English 2F - Children's Lit
Response 6- Bridge to Terabithia

Purpose: To analyze the elements of modern realism, to identify the potential responses of children to the book, to interpret a work according to the principles of sociocultural theory

Directions: 

Note: The responses are intended to be a way for you to explore ideas that you might later wish to refine in a paper or a discussion.  I will not censor these responses in any way, nor will I grade them on content or grammar (though, like the seminars, they must be coherent and display some measure of critical thinking about the question at hand). You do not have to answer all the questions, nor do you have to confine yourself to these questions.  You can write as much as you want, as long as you meet the minimum length requirements for the assignment

1. Read Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia

2.  Review the material on contermporary realism and sociocultural theory from Module 6. 

3. Write a page analyzing one sociological/cultural aspect of the book.  Questions to think about:

1.  Feminist Theory: How are males and females portrayed in the book?  Are there certain expectations associated with each role?  If so, who fulfills those expectations, and who subverts them? What is the overall effect of Taylor's interpretation of what is male and what is female?
2. Marxist Theory:  How are the different classes portrayed in the book?  Are rich people shown in a certain light? What about poor folks? Does Paterson seem to be making any statements about class divisions in this book? If so, how might a young reader respond to those statements?
3.  Race Theory:  How does Paterson portray members of the non-dominant race? If you can't find any portrayals of non-white people, why do you think Paterson leaves them out? Are there other categories that people get lumped into that might correspond to the categories that we assign to people according to race?

3. Include at least three quotes from the book to illustrate your ideas

4. Submit your response to the assignments chamber.

5. Extra Credit Option: Post your response to the extra credit forums, "Response 6 - Bridge to Terabithia".  You will receive extra credit if you post your response and/or respond to at least one other student's posting.