It doesn't matter how many times I watch The Lion King. I still hope Simba will not foolishly go off to the elephant graveyard. I still hope Mustafa will pull himself out of the stampede. I still hope Simba won't run away from Mustafa's death. But those things happen...EVERY TIME. And watching those events is painful EVERY TIME. Just a reminder that some bad things will happen - because of our mistakes or someone else's conniving or cruel twists of fate. Great movies and books make us confront harsh reality, and I wonder, does it make us more prepared when we have to face cruel reality for ourselves? I hope so. I keep reading (or watching) to see how characters walk away from such painful moments and become stronger because of them. That's where I am in my current novel.
For the record, I ask my students to set a goal for pages/books this 9 weeks. I have my own goal that is always in the back of my head - 2 books every 2 weeks - 2 because I read one at school and one at home. Genre-wise, I try to consistently read nonfiction so that I can find some my students might like, but I couldn't resist reading this historical fiction that everyone has recommended. This book, All the Light We Cannot See, may take me longer than two weeks because I want to reread, and I find myself checking the timeline to make sure I see how events of the past lead to the events of the present. But I also hate some of the painful moments that I see coming and have to live through with the characters. Werner, the main character, is a gifted orphan, talented in electronics and recruited by the Nazis to receive specialized training. At his school for "chosen" boys, he meets Frederick, another gifted boy who can obviously learn quickly and deeply, but whose unfortunate gift rests in an understanding of the natural world (birds, especially) - hardly an area of interest for a political force bent on military domination. But Frederick could be an asset if only he would be molded to the Nazi's vision. Sadly, he is not, and when the school seeks to find the weakest boy, Frederick becomes a natural target, run down in a race in which the targeted "weakest" is given a head start but is subjected to punishment should the others catch him. As the other boys chase him, they are "impatient to find out what will happen if someone is caught," and once they catch him, their breath "pulses out before them in a collective fleeting cloud" (Doerr 191-192). The boys, it seems, are eager to find someone weaker, someone who will suffer the punishment they all fear. The moment when they catch Frederick creates dread for the reader and for Werner. Werner must decide if he will stand up for Frederick, and readers must witness the abuse of a young man that serves no other purpose than to make boys fear being "weak." I'm guessing most people can guess what happens. Frederick suffers, but when asked if he is the weakest, he bravely says, " Some people are weak in some ways, sir. Others in other ways" (Doerr 193). His response, of course, shows strength, but it does not spare him because in an unreasonable world, no one recognizes real strength.
I hope in this world we acknowledge real strength - not the strength to strive for goals others set or to prove ourselves in ways others reward, but to have Frederick's strength. To love what we love, to learn what we value, to accept harsh realities but not bend to them. We all say we would and think we could, but most of us have never faced a real test that challenges those intentions.
On a lighter note - I wonder how many of my students will post late into the night. I admire their efforts no matter when they post. I know how busy they are, how dedicated they are to their interests, how burdened they are by school's demands. I hope they know I read all their posts and appreciate the time they spend to share their thoughts about their reading. I love to read what they have to say.
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