Challenger Deep

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “Second-Person Narrative Practice”

Often, Challenger Deep switches into second-person viewpoint. These passages invite us to step into Caden’s shoes and better understand what he is experiencing. 

• Find an example of 2-3 sentences in which Caden speaks in second-person point of view.
• Share your example with a classmate. Rewrite the example in first- or third-person. What are some of the differences in tone, voice, or style?
• As a class, discuss a few examples and the ways in which second-person narration impacts readers.
• Think about a day that you experienced something negative but no one else knew. On a sheet of paper or in a journal, write a brief narrative of the experience in second-person viewpoint. For example, “You walk out of class. No one knows that you’ve been up all night crying. You apply some eye drops in the bathroom, hoping to blink away the redness.” After composing your second-person narration, reflect on your writing and add a paragraph describing two ways this changed your perspective on the experience.

Teaching Suggestion: Students may be tempted to speak in general terms: “You feel horrible.” Encourage them to use concrete detail and vivid figurative language to show those feelings instead of directly telling them. Post-activity discussion could center on the theme of Victimhood and Reality as it pertains to difficult experiences that make us feel like victims, and how victimhood can make us feel separate from others’ or the wider world’s realities.

ACTIVITY 2: “Art and Mental Illness”

Challenger Deep mentions several different authors and artists who struggled with or depict mental illness in their work. Caden says that he can empathize with Shakespeare’s characters of Hamlet and King Lear. He imagines himself as Michelangelo’s David, but without the ability to defeat Goliath. He also uses art as an outlet for his struggle.

• Choose an author, poet, artist, or musician who struggles with mental illness.
• Pick one of their creative works that portrays what it is like to struggle with mental illness.

Create a short presentation which describes how this author’s art helps us better understand Mental Illness. Describe the art with specific details (e.g., the word choice in a poem or the mood evoked by a piece of art) and connect these to audience reaction.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity can help students see the ways that art serves as a means of personal expression and connection to others. Caden uses art to portray his inner world, but he also draws pictures that describe what the other patients are feeling. Have a discussion with the class on art’s ability to help us understand others and ourselves. How does this human connection help us overcome struggles that we might face? Students could complete this task at any point during the Challenger Deep unit.