"Untouchable" Questions Response

Response to Kelsey’s questions about religion:

In the story “Untouchable” by Mulk Raj Anand, religion is used to convey the themes. Religion is the reason for much of the conflict in the story as the caste system is a creation of the Hindu religion. Within the Hindu’s there are the different castes, but the people within the caste don't want anything to do with the out castes or the untouchables. They are not supposed to touch them and this creates a visible divide within the same religion. There are two other religions referred to in the story, Christianity and Islam. The clothes of the people of the different religions are different in the story suggesting that they are even more divided. The Christian missionary is sympathetic to Bakha as he suggests that the people who think he is untouchable are wrong. The Muslim is also kinder to Bakha than the priests and people from his own religion. Overall, religion connects the characters throughout the story and is a way for the author to show the divided nature of the country of India. Because people of different religions are kind to Bakha, the author shows that different religions do not have to be as dividing as they seem.

"Untouchable" Question - 3

Discussion Question

The story “Untouchable” ends with Bakha running home to tell his father about the new invention that the poet told him about. He considers the fact that this invention that disposes of waste may end the need for sweepers and thus end untouchability. Do you think this is an ending of hope or merely the author’s statement about the futility of Bakha’s efforts to escape his class? Why?

"Untouchable" Questions 2

Questions

1. Is there any significance of things being ochre colored?
2. Why do they never give Ram Charan's sister a name? The author only refers to her as Ram Charan's sister.
3. When Bakha's father tells him the story of him almost dying, this brings Bahka closer to his father and expresses a totally different side of Lakha as a caring father.  Does this expression by Lakha help Bakha cope with his distress about the upper caste or drive him further into his feelings of isolation?


word: defiled

“Untouchable” Questions

1. The caste system in India is very strict as seen in the book. Why then are the children of a very high ranking man able to be bribed to teach Bakha who is in the opinion of their caste, untouchable?

2. Sohini's experience at the well is confrontation with someone from her own rank. Another untouchable verbally abuses her and is very mean and gets very angry when she is given water first. Why does the author include this abuse from another untouchable when he includes all the abuse from the caste people?

3. Bakha’s mother has died from cleaning the human and animal refuse. Bakha claims he cannot find sadness in himself over her death. His father Lahka is a very lazy, mean man. To what extent has Bakha’s family life affected him and his hopes for an educated, British-like future? 

Word: caste

"A Temporary Matter"

     In the short story, A Temporary Matter, Jhumpa Lahiri tells the story of husband and wife Shoba and Shukumar. The tone of this story is sad and dark. This is enhanced in the story by the power outages each day. The couple receives a notice that there will be times with no electricity. This dark setting is the backdrop for a dark story that ends sadly. The sad tone is seen in the diction, imagery, and details of the story. 

     Lahiri uses words with negative connotation such as "hauted" to describe how Shoba feels when she walks in to the room that would have been for the baby. Also, she refers to Shoba's face as "contorted" when she and Shukumar are talking about her moving out. These negative sounding words contribute to the sad tone. Lahiri also uses imagery in this short story When Shukumar describes the boy baby that dies, he refers to it's red skin and this makes Shoba even more grief stricken over the loss of the baby and contributes to their becoming more separated. The author also focuses a lot on the details of this couples life after their baby's death which are monotonous and contribute to the depressing nature of the story and the sad, dark tone.

     The tone contributes to the themes of the story. The author talks a lot about the death of the baby and how it affects Shoba and Shukumar. Their grief over the loss of their baby and their struggle to stay together afterwards is a theme of the story. At the end, Shoba says she is going to move out which is not necessarily "a temporary matter". This sad ending is reinforced by the sad tone throughout the story and the message that grief and loss divides people.

"The Metamorphosis"

Response:

Gregors life

When he first turns in to a bug, Gregor thinks about how his life is pretty worthless. Gregor realizes that his job is not satisfying and he is only a salesman so that he can pay off his parents debt. He also talks about how his room is dreary and it makes him melancholy. After he turns in to a bug, his life remains worthless. He is sad because he cannot help his family at all and he feels like he is a burden. He realizes that his life does not matter very much whether he is a human or a bug. This thought fits with the philosophy absurdism which was popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s when this short story was written. Gregor is an existentialist and he thinks that his life does not matter. This can also be seen when he refers to himself as a monstrous verminous bug. He does not think highly of himself or his worth and sees himself in the worst light possible. 

Questions:

1. At the beginning of the story, Grete cares about Gregor and tries to help him. Why does her thoughts towards Gregor change at the end and why is she happy when he dies?
2. Grete has to take on a lot more responsibilities after Gregor becomes a bug. To what extent does she have a metamorphosis of her own as she matures?

"Death and The Kings Horseman"

Response - different cultural thoughts about death: 

Death and the Kings Horseman is a play that begins with the kings horseman the Elesin who is choosing to die. It is a tradition that when the king dies, the kings helpers also die so that they can accompany him to the afterlife. Iyaloja, the lady in the market, is worried that Elesin will not follow through with this. Their culture says that if the death of the Elesin does not happen, the world will fall apart. The women in the market talk about how the world is in Elesin’s hands because of this cultural tradition. This is not a British tradition so the British officers who are in Nigeria are not happy that he is going to kill himself. The difference of opinion based on cultural thoughts on death sets up conflict for the rest of the story. The Englishmen think that life is precious and should not be taken away unless by nature. The native nigerians believe otherwise because of their cultural tradition. 

Questions:

1. The authors note talks about colonialism and cultural clash in Nigeria. Then, the first and second act focus on people of different cultures. What role do the cultural differences of the characters play in the first two acts?
2. What is the significance of the not I bird? Elesin talks about how the not I bird comes to people when they are about to die and they all say not I. By referencing this bird, is Elesin saying not I to death or is he ready to go?