A Complicated Kindness: The Journey to Adulthood
The importance of reading novels throughout English courses has become highly crucial, as it allows students to understand current issues and develop strong literature skills. The fictional novel, A Complicated Kindness, written by Miriam Toews is about a sixteen year old girl who lives in a Mennonite community and is eventually kicked out of the society by the end of the book due to her rebellious attitude. A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews is a novel that should be integrated in the grade eleven English curriculum due to the strong connections with the adolescent struggle to find one’s self. Toews’ credibility as an author and relevance for a teenage audience is clear through her overcoming …show more content…
Toews wrote this novel and knows what she was writing about, since she was raised in a Mennonite community as well. The protagonist in the novel seems to continuously talk about punishments and penalties in the town for committing minor offenses. Miriam Toews states, “But the emphasis in the town on punishment and shame, and joylessness, the degree of severity and intolerance- all those aspects I certainly experienced” (Toews). Toews clearly uses her experience living in a Mennonite society as a child to write about in her novel, and to inform youth on how living in these conditions is unpleasant. As a child, she had to witness the severe depression and unhappiness her father and sister experienced each day while living in the Mennonite town. In 1996, her father took his own life and committed suicide and in 2010 her older sister Majorie killed herself by jumping in front of a train. This greatly impacted Toews and her family, but Toews pushed through all the bad and states, “I had no words. It took a couple of years before I thought, no, I’m a writer, this is what I do, take stuff and work it into something that makes sense” (Toews). Miriam’s positive attitude sets a good example for teens, as she overcame the hardships and still continues to do what she loves. Also, Miriam wins many awards, including the Governor General’s Literary award in Canada for A Complicated Kindness. According to the University of Windsor, Miriam Toews also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree earlier in June. This showcases Miriam’s perseverance allowing her to be where she is today. Therefore, Toews’ determination and courage to overcome certain struggles informs teenagers on how to properly deal with arising personal problems, partially being one of the reasons why A Complicated Kindness should be incorporated
The importance of reading novels throughout English courses has become highly crucial, as it allows students to understand current issues and develop strong literature skills. The fictional novel, A Complicated Kindness, written by Miriam Toews is about a sixteen year old girl who lives in a Mennonite community and is eventually kicked out of the society by the end of the book due to her rebellious attitude. A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews is a novel that should be integrated in the grade eleven English curriculum due to the strong connections with the adolescent struggle to find one’s self. Toews’ credibility as an author and relevance for a teenage audience is clear through her overcoming …show more content…
Toews wrote this novel and knows what she was writing about, since she was raised in a Mennonite community as well. The protagonist in the novel seems to continuously talk about punishments and penalties in the town for committing minor offenses. Miriam Toews states, “But the emphasis in the town on punishment and shame, and joylessness, the degree of severity and intolerance- all those aspects I certainly experienced” (Toews). Toews clearly uses her experience living in a Mennonite society as a child to write about in her novel, and to inform youth on how living in these conditions is unpleasant. As a child, she had to witness the severe depression and unhappiness her father and sister experienced each day while living in the Mennonite town. In 1996, her father took his own life and committed suicide and in 2010 her older sister Majorie killed herself by jumping in front of a train. This greatly impacted Toews and her family, but Toews pushed through all the bad and states, “I had no words. It took a couple of years before I thought, no, I’m a writer, this is what I do, take stuff and work it into something that makes sense” (Toews). Miriam’s positive attitude sets a good example for teens, as she overcame the hardships and still continues to do what she loves. Also, Miriam wins many awards, including the Governor General’s Literary award in Canada for A Complicated Kindness. According to the University of Windsor, Miriam Toews also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree earlier in June. This showcases Miriam’s perseverance allowing her to be where she is today. Therefore, Toews’ determination and courage to overcome certain struggles informs teenagers on how to properly deal with arising personal problems, partially being one of the reasons why A Complicated Kindness should be incorporated