The thing that was being born was a latke, a word which here means a ‘potato pancake’. Latkes are a traditional part of the celebration of Hanukkah, a holiday commemorating a miraculous Jewish military victory. Nearly everything in this world is born screaming, and the latke was no exception, even though the latke wasn't conceived and born the way you and I were conceived and born. Instead, it was fashioned from grated potatoes, chopped onions, beaten eggs, and a pinch of salt. Once these ingredients were properly mixed, the latke was slapped into a pan full of olive oil heated to a very high temperature, and this is when it began to scream. The latke was suffering so much that it leapt from the pan and out of the window and began to run screaming down the boulevard. This may seem like unusual behaviour for a potato pancake, but this is a Christmas story, in which things tend to happen that would never occur in real life. The latke rounded a corner and found itself face-to-face with a candy cane which wrinkled it's red and white nose in distaste. “I'm trying to sprinkle the night air with my peppermint scent,” the candy cane said. “Your mouth-watering smell is spoiling the effect.” “My mouth-watering smell is part of the cosy feeling of Hanukkah,” the latter replied. “It reminds us that things are better now than they were in 175 BCE when my people were not allowed to practice their religion. In order to study the Talmud, they had to hide out in caves, and when they heard soldiers approach, they pretended they were gambling with a small spinning top called a dreidel.” Sort of like Joseph and Mary hiding out in the manger,” said the candy cane. “Someone should write a Christmas carol about you.” “I'm not part of Christmas!” cried the latke. “It's a totally different thing.” 3.1 In what way is the text above an example of post-modern children’s literature? (2)
3.2 Reader Response theory suggests that various influences can affect a reader’s interpretation of a text. In a short paragraph, explain this theory and explore why it would be useful to evaluate the extract using the Reader Response method. Suggest which aspects of the method could be applied. (8)
3.3 Explain how the above text could be used in a lesson about multiculturalism in literature and evaluate how effective some of its features could be for such a lesson. Do you think it is a good example of a multicultural text? Explain your reasoning.