen will become angry and cynical, he will become a criminal and a bully, then his personality pendulum will swing back more towards the Gen we see in book 1.  The author will attribute his mother for saving him from continuing down that destructive path and helping him restore some of that book one Gen-ness that we grew to love.  

[morgan...@gmail.com]

Aetheredge

To answer your question, the rest of the books will cover his life as he gets older.  In book 2 he will go to live with some relatives who don't treat him and his mother very well.  Later on we will see older Gen become a bully and criminal and Gen's mother die.  While the series will continue to cover Gen growing up, there will be a difference in the time.  Book one covers a short period of time in great detail.  If each book of the series went at the same pace this series would be ridiculously long.  What is somewhat interesting is that the author talks about ending the series with book 10 but that he doesn't feel that Gen's story ends with book 10.