Day 24: Boo Chpt 4 (Manju)

Inquiry: Would you work so hard to be “good” if you were Manju? Why or why not?

Check vocab

Discussion

• Check in on Fleshing out Abdul & Asha
• Fleshing out Manju

Day 22: Boo Chpts 1 & 2

Inquiry
How would you handle Mr Kamble and why?

Discussion
1a. Review vocabulary works
1. Start with inquiry
2. Turn to your neighbor and figure out why there are tensions between Hindus & Muslims
3. What tensions does Boo set up in the first two chapters? (list on board)
4. Fleshing our Abdul and start fleshing out Asha

Closing
Insights gained and/or questions raised

Day 21: Boo! Did I scare you?

Inquiry: Is morality a luxury or a necessity? Why or why not?

Discussion
1. Start w inquiry question ...
2. History scavenger hint --> 10 minutes. You can work in teams of 2. Find everything you can about the state of world affairs in 2008. What was going on politically across the globe? What about in India? What was happening with the economy (both international and national)? Become an expert in 2008. --> share out ideas on the board --> what does this tell us about Behind the Beautiful Forevers?
3. Find Annawadi:  Using the text, draw a map of the location and be sure to cite pages numbers to support your ideas.
4. Find annawadi: Let's explore google earth and maps and see what it looks like.
5. Review the plot of the prologue. What literally happened?
6. Review vocabulary
7. Character fleshing out --> Abdul

Closing: Insights gained and/or questions raised.

Day 20: in-class writing

Prompts

In what ways do the differing points of view of TWO characters show readers a larger, destructive effect of the system of apartheid?

OR

In what ways do the central ironies present in TWO of the short stories reflect a larger, destructive effect of the system of apartheid?

Submission instructions

**Don't forget to put ONE goal at the tippy top of the paper.

1. Please put your outline at the top of the paper.

2. Indicate where the essay begins

3. File name: Name_SS_block.pdf (for example: Mary_SS_D.pdf)

4. File type: PDF

5. Double spaced

6. dropitto.me/mcollie --> password --> EnglishRocks

Day 19: Moment Before the Gun Went Off

Inquiry
Re-read the 2 1/2 pages of the story. What did you learn about Van der Vyver the second time reading this story? How did your understanding of Van der Vyver change the second time?

The narrator
1. Who is the narrator and what is the narrator’s attitude towards white Afrikaner ruling party, to blacks, and to Europeans?
2. What do these attitudes tell us about why people are divided in SA and in our larger world, maybe regardless of race?

Van der Vyver
1. What does the action of his crying in the police station suggest to us? Are you surprised by this reaction—why or why not? Does this make him more likable—why or why not?
2. What do we learn about him by his action at the funeral?
3. What does it show us in the description “he does not let her clothing, or that of anyone else gathered closely make contact with him’ (116). How does this moment contrast with “The farmer carried him in his arms, to the truck. He was sure, sure he could not be dead. But the young black man’s blood was all over the farmer’s clothes, soaking against his flesh as he drove” (117)? What do we learn about Van der Vyver?

The moment
1. What exactly was the moment like for Lucas and Van der Vyver before the gun went off? What does this say about their relationship? p 116-117
2. Why is this moment compared to the moment that he and Lucas’s mom share at the funeral? What does it suggest to us about their relationship? p 116

To close: 1. In what way is this story about difference? About misconception? 2. What is the more tragic element of this short story in your mind?

Day 18: Comrades

Question: In what ways is the title of the short story ironic and how does that irony manifest in the short story itself?

Please be sure that you identify why the title is ironic and also make sure you address its greater significance (think about some of the contrasts present in the story).

Tweet-Essay in 6 slides:

Rules ... you get 6 slides. Each slide can contain no more than 140 characters (spaces count), that doesn't include text evidence. But it DOES include claim and analysis. Pictures are encouraged as long as they're appropriate. Text/twitter speak is ok, too. Again, just be appropriate. No usage of abbreviations that imply profanity.

Slide 1: Intro/Thesis

Slide 2: Argument #1

Slide 3: Argument #2

Slide 4: Argument #3

Slide 5: Conclusion/Big Picture connection

Slide 6: bonus side ... can be used at any point in the presentation

45 minutes to prepare ... then we present

-----------------------------
Discussion

1. What happens on a literal level in Comrades?
2. Find words or specific passages that convey the irony in the text.
3. What is the point of view—what are the effects of that?
4. In what way is the woman, Hattie, conflicted?
5. What does she understand about the young men and why?
6. What does she NOT understand about the young men and why?  What does this suggest to us about the sympathizers in Apartheid SA?
7. What are the greatest differences between them that separate them?
8. What is the significance of the title?

Day 17: Keeping Fit

Inquiry
What is point of view? How does point of view influence a story?

Discussion
1. Look at the contrasts present in the short story: What purpose do they serve and how do they reflect the divisive nature of apartheid? Use text to support ideas and interpretations. Think about all of the ways in which the white man and the black woman are divided.

• Road as boundary vs road as freedom
• house vs shanti town/shack
• white man vs black woman
• white family vs black family
• other ideas ....

2. From what point of view is this story told? How does that limit what we know? How might descriptions differ if from black woman's POV?

3. What is the relationship between the white man and the black woman? How does it change over the course of their interaction?

4. When the protagonist returns home, what has changed about him? Does he comes to any new understanding about himself? If so, why? Of not, why not? Use the text.

5. What is the main conflict in the protagonist's life? Over what is he conflicted?

6. The bird ... symbol of what?

Closing
Questions raised; insights gained?

Day 16: Magona: I'm not talking about that, now

Inquiry What does this short story tell us about the divisive nature of apartheid South Africa?

Pairs
Cover the basics --> plot, character, conflict

Discuss these questions, spending the most time on the italics/underlined ones.

Who is Mamvulane? 

What is her greatest concern? 

What is the consumer boycott about? 

Her shopping trip: how does she prepare, and what happens to her?

Who is Mdlangathi? 

What is he angry about at the beginning of the story?

How does Mamvulane react to her husband’s story?

What does this incident make Mdlangathi think about young people?

Who is Mtetelli?

Why is his father angry with him?

What happens at the very end of the story?

Triads

Please record your answers and refer to at least one specific example from the text to support your ideas.

1. What do you think is the significance of the stories Mdlangathi brings home to Mamvulane?

2. What does Mamvulane’s trip to the store suggest about her, and why?

3. What are Mteteli and his father really arguing about at the end of the story?

4. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that the character does not know; thus, the words and actions of a character suggest a different meaning to the audience than to the other characters in the story.  Where do you see irony used in this story?

5. Given the story’s ending, and the author’s use of irony, what do you think this author’s purpose may be in writing this story?

Solo time and then large group

1. What did you learn about how apartheid functions – specifically, about how it affects families and communities?

2. What makes the ending so tragic, and what does this tragic ending suggest to us about life in South African townships?  What does it suggest to about the fight for freedom?

3. In what way is this story about what Adiche calls “the danger of a single story?”