LENS+1+Rodriguez

back to personal page Eddie Rodriguez YA Lit Dr. Sherry Reader-Response: King of Shadows

Throughout //King of Shadows,// by Susan Cooper I felt like there was a great deal of realistic and relatable situations that help shine light on how to take on life. Nathan Field, Nat, goes through some difficult things at a young age and is finding out how to cope with his problems and stay focused on his goals. The story also goes along with escaping reality and trying to fit in or feel important, which is something almost everyone thinks of at some point in their lives. This novel is one that would be easy to teach and could create interest for students in multiple aspects of life. It starts out with Nat being selected to go to London to act in one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays for The Globes 400th anniversary. But while he’s over there somehow he is transported back in time. So not only is he in a different country, he is 400 years in the past in Shakespeare’s time. Nat indicates how odd everything is by saying, “There was hardly a moment when I wasn’t aware that I didn’t belong. I suppose a lot of it was what they call culture shock: the business of suddenly finding yourself without all the little everyday goodies that a kid living in the twentieth century takes for granted” (68). Right away he feels displaced in the new era but he is there to do a job and he knows he is good at what he does. Nat feels like he can get away from the troubles of his life by being on stage and in character. We all should try to find somewhere or something that lets us let our inhibitions go. Escaping reality is something I love to do but I would prefer a baseball diamond opposed to a stage. Life is a harsh thing that doesn’t care about people and goes on with or without people being happy. And for our young character, he was left in the world without his parents. Going with how many parents are getting divorces and tearing children back and forth, it seems like some students may be able to help feel Nat’ s pain. Having something in common with characters in stories is important to readers and me because it makes us wonder how the character deals with the same problems we have in real life. When a student wants to read there is a much higher chance that they will learn more and be able to picture scenes more effectively. But everyone needs a supportive parental figure to help them and apparently Nat’s aunt just was not doing it for him. Young adults go through many changes, especially in middle and high school. Students that are making a transition from one setting to another could throw themselves into this story very well. Going form middle school to high school or even high school to college could be a stressful and worrisome time for a young adult. Young adults go through identity crises and need help finding out who they are. Everyone gets nervous and Nat starts to get the jitters right before his performance. As a teacher I will have to try to help facilitate positive transformations and defuse their stress. Shakespeare took this role by calming Nat down before the big performance by saying, “The Leviathan. A very large and frightening animal- which we shall tame”(117). Nat was getting the jitters right before the show and he really needed that fatherly comfort to sooth and encourage him. It showed that Nat could still perform no matter where or when he was as long as he prepared himself physically and mentally. That made me connect that to baseball and my coaches; no matter what field I am on, I know it’s the same sport I love and that I have their faith. That is a definite point I would show my students; that we all have a knack for something, you just have to find it and surround yourself with reliable people. Nat doesn’t know who can help him or how to help himself and that can be even more difficult for anyone. His mother died when he was young and his father couldn’t deal with it. His father took his own life because he couldn’t take the pain anymore and left Nat parentless. After that Nat just felt like he wasn’t good enough for his own father and thought that his dad no longer loved him. That is an outrageous sequence of events for anyone to handle, let alone a child. So of course he is scared by seeing his dad’s dead body and can’t stand the sight of blood because of it. When the boys from the play decided they wanted to sneak into to the bear fight Nat just couldn’t bare the sight of the death and gore he was surrounded by. Students that go through that type of experience may have scars that are invisible to me as a teacher but while reading the book a student might be able to feel more comforted by everything going on. It is completely understandable for Nat to be socially awkward as a side effect of being hurt in such a horrible way. Hopefully the damage done would be repairable but I would not know because I have never experienced anything like that. If I would have lost both of my parents I would have cut myself off and unconsciously blocked out social life all together too. In the story Nat turns to his biggest hero, William Shakespeare when he warps back in time and is going through mental breakdowns. Shakespeare takes him under his wing and treats young Nat like his son. Taking the place of a fatherly figure, Shakespeare helps comfort him and gets Nat to realize that he will be ok and that his family’s love will never be gone. They have a few scenes in the book where we see a father-son bond that is just what Nat needs. This just adds to the fact that people all need someone to support them when things get to be overwhelming. This support can come from anyone, family, friends, teachers, or even coaches. Not all idols turn out to be this great when one meets them if the chance is there. Celebrities can be cruel, stuck up, or just even ugly. Cooper’s description of the Queen was hardly flattering. She was old and hard horrible teeth and breathe to match. Nat is already noticing this when he says, “Everyone seemed to use long stiff words by instinct when they talked to the Queen, as if she wasn’t a real person”(138). Hopefully students can see that all public figures are not perfect and you can find a caregiver or supportive person in the least likely places in your life. Once some care and compassion are shown, a student can then focus on interacting with life in a positive way. Nat was socially awkward but that would start to change once he found out how to deal with his rough past. For students, they could possibly then look into joining school clubs or sports. If one is really into something, it can take us over. As Nat says “I wasn’t me anymore, nor even Nathan Field. I was Puck. Shakespeare’s Puck”(116). Like I stated before, students need a place to vent and put their anger, frustration, and focus into so that their problems do not become too overwhelming. Having that feeling helps him get more comfortable with society and he grows as a person greatly by the time the story is over. So I would encourage students to get involved just as I did and still try to do. That is an important message that all adults should be expressing to younger kids and this book helps do that. While reading this book I realized that there is truly a lot that goes into the whole theatre process. It opened my eyes as to how much goes into any kind of production. Whether it is a play, a sport, a job, or anything like that, it still requires focus and can help people go through anything. Hopefully students can change their outlook on some opportunities that they have always put down because they thought it was dumb or not cool. Too many people turn things down because of what they hear about it; well in this book we read how much good getting involved can do. There’s more to life than we can experience. But we can try. We do not have to save Shakespeare or be a hero, but we should be active parts of our community. No matter how one looks at life, it is a complicated thing. Nat knows this very well but he feels like no one else’s is as complicated and they don’t understand. He says, “I was the only person who knew my life was complicated. To everyone else it seemed very simple”(157). We may not go back in time but everyone’s life is complicated and maybe students will be able to realize that life is complicated for all. They can see that people all have their own problems but in real life almost everything has been done or dealt with in the past. Someone can always find another that can be there and help advice them through past knowledge. Anything that helps students relate or getaway is a great thing and is always a necessity for any age group when it comes difficult situations. They need that support system to help keep them structured. I feel as though my parents, teachers, and coaches have all influenced me and helped build me up to who I am today. Novels like this are very insightful and can covertly teach life lessons to students. Many readers get so caught up in the fiction of a story that it becomes entertainment and education and that is a true success. I enjoyed reading this book because it had a plethora of real life advice hidden in it along with that element of fantasy to catch a little more interest. I would love to teach it in a class of young adults whenever I start teaching in a high school to maybe start off the year. It is very relatable and insightful on making positive change on how one can deal with problems and life in general.

Work Cited Cooper, Susan. //The King of Shadows//. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.2009. Print