In my "Giving Voice to the Voiceless" class we were
told: "To be heard is to have power over one's life. To be silenced is to
have that power denied. Throughout history many have been silenced and children
most of all." In this course, the goal is to read "young adult and middle grade
novels where authors have given voice to the truly voiceless, where speaking is
not possible or perhaps permitted, and study how the creators of these texts
created an authentic narrative experience so that we can apply the same approaches
in our own writing." So far this has been a great experience, and I have
loved every book we have read. This past week I was assigned to read the book Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg.
What is Between the Covers?
Silent to the Bone was a challenge for me because the author
chose to allow the narrator to have a very mature mindset, despite being only
thirteen. While it was a challenge to picture this young boy speaking the way
he did and having such a large vocabulary, Konigsburg painted a perfect picture
of a child with highly educated parents (his father was the registrar at the
local university). This allowed the character to be believable. I loved the
word choice. It's a breath of fresh air to read characters that have a large
vocabulary. It seemed that most of the characters were well educated and
through my reading I was able to learn a great deal.
Connor captivated me from
the beginning. Branwell Zamborska, one of the main characters, is the best
friend of Connor, the narrator. After an incident involving Branwell's baby
half-sister Nikki being sent to the hospital and put on life support, Branwell
stops speaking. A mystery surrounds what happened that day and the
young au pair, Vivian, paints an ugly picture of Branwell's unnatural
obsession with his little sister and claims that Branwell shook and then
purposefully dropped Nikki. Branwell is sent to Clarion County Juvenile
Behavior Center where his only visitor is Connor. Connor has to figure out a
way to communicate with his best friend, and through their communication he
begins to untangle the web the Vivian has cleverly created.
What Did I Think?
I tend to latch
onto a story when there is a character I can hate, and that character was
Vivian. Once I figured out that Vivian was a young woman and not a Mary Poppins
or Mrs. Doubtfire type of nanny, I disliked her even more. As the story
played out and I discovered that she had Morris over while Nikki was
sleeping or that she paid no mind to Branwell being there, the fire only grew.
I truly enjoy when an author can create a villain like this and not overdo it. Some in other books seem somewhat overdone, but
Vivian reminds me so much of these women I'm seeing on CNN lately---using
sexuality to get ahead or out of trouble.
Konigsburg uses physical signals to reveal more about Vivian
as a character.Her physical signals were more angering than
anything she \said. Examples: “Vivian had another cigarette with her
coffee. I volunteered to light it for her. She held my wrist again. Same wrist.
Same place. And then before I pulled my wrist away, she smiled shyly and
lip-synced, “Thank you, Connor.” (108) Here she is playing with the emotions of
a prepubescent kid. It makes one wonder if she acts this way with Connor,
how did she act with Branwell—this question is revealed later in the book.
She
knows she can get her way with men, yet we don't actually see her attempt this
with any grown men other than Morris, who obviously is infatuated with her
because he lets her stay with him. Maybe Vivian's powers only go so far, and she
can only control the younger men; however, it's evident that if a male is around,
she will get what she wants. She seems obsessed with being the center of it
all. Why hold his wrist in such a way? The focus must be on her.
Another example:
"Vivian laid her wineglass down on the coffee table and took a small
handful of peanuts in her right hand. She opened her hand and studied the
peanuts for what seemed like a minute before choosing one" (93); “Vivian
plucked a single peanut from the bowl and held it between her thumb and
forefinger and studied it for a while. […] Vivian put that peanut—no, placed that
peanut—on her tongue and slowly closed her lips” (98). NO ONE EATS PEANUTS LIKE
THAT. It was at this point I began to feel sick. I was ready for Margaret, whom
I believe was my favorite, to slap her in the face and knock those peanuts to
the floor. Once again, through physical movements and signals, Vivian is taking
the heat of the crime off of her and attempting to get the focus on her
sexuality.
How Did This Help My
Writing?
I have a little trouble
creating a villain that doesn't come straight from a cookie cutter. It was so
great to watch how Vivian began as an au pair, a character who wasn't
mentioned much in the beginning, to a character who became front and center in
Branwell and Connor's mission to show the truth of what happened to Nikki. It
was Vivian's motions, rather than her words, that made her seem like a
predator. These slow motions of having Connor light her cigarette, or how she
treated Branwell in regards to the Jack-and-Jill bathroom in Branwell's home,
showed that actions read more loudly than dialogue.
Konigsburg tackled
scenes that allowed me to challenge my own writing. There is a particular scene
where it is revealed that Vivian truly does use her sexuality to control
Branwell. This scene was a difficult one to digest. I can only imagine
attempting to write it as tastefully, yet honestly, as Konigsburg did. How
Vivian acts when being watched versus how she acts when she thinks she is not,
plays into the recurring messages that all is not as it seems. When Branwell finally
speaks and reveals who Vivian truly is, I was ready with my pitchfork and torch
to attack. Vivian was definitely a character I loved to hate.
Do I Recommend This?
Whether it's for pleasure or an
assignment, Konigsburg has painted a captivating picture of two friends from
worlds that children don’t read about often. It has become the norm for kids to
talk in text lingo or pepper sentences with expletives, however these two boys
enjoyed using larger words that needed to be defined. This would be a great
read for a middle school or early high school student and is loaded with juicy
words that sometimes Connor unveils for readers, but other times it is up to
the reader to thirst for more and pull out Webster's.
Using the Techniques in Your Writing
Think of someone you love to hate and use them as the basis for a character. Change the character's age, gender, and identifying details. Come up with a situation where the character's true colors are revealed through subtle actions.
Ties to Leap Books
A recent release, Deep in the Meadows by Lisa M. Cronkhite, has a character you may love to hate. Read it online and tell us which character or characters you thought were creepiest and you'll win a chance to get a free Leap Book.
Courtney Warren is a writer for her local newspaper, as well as a graduate student at Hollins University where she is pursuing a degree in Children’s Literature. She has a bachelor’s degree from Delta State University, the home of the Fighting Okra (which she is incredibly proud of). She loves to read just about anything placed on the shelves but has a special place in her heart for the Harry Potter series.
When she is not writing about herself in third person, she loves to write stories about middle schoolers with spunky attitudes who intend to save the world, as well as drinking Earl Grey tea from a very prissy teacup.
Check out her blog, Tea, the Spirit, & a Pen.
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