The Effects of Reading Ethnic Literature on the Attitudes of Adolescents

The first statement reflects one student\u27s vision of her world and her solution to one problem in that world. Written in an essay which asked white students for their reactions to having Vietnamese in their school, the statement reveals a limited view of the world and possibly a parroting of community rhetoric. The second statement is an oral response by the same student taped during her reading of a novel which dealt with ethnic issues. Her revised perception indicating the need for a new look at other ethnic groups, rather than an expulsion of them from the country, suggests the power of literature to reshape a reader\u27s vision of the world