Traditional and Contemporary Korean Popular Culture
This short , powerful novella will provoke lively discussion , argument , and reflection on literary , political , personal , and universal issues . . .
actually a novel that expresses hope by its demand for readers to boldly examine the intricacies of moral responsibility , the implications of personal decisions , and the dynamics of how societies rule themselves ?
For all its significant political overtones , Our Twisted Hero is the personal story of an individual child struggling with the all-toocommon dynamics of bullying and conformism that will immediately engage high school and college readers . The literature of bullying is vast , and the problem of school bullying has become a topic of national concern , with books , consultants , and programs on anti-bullying appearing prominently on the landscape of education in the United States . ( On January 23 , 2010 , a Google search for “ anti-bullying in education ” turned up 1,780,000 hits .) Many readers will also see thematic relationships with books such as Robert Cormier ’ s The Chocolate War ( 1974 ) and William Golding ’ s Lord of the Flies ( 1954 ). The Chocolate War pits the defiant protagonist against the sadistic bully in a Catholic boy ’ s boarding school , combining issues of class , sexuality , and specific Christian imagery in an exploration of bullying with a pessimistic conclusion . The Lord of the Flies places a group of British school boys on a remote tropical island where they descend into savagery . Each of these books evokes its own nexus of cultural and historical resonance , and each evokes different subsidiary themes and images to complicate the examination of power , injustice , and conformity .
It is striking that of these three most eminent books that portray children enacting the social drama of tyranny and injustice , only Our Twisted Hero concludes with a degree of optimism . Democracy succeeds the tyrannical reign of Sokdae , with the class holding elections , discussing their issues , and grappling with all the push-and-pull of equitable decision-making . It is a problematic type of democracy , having been achieved through violence and humiliation , and with the aid of a superior intervening force ; but it is a scenario in which there is at least the possibility of openly querying this fault line and its implications . A further element of optimism in the conclusion is that Sokdae ’ s former victim grows up , finds a profession , has a family , and although disillusioned , retains his ability to be compassionate , and to query the assumptions of his social peers .
The spare writing of Our Twisted Hero concentrates the story within dialogue and action . A few telling metaphors and references to Korean culture will speak more eloquently to American readers with some context provided . For example , the father ’ s lack of support for his son suggests an abandonment of Confucian family values , as does the first teacher ’ s craven acquiescence to Sokdae ’ s exploitation of his classmates . Further , the immediate withdrawal of loyalty from Sokdae after he is beaten and humiliated by the new teacher assumes additional significance when seen in the context of the supreme value placed on loyalty in Korean society .
This short , powerful novella will provoke lively discussion , argument , and reflection on literary , political , personal , and universal issues in courses on world literature , Asian literature , or Asian studies .
The teachers who contributed to this article offer the following ideas for guiding discussion and reflection .
MICHELLE SCHULLO teaches English at Newbury High School in Newbury , Ohio . She sees the novel ’ s multiple levels as having special utility in inclusion classrooms . Regardless of reading level , students easily recognize the characters : the bully , the unsympathetic parents , the indifferent teacher , the boy who tries standing up to the bully , the teacher who means well but nevertheless must coerce students into doing the right thing . An important goal in her teaching is to provide differentiated instruction in order to help slower readers keep up with the class and to encourage faster readers to conduct extension research into the novel as an allegory . All students closely examine character and deal with moral ambiguity .
Michelle Schullo ’ s complete unit on Our Twisted Hero is available at Teaching East Asian Literature in the High School at the Indiana University East Asian Studies Center , http :// www . iu . edu /~ easc / outreach / educators / literature / workshops / index . shtml .
Anticipation Guide : Our Twisted Hero by Yi Munyol
INSTRUCTIONS
1 . Before viewing and reading the novel , place a check mark in the space to the left of each of the statements with which you agree . Students should be able to assign a value to one position and support the position with evidence from the text .
2 . Then , during or after the reading , cross through those you wish to change , and check any new ones you find to be true .
3 . Include evidence from the text that promotes your position . Include page numbers !
Answers and textual support will vary student to student , promoting discussion . ____ 1 . Teachers and adults are here to help you . ( Students should be able to evaluate the roles the teachers and parents play in the novel .) ____ 2 . Power corrupts . ( Students should be able to analyze the effect power has on Om Sokdae and his inner circle .) ____ 3 . Sometimes personal freedoms need to be sacrificed in order to maintain control of the larger group . ( Students should be able to assign a value to one position and support the position with evidence from the text .) ____ 4 . Ultimately , justice will triumph over injustice . ( Students should be able to evaluate whether Om Sokdae ’ s downfall , as a child and as an adult , is justice . Some students will consider the unevenly meted justice delivered by their sixth grade teacher and by life .) ____ 5 . Students should always report violations like cheating or stealing to the school administration . ( Students should be able to compare and contrast the methods and relative effectiveness of each teacher .)
RICHARD SANDLER is an English Teacher at John Burroughs School in St . Louis , Missouri . His major goals in teaching the novel are to convey to the students the universal nature of how one learns to cope
148
56 EDUCATION ABOUT ASIA Volume 15 , Number 1 Spring 2010
153 153
91