In this essay John Fantuzzo critiques civic education's current focus on power and turns to James Baldwin's conception of love as offering an alternative approach. Fantuzzo's argument is that Baldwin's understanding of love can contribute to civic education by disclosing the significance of interpersonal solidarity between citizens, a significance…

A key instructional goal of English language arts instruction is teaching students to read and interpret complex literary texts. This report reviews the literature on the development and pedagogy of literary analysis skills. It analyzes literary analysis skills as a "key practice," a bundle of disciplinary skills and strategies that form…

Despite claims that Creative Writing and Composition don't speak to one another, this article finds that composition does borrow fictional craft elements and artistic tools. Moreover, these devices and tools show up in composition pedagogy in two ways: explicitly or implicitly. Many of the tools found come from fiction writers and poets, while…

Shows how English teachers can use film to upgrade the literary consciousness of theatre goer and reader alike. (RL)

Examines the reasons why so many people have preconceptions about how much "truth" is in fiction. Notes the effects of believing that authors base their fiction primarily on personal, "true-to-life" experiences. (RL)

The use of fiction and autobiography to develop nursing students' textual competence in reading, interpretation, and criticism is discussed. Ways in which literary pedagogy enhances reflective thinking and relational skills are addressed. (Contains 51 references.) (SK)

This article reveals the differences between the character Kunta Kinte and the historical record concerning African males in the preslavery period. Kunta's non-African behaviors include displays of blind anger and rage, prudishness, and actions unknown in his Mandinka culture. These represent the many misrepresentations and ambiguities in Alex…

Twelve adolescent novels with the theme of obesity were selected for critical analysis. The novels were assessed for readability and to determine the approach to overweight portrayed by writers. The books were also examined in light of the concept of lookism prejudice. Recommendations were offered to teachers and counselors for use of these books…

Depending primarily on Joseph Campbell's treatment of the quest or hero myth, this paper provides analyses of recent women's fiction in terms of contemporary women's quests for personal identity and freedom. Following discussions of a proposed definition of myth, its connotations, and its use as a literary device and as a tool for critical…

This paper carefully examines the literary elements Scott O'Dell uses in his children's novel "The Captive," that so successfully engage even a reluctant reader. The paper explores the writer's style and subtle use of detail and foreshadowing. Quoting specific examples, the paper points out O'Dell's imaginative syntax and his ability to…

The work of a number of American literary critics on the novels of contemporary Spanish women are reviewed. It is argued that the criticism generally suffers from ethnocentrism and lacks insight into the reality of the lives of Spanish women. The works of Matute, Martin, Gaite, and Quiroga, among others, are discussed. (EF)

The versions of academic life portrayed in two recently published novels, "Small World" and "Coming from Behind," are compared and other aspects of the works' literary merit are discussed. (MSE)

Contemplates the meaning and misunderstanding of the works of West Virginia author, Breece Pancake, who took his own life at age 26. Pancake used a "realistic" representation of a place to create an effect in his fiction, not to develop a regional image. Contains comments from other Appalachian writers concerning Pancake's work. (KS)

Joyce Carol Oates is unique in American fiction for her portrayals of the terror and the beauty in the mother-daughter relationship--the tensions and the bonds created by this particular form of doubling. Her more interesting explorations portraying some deeply pathological and some positive aspects of this form of doubling include the following:…

Discusses new trends in children's literature on growing up. (HOD)