Class Zone: The Language of Literature

"Hostage," by Joyce Carol Oates

Overview

The narrator describes her fascination with Bruno Sokolov, a student who looks older than his 14 years, dresses strangely, and has a scar on his forehead. He is the leader of a neighborhood gang and the president of the ninth grade. On Saturdays the narrator visits the downtown library, where she sometimes sees Bruno. One Saturday a stranger grabs her, dragging her into the men's lavatory. Bruno rushes in, pummels the assailant, and stabs him repeatedly with his switchblade knife. For these actions, Bruno is given six months probation and is required to undergo psychiatric treatment. Bruno's personality changes dramatically. At 16, he quits school, at 18, he joins the army and later dies in Korea.

Issues

This story addresses

the psychological impact on victims of random acts of violence, particularly two common reactions: self-recrimination and repression of anger;
society's capricious definitions of justice and heroism.

Instructional Focus

To encourage students to identify and examine

the reasons behind the characters' actions and reactions to the events in their lives,
alternative reactions to the stressful and violent situations presented in the story that would bring about a more healthful resolution.

Activities

Oral Reading
Have students read the story aloud, stopping at various plot points to discuss or write about the judgments they are making about the characters as they appear.
For instance, stop at the end of the first paragraph, which describes Bruno, and have students comment on his attributes and what they might contribute to the story. Encourage students to make judgments not only about the characters but about the way the narrator forms and presents her opinions. Do likewise throughout the reading, pausing as plot and characters develop to discuss or write about the cause and effect nature of the situations that arise. For each situation, ask students to consider how characters could have responded differently. Then have students brainstorm probable outcomes for each different response.
Use the following questions as springboards to solutions:

What traits does the narrator possess that make her likely to assume guilt for her failure to escape the assault? How should she address this guilt?
What events in Bruno's past may account for the rage displayed when he overcomes the attacker? How and when should this anger have been resolved?
What influence do the adults in the story have? Have they acted in a responsible manner?
What could each of the characters have done to prevent the violence that occurs in the story?
How could each of the characters have responded following the violent events to produce a more favorable outcome?
What can be learned from reading this story about protecting one's self from the violent tendencies of others?

Think/Pair/Share
Ask students to list the major characters in the story and identify the lapses in judgment each displayed. Encourage them to think about the alternative decisions the characters could have made to avoid or deal with the extreme situations that occurred and list as many as possible. Have students pair off and compare lists. Then, generate a list on the board of the most viable alternatives.

Creative Writing
Instruct students to rewrite the ending of the story so that both the narrator and Bruno live long, productive (though not necessarily blissful) lives in which the violent experiences of their pasts work to make them more responsive, responsible adults than those in their youths. The emphasis here should be placed on realistically overcoming past ordeals rather than being overcome by them.

Class Discussion
Discuss Bruno's merits as a hero. Is he a hero when he kills for the narrator, or only when he kills for his country? Where is the line drawn between "righteous" killing and murder, and who draws that line? When does personal responsibility for one's actions supersede national or organizational duty, and how does this correlate to seeking alternatives to violence?

Real World Connection

Ask students to work in small groups to comb newspapers and magazines looking for articles about random acts of violence committed in public spaces. After reading several articles, have each group select one article that the group can explain to the class prior to reenacting a similar scenario in which the participants avoid violence by reacting to the situation in a nonviolent way.