Frankly in Love

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is a “bildungsroman” or “coming-of-age story”? What examples have you read, watched, or played?

Teaching Suggestion: Frankly in Love is a bildungsroman in which Frank, the main character, gradually matures morally and emotionally. This prompt offers an opportunity to assess what students already know about this type of story; the resources below might help to fill in any gaps in their understanding. Students may both enjoy and benefit from discussing examples of bildungsroman and coming-of-age stories, either in small groups or as a whole class.

• This entry from a literary terms resource offers a succinct and clear definition along with several examples.
• This article from Celadon Publishing explains the bildungsroman in more detail and offers clarification on the relationship between the terms bildungsroman and coming-of-age.

2. What kinds of cultural gaps might exist between parents and children when the parents are immigrants and the children are born in the United States? How might this complicate a young person’s journey toward adulthood?

Teaching Suggestion: Frank’s coming-of-age is impacted in several ways by the gap that exists between his cultural worldview and his parents’. This prompt asks students to begin thinking about how these cultural gaps arise and how they might complicate a young person’s life. Because not all students may be equally well-informed about or sensitive to the variety of immigrant experiences in America, an individual, private response completed in writing may be the best approach. Students might utilize the resources below for additional context.

• This NBC news article explores policies and statistics regarding American children who have immigrant parents. (This information is from 2019, original publication year of the novel.)
• This essay from the Harvard Business Review shares the author’s insights about navigating the culture gap between herself and her Vietnamese-born mother.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

There may or may not be a cultural difference between you and your parents or guardians, but there are likely differences between your generations. How does the “generation gap” impact one’s relationship with their parents or guardians? You can use examples from your life, observed experiences, or examples from literature, history, or film in your response.

Teaching Suggestion: Not all students will be able to identify with the cultural gulf between Frank and his parents. By reflecting on a similar kind of gap (the generation gap), students may increase their empathy for Frank and their investment in his story. For students for whom this topic may be sensitive, an individual, private response completed in writing may be the best approach. It may be beneficial to point out that students should feel free to comment on the positive impacts the generation gap causes along with any challenges they are comfortable mentioning, or to cite more “neutral” examples.