ISFD N° 30 PROFESORADO DE INGLÉS LENGUA Y EXPRESIÓN ESCRITA IV ACEVEDO, JULIETA 2012
“Bloody Mary”: a story that motivates students to read
Have you tried reading urban legends to your students? How do you think they would react? Would it help to make your lessons more motivating? “Bloody Mary” is the story of a woman who prepares herbal medicines for a living. Her tiny cottage is in the woods nearby a village. Young girls from the community begin to disappear. People suspect of her because when the children vanish her physical appearance starts to change and she looks younger and younger. Finally, she is captured by the villagers and burned at the stake. While she is dying, she screams a curse to the inhabitants of the town. If anyone says her name in front of a mirror, she will send that person a spirit to revenge her terrible death. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a horror story is “a story in which the focus is on creating a feeling of fear. Such tales are of ancient origin and form a substantial part of the body of folk literature. They can feature supernatural elements such as ghosts, witches, or vampires, or they can address more realistic psychological fears.” Usually adolescents enjoy telling and listening to horror stories when they are spending some time together, especially at night or around a fireplace. Since “Bloody Mary” can be included in the horror genre that is appealing to teenagers from Argentinean secondary schools, it can be used to promote the reading habit of our students. Donnelson and Nilsen(1997) explain that “Young Adult Literature” (YAL) is “anything that readers between the approximate ages of twelve and eighteen choose to read either for leisure reading or to fill school assignments”. During the
ISFD N° 30 PROFESORADO DE INGLÉS LENGUA Y EXPRESIÓN ESCRITA IV ACEVEDO, JULIETA 2012
last decades, students from Argentinean secondary school used to read classic books which were not of their interest. In the latest years, books which were written especially for teenagers appeared and many teachers started to use them in their classrooms.
Young Adult literature engages students due to its distinguishing
features. Herz & Gallo (1996) suggest that YAL “authors addressed the realities of teenage life and offered readers an honest view of the main characters´ hopes, fears and dilemmas.” Robert C. Small (1992) suggests some characteristics of YAL and these can be found in “Bloody Mary”. According to him, YAL stories are short and simple and Bloody Mary is an example of this. It has almost six hundred words and there are just a few characters, which makes the story simpler. He also emphasizes that the main character is the centre of the plot. In the selected story, all the actions and decisions derive from Bloody Mary. She is the witch who kidnapped young girls and she is the one who cursed the villagers. The author also mentions that the main character of the story is usually a young adult. In “Bloody Mary” the main character is not an adolescent but the story can still be considered an instance of YAL since most teenagers like reading legends about supernatural creatures such as witches, vampires or ghosts. Taking all the previous ideas into account, we can sustain that “Bloody Mary” in an instance of Young Adult Literature and that any adolescent would be eager to read it. “Bloody Mary” can be considered a horror story since readers experience fear. The witch is the scariest character because she is the one who cursed the villagers and her spirit appears when her name is mentioned in front of a mirror. Readers will not only be afraid when reading the events that occur in the story but they will also be terrified of her soul apparition in the real world.
ISFD N° 30 PROFESORADO DE INGLÉS LENGUA Y EXPRESIÓN ESCRITA IV ACEVEDO, JULIETA 2012
Recent surveys related to students´ preferences as regard reading in Argentinean secondary schools confirm relevant information. During the first research (2012), when students were asked what their favourite genre was, 27.5 % of them chose horror. The second survey (2011) arrived to similar results. 30.19 % of the students chose horror as their first option. This information demonstrate that “Bloody Mary” is a good option when teaching since it is an example of horror genre. Students from Argentinean secondary schools will find in “Bloody Mary” a story which is appealing to them since horror is one of the most preferred genre between most adolescents. This story is also an instance of YAL and because of its characteristics students will enjoy reading it, this is why it can be used by teachers to encourage the reading habit in their classrooms. Choosing an appropriate story can make the difference between a boring and an interesting lesson.
References
Horror Story, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/272144/horror-story Donnelson, K.L and Nilsen, A.P (1997). “Literature for Today´s Young Adults”. New York. Longman. Sarah Herz & Gallo, Donald (1996) “From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics”. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Julieta Acevedo & Gallardo, Marisa (2012) “Teenagers´ reading preferences: how to motivate students to read”. Buenos Aires.
ISFD N° 30 PROFESORADO DE INGLÉS LENGUA Y EXPRESIÓN ESCRITA IV ACEVEDO, JULIETA 2012
Florencia Gonzalez and Moreschi, Karina (2011) “Young Adult’s Reading: A Reseach About Their Preferences”. Buenos Aires.