Angel vs Tiffany/Angel vs Owl: Compare and Contrast Between The Night Wanderer and Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel
Purpose/Rationale
I have used Buffy the Vampire Slayer a lot in my teaching practice. I like using it as a resource because the themes and topics addressed in the series are familiar enough for the students to connect with, but it is also old enough that most of my students will have most likely have never watched it.
The Night Wanderer, by Drew Hayden Taylor markets itself as a "Native Gothic Novel." It is comprised of three narratives: Tiffany (present day), who is a teenaged girl who lives in the fictional First Nations reserve of Otter Lake (somewhere in Ontario); Pierre L'Errant, a stranger who takes up lodging in Tiffany's house when her father rents out her bedroom to him; and Owl, an Anishinaabe youth who had left the area several hundred years earlier, seeking adventure with French Fur traders, only to contract measles while he was in France. As he lay there dying a vampire found him and turned Owl into a vampire. Later in the novel, we learn that Pierre L'Errant and Owl are actually the same person, and Pierre is returning to the land of his birth to finally put his soul to rest. Before he does this, he saves Tiffany's life when she runs away into the woods to commit suicide; he saves her life by telling her his story (although he explains it is a story passed down by his grandfather) and the history of the village that used to exist there before the reserve was established.
Because I am familiar with the series, I recognized similarities between Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin-off, Angel) and Tiffany and Own/Pierre (from The Night Wanderer). I saw this as an opportunity for students to compare and contrast how two different methods and traditions were used to explore the complexities of vampires.
The Night Wanderer, by Drew Hayden Taylor markets itself as a "Native Gothic Novel." It is comprised of three narratives: Tiffany (present day), who is a teenaged girl who lives in the fictional First Nations reserve of Otter Lake (somewhere in Ontario); Pierre L'Errant, a stranger who takes up lodging in Tiffany's house when her father rents out her bedroom to him; and Owl, an Anishinaabe youth who had left the area several hundred years earlier, seeking adventure with French Fur traders, only to contract measles while he was in France. As he lay there dying a vampire found him and turned Owl into a vampire. Later in the novel, we learn that Pierre L'Errant and Owl are actually the same person, and Pierre is returning to the land of his birth to finally put his soul to rest. Before he does this, he saves Tiffany's life when she runs away into the woods to commit suicide; he saves her life by telling her his story (although he explains it is a story passed down by his grandfather) and the history of the village that used to exist there before the reserve was established.
Because I am familiar with the series, I recognized similarities between Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin-off, Angel) and Tiffany and Own/Pierre (from The Night Wanderer). I saw this as an opportunity for students to compare and contrast how two different methods and traditions were used to explore the complexities of vampires.
Process
Throughout the novel study, I would show select episodes from Buffy and Angel when they were relevant to the chapters we were studying.
For this assignment, I asked students to write a compare and contrast paragraph to discuss the similarities and differences between either Tiffany and Angel, or Owl/Pierre and Angel.
For this assignment, I asked students to write a compare and contrast paragraph to discuss the similarities and differences between either Tiffany and Angel, or Owl/Pierre and Angel.
Reflection
The students were able to identify similarities between the different characters in the series and in the novels without much help. I found that the students came to understand the characters of Tiffany, Owl, and Pierre better after examining similar qualities, problems, and stories as they were presented in the tv series. This is where I see the value in having students make connections between and beyond texts, especially when it comes to subjects and themes that are explored in many different stories and genres (like vampires).