Preparation for the Next Life
by Atticus Lish
An exploration of life on the edges of society
A Cultural Text Set by
Alisa Brandt
INFO 237
"There's always America, if you think your feet will carry you."
Anchor Text: Preparation for the Next Life by Atticus Lish
Audience: Advanced Honors/AP English - grades 11 and 12 reading at or above grade level.
Purpose: The purpose of this cultural text set is to seek awareness and understanding of how undocumented immigrants face seemingly insurmountable challenges while seeking a better life in the United States. In addition, the text set is used to bring awareness to the epidemic of PTSD in war veterans and the challenges they face when they return home to a system that has yet to understand how to treat their mental wounds. While most 11th and 12th graders will have little to no personal experience with these kinds of people, they will hopefully arrive at some empathy and understanding for how many Americans face these challenges.
Standards:
CCSS - California Anchor Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.10.
CCSS - California ELA Standards - Reading and Literature: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.5; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.6; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.10.
Audience: Advanced Honors/AP English - grades 11 and 12 reading at or above grade level.
Purpose: The purpose of this cultural text set is to seek awareness and understanding of how undocumented immigrants face seemingly insurmountable challenges while seeking a better life in the United States. In addition, the text set is used to bring awareness to the epidemic of PTSD in war veterans and the challenges they face when they return home to a system that has yet to understand how to treat their mental wounds. While most 11th and 12th graders will have little to no personal experience with these kinds of people, they will hopefully arrive at some empathy and understanding for how many Americans face these challenges.
Standards:
CCSS - California Anchor Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.10.
CCSS - California ELA Standards - Reading and Literature: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.5; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.6; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.10.
Supporting Materials
Novel Overview
Interview: A Love Story that Could Only Happen in Flushing, WNYC. (informational, class viewing). Rao, M. (Writer). (2015, February 2). A love story that could only happen in Flushing [Radio episode]. In WNYC News. New York, NY: WNYC.
This interview with author Atticus Lish describes the experiences and locations that inspired the novel Preparation for the Next Life. Lish explains the harsh mentality of some of the characters in his novel as well as their drive for survival.
Interview: A Love Story that Could Only Happen in Flushing, WNYC. (informational, class viewing). Rao, M. (Writer). (2015, February 2). A love story that could only happen in Flushing [Radio episode]. In WNYC News. New York, NY: WNYC.
This interview with author Atticus Lish describes the experiences and locations that inspired the novel Preparation for the Next Life. Lish explains the harsh mentality of some of the characters in his novel as well as their drive for survival.
|
Uyghurs and Zou Lei’s Backstory
YouTube video: The Uyghurs by Stef Hoffer, 2013. (informational, class viewing). Hoffer, S. (Producer). (2013). The Uyghurs [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/user/stefhoffer/about. This 4 minute video was filmed in Xinjiang province, China. The video offers us a glimpse of what the big cities of Central Asia would have been like for Zou Lei, who lived in the countryside until her father’s death. Zou Lei is half Chinese and half Uyghur. Students will be able to connect these images to the descriptions of Zou Lei in the novel. |
Image gallery: Uyghur Pictures and Images - Getty Images. (Informational, student-led). Uyghur pictures and images. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2017, from Getty Images website: http://www.gettyimages.com/photos/uyghur?alloweduse=availableforalluses&excludenudity=true&family=creative&license=rf&phrase=uyghur&sort=best#license.
This gallery offers more images of the Uyghur people and the region in which they live. It is a mostly arid desert with snow-capped mountains. The people are primarily Muslim. Lish’s novel describes Zou Lei’s upbringing in China and later when she is in the U.S., other Chinese immigrants notice that she is from this ethnic minority and use this fact to discriminate against her. The gallery includes images of traditional Uyghur cuisine, including something similar to the kebabs Zou Lei finds in New York, which reminds her of home. |
Report: China: Religious Repression of Uighur Muslims - Human Rights Watch. (Informational, teacher-led). China: Religious repression of Uighur Muslims. (2005, April 12). Retrieved November 21, 2017, from Human Rights Watch.For background in understanding why Zou Lei fled China, I have included this report from Human Rights Watch about the religious persecution of the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, China. I felt this was important for understanding why religious minorities continue to flee their home countries to escape persecution, especially in light of the current situation with the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar.
Living Conditions of Undocumented Immigrants in New York
Photo story: A Bed and a Key at 81 Bowery, by Annie Ling, New York Times. (Informational, student-led). A bed and a key at 81 Bowery. (2013). Retrieved November 21, 2017, from New York Times.
Photographer Annie Ling spent a year photographing and interviewing the tenants at 81 Bowery in New York. These residents live in cubicles on the 4th floor of this Manhattan building. When Zou Lei arrives in Queens, NY, she rents out a similarly partitioned space in an apartment filled with other undocumented immigrants from China. For more from the photographer, please see Annie Ling’s website.
Photo story: A Bed and a Key at 81 Bowery, by Annie Ling, New York Times. (Informational, student-led). A bed and a key at 81 Bowery. (2013). Retrieved November 21, 2017, from New York Times.
Photographer Annie Ling spent a year photographing and interviewing the tenants at 81 Bowery in New York. These residents live in cubicles on the 4th floor of this Manhattan building. When Zou Lei arrives in Queens, NY, she rents out a similarly partitioned space in an apartment filled with other undocumented immigrants from China. For more from the photographer, please see Annie Ling’s website.
Veterans and PTSD
Political cartoon: Equipped for Battle by artist Andy Marlette. (Image, student-led). Marlette, A. (2014). Equipped for battle [Political Cartoon]. Brad Skinner returns to the U.S. after three tours of duty in Iraq. He experienced fire-fight and witnessed his friend’s death. Despite being injured, both physically and mentally, he was made to return to war. He makes his way to New York with a large sum of money from the army, his mental wounds only partially treated. He is given several medications for anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, and a host of other symptoms from PTSD. This political cartoon sums up how the U.S. Army “equipped” Skinner for his battles in Iraq and at home. |
Webpage: National Center for PTSD - Symptoms of PTSD - U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. (Informational, teacher-led). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Ed.). (2015, August 13). Symptoms of PTSD. Retrieved November 21, 2017, from PTSD: National Center for PTSD website: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/symptoms_of_ptsd.asp.
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has compiled a site with information on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), including the symptoms of the disorder. This is included in the text set for understanding Skinner’s behavior in the book. In light of recent events, it is important to understand the PTSD epidemic for our soldiers returning from tours of duty.
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has compiled a site with information on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), including the symptoms of the disorder. This is included in the text set for understanding Skinner’s behavior in the book. In light of recent events, it is important to understand the PTSD epidemic for our soldiers returning from tours of duty.
Infographic: When the War Comes Home with the Soldier, Face the Facts USA. (informational, student-led). Shocking PTSD, suicide rates for vets [Illustration]. (2013, June 5). Retrieved from https://www.facethefactsusa.org/facts/the-true-price-of-war-in-human-terms.
This infographic gives some startling numbers about PTSD for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war. In Lish’s novel, Skinner is clearly suffering from PTSD and his medications seem to only help with a few of his symptoms. He remains mostly under-treated, which causes his erratic behavior in the story.
This infographic gives some startling numbers about PTSD for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war. In Lish’s novel, Skinner is clearly suffering from PTSD and his medications seem to only help with a few of his symptoms. He remains mostly under-treated, which causes his erratic behavior in the story.