Literature's Leaders
In order to teach today’s youth the components
that create both positive and negative leaders,
educators traditionally use the lives of living,
breathing men and women. Students can research the lives
of the Dalai Lama, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Archbishop
Desmond Tutu and other great personalities.
Autobiographies and biographies are excellent
learning tools, but often fictional literary figures
are not considered when teaching the criteria for
strong leadership characteristics. In reality these
male and female characters provide good (and bad)
models of leadership. Imagine how, with the addition
of fictional personalities, the spectrum of examples
of leadership could grow, as well as the number of
classes which teach today’s youth strong,
intelligent leadership skills.
Personal integrity, practical knowledge, survival
techniques, political and spiritual motivation,
social commentary, ethics and morality, and much
more can be found in the novels below. There are
hundreds of titles and authors being used in today’s
classrooms and the following is a brief list of
potential titles to be used as whole-class novels or
for individual projects.
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Bless Me, Ultima is the coming of age story for
Tony, a young boy who must overcome simultaneously
conflicting cultural, political, religious and
social stereotypes. Throughout the novel, Tony
learns from an old curandera, or medicine woman,
Ultima, whose has come to live with his family in
New Mexico. Ultima becomes both mentor and
grandmother to Tony, and teaches him her skills of
practical knowledge, tough love, and close
observation of both wild and human nature. Ultima is
a firm believer in tolerance and understanding, and
she teaches Tony that different belief systems can
offer equally valid ways of understanding the world.
The lessons learned from Ultima shape Tony into
someone who can both think and act for himself.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Harper Lee, in her only novel, captures the
racism and injustice stirring in America’s South.
Siblings Jem and Scout live in the small town of
Maycomb, Alabama where their whole world is turned
upside down when their father, attorney Atticus
Finch, defends a black man accused of raping a white
woman. What ensues is a brilliant web of personal
responsibility, ethical and moral decision-making
and leading by example. As the single father raising
two young children, Atticus is respected by the
entire community due to his penetrating
intelligence, calm wisdom, and exemplary behavior
thus becoming an excellent role model for his
children, along with every other reader who has
picked up the book. At the end of the novel, Atticus
modestly sums up his leadership qualifications by
saying, "before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at
me, and I've tried to live so I can look squarely
back at him."
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Absolute power corrupts, absolutely, and who
better to point out this truth than the brutish pigs
of Animal Farm. Animal Farm reveals the power of
ideology, propaganda, blind faith and ruthless
opportunistic actions. Loosely based on the Russian
Revolution and subsequent political state of the
early 20th century, Napoleon and Snowball become
excellent examples of political leaders whose
initial ideology shifts, thus creating mass
corruption. Napoleon is the power hungry tyrant who
can be compared to Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Slobodan
Milosevic and other despotic rulers. Snowball on the
other hand, creates a potentially empowering
political theory, but does not have the strength to
carry it to fruition, thus his reliance on basic
rhetorical skill and lack of action prove that
successful leaders need strength in both categories.
The result of poor leadership abilities is revealed
through the exploited fate of all of Animal Farm’s
characters.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
As a multiple award-winning author, Octavia
Butler, as of yet has not become popular reading for
high school students, but she should be. Butler
blends the genre of science fiction with that of
accurate and stunning social observations. In
Parable of the Sower, a young minister’s daughter,
Lauren Olimina, violently loses her family and home.
In the aftermath that could destroy most people,
Lauren must rebuild her life utilizing amazing
survival skills, forging bonds with unlikely
travelers like herself, creating ethical guidelines
in an amoral society, and continuing to educate
herself and her group in a society that has
abandoned all forms of formal education. Within all
of this, Lauren begins to formulate a new faith,
Earthseed, which combines traditional religious
themes with a conservationist’s viewpoint. In the
novel, and the sequel, Parable of the Talents,
Lauren becomes the pragmatic, loyal, endearing
leader to whom many entrust their entire lives.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
When a group of young British boys are marooned
on a deserted island, their first instinct is to
enjoy absolute freedom from the confines of adults
and their subsequent rules. However, leaders emerge
and control begins to take shape, for a while. Ralph
is initially elected leader and with his intelligent
and fair practices tries to create a civilized
living arrangement for the boys, as well as alert
passing ships, planes, of their presence on the
island. His nemesis is a jealous boy, Jack, who is
given leadership over the hunters, but becomes
disillusioned and wants ultimate power over all the
boys. What occurs is a horrifying account of what
fear and poor leadership can do: death, pain, agony
and the supreme loss of self.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
In the world of Fahrenheit 451, firefighters,
like Guy Montag, do not put out fires engulfing
peoples’ homes, instead they start them. Montag
starts fires in order to burn the books hidden
inside the homes and the owners who defy law by
keeping them. Montag himself is a reluctant leader,
thrown into his role by the gradual dissatisfaction
of his life, and the injustice being placed on
people by an oppressive government. With the desire
to learn what is so horrible about books’ contents,
he defies all he’s ever known which in turn costs
him everything: his wife, his home, his friends, his
job, his entire existence. After many plot twists
and turns, Montag finds a group of other social
misfits and promises to help them preserve the
integrity of literature, thus he is charged with
aiding the restoration of civilization.
