TEACHING GUIDE

NOTE TO TEACHERS

In 1990, Latoya Hunter, a twelve-year-old girl whose family had moved to this country from Jamaica some years earlier, began her first year of junior high school in the Bronx. She also began keeping a diary. What made the diary unusual was that it had been specially commissioned by a book editor who had read about Latoya in an article in The New York Times. The paper had covered the graduation of her sixth-grade class the previous June, and Latoya had been singled out by her teacher for her "incredible writing talent." Latoya’s diary is clearly the work of a very gifted—and extraordinarily candid—writer, who records her experience with freshness, sincerity, a wealth of anecdote and detail, and a precocious insight into her own character and the characters of her family and friends.

But The Diary of Latoya Hunter is primarily a diary, a book of days in a young girl’s life. Each day is recorded as it passes, sometimes reflectively, sometimes in a rush of joy, indignation, or sadness whose effects show up in Latoya’s occasional lapses in spelling and grammar. And although, in one of her final entries, Latoya confesses that she was sometimes constrained by the knowledge that her diary would be read by others, she appears strikingly uninhibited. Whether she is expressing apprehension during her first days at a new school, frustration at her mother’s restrictions and demands, impatience with her teachers, or disappointment at the bleak outcome of her first serious crush, Latoya always convinces us with her candor. And her thoughts about her parents, about love, relationships, and sex, are sure to strike chords of recognition in your students, even when they disagree with her conclusions.

Latoya’s diary also reminds us, unobtrusively but insistently, of the difficult and sometimes heartbreaking circumstances under which the children of today’s inner cities are growing up. The Bronx is a place so scarred by poverty, drugs, and violence that it is sometimes described as a battle zone, and Latoya has lived there long enough to recognize it. She knows that some of her classmates are "dead-in-the-alley-headed."[p. 3] Both her father and her brother have been held up at gunpoint [12]. And in the course of her diary, Latoya describes escaping a possible sexual molestation [15–16] and hearing the gunshots that herald a neighbor’s death [63–5]. She also writes about a schoolmate who has had a child at fifteen [69] and about the pregnancy and childbirth of her unmarried sister Rondah, whose baby she dotes on without reservation. Like The Diary of Anne Frank or Zlata’s Diary, The Diary of Latoya Hunter is a graphic reminder of the ways in which children are affected by the events of their times, and of the astonishing resilience they display in the face of conditions that strike many of us as shocking.

TEACHING IDEAS

The questions, exercises, and assignments that follow are designed to guide your students through The Diary of Latoya Hunter. Instead of analyzing each entry, we have organized the discussion around the diary’s recurring themes. Some of these are things that Latoya writes about: school, parents, siblings, her Jamaican heritage, and love. Other themes are suggested by the author’s use of language, the opinions she expresses, and her assessments of her own and other people’s personalities. Much of the guide is intended to encourage students to write, whether their writing takes the form of journals, essays, or "letters to Latoya." In our experience, children have a vast appetite for writing by other children, as demonstrated by the continuing popularity of The Diary of Anne Frank. We hope that this book, by an author who is manifestly a peer, will serve your class as both a model and a source of encouragement and inspiration.

DISCUSSION AND WRITING

Comprehension

Latoya’s Days
I. School

1. What does Latoya expect junior high school to be like? [1]

2. How does she actually experience her first days at J.H.S. 80? How does she sum up her first year in junior high? [128]

3. Which of her teachers disappoint her? [1, 17, 29, 33, 43–4, 112] Why? From what she writes, do Latoya’s criticisms seem fair?

4. Which teachers does Latoya like or sympathize with? [21, 34] Why is she especially fond of her old teacher, Mr. Pelka?

5. How does she feel about her fellow students? [1–4, 61] What incident prompts her comment [34] "Kids today have no respect"? What traits does she especially dislike in her classmates? [61, 87, 126] How does Latoya think her fellow students see her? [75–6]


II. Parents

1. What sort of events trigger conflicts between Latoya and her parents? [5, 13, 20]

2. With which of her parents does she have the most trouble getting along? [13–14, 19, 23–5, 35, 93–4, 99–101] How would you sum up the nature of their disputes?

3. How does Latoya sum up her mother’s motives and expectations? [6, 23–4, 115–16] What sort of relationship would Latoya like to have with her mother? [37, 62] From what you have read in her diary, do you think Latoya’s complaints are reasonable?

4. Why was Latoya separated from her parents during much of her childhood? [8–9] How do you think that separation has affected their relationship?

