Pistes d'exploration

Multimodality compels the reader to consider image and text simultaneously. Consider ways to read images using those from the beginning of the story. Discuss ways they are used as points of departure for the narrative.

In a small group, discuss the way T— is constructed at the beginning and compare it to his character at the end. What does it mean? Why does it matter?

This text, along with others that use photography and narrative, can be used as a model prior to the production of multimodal texts, such as photo essays and illustrated narratives.

Examine a number of photographs and imagine what is just outside the borders. Consider recent photos you have taken and discuss what was happening beyond the periphery. What did you choose to exclude from the photo? Why?

The author quotes the famous photographer, Diane Arbus: “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.” What does this mean? Find several of Arbus’ photos, add their titles and use them to support your answer.

Create a poster on the topic of bullying. Choose several photos and add a short essay to raise awareness and promote empathy using what you learned from the story. Display your final product.

Humans of New York

Mots-clés

Mystery , bullying , conflict , dialogue , fear , first-person narration , friendship , homelessness , identity , layout , multimodal , photography , point of view

Commentaire descriptif

Some people, like T—, get picked on. Others, like the gang known as Joined at the Hip and led by Ryan, do the bullying. Badly scarred in a fire, T— prefers to see the world from behind his camera. He’s a promising photographer who befriends some unusual portrait subjects, including Lucy, a homeless woman. Without quite meaning to, T— photographs Ryan and his acolytes beating Lucy—to death, as it turns out. The gang knows that he has the photographs and stop at nothing to protect themselves: they injure his best friend Sean, poison Sean’s dog, break into T—’s house. Finally, they burn down a local vacant building, successfully framing T— for the fire. Silently, T—takes it and is sent to juvenile detention to serve a seven-month sentence. The syntax of this first-person narrative is authentic, wry and original: Sean’s mother, T— notes, makes muffins that “look like muffins, but once you take a bite, you realize they’re not related to any other muffins ever and must have been adopted;” the vacant Goodison Building is “funeral-quiet, without the sniffling.” Dialogue is rendered in bold type instead of quotation marks, which further emphasizes T—’s mute observer status. The expressive black and white photographs provide a moving counterpoint to muted victims of bullying.