Anthem by Ayn Rand
In a futuristic era that does not support
individualism, people are given names such as
Equality 7-2521, International 4-8818, and Liberty
5-3000. This particular trio exist and attempt to
rebel against the motto of the times: "There are no
men, only the great WE." Equality, being an
intuitive and intelligent man, is chosen by the
Council of Vocations to be a Street Sweeper. With
this new job, Equality 7-2521 finds an unlocked
grate which contains artifacts from the
"Unmentionable Times." "The narrator" as he is
sometimes called is a strong, intelligent,
introspective young man who is feared by the
conformist founders, and rightfully so. He stirs up
trouble, thus escaping with a woman he falls in
love, Liberty 5-3000, in order to recreate a society
where each person can become whomever and whatever
they so desire.
The Chocolate War by Richard Cormier
The Chocolate War tackles topics such as
corruption within adults, the violence and fear of
gang mentality, the ease with which some students
blindly follow instead of lead, and the fact that
strong leaders may not prevail, but indeed maintain
their integrity, if not their faith. Jerry, an
unlikely hero decides to not sell chocolates, thus
going against a popular teacher, Brother Leon, and
the school’s gang of thugs, The Vigils. At first his
decision to stand against the injustice of The
Vigils’ "assignments" is applauded by his fellow
students who themselves are victimized by this
menacing group. His actions indeed speak louder than
his words. Quickly, though, their resolve fades, and
they quickly side with the thugs, leaving Jerry to
stand once again alone. The end result is that the
"bad guys" are not punished, and the "good guy"
leaves in an ambulance with a broken jaw, internal
injuries, and the loss of faith in mankind. As Jerry
leaves, he quietly whispers to another boy, "…do not
disturb the universe."
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K.
Rowling
The wizarding wonder who lives at 4 Privet Drive
is none other than the famous Harry Potter. Yes, he
has taken the entire world by storm, and million of
adults as well as children have read his tales. What
better opportunity could be used to look at
leadership capacity among today’s youth than with
the most famous literary figure of the 20th century?
Potter successfully tackles the angst of peer
pressure, the responsibility of being a moral
person, the importance of loyalty, the power of
individuality all the while battling the forces of
evil which want to engulf him. Potter’s most
powerful leadership ability is by "walking the walk,
and talking the talk." He is respectful,
intelligent, resourceful, and strong. Moving from
the mistreatment of his family members to the
immediate fame of the "wizarding" public, Potter
maintains his integrity and humility. He bests great
forces not by brute strength, but by patience,
thought and intuition.
Possible Assignments:
In our everyday existence we are destined to find
positive and negative examples of leadership.
Educators can help students recognize those
qualities in a variety of places. Literature should
be one of those places students are allowed to
discover; in literature there is a wealth of
information for them.
The question then remains, after a student has
read, or is reading, these novels, or others like
them, what can they do to reveal their learning.
Plus, how can the educator assess their progress and
knowledge? I might suggest that students use the
criteria discussed in class as their guidelines for
gathering potential examples of leadership
qualities.
One final suggestion would be to analyze your
students’ strengths. Allow students to find choices
in their assessment so they can capitalize on their
academic strengths. This allows for diversity and
differentiation, two very important components for
today’s classrooms.
1. An obvious suggestion would be to write an
essay describing the leadership qualities the
character possessed.
2. Another possibility would be to have the
student create a reading notebook that he/she writes
keeps while reading the novel. Then he/she can
catalog all the examples, along with their personal
thoughts and connections. Afterwards, the student
could give a brief presentation of learning.
3. Technology is more and more available for our
students today. Students could create a Power Point
presentation of their learning. All presentations
could be saved together for a larger group
presentation. Plus it’s a great way to teach other
classmates, or other semesters, what they could do.
4. Visualization is a crucial component for
reading comprehension; students could create a
mandala, an art form which uses symbols to represent
various themes. Typically, mandalas can represent
opposites, similar to the yin yang. Students could
create a mandala discussing the positive and
negative leadership qualities of their characters.
5. Creatively the student could create a variety
of poems, short stories, extensions of the novel,
letters from the character, book reviews, etc. The
list with creative writing is endless.
Additional Web Resources:
Teacher Source (Lesson Plans in Arts and
Literature): Provides a wide range of lesson plans
in many content areas. This particular HTML code is
specific to literature lesson plans.
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/arts_lit.htm
Beyond Books: Provides other books that relate to
literature content standards. Although not by
design, the book lists are great resources for other
books to explore for teaching leadership lessons
through literature.
http://www.beyondbooks.com/bbteacher/corr/index.asp
University of North Carolina Leadership Library
(other literature choices for exploring leadership)
http://leadership.unc.edu/library/literature.html
Leadership & Literature Syllabi (primarily
college-based, yet provides good insight and
possibilities for creating courses at the high
school level):
Leadership & Literature (Gonzaga University)
http://www.gonzaga.edu/Academics/Colleges+and+Schools/School+of+Professional+Studies/Ph.D.+-+Leadership+Studies/Syllabi+Folder/DPLS+758+-+Leadership+and+Literature.htm
Women & Leadership in Literature (University of
Colorado, Boulder–Honors Program)
http://ucsub.colorado.edu/~honors/honr2500d.html
Public Leadership & Literature (University of Maine
– 1997 syllabus, but still neat ideas, moreso for
adults—literature choices are a little esoteric for
teens)
http://www.ume.maine.edu/~pubadmin/kn/words/400syl1.htm
Written by Kirsten Forkin, English Department Chair
Vantage Point Campus Alternative High School
Thornton, CO.
Kirsten can be contacted via email at
kira.forkin@adams12.org
