Book+Rationale,Justin+Brown

//Marcelo in the Real World// allows readers to experience the daily struggles of a young man entering into the “real world” of work at his father’s law firm. While this transition poses its own inherent difficulties this experience becomes all the more jarring because Marcelo has Aspergers Syndrome. Marcelo decides to work at the law firm with the hope that at the end of the summer that he will be able to attend the same school and return to work in familiar settings. His father Arturo promises Marcelo that he can make his own decision at the end of summer if he succesfully follows the rules of the “real world.” Marcelo believes that his greatest difficulty will be following the rules of the “real world” such as looking people in the eyes and not talking about his special interests. Marcelo encounters much larger challenges as he attempts to navigate the challenges of the “real world.” Marcelo encounters self serving evil in the form of a coworker named Wendell who tries to use him to meet his own satisfaction and goals. Over the course of his journey and growth Marcelo tries to navigate the difficulties that arise from a world that is completely foreign to him. With a pure and naïve spirit Marcelo is forced to face challenges much larger than expected in a confusing and often misunderstood realm.

The novel is not simply a tale of difficulty or morality it offers opportunities to study multiple elements of fiction. We will study how Marcelo reaches conclusions about the people he encounters even though he has difficulty understanding interaction and common social cues. Attention will be given to how we come to understand Marcelo and the characters that surround him. This text will allow us to look at where Marcelo refers to himself in the third person and how this is relevant within the story. We will also look at how Marcelo interprets metaphors in a literal fashion and how we effectively use this as a tool in our own writing. Sarcasm will also be analyzed both in daily conversation and within the story. This will allow a starting point to discuss when sarcasm is an effective tool in writing and when it is harmful to the overall message. Theme can also be discussed when looking at how Marcelo feels alone and disconnected from his surroundings. As a class we will study instances where Marcelo uses strategies to find meaning in both body language and spoken dialogue. This will allow us to consider how we attempt to find the meanings of new words or confusing signals when we encounter them in our own lives. The end goal through this novel will be for students to understand and gain accessible tools that they will later be able to use once they enter the “real world.”