93 pages 3 hours read

William Bell

Crabbe

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1986

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Introduction

Crabbe

  • Genre: Fiction; young adult adventure/coming-of-age
  • Originally Published: 1986
  • Reading Level/Interest: Grades 7-12
  • Structure/Length: 24 numbered journal entries with occasional “Digressions”; approx. 169 pages
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: Franklin Crabbe is 18 and is disillusioned with his family and his schooling in Toronto; an attempt to escape his well-to-do lifestyle by running away to the wilderness quickly demonstrates what he lacks in self-sufficiency and survival skills. The novel is a first-person narrative in which Crabbe tells his story after returning to civilization.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Alcohol consumption; profanity; physical violence and assault; death

William Bell, Author

  • Bio: Born in 1945; Canadian writer of fiction and picture books; former English teacher in Canada and China; has written 19 published works of young adult fiction; earned the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award (for Stones, 2002) and the Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award (for Five Days of the Ghost, 1992; Stones, 2003)
  • Other Works: Metal Head (1987); Forbidden City (1990); Zack (1998); The Blue Helmet (2006); Julian (2014)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

  • The Quest for Identity and Autonomy
  • The Relationship Between Humanity and Nature
  • The Value(s) of Education
  • Actions Versus Words

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

  • Analyze how the text’s allusion to Athena adds meaning to Crabbe’s journey.

Related Titles

By William Bell

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