English Language Arts Grade 12 Readings Theme – Adolescence Elegy for Wong Toy English Language Arts Grade 12 Readings Theme – Adolescence Barbara Kanellakos

An ELEGY is a song, poem, or speech expressing grief or sorrow for one who is dead. An ELEGY is also a reflective poem usually depressing in tone. An ELEGY can also mourn the loss of a way of life rather than the loss of an individual, as evident in Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”.

Elegy for Wong Toy Backgrounder Robert Kroetsch’s Elegy for Wong Toy Backgrounder English Language Arts Grade 12 Readings

This poem is a tribute to a man who ran the café in Heisler, the town where the poet grew up. The poem captures the spirit of adolescence that the poet associates with the café and contrasts it to the stoic, silent Wong Toy, whom they called Charlie. Isolated from the rest of the community, Wong Toy is more than a café owner and far more than a stereotype.

Kroetsch calls him “one of my fathers” and the poem is a gift greater than the lavish Valentine chocolate box that “no one ever took home.” The memories of the café and his adolescence are presented through strong images that evoke emotion. The poem could have been placed into “Innocence and Experience” or “A Sense of Place,” but it has been included in “See Into the Life” because of its insights into life that the poet has shaped into this poetic text.

As part of the poem, with the idea of adolescence in mind, the poet makes reference to sexual-awakening (“horny youth,” “the almost naked girl in the white leather boots…, “the first touch of Ellen Kiefer’s young breasts”).

Vocabulary Enrichment Elegy for Wong Toy Vocabulary Enrichment English Language Arts Grade 12 Readings Theme – Adolescence Barbara Kanellakos

DARE → Means to have sufficient courage (to be bold enough) → To overcome a challenge – especially to prove courage KINDRED → A group of related individuals → Of a like nature or character (resemblance in character - i.e. traits) IRON BACHELORHOOD → A symbol of strength or firmness (man of iron; iron will) PERPLEXED → Filled with uncertainty (confusing or complicated) HORNY YOUTH → To be excited sexually LONGING → A strong desire especially for something unattainable or difficult to obtain

ENDURING → The ability to withstand (to last or persist) → Enduring also means to tolerate. ABACUS → An instrument for making calculations by sliding counters along rods of grooves. MEADOWLARKS → A songbird related to the orioles FEROCIOUS → Extremely intense (sometimes meaning fierce or savage)

Paradox → A statement that seems contrary to commonsense and yet it is perhaps true.

English Language Arts Grade 12 Readings Theme – Adolescence “Elegy for Wong Toy” English Language Arts Grade 12 Readings Theme – Adolescence Barbara Kanellakos

Facts Remember that facts are indisputable truths – knowledge that is certain and incontestable. Facts can be verified by measurement, observation, or personal experience. Facts are reality.

Opinions An impression is a belief that you hold and judgements that you make about the events in the world around you. Opinions are arguable. Being able to argue for, and defend, your opinion is one of life’s most useful skills.

English Language Arts Grade 12 Readings Elegy for Wong Toy Responding to the Reading A Focus for Class Discussion English Language Arts Grade 12 Readings Barbara Kanellakos

Questions 1 Responses How does this poem make you feel? What impression do you get of Wong Toy? Of the poet? Do you think you would like to read more poems by this writer? Why or why not? Do you think this a good poem? Why or why not?

Questions 2 Responses What don’t you like about it? What lines in the poem do you consider to be the most important? Why?

Additional Questions for Discussion What is theme of the poem? What message did you take away from the theme? If you were to draw the theme symbolically, what would you draw? Why? What information is revealed about the setting? How does the setting impact the “voice” of the poem? What most surprised you in the poem?

Additional Questions for Discussion What is the saddest sentence in the poem? Why? What sentences cause the most intense feelings? If you were to describe Charlie in two to three words, what would they be? Why? The poet? What idea or image meant the most to you as you read through the text? Why? What connections can you make between the poem and your life?