Bel Kaufman's book "Up the Down Staircase" was reprinted in 1988 for its 25th anniversary and since then has sold close to 900,000 copies. The book was first published in 1965. After thirty years, to have a book
be republished and make such a hit is a great accomplishment. Those who have read and know about this book, however, are not surprised. The book sold 1,500,000 copies within the first month after being published on January 27, 1965. It has sold close to s
ix million copies in all, and has been translated into 16 different languages. "Up the Down Staircase" is difficult to classify as a book because of its unusual style. "Perhaps it is a novel - a story emerges and characters develop - but we prefer to thin
k of this as a different and as yet unnamed literary form" (Woodring 71). The book is a collection of the main characters' letters, notes, and memos and such that could be found in any elementary or secondary school. The main character, Sylvia Barrett a
lso writes letters to her best friend from college, Ellen. These letters are the only source of true narration in the traditional sense. In the novel, Barrett is a young female fresh out of graduate school who teaches in a New York City high school, Calvi
n Coolidge. Barrett enters the system "eager to share all I [Barrett] know and feel; to imbue the young with a love for their language and literature; to instruct and inspire" as she writes in a letter to Ellen (31). She is soon confronted with the realit
y of the situation. A large portion of her day is filled with responding to memos and dealing with "the frills and foolishness (Faculty Follies) that waste the time of both teachers and pupils" (Ward 19), and she is faced with children who do not want to
learn and a school whose building should not pass the city inspection. The reviews that she received and the publicity received from other forms of media helped to make her novel prosperous. The occurrences of the 1960's popularized the initial publicat
ion. The manner in which Kaufman wrote the book (her unique writing style), the topic of education, and the outcome of the novel were the main reasons for its success and popularity.
After the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, the United States inaugurated his vice president Lyndon B. Johnson. The United States began its involvement in the Vietnam War in 1955. However, the degree of its involvement had just stepped up with
more soldiers sent to Vietnam in late 1964 and early 1965. With the United States at war for ten years with no sign of an ending in the near future, America was not a cheerful place to live. With the government's focus on the war, many of the books were
also about wars. There was also the dilemma of whether Americans believed they should even be involved in the war. This created additional tension throughout the country. To release a book that was not a romance or mystery, but rather a book with a moral,
that was in no way related to the war was a welcome relief to the public. "Up the Down Staircase" was a welcome distraction from the subject of war. This book is an optimistic book, revealing the hope that exists for children as long as there are teacher
s like Miss Barrett. "Sylvia Barrett, her [Kaufman's] heroine, is on the job, and that takes all of us off the hook. By virtue of this reassurance, the book is bound to be a best seller" (Bone 778). Of comfort to the teachers and parents who read this bo
ok is the realization that a "hopeless" student can reform. The Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, and in 1965 integration was still a fairly new idea. Kaufman was apparently ahead of her time when she wrote her book, for Calvin Coolidge was integrated. Th
e fact that she made the school integrated was a smart idea by Kaufman because it allowed her to attract a much larger audience, since the minorities would not consider it a book solely describing "white schools" and vice versa. Kaufman addresses the prob
lems of both segregation and integration in the book through a character named Edward Williams, Esq.. In his first letter to Miss Barrett he states "Here they tried to integrate me and it didn't take? but the teachers are too prejudice they are mostly Wh
ites and I never got a fair mark out of them"(80). In another letter "Everybody is always picking on me because of prejudice and that goes for everybody,"(112) and in a later letter, simply "Abollish prejudice"(175). By the end of the book there is no cha
nge in the boy's attitude toward whites, showing that there are those children that need more than Miss Barrett for a semester. Perhaps they need someone like her as a teacher throughout high school. Johnson introduced his main idea in 1965, called the G
reat Society Proposal. Part of his proposal "called for an enormous program of social welfare legislation including federal support for education" (Britannica Online). When this act passed, Americans came to terms with the fact that education in the Unite
d States needed improvement. "After Reading "Up the Down Staircase" one understands why? education is an urgent item on the agenda of President Johnson's Great Society" (Grunwald 42). Everything that was transpiring in the United States when Kaufman pub
lished the book helped it triumph.
