Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Midwife's Apprentice




From Brat --- 
   to Beetle ---
    finally Alyce ~~~
A book of journey
    and growth












BIBLIOGRAPHY: 
Cushman, Karen The Midwife's Apprentice. New York:
Clarion. 1995. 


ISBN 0395692296 

Karen Cushman
PLOT SUMMARY:
Karen Cushman takes readers on a journey back to the fourteenth century, to a young girl -- motherless, nameless and homeless -- she lives on the streets and sleeps on a dung heap for warmth -- "the rotting and moiling give forth heat" so here she finds her bed. The only name she could ever recalling hearing was Brat and this name is soon changed by the village boys to Beetle - for "Dung beetle! Dung beetle! Smelly old dung beetle sleeping in the dung." One day Beetle's luck changes for the good, "an important looking woman, with a sharp nose and sharp glance" takes her in -- this lady is a midwife. Beetle, who eventually takes a proper name, works for the midwife performing menial chores. Ultimately she stops running and learns that she too has a place in the world.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Karen Cushman transports the reader into medieval England. We learn about daily life at this time through the eyes of a young homeless girl. The author also provides us a look into the practice of midwifery. As a reader, we learn techniques, herbs, and payment for such services and in the importance of it. According to Beetle, no one likes the midwife, her “greed angered the villagers, but they needed her” she was the only one of her kind around so she was their only choice. The midwife is also very harsh and unfeeling, if payment could not be arranged she would not go to the laboring mothers; “twice the midwife refused to come to laboring mothers who had nothing to pay” and the “unfortunate women had to bring forth their babies with none but a neighbor to help.” The midwife makes sure that Beetle, who later renames herself Alyce, does not learn too much so as to avoid competition. However, the midwife's knowledge is being preserved in an encyclopedia because the author felt it was important. As the story progresses, Alyce goes through many growing pains as she tries to find what she wants in life, which happens to be, “A full belly, a contented heart, and a place in their world.” Alyce has begun the road to carving out her own identify -- a midwife’s apprentice and a beautiful person. 

History
is very well represented in this story with the optimum blend of fiction and historical information. Aside from the historical facts included in the story, Cushman has created a quick read with humor and themes of confidence, bullying, loneliness, and finding your place in the world. Each reader can identify with the heroine through one of these themes or others that can be found within this book.  



Teenagers will identify with the characters insecurities with her abilities and in her looks.  Young adults will be able to identify with the road Brat/Beetle/Alyce took in order to find her place in this world. 

REVIEW EXCERPT:
Amazon.com Review: "Karen Cushman likes to write with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek, and her feisty female characters firmly planted in history. This time our protagonist is Alyce, who rises from the dung heap (literally) of homelessness and namelessness to find a station in life--apprentice to the crotchety, snagglethoothed midewife Jane Sharp. Disappointingly, Cushman does not offer any hardships or internal wrestling to warrant Alyce's final epiphanies, and one of the book's climatic insights is when Alyce discovers that lo and behold she is actually pretty!


Publishers Weekly: "The strengths of this new, relatively brief novel match those of its predecessor: Cushman has an almost unrivaled ability to build atmosphere, and her evocation of a medieval village, if not scholarly in its authenticity, is supremely colorful and pungent."
CONNECTIONS:
* Create two lists --- characteristics of low self-esteem and high self-esteem
* Discuss differences and similarities between midwifes, nurses, and obstetricians
* Create a timeline displaying the evolution of the protagonist
* Use information in this novel and integrate it with various science and health lessons
* Read other Karen Cushman books

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