GAB Book Club: Echoes of the Lost Boys of Sudan Discussion Questions
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book book club echoes of the lost boys of sudan james disco lost boys lost boys of sudan Sudan susan clark
After an amazing interview from the creators of Echoes of the Lost Boys of Sudan, we are ready to begin our book club discussion!
Use these questions to guide your discussion of Echoes of the Lost Boys of Sudan, and leave your answers and thoughts in the comments!
1. What was your overall opinion of the book?
2. How did you approach reading this book? Did you read all the words first and then look at the pictures, or did you study the pictures first and then read the words, or did you do some combination of the two, or something completely different? Do you think that made a difference in your opinion of the book?
3. As you’ve read, the creators of this book believe it is a good way to teach younger students about genocide. How do you feel about using the book to reach students both young and old?
4. What was the effect of using a graphic novel to convey the Lost Boys’ stories? How is it different than reading a nonfiction book or article or seeing a television interview?
5. How are the Lost Boys’ senses of masculinity changed, disrupted, or reinforced by their experiences?
6. Why is it important for the global feminist community to read this book?
Image courtesy of echoesofthelostboys.com.
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1. I found the graphic novel moving and inspiring, as well as, painful. It is a very difficult subject to discuss. I felt that using the form of a graphic novel helped to convey a deeply troubling subject in a way that could reach and inform a wide audience.
2. I started to read the novel; and then, I was caught by the pictures. I would look at the pictures and imagine what it was like for the Lost Boys. Then, I would continue reading. It did make a difference for me.
3. I strongly support this. I believe using a graphic novel is an ideal teaching tool for such extremely painful subject matter. Ideal !
4. It is was different in that it is not as long as book. I was not ready to put the graphic novel down. In this way I really did learn a lot without getting distracted. I kept reading, looking at the pictures…reading. I had time to think, imagine what it was like for the Lost Boys. It had a deep lasting effect. There was time for my own imagination; whereas, a movie or documentary does not lend itself in that way. A book is much longer, and saturates the mind more. I truly believe that the creators of “Echoes of The Lost Boys” really came up with something special that can educate a wide audience, even people with short attention spans in this fast paced world of ours.
5. I can only speculate since this is rather an intimate question that can only be answered truly by each Lost Boy themselves. I would guess this deepened their masculinity because they were able to call upon their inner courage and strength to survive. Yet, I could say that this was their inner feminine as well. They could have gained this inner courage and strength from a strong mother, or female role model in their family of origin. Each person has to attribute for themselves what is their inner masculine and what is their inner feminine traits.
The disruption would come from being torn away from their male role models in their families of origin if speaking of their masculine side. The Boys had to grow up over night into men. In every child’s life, it is important to have role models. When there is a disruption in the family for this, my hope is someone outside the family can play this role.
6. It is important for the global feminist community to read this graphic novel because the message is universal. It is a message of persevering in the face of extreme adversity. It is a message of faith and courage and tenacity. They did not give up ! They lived ! When faced with the very worst, in the end, they won !
We all can learn from The Lost Boys !!!