The reviews and various other promotions that the book received were also instrumental in its success. Various respected magazines published reviews of the book. Well known magazines including Time, Publishers Weekly, New York Times Book Review, New York
Times Review of Books, Life, The Saturday Review, and the National Review published these reviews. Although there were some discrepancies between reviews, they all agreed on one point: the book was good and gave a realistic depiction of a metropolitan hig
h school. Although the descriptions are quite harsh at first, the depiction of this school does not leave the reader with an unpleasant impression of the school. "American parents are all too aware of education's defects and problems. But this author has
a refreshing way of stating the facts, of breaking down statistics into recognizable teenagers, of making you smile, be contrite and infuriated all at once"(Grunwald 43). "This book, for once, presents not just a picture, but a mood of a high school"(War
d 19). The readers is left to think that the school system will continue to improve and the children will flourish as long as teachers with Miss Barrett's dedication exist. Kaufman effectively illustrates the "harsh truth about these schools" (Lodge 260)
by "taking the clothes off and putting them back on" (Vonnegut 9) so as not to leave the reader dismayed or despaired. The controversial element of the book is Kaufman's style. The book is a collection of memos, wastebasket items, comments on the blackb
oard, suggestions from Barrett's "Suggestion Box", and letters to faculty and her best friend Ellen. Some reviewers thought this style was perfect for communicating her point to the reader. In a review of Kaufman's next book, "Love, etc.", Anne Tyler ad
dresses the fact that Kaufman uses this same style in her second book and says, "Was it because it worked so well for her in "Up the Down Staircase"? There it served a purpose: the confusion and multiplicity of a large school came alive in a whirlwind of
unrelated chits of paper". There were others who were not fond of Kaufman's technique. As published in a review in Choice: "the mechanical device is an artificial one that fails to carry complete conviction". For the most part, her style remained the onl
y component criticized. However, when the review includes other positive remarks, a negative reaction to a book's style would have a tendency to be overlooked because most readers are not overly concerned with a book's style. Several educational magazin
es also reviewed the book, increasing the audience size. One of the educational magazines, Choice: Books for College Libraries, stated "High school students considering a teaching career, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in education should
be encouraged to read this good but not brilliant novel? it has something to say and says it with honesty, accuracy, and humor". In general, the reviews assisted in making the book a success. The making of the book into both a movie (1967 - Warner Brother
s) and a play (1969) renewed interest in the book in the years after its initial release. With the filming of the movie came many promotions for the book including window streamers, rack cards, shelf tags, and display racks that acquired publicity for the
book. "Up the Down Staircase" was on two best seller lists: the New York Times best seller list for 32 weeks and the Publishers Weekly best seller list for 64 weeks. Being on these highly regarded best seller lists advertised the book and increased its p
opularity. The recognition in other forms of media propagated the book's success.
