"Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Just when I thought things were getting boring (what with a student teacher who is doing my job for free and all) I get a phone call today from a parent who is outraged at the novel that I am making her son read in his public school American Literature class. The novel under fire: The Great Gatsby. Her list of complaints after reading the first two chapters:
1. a man slaps a woman in the face,
2. a man is cheating on his wife,
3. one character is reading a racist book
and her biggest grievance (brace yourself for this one),
4. the Lord's name is used in vain.
The entire time I am listening to this woman on the phone it was all I could do to keep myself from asking, "Are you out of your f-ing mind?!"
Every year I brace myself for parent complaints about two works in particular, Romeo and Juliet and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (both of which I am required to teach, for what it's worth). No one seems to mind that two kids kill themselves in Romeo and Juliet, but I do see it as my duty to explain all the dirty jokes to the freshman who are forced to spend four weeks of their lives studying that damned play. I've been waiting for five years to hear from someone about that, yet, no calls. The "n-word" is used almost 200 times in Huck Finn, Jim is (debatably) a "black face" stereotype and organized religion is sharply satirized, yet still no calls.
But Gatsby? Are you serious???
Using my amazing interpersonal skills, I convinced her to READ THE ENTIRE NOVEL before passing judgment on its moral message. The crisis seems to be temporarily adverted, that is, of course, until she reads the part when Daisy hits Myrtle with a car, killing her and ripping her breast from her chest. Really looking forward to that. Better still will be when we study Of Mice and Men. Explaining why Curley wears a glove full of vasoline should be tons of fun.
I love the smell of controversy in the morning.
Just when I thought things were getting boring (what with a student teacher who is doing my job for free and all) I get a phone call today from a parent who is outraged at the novel that I am making her son read in his public school American Literature class. The novel under fire: The Great Gatsby. Her list of complaints after reading the first two chapters:
1. a man slaps a woman in the face,
2. a man is cheating on his wife,
3. one character is reading a racist book
and her biggest grievance (brace yourself for this one),
4. the Lord's name is used in vain.
The entire time I am listening to this woman on the phone it was all I could do to keep myself from asking, "Are you out of your f-ing mind?!"
Every year I brace myself for parent complaints about two works in particular, Romeo and Juliet and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (both of which I am required to teach, for what it's worth). No one seems to mind that two kids kill themselves in Romeo and Juliet, but I do see it as my duty to explain all the dirty jokes to the freshman who are forced to spend four weeks of their lives studying that damned play. I've been waiting for five years to hear from someone about that, yet, no calls. The "n-word" is used almost 200 times in Huck Finn, Jim is (debatably) a "black face" stereotype and organized religion is sharply satirized, yet still no calls.
But Gatsby? Are you serious???
Using my amazing interpersonal skills, I convinced her to READ THE ENTIRE NOVEL before passing judgment on its moral message. The crisis seems to be temporarily adverted, that is, of course, until she reads the part when Daisy hits Myrtle with a car, killing her and ripping her breast from her chest. Really looking forward to that. Better still will be when we study Of Mice and Men. Explaining why Curley wears a glove full of vasoline should be tons of fun.
I love the smell of controversy in the morning.
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