The Last Story for This Unit

TODAY IN CLASS
Students read "A Devoted Son," by Anita Desai (pp. 1272-1283) and got started on a series of detailed questions about the story.  Questions are at the end of the post (if you were absent/lost your half-sheet).

HOMEWORK
Even with good work in both classes, it was expected that the questions would carry over as homework.  It's OK to switch to typing at home, if you prefer, but it's perfectly OK to continue writing in ink.  Your choice.

TOMORROW
Yes, we'll discuss the story, but you will have done the major work and lots of thinking on your own.  That was the idea . . .
Stragglers take heed:  turnitin.com closes at 11:59 p.m. tonight.

Written Work: “A Devoted Son” by Anita Desai

1. SETTING—Describe the setting briefly (where/when/significant details), but then look at the implications of the setting. Think of the setting in India vs. a similar story set in, say, New York or Seattle. How is the setting important to expectations, attitudes, or other features of the story.

2. CONFLICT—

a) List three things about which Rakesh and Varma come to disagree.
b) How do these disagreements reflect the central conflict of the story?
c) Is the central conflict a struggle between two traditions or between a tradition and itself (that is, two different ways of carrying out a tradition).

3. CHARACTER TRAIT—
a) Do you think Rakesh’s behavior is truly devoted? Explain.
b) What does this story suggest about the relationship between devotion and compassion?

4. STATIC/DYNAMIC CHARACTER—Answer ALL FOUR of the questions in the Literary Analysis section on p. 1283. For the third question , use a chart format, and then summarize what you find.