Up the Down Staircase
 | |
| Author | Bel Kaufman |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Barker Pub |
Publication date | 1965 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 340 p. (hardback edition) & 368 p. (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-097361-7 (paperback edition) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| OCLC | 23255071 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3561.A83 U6 1991 |
Up the Down Staircase is a humorous novel written by Bel Kaufman, and published in 1965.
Plot summary
The plot revolves around Sylvia Barrett, a young 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, frustrated by petty bureaucracy (the name of the novel refers to an infraction one of her students was 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: the plot is advanced largely through memos from the office, fragments of notes dropped in the trash can, essays that were 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.
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 especially really cute vocational schools with a director who says "jesus christ" every second. The film version was parodied in Mad magazine as "In the Out Exit".
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