Young Adult Literature: Encouraging Helpers In The Giver
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Young Adult Literature - Essay # 2
Encouraging Helpers
Life often poses obstacles on our way, some are enormous, others insuperable. Some people react positively when overcoming an obstacle, others simply cannot face a problem alone. Fortunately, in such cases, there are people who are able to help us. There may be some people who do prompt others to be courageous and take a chance. No matter the circumstances, a friend, a teacher or parents can come to our aid. In a family, parents should help their sons and daughters learn how to overcome problems of any kind. At school, teachers should encourage their sons or students to try new things in life. Sometimes, it is a friend who encourages others to do challenging things. However, is it possible…show more content… By giving Jonas memories of strength, encouraging him verbally and showing him genuine affection, The Giver causes Jonas to make a dangerous journey to the unknown. As regards Leslie, she involves Jesse in an imaginary world of brave rulers that makes Jesse overcome obstacles with optimism. Zero becomes so important to Stanley that their friendship prompts Stanley to be immersed in flight into the desert. All of them, as secondary characters, seem to be encouraging helpers to the protagonists. Today, parents and teachers play the role of helpers when encouraging their sons, daughters or students to take risks and overcome fears and obstacles in life. In order to do so, parents and teachers can take advantage of literature for young adults, especially realistic novels. Realistic novels, like the ones analyzed in this essay, “mirror the real world and the moral and ethical dilemmas that young people face” (Bucher and Manning, 2006, pp89). As “young adult seems to be looking for novels that speak to them in an honest and realistic way, it is important for (them) to be exposed to books that reach them and move them” (pp101). Characters such as Matilda, The Giver, Leslie and Zero do really move adolescents and shape their character. Parents and teachers can provide adolescents with this tool to help them become courageous and risk