Angel+Square

EN 3041/3051 Novel Study Assignment Janine Phillips __Angel Square__ by: Brian Doyle Synopsis: The books setting takes place in 1945 right at the end of world war two in the multi-ethnic neighborhood of Lowertown, Ottawa. The hero of the novel is a boy named Tommy; also know as “the Shadow” which is the name of his favorite radio hero. The novel begins with the brutal attack on Tommy’s best friends’ father, a Jewish man, at the hands of an unidentified anti-Semite. Tommy sets out to solve the mystery of this hate crime which leads him to the stage of the novel, Angel Square. Three different middle schools are located at Angle Square which is a fearsome battleground where racial prejudice is a constant divider among the different ethnic groups that live in the area and attend the schools. French Canadian Protestant, who are called Pea Soups in the novel, Irish Catholics, referred to as Dogans, and Jewish students, refereed to as Jews, fight each other daily with in the square. Tommy refers to himself as not being “anything” and has a Jewish best friend, a Dogan best friend, and a Pea Soup best friend. He also works at the near by Catholic Church and sings on a protestant choir. Tommy’s quest teaches him about the forces that divide a community as well as those that unite them. The book's themes of mystery, prejudice, tolerance and love are enveloped in a tender notion of sweet nostalgia and humor.

A) The appropriate age group for this novel is ages 12-14 therefore the appropriate grades include grades 7, 8 and both grade 9 applied and academic English classes. This novel would also be appropriate for grades 7 and 8 History class where they learn concepts such as interactions and interdependence, change and continuity, as well as culture. By looking at this novel through the historical lens students will be able to explore the treatment of Jewish peoples within Canadian history and hopefully learn to appreciate Canada’s multi-ethnic society.

B) __Social__  ·  The treatment of the Jewish people throughout history  ·  How do police deal with hate crimes? How is justice sought after and served within these situations  ·  How prejudice and discrimination within a community can divide the community · How people, no matter what age, can choose not to discriminate even if it is society’s norms to do so. · Socio-economic difference __Cultural__
 * How can one point of view change the majority?
 * Learning how to share the commonalities among us instead of focusing on the differences that divide us.
 * How has world war two affected the way in which we view or think of the Jews as a group of people affected by genocide?
 * If we change the way in which we view the differences among us then why do genocides still occur all over the world?
 * How do we help those affected by genocide?

__Textual__ · The text uses simple language, explains colloquiums used by the characters. · The text is in first person narrative (Tommy’s perspective) begins with “LET ME TELL YOU about last Christmas” (11). · Main hero is younger than intended audience, but is dealing with issues his intended audience would be dealing with at the ages of 12-14 which include: being different, standing out within a crowd, not afraid to stand up for what is right, and taking risks. · Titles of chapters always allude to what is going to take place within a chapter.

__Topical__ C) The issues and challenges that I might encounter teaching this text is the perspective or treatment of women within the novel. There are only four women within the novel that have a voice. Aunt Dottie, who lives with Tommy his father and sister, takes the mothering role as Tommy’s mother is never mentioned within the novel. She is a clean freak and nags Tommy about everything. While Tommy obeys her he prefers to listen to his father in which he has a closer relationship with. Tommy’s sister Pamela has MS and is locked in the house all day because she disable. Once she was let out of the house and tied to the railings to keep her from getting lost and a couple of boys came along and pulled her pants down. Then there is Fleurette Fetherstone Fitchell who is the class whore. And last but not least there Tommy’s crush Margot Lane. She is mentioned many times by Tommy but we only hear her voice at the end of the novel when Tommy solves the mystery of the hate crime committed against his best friends’ father. Because the story is told from a middle school boys’ perspective this novel can be deemed as an all boys book just like __Lord Of The Flies.__ With no positive female voice within the novel young female students might not be able to relate well to the novel. Or loose interest about the novel early on.
 * The topics that the text introduces us to are: world war two, Canadian history in relation to community diversity within Ottawa, and people with disabilities (Tommy’s older sister has MS).
 * The geography of Angel Square, its location and the community it serves, and the prejudice that embodies the community’s views.
 * Tommy’s financial status and how he is able to budget and acquire money through different means.

D) Possible activities:

I would come up with two different culminating activities for the elementary division and secondary division because the curriculum outlines different expectations among the levels. · One of the specific expectations for the grade 7 and 8’s is, “demonstrat[ing] understanding of increasingly complex texts by summarizing important idea’s and citing a variety of details that supports the main idea” (The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Language 122). Grade 7 and 8 students will be able to exercise this expectation by completing a detailed book report on this novel covering all the major events in sequence in the form of a comic book. This activity is relevant to the novel as Tommy collects and sells comic books throughout the novel and a comic book also helps Tommy solve the mystery. · The overall expectation that that I will use to develop the grade 9’s culminating activity is, “speaking to communicate” ( The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10 English 44). I will ask each student to choose a character and become that character and role play in a mock trial. The purpose of the mock trial will be to solve the mystery of the possible people that could have committed the crime within the novel. Students will have to use prior knowledge and vocabulary of the court room as well as the vocabulary and attitudes of the characters they have become.

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