5. Although Latoya is often frustrated by her mother and father, she also expresses love and sympathy toward them. Where do you see her doing this? [8–9, 50–1, 59, 93]


III. Family

1. Who in Latoya’s family is about to have a baby? [23, 38] Why does she especially look forward to the new arrival?

2. What does Latoya feel about the fact that her sister is having a child out of wedlock? What is her opinion of the baby’s father? [27] What conflicts does Devoy’s birth create between Latoya and her sister? [44–47, 78, 105]

3. Which of Latoya’s brothers is getting married? [31, 43] What does she think of his decision? How does her family celebrate the event? [50–1, 70, 81, 90–3]

4. What other family members does Latoya see in the course of the year? Who is Shane? What does he do that she disapproves of so fiercely? [52–4] Why is she so worried about her grandmother? [109]

5. How do Latoya’s brothers disappoint her, especially on her thirteenth birthday? [121]

6. What major change occurs in Latoya’s family at the end of the diary? How does she feel about her impending separation from Rondah and Devoy? [119, 125–9]


IV. Love

1. What events recorded in the diary provoke Latoya’s thoughts about relationships? [32, 93] What traits does she most value in a boyfriend? What does she imagine it will be like to have a romantic relationship? [35] How does her actual relationship with Derek live up to her expectations?

2. What are Latoya’s beliefs about sex? How do you think she has formed these opinions? [36] What subsequent experience causes her to reconsider her views? [69–70] What distinction does Latoya make between being ready for sex and ready for motherhood? How does she feel about abortion? [80–1, 87] Do you agree or disagree with her beliefs?

3. How does Latoya meet Derek? [57–8] How does she feel when he first calls her? When does she begin to telephone him? [61] Why do you think she first mentions this in a P.S.?

4. What things about Derek does Latoya enjoy? What things cause her pain and awkwardness? What does she learn about Derek, both from her own observations and from other people, that gradually changes her feelings about him? [76, 111–120] How does she compare him to her classmate Kirk? [83–4] What is your opinion of Kirk and Derek? Are they suitable boyfriends for Latoya? What advice would you give her about boys in the future?


V. Dreams

1. What would Latoya like to be when she grows up? What obstacles does she see that might keep her from achieving her goals? [23, 32, 45, 92] In the course of the year, what steps does Latoya take that may help her achieve her goals? [29, 71]

2. What high school does she want to attend? How does she compare her school of choice to the closest high school in her neighborhood? [38]

3. What kind of parent would Latoya like to be? What mistakes does she think her parents have made with her that she would like to avoid with her own children? [74]


VI. Heritage

1. Latoya and her family originally came from Jamaica. In what ways do they seem different from the families you know? How would you describe Jamaican-American attitudes and customs concerning: a. family b. children and babies c. Christmas d. weddings e. religion

2. What does Latoya miss most about Jamaica? [28, 95]

3. What happens when Latoya and her sister return to Jamaica? [102–110] What are her original expectations of the trip? [95] Why is she so severely disappointed when she gets there?


VII. Fears

1. What does Latoya dislike about her neighborhood? [5, 9] What did she originally think New York would be like?

2. Latoya lives in a city notorious for its crime. How has crime affected her schoolmates, friends, and family? [12–13, 99–100]

3. What upsets Latoya so horribly as she is walking to the store one October afternoon? [15–16] What might have happened if she had gotten into the stranger’s car? Why does she feel sorry for her would-be assailant? Does this response seem unusual?

4. Describe the murder that Latoya overhears one night. What about the event is most shocking to her? [63–7] Why does she at first pretend that she doesn’t hear screams and gunshots? How does the shooting affect her in the weeks that follow?


Latoya on Latoya

1. Latoya writes that she is shy and "hates attention." [23] Is this true? What occurrences make her feel embarrassed and self-conscious? [14, 42] How does she cope with these feelings?

2. Latoya claims to want her mother’s approval, yet at the same time she often seems resentful or suspicious when she gets it. [23–4] How do you account for her contradictory feelings?

3. Latoya says that growing up has changed her in certain ways. How do you see her change over the course of this year? What things become more important to her? [41] What things become less important?

4. How does Latoya sum up her weaknesses? At what points does she seem especially aware of her own limitations? [60, 79, 97, 112]


For in-class writing and discussion

1. Why does Latoya call her diary "Janice"? [15] What does this suggest about the reasons that people keep diaries? If you have ever kept a diary, why do you think you did so?

2. In what ways does Latoya seem unusually mature for her age? In what ways does she still seem childlike? What characteristics do you think make a person grown-up?

3. Sum up the conflicts between Latoya and her mother. Do you think that Latoya’s mother has been fair to her, especially when it comes to boys, grades, and curfews? Why or why not? How would you compare the way Mrs. Hunter treats Latoya to the way your parents treat you?