For a book to receive good reviews, the reviewers must like the material, story, style, mood or some other component of the book. There were three things in this book that made it appealing to both the reviewers and readers. These three things are: the to
pic (education), the style, and the outcome. Education is a topic that is constantly discussed in America. There are always ideas on how to change education or improve a teaching method. No one can escape the importance of education; everyone is touched b
y it somehow: at one point himself, and then perhaps later his children. Parents worry about their children and what occurs at school because many children keep their lives at school a secret. The parents become curious about the environment that surround
s their children for seven hours each day, and cannot always rely on the teachers' opinions, for they are biased. So they read any material made available to them about their child's environment. When hearing that this book describes metropolitan school
s, parents of these children run to the bookstore to find out what comes to pass in these hours when their children are away to learn. Parents and children are not the only individuals interested in a book like this; a teacher or someone desiring to becom
e one should also read this book, for it demonstrates the strength that a teacher must possess to survive such a school. People involved in the education process search for information concerning such schools as Calvin Coolidge and are inclined to read th
is book. The setting of the book (New York City) is also important. Miss Barrett's pupils are what most people would stereotype as an inner city kid: uneducated, poor, neglected, rude, disrespectful, and apathetic towards education. Each child also faces
his own personal problems. After Miss Barrett gets through to some of the children, the reader feels that if there is hope for these students, there is ample hope for other students as well. The book leaves the reader with the same thought that Miss Barr
ett reaches: "I wanted to make a permanent difference to at least one child"(313). This is the type attitude needed in schools across the nation? teachers that care. These teachers are the ones who comfort parents and bring them peace without even knowing
it. As a reader, one becomes aware of the lack of these teachers, and one hopes that this book will lure some of its readers (possible already teachers) to become more like Miss Barrett. There is a need for such positive role models in the education syst
em. Although the style of this book received mixed reviews, I thought it was extremely effective in reaching the reader. It is difficult to write a book about such a potentially serious subject and have the reader end the book without a negative opinion o
f the school system. The school is not described through rose colored glasses; it is depicted realistically. It is important that the novel is fiction and does not lecture the reader about education but tells a story instead. The main benefit of her style
is that the reader can more easily identify with, relate to, and understand many of the characters, not just the narrator. When a novel is narrated, the reader only sees the story from the narrator's perspective. However, having each character write le
tters in first person, we can better understand where the student comes from and not be so quick to judge. It allows us to have sympathy for these students and not simply see them from the outside, but perhaps try to comprehend why students turn out this
way. When the book begins Miss Barrett's students sign their suggestions anonymously, with names such as Mr. X, Yr Emeny, Disgusted, Dropout, and the Hawk. These names reflect how the students feel they interact with the school and what miniscule part th
ey play in the big picture. At the conclusion of the story, all of the students reveal their true identities and sign their suggestions with their real names. Kaufman instills in them a sense of security and importance, which is why they are able to come
forth and take pride in what they think and say. When the students disclose their true names, the reader finds himself wanting to return to the earlier parts of the book and match up each student with his prior name. The reader is curious to see what each
student's earlier thoughts were, and which ones Miss Barrett succeeds in reaching. The way Kaufman includes the memos and circulars is much more effective than merely describing them, for the reader finds the "actual" circular more believable than a mer
e description. We see how much a teacher's career involves the endless processing of paperwork and realize it is difficult to not let this paperwork engulf the teacher. On the whole, Kaufman's style allows the reader to relate to the characters on a muc
h more personal level. The positive outcome of the novel, Miss Barrett choosing to stay and continue teaching at Calvin Coolidge, leaves the reader satisfied with the novel, with all ending well.
Kaufman's book reached a variety of people, from students to parents to teachers. There are several reasons for its incredible success. The state of the economy and nation made for a perfect atmosphere when the book was released, since the people needed
a boost. The reviews published in magazines helped to grab some readers' attention, while others saw either the play or movie in the upcoming years and then read the book. However, we attribute the majority of the success of "Up the Down Staircase" to Ka
ufman's excellent choice of a topic, her convicting style, and the positive outcome.
Works Cited:
no author, "Choice".v2. Mar 1965. pg 22
Bone, Robert. "Teachers College Record".v66. May 1965. pg 778
Gause, Catherine. "America".v112. Feb 6, 1965. pg 198
Grunwald, Beverly. "New York times Book Review". Feb 14, 1965. pg 42-43
Lodge, David. "Commonweal".v82. Jan 27, 1965. pg 112
Pinck, Dan . "The Reporter". v32. Jan 1, 1965. pg 46
Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. "Life".v59. Sep 3, 1965. pg 9
Ward, Bill. "National Observer". Mar 29. 1965. pg 19
Woodring, Paul. "Saturday Review".v48. Mar 20, 1965. pg 71