Essay on Speak and Kissing Tennessee
Of all the literary genres, perhaps modern realism is the most difficult to write successfully. The
beauty of Kissing Tennessee and Speak is that both authors “get it,” it being the essence of life as
a teen-ager in the United States. Both books circulate constantly in my library because my 8th
graders can relate so well to characters like Melina, Tawny, Mary Sarah, and Cub. For us adults,
both novels provide us with vicarious experiences, taking us back to exhilarating and torturous
dichotomy that is being fourteen years old.
On June 8th, I discussed various types of reader response theories. For this essay, you are going
to combine two types of responses–a classificatory and an experiential–into one paper.
Essentially, Kissing Tennessee and Speak are school stories, a sub-genre found in modern
realism but not entirely limited to it. (I can argue that the essential reason Harry Potter resonates
so well with middle grade readers is at its foundation HP is a school story first and a fantasy
second). As school stories, they share many common literary elements–bullying, peer pressure,
stereotypical characters, and setting.
Using the essays we have read on modern realism as well as my lectures and our class
discussions of the lives of contemporary teens, I would like you to evaluate (classify) these two
novels as works of modern realism. What in these novels “speak” to modern teenagers? What are
some of the issues dealt with here and how are they resolved? Can we consider both to be
“problem” novels? If so, why? Look at the main ideas. For Kissing Tennessee, you might want to
focus on only one of the short stories rather than the entire collection. With some critical
thinking and some careful reading, you should be able to provide me with the reasons why these
novels are representative of the type of modern realistic novels today’s teens like to read.
In the second part of the essay, I want you to focus on an experiential response. Think back to
your days in middle school or junior high. Which story in Kissing Tennessee do you best relate
to? Now me why. In Speak, we see Merryweather High through Melinda’s eyes. Her viewpoint
is at times very humorous and at other times extremely tragic. However, seldom is it off target.
Perhaps better than any other novel in the YA canon, Anderson captures essence of the school
environment—the stereotypes, the teachers, lunch room scene, and the social hierarchies. Again,
think back to your high school days and dredge up those memories of school. What in Speak
rings true for your experiences in school? Make sure you use specific examples from the novel to
support your response. If you have a teen-ager yourself or work with teens, you may project
yourself into your son’s or daughter’s school or the one in which you work. Based on your
experiences as a parent or teacher, do think Anderson’s portrayal of the school scene is accurate?
Carefully balance scenes from the novel with your own observations.
This paper should be in the range of four to five pages, double-spaced. It is due on Friday, July 1.