4. In what special ways does Latoya use language in her diary? Examine phrases like the following: "It’s Freshman’s Day eve and tis not the season to be jolly" [3]; "The smell of nothingness" [10]; "Careers that turn on that interest switch in my brain" [44]; "It makes me feel like I was under a microscope" [58]; "My heart was running a marathon" [83]; "I get so upset when I talk to him because he’s like a rock" [114]. What literary devices (e.g., simile, metaphor, allusion, irony) is Latoya using here? Write your own examples of these techniques.

5. What role does religion play in Latoya’s life? [71–2, 81] What connection do you see between her day-to-day experience, especially her encounters with violence and teenage sexuality, and her thoughts about evil and mortality? How important has religion been to you?

BEYOND THE BOOK

1. For the next month, keep a diary of events at school and at home, organizing it according to the topics that we have discussed in Latoya’s diary. If some topics seem irrelevant, substitute others of your own choosing. At the end of the month, reread your diary and write a brief summary of its contents, to be handed in to class.

2. How would you sum up Latoya’s first year in junior high? Pay special attention to her statements on pages 129–30. Do you agree with her assessments of the year? Write a candid letter to Latoya, telling her how you’ve seen her grow over the course of this diary, explaining some of the events that still puzzle or disappoint her, and suggesting what she can do that will make her sophomore year a happier one.

3. Think about the teachers who you think are good or bad at their jobs. What makes you feel this way? If you were writing to your least favorite teacher, how would you ask him/her to change?

4. Imagine that you have been asked to serve as a mediator between Latoya and her mother. Write a letter to Latoya’s mother in which you explain her daughter’s need for independence and respect. Then write to Latoya, explaining her mother’s hopes and fears for her. Be as specific as possible, paying special attention to things that Latoya has written about her mother’s earlier experience.

5. How has violent crime affected you, your friends, or your family? Write a detailed narrative of one such event, including what you saw or heard, what you felt about it, and how it affected you afterward.

6. Write a narrative of your first serious crush. How did you meet the other person? What attracted you to him or her? What kinds of things did you enjoy doing together? If the relationship ended, why do you think it did? What did falling in love teach you about other people and about yourself? On the basis of that experience, how would you advise Latoya in her next relationship?

7. Latoya often complains of feeling powerless, particularly when it comes to her parents and school. When in your own life have you felt powerless? If you were in control of your own life, what things about it would be different? What actions could you take today that would make you feel more independent?

8. Although Latoya claims to have little experience of racial discrimination [7], a close reading of the diary may suggest that racism has affected her in subtle ways. What do her comments on pages 76 and 121 reveal about the ways in which black people are treated both in the United States and Jamaica? Do you think Latoya’s school would be different if it were located in a white neighborhood? Do you think her race will make it more or less difficult for her to realize her dreams? Write a letter to Latoya in which you take issue with her statement. Feel free to describe your own experience with racial inequality.

9. Latoya is a good example of a young person who overcomes many obstacles to achieve her goals. Have you established goals for yourself? What tools do you have that will help you achieve your goals? How are the challenges you face in achieving these goals similar to Latoya’s and how are they different?

OTHER TITLES OF INTEREST

Diaries

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl; Opal Whiteley: Opal, The Journal of an Understanding Heart; Zlata Filipovic: Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo


Women’s Autobiography

Esmeralda Santiago: When I Was Puerto Rican; Virginia Lee Barnes and Janice Boddy: Aman: The Story of a Somali Girl; Jill Ker Conway: The Road from Coorain and True North; Jill Ker Conway, ed.: Written By Herself, Volume I: Autobiographies of American Women and Written By Herself, Volume II: Women’s Memoirs from Britain, Africa, Asia, and the United States; Lorene Cary: Black Ice; Maxine Hong Kingston: Woman Warrior; Maya Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes; Susanna Kaysen: Girl, Interrupted; Sister Souljah: No Disrespect; Rebecca Carroll, ed.: Sugar in the Raw: Voices of Young Black Girls in America; Charlayne Hunter-Gault: In My Place; Lorraine Hansberry: To Be Young, Gifted and Black


Men’s Autobiography

Piri Thomas, Down These Mean Streets; John Edgar Wideman: Brothers and Keepers and Fatheralong; Nathan McCall: Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America; Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; Colored People: A Memoir; Wole Soyinka: Aké: The Years of Childhood; Elie Wiesel: All Rivers Run to the Sea: Memoirs; Vladimir Nabokov: Speak, Memory; Paul Watkins: Stand Before Your God; Mark Salzman: Lost in Place; Garrett Hongo: Volcano: A Memoir of Hawai’i

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

This teacher’s guide was written by Peter Trachtenberg. Peter Trachtenberg has taught writing and literature at the New York University School of Continuing Education, the Johns Hopkins University School of Continuing Education, and the School of Visual Arts.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 1994 by VINTAGE BOOKS

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