Abortion in adolescence, debate in the classroom: An analysis of a controversial theme through a Young Adult Short Story

Some young adults would take a stance for abortion, but the truth is that a controversial topic as abortion results in adolescents taking either for or against stances. Nowadays, teenage pregnancy may be a recurrent issue for adolescents, leading them to form solid and polar convictions about abortion. Pro-choice and anti-choice abortion positions consequently have arise among adolescents. Young adults may need proper guidance from an adult in this issue because their beliefs would lead them to a fervent point of view disregarding opposite opinions on the matter. Teachers, as adults, should accompany young adults in their development of positions towards abortion. They may position themselves in the role of guiders and use the short story ‘Sparks Fly Upwards’ in order to discuss the polemic subject of abortion.

Even though young adults can be exposed to a variety of literary genres, there is a specific genre directed to them, Young Adult Literature (YAL). According to Robert C. Small Jr., YAL might be defined by some unique characteristics such as protagonist’s personal traits, actions or decisions. At the same time, this genre also deals with topics highly appealing to young adults such as discrimination, teenage pregnancy or abortion (Herz and Gallo, 1996). Taking into account these characteristics and themes, “Sparks Fly Upwards” (2006), written by American author Lisa Morton, is not only a short story about zombies but also a clear and useful instance of YAL. In this story, Sarah, a young pregnant woman, lives in a community with her husband and daughter, trying to survive in an apocalyptic zombie world. Due to the limited supplies for the community, Sarah is not allowed to bear a child and then she must go through an abortion in a clinic located outside the colony. Even though the story is immersed in a fictional zombie world, it is crossed by one real and contentious theme, abortion. In view of this, the aim of this paper will be to discuss why “Sparks Fly Upwards” can be used in the classroom to approach the issue of abortion in adolescence.

Since ‘Sparks Fly Upwards’ is a good example of YAL, it can be used as a tool in the classroom. The short story presents some characteristics which coincide with those introduced by Robert Small in his extensive list when describing YAL. These characteristics are:

·         the main character is a teenager

·         events and problems in the plot are related to teenagers

·         the main character is the center of the plot

·         dialogue reflects teenage speech, including slang

·         the point of view presents an adolescent's interpretation of events and people

·         the teenage main character is usually perceptive, sensitive, intelligent, mature, and independent

·         the novel is short, rarely more than 200 pages

·         the actions and decisions of the main characters are major factors in the outcome of the conflict (282-283).

Reckoning these characteristics may help teachers to choose YA fiction in order to present this genre in the classroom. As a matter of fact, ‘Sparks Fly Upwards’ presents an adult main character but with an adolescent nature. It also presents adolescent speech and short narration.

Readers are positioned by the story to feel the adolescent nature of the character. The main character, Sarah, is a young woman who lives in a colony after a worldwide zombie incursion. She has a husband and a daughter. Since there are limited supplies for one hundred and thirty-one persons in the Colony, recommendations are that no outgrowth in population must take place. Times are hard for Sarah; she explains how difficult it is “to deny new life when we’re surrounded by so much death. Especially when the new life is in me.” When readers learn that Sarah is pregnant, they realize that the chances for expanding life in the Colony are improbable. Throughout the story, Sarah holds up an adolescent attitude towards the injustices occurred in the Colony. Although she displays maturity while accepting the rules of the Colony, she develops a sense of rebelliousness when she and her husband imagine themselves leaving the Colony and trying to build their own fortress. Maturity and rebelliousness are common traits that can be related to young adults.

Additionally, the main character writes her memories in a diary. Sarah’s point of view presents an adolescent's interpretation of events and people. When recalling past events, Sarah writes about her friend, Julie, who has gone to a clinic to perform an abortion. However, Julie changes her mind due to the people protesting against abortion outside the clinic. In narrating this event, Sarah expresses her own pro-abortion stance,

We’d talked about the morality of abortion already, and had agreed that it was obvious that the unformed, early fetus was only an extension of the mother’s body, and as such each woman had the right to make her own decision.

Moreover,“Sparks Fly Upwards” contains two other characteristics pointed out by Small: teenage speech and narrative’s length. On the one hand, the main character displays a teenage speech which could be easily identified with that of a young adult. In the story, readers will find instances of informal expressions such as “before all the shit came down” or “he’d be in his little shack-cum-office.” On the other hand, the length of any story is probably the most common discrimination that young adults can make when deciding what to read. Thereby, Lisa Morton’s story may be chosen by young adults since it is no more than eight pages. Thus, ‘Sparks Fly Upwards’ is a reliable choice to present in the classroom.

Its social controversial topic also makes “Sparks Fly Upwards” a suitable story to present in the classroom. Teenage pregnancy, meeting a challenge, dealing with death, substance abuse, family conflicts and abortion are topics that all students can benefit from reading and discussing (Herz and Gallo, 1996). These topics are proposed as universal themes common to Young Adult Stories since they are highly appealing to adolescents. Young Adults may feel attracted to those topics because they are proper of their reality, leading adolescents to feel identified with them.

“Sparks Fly Upwards” is a clear instance of YAL because of its main theme Lisa Morton’s story is a profitable tool to approach the issue of abortion in the classroom. When adolescents start reading the story, they may find pro-abortion and anti-abortion opinions. In fact, adolescents may notice these opposite stances when Sarah reveals Tom that she is pregnant. That serious piece of news leads the protagonists to think of keeping the baby. However Sarah and Tom decide to perform the abortion since having a baby means being expelled by the Colony. In this sense, young adults may feel identified with the dilemma and tension of the story as if it were happening to themselves. As this scene of the story places pro-choice and anti-choice abortion positions, the reading and the discussion may lead to the exposure of the young adults' stances. The key point is making adolescents benefit from the story by reading, discussing and fending for their opinions about abortion.

Before discussing in the classroom, young adults may already have their stances towards the topic of abortion. Some young adults conceive abortion as an immoral option, and some others conceive it as a convenient one. These convictions correspond to pro-abortion and anti-abortion stances. Pro-abortion stances comprehend people who emphasize women’s right to decide matters about their own bodies. On the contrary, anti-abortion stances comprehend those persons who think that an embryo has the right to live, and may even compare abortion to murder. These convictions are still being developed since adolescents are still shaping their identities. Because every young adult lives in a different social and cultural reality, every conviction will also be shaped according to the context they live in. This means that their identities are immersed in a particular social and cultural reality. (Aberastury & Knobel, 1977) Every young adult will bring unique convictions about abortion to the classroom giving room to an interesting debate.

“Sparks Fly Upwards” may serve as a trigger to set the ground for an interesting debate. When reading the story, adolescents’ stances may coincide or collide with those introduced in it. If adolescents started a debate with their accords or discrepancies and without guidance and mediation of the teacher, the debate would be fervent and disorganized. Then, the concept of an interesting debate would be lost. Hence, teachers must place themselves in the role of guiders and mediators to lead students into a more organized and rational debate. This debate will be beneficial for students since they will be able not only to share their opinions but also to listen to their classmates’ opinions.

All in all, “Sparks Fly Upwards” may function as a beneficial tool to discuss the topic of abortion. Lisa Morton’s story is a clear instance of YAL due to its characteristics and its main theme. Using “Sparks Fly Upwards” as a story for debate might come as a worthwhile way to confront opposite sociocultural convictions inside the classroom.