The Wolf You Feed

The Cherokee have a parable that I have been thinking of a lot lately.

In the parable, an old grandfather tells his grandson that we all struggle every day with a fight between two wolves inside of us. The evil wolf–representing anger, pride, resentment and all the other negative emotions–is at war with the good wolf, who represents all of the good emotions such as empathy, humility, love, compassion, and faith. The grandson asks which wolf will win. 

And we have all heard the answer the grandfather gives: the wolf you feed. 

When I teach dystopian literature, I see this parable playing out on every page. 

That internal battle – the self vs. self conflict – is often at the heart of many novels, especially in the dystopian genre. 

One novel that I have always loved teaching from this category is Lord of the Flies. It is ultimately the story of what happens when the social constraints of law, order, and civilization are removed, resources are scarce, and the population is scared. Will we answer to the good in our nature, or the evil? 

And we all identify the impulses behind good and evil differently based on our values. Do we value uniformity or diversity? Individual freedom for all or security and safety? The collective good or individual rights? 

Lord of the Flies doesn't answer these questions for us—it makes us wrestle with them alongside characters who are making increasingly desperate choices. 

Why I love this novel for any student grades 9-12:

• It gives young adults a safe distance to explore dangerous questions about power, conformity, and moral choice. 

• It’s easily readable for any student in this age range.

• It is rife with symbolism, imagery, and literary devices so students can analyze how the author develops his themes in multiple ways. 

• And probably most importantly, it provides a gateway to encourage students to make comparisons between the novel and the real world.

If your student is watching the news and asking “how did we get here?” dystopian literature offers a framework for exploring this question. 

Where to start? Visit PageAndPenAcademy.com/dystopian-novels where I've curated a selection of dystopian novels with different reading levels and thematic focuses, along with guidance on which might work best for your student.

Other powerful options include: 

• Fahrenheit 451: a fireman whose job entails burning books instead of saving houses begins to question a society that traded critical thinking for constant entertainment and superficial happiness. 
  

• Brave New World: A man who doesn’t conform to his genetic engineering and social conditioning questions whether comfort and stability are worth the loss of genuine human emotion and choice. 
  

• 1984: A government worker discovers the cost of total surveillance, manipulation of truth, and propaganda in a society where even thoughts can be crimes. 
  

• Anthem: A young man raised in a collectivist society where individuality is forbidden begins to explore the value of individual identity

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