Up the Down Staircase
| Up the Down Staircase | |
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| Author(s) | Bel Kaufman |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Barker Pub |
| Publication date | 1965 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 340 p. (hardback edition) & 368 p. (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-097361-7 (paperback edition) |
| OCLC Number | 23255071 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 20 |
| LC Classification | PS3561.A83 U6 1991 |
Up the Down Staircase is a humorous novel written by Bel Kaufman, and published in 1965. The book spent 64 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list.
[edit] Plot summary
The plot revolves around Sylvia Barrett, an idealistic English teacher at an inner-city high school who hopes to nurture her students' interest in classic literature (especially Chaucer) and writing. She quickly becomes discouraged during her first year teaching, frustrated by dumb bureaucracy (the name of the novel refers to an infraction one of her students is punished for), the indifference of her students, and the incompetence of many of her colleagues. She decides to leave public school to work in a smaller private setting. Her mind is changed, however, by the realization that she has indeed touched the lives of her students.
The novel is epistolary in form: aside from opening and closing chapters consisting entirely of dialog, the story is told through documents, such as memos from the office, fragments of notes dropped in the trash can, essays that are handed in to be graded, lesson plans, suggestions dropped in the class suggestion box, and letters written by Barrett to a friend from college who chose to get married and start a family rather than pursue a career. The letters serve as a recap and summary of key events in the book, and offer a portrait of women's roles and responsibilities in American society in the mid-1960s as well. The book's title comes from a memo to teachers, instructing them to make sure that students "do not walk up the down staircase."
The novel is set at the time just after the banning of School prayer[1] and during early integration and busing.[2]
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel has been adapted to film and stage. Tad Mosel wrote the screenplay for the 1967 film version with Sandy Dennis. The play is frequently performed in high school drama classes. The film version was parodied in Mad magazine as "In the Out Exit".
[edit] References
List of Characters
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