Florencia Gonzalez, Karina Moreschi
IT WAS A NIGHT TRIP, and the thing to remember is: noone's looking for surprises on a night trip. You ride at anchor, out where it's nice and quiet; kick back, chill out, talk rubbish till sunup. No surprises.
This is how “Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed” begins. The setting is presented. And a hint of something not expected can be anticipated: the surprise factor, a key element in horror fiction. It is difficult to guess what is going to be next because the mixture of logical and impossible events goes beyond reason in this kind of text. Many dangerous and complicated situations put the reader’s mind to the test.
Adolescents are an active part of the global market and a difficult decision-maker segment. They are engaged in a very complex task: leaving childhood to become adults. In this period of transition, Young Adult Literature’s characteristics are appealing to adolescents. Some of these features can be found in zombie’s stories such as the stories are short, a teen is the main character and events and problems are related to teenagers. In addition, horror fiction can challenge adolescents to imagine themselves in problematic situations. And this gives them the opportunity for experimentation. Gail De Vos develops this idea as regards the storytelling (2003). We consider that his idea may be applied to horror fiction because zombies’ stories can provide readers with problem-solving tasks that allow them to be “able to try out their own dreams, fantasies, fears and concerns without experiencing real-life consequences.”(Gail De Vos, 2003)
With this problem-solving pattern found in many zombies’ stories and exemplified in “Lie still, Sleep Becalmed”, it is possible to state that this genre may be successful in attaining the combination of imagination and rational thinking which is a necessary mixture to capture adolescents’ interest. This paper explores how this combination appears in the selected story, which is reviewed together with the theory about YAL.
“Lie still, Sleep Becalmed”: YAL and horror fiction
Teens are developing taste and discernment and are becoming more discriminating in their choices, including reading. ( Holly Koelling, 2004)
Adolescents as consumers have an active role deciding which products of the market they are going to choose. Literature is just another product on sale and adolescents as a decision–maker segment represents a very important share of the demand. It is possible to think that teenagers are vulnerable and easy to manage, but they are, in fact, a difficult target considering their complex needs. They are going through one of the most exigent periods of their life. As Holly Koelling explains teenagers are no longer captivated by the books which they read in their childhood. Their growth is physical, emotional, psychological and intellectual. Consequently, they need reading material that stimulates them to use their imagination and their new mental capacity of abstraction in the search of alternate solutions for the conflicts presented in the stories.
As regards Young Adult Literature theory, many of the traits of this short story are related to Sarah Herz & Gallo’s characterization of YAL. According to these authors, there are some features that distinguish YAL from other genres. Among them, it is possible to mention the following: dialogues represent teenage speech, the narration shows the point of view of an adolescent, and the main character’s actions and decisions are the most important factors in the resolution of the conflict.
“Lie still, Sleep Becalmed” is settled in a night trip on board of the Katie Mae, a fishing vessel crewed by three young men (Dany, Jack, and the narrator), and a girl (Claire). They are going to live an extreme experience when the fishing-finder detects something that they believe is a seal. For their surprise, what they drag out of the water is not a seal. First, they think it is a young boy. But sooner, they are going to realize that it is not a boy either. It is a zombie.
The characters of this tale are described as “university types”, “big smart boys”. They have attained independency but are not still fully adults as it can be perceived in the words of the narrator when facing a difficult situation:
"Okay," I said, deciding I'd be the grown-up on this boat.”
He is just playing the role of a “grown-up” taking a difficult decision. The young adult reader can identify with these characters taking into account the interest of this kind of audience in the future, their desire of emancipation and their will to take risks.
Another quality of YAL observed in the story is a very colloquial and teenage speech, as in the following example:
"And I'll tell you something else about Danny," she'd added, "I bet once you get past that Big-I-Am act he puts on, it's Jack who does all the graft-am I right?
With a first person narrator, the style of this story is also very attractive for a teen audience, and the plot and its conflicts are going to add an extra condiment to the genre.
“Lie still, Sleep Becalmed”: its problem-solving pattern.
Citing again H. Koelling, adolescents’ cognitive abilities allow them to “apply abstract thought, reasoning and logic.” And at the same time, we have to bear in mind that teenagers “seek adventure and a wide range of experiences.” Horror and zombies can provide both possibilities, challenging young adults to imagine impossible and dangerous situations which have to be overcome. The developing teenager acquires the ability to think systematically about all logical relationships within a problem. As regards the object of study in this paper, there are two areas of interest in which the advances in thinking can be divided:
Developing advanced reasoning skills. Advanced reasoning skills include the ability to think about multiple options and possibilities. It includes a more logical thought process and the ability to think about things hypothetically. It involves asking and answering the question, "what if...?".
Developing abstract thinking skills. Abstract thinking means thinking about things that cannot be seen, heard, or touched. Examples include things like faith, trust, beliefs and spirituality.
“Lie still, Sleep Becalmed” can be taken as an example of horror fiction in which the problem-solving pattern can be observed. There are several problems which are presented in the development of the story and the reader can question: a) how the characters make decisions to solve these problems, b) which are the consequences of these decisions, and c) to imagine what they would have done if they had been in that situation.
The main conflict is that there is a zombie on board. Team work and courage are the most valuable qualities to solve this situation. In addition to this conflict, the characters are in the middle of the sea and the engine of the boat doesn’t work. Finally, the main character decides to be “the grown-up” and hit the zombie, sending him out of the boat. But Jack, who ignores the fact that the boy they have recued is a zombie, helps the walking-dead putting his own life in danger again.
"What are we gonna do-" began Danny, but then Jack shouted from down the engine hatch, "Oy! Knobber! Hand down here? Jesus…"
"Okay," I said, deciding I'd be the grown-up on this boat. "Look, whatever we do, we've got to get moving again. You go and get those diesels started up, Danny."
He was half-way over to the hatch before he remembered who was supposed to be playing captain. "What about you two? What are you going to do?"
"We're going to take care of the other thing," I said. In all my years on boats I'd never been seasick; but I came close to it then, thinking about what the two of us would have to do next.
When the engine is fixed and they get rid of Andy, another problem arises, the anchor is stuck and many zombies are surrounding them.
Clustered round the anchor, hanging on to it in a crawling hideous mass, were maybe six or seven of the bodies; dragged up from the oozing deep, these, up from long years of slow decay down where the sun's warmth and light never penetrates, there on the chilly bottom. Green phosphorescent eyes stared back at me, and a billow of putrescence erupted in bubbles on to the surface.
It is difficult to picture oneself in the middle of that situation, but this is also a challenge for the reader. For the crew, the defiance is to keep calm and act fast in order to survive.
A vivid narration, suspence and identification of the YA reader with the characters and their reaction when facing different problems are the main elements displayed in this story. So that all the examples above lead to make “Lie still, Sleep Becalmed” an appealing combination for adolescents who are proven to be a very difficult decision-maker segment to be pleased.
In summary, this story, as an illustration of what the genre of horror fiction can provide, may benefit YAL with a special contribution by adding totally unexpected and creative situations that have to be overcome with the use of logic and intelligence. This aspect of zombies’ stories is very relevant for adolescents who are in the stage of developing increasing academic skills, critical and formal thought. Therefore, horror fiction can foster young adults’ mental growth.
References:
- “Storytelling for Young Adults: A Guide to Tales for Teens”, Gail De Vos (2003).
- “Make Sense of teens as growing people and as readers”, Holly Koelling (2004).
- http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/350/350-850/350-850.html
- http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/adolescent/cogdev.html
- “From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics”, Sarah Herz & Gallo, Donal (1996).
No comments:
Post a Comment