Tips for Teachers: You Too Can Capitalize on Student Interest in Twilight and New Moon
Your students have finals coming up soon. They need to be studying non-stop, re-reading and analyzing a semester’s worth of information. Instead, they – along with millions of others nationwide – crashed the New Moon movie opening to the tune of $140 million. Rather than view it as a distraction from assigned reading, try to capitalize on the fact that the author, Stephanie Meyer, is a huge fan of classic lit – and makes it known throughout the series.
For example, the young lovers’ interactions in Twilight, the first in the series, was loosely modeled after the Darcy-Elizabeth dynamic in Pride and Prejudice: Edward, the handsome vampire, falls for the human Bella against his will (not to mention his better judgment), initially alienating her with his shocking rudeness but ultimately pursuing her despite already being slated for another woman. Luckily for us, Meyer forgoes giving Bella any suitors that could rival Mr. Collins in obnoxiousness.