Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. The South Bronx is notorious for its air pollution (one neighborhood is nicknamed “asthma alley”), and according to the New York City Community Air Survey, children in the South Bronx are hospitalized for asthma there at a rate between 2-5 times the other parts of the city. How does air pollution in low-income areas connect to structural racism? How does air pollution in the Bronx exemplify the idea of “environmental racism”?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt will get students to discuss issues of environmental racism, which are deeply connected to larger issues of Structural Racism. Environmental racism affects an individual’s physical and mental health and can alter the trajectory of their entire life. The Bronx, the borough of New York City where Canada’s memoir is set, is one of the most polluted areas in the United States.

• Vox’s “What Does Sustainability Mean in The Bronx?” investigates environmental racism in the United States.
• CBS New York’s “Bronx Organizations Pushing for Environmental Justice with High Asthma Rates in Community” focuses on the abnormally high pollution rates in the Bronx, and its larger effects.

2. The Second Amendment remains a point of fierce contention within American politics. What, exactly, does the Second Amendment say? What are some statistics and/or facts about gun violence that you might’ve heard that would support passing legislation that limits the use of guns in America?

Teaching Suggestion: One of the key themes of Fist Stick Knife Gun relates to The Destabilizing Impact of Guns on Canada and the boys of his neighborhood in the Bronx. This prompt will give students a shared understanding of the debate around guns in the United States. It will also give you an opportunity to review with them important facts and figures to support Canada’s assertion that guns are extremely detrimental to society.

• ABC News’ “Why the Second Amendment May Be Losing Relevance in Gun Debate” looks at the waning usefulness of Constitutional arguments supporting the right to bear arms.
• Harvard Health’s “Gun Violence: A Long-lasting Toll on Children and Teens” reviews the statistics demonstrating the impact of gun violence on kids and young adults.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who perform better with public speaking, you may choose to debate modern interpretations of the Second Amendment. Assign one half of the class to argue that the Second Amendment is still relevant and supports that Americans should still have the right to bear arms; assign the other half to argue that it is irrelevant to modern politics and supports that Americans should have restricted and/or no access to guns. Explain to students the ground rules for debate, using English-Speaking Union’s debate club guide, if need be. Also, remind students that they should be respectful when forming their arguments. Draw students’ attention to the rubric on which you will be judging them, as another way to help them organize their arguments. They will be graded on the following 6 points: (1) Respect for the other team, (2) quality of information, (3) their rebuttal, (4) use of facts/statistics, (5) the organization of their presentation, and (6) the overall understanding of the topic.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

1. “Toxic masculinity” is a term that seems to be everywhere in pop culture. How would you define “toxic masculinity”? In your experience, how has “toxic masculinity” affected your life, if at all? Reflect upon moments when you’ve either been (1) actively harmed by or (2) indirectly affected by “toxic masculinity.”

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt connects with the theme of Codes of Machismo in the book. Though Canada’s memoir is set in the 1950s and 1960s, the ideas he asserts about the damaging nature of machismo culture are intimately related to the concept of “toxic masculinity” in modern times.

• The New York Times’ “What Is Toxic Masculinity?” provides an overview of the concept, and also connects “toxic masculinity” to older forms of machismo.
• “Toxic Masculinity is Unsafe…for Men,” from Michigan State University’s Today, explains how men suffer from the consequences of toxic masculinity later in life.    
• “The Impact of Toxic Masculinity on Men’s Mental Health” is a product of the University of Washington Tacoma Sociology Department in the form of a ready-to-view presentation.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who need more pre-writing scaffolding, consider reading “Toxic Masculinity is Killing Men: The Roots of Male Trauma” from Salon together. Students could annotate the text for examples of damage that men suffer because of toxic masculinity. After compiling a class list, consider opening a discussion of times when students have felt such effects in their lives. At that point, students should be more prepared to begin their assignment.