World Literature 2/19/13 Today you will Review homework (348-414) Character and theme quotes Homework none

Leah What conflict does Leah’s kill cause (349)?  Rachel What is Rachel’s reaction to the hunt? What happened during the dividing of the meat? What part, if any, is Leah’s fault?  What is the new relationship between Leah and father (356)? What is the symbolism of Nathan “washing his hands” of Leah and the whole situation (356-7)? On pg. 359, who do the Price girls and Nelson set a trap for? Adah What did they find in the chicken house? And who put it there?

Leah What happened to Ruth May?  Where did her last sob/cry come from? Rachel What did Ruth May’s death change for Rachel? Why wasn’t Ruth May baptized (368)? What does Orleanna do after Ruth May’s death? Why does Nathan start baptizing the children in the rain?  What is the significance that the rain pours down now? Why is this section called Bel & the Serpent?

Orleanna How and why does Orleanna finally leave Nathan and Kilanga? Leah Why is Leah sure Nathan won’t follow them? And what does she admit about “Nathan’s God” (393)? What is Leah guilty about (top of 394)? Where does Leah find forgiveness and who is she courting (396)? Where has Rachel gone (396)? Where have Adah and Orleanna gone (399)? What life has Leah chosen and why (401)?  Rachel (1yr after RM’s death; 18 years old) Describe Rachel and her life in South Africa. Adah (1 yr after RM’s death; 17 yrs old) What is life like for Orleanna and Adah in Bethlehem, Georgia?  How does Adah cope with what happened in the Congo (409)?  On pg. 410, Adah talks about herself as a martyr. Do you think she has the right to think of herself this way? Why or why not?  How did Orleanna and Adah get out of the Congo?  What was Adah’s first impression of America upon her return?  What lingering questions does Adah have about Orleanna (413)? How are Nathan and Adah similar in their guilt on pg. 413?  Explain: “Carry us, marry us, ferry us, bury us; those are our four ways to exodus, for now” (414).

World Literature 2/19/13 Today you will Review homework (299-347) Watch “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” (Gaborone, Botswana) Homework due Thursday Pg 348-414 and answering questions Teaser: Leah’s participation in the hunt causes major problems and one of the Price girls dies…

Why was this section titled “The Judges”? Leah What is nsongonya? Rachel What does Rachel’s reaction to nsongonya tell about her personality? Ruth May We learn about Ruth May’s “safe place.” What is it (304)? Adah What happened to Adah the night of the ants, and how did change her worldview? This chapter is key in the evolution of Leah’s worldview. Explain the following quotes from her conversation with Anatole: “Since then I’ve had no clear view of safety. Where is the easy land of ice-cream cones and new Keds sneakers and We Like Ike, the country where I thought I knew the rules. Where is the place I can go home to?” (309)  “Don’t try to make life a mathematics problem with yourself in the center and everything coming out equal. When you are good, bad things can still happen. And if you are bad, you can still be lucky.” (309) “This is what I must have learned, the night God turned his back on me: how to foretell the future in chicken bones.” (311)  Why was this section titled “The Judges”?

Orleanna What happened in August 1960 (320)? What happened in November 1960 (320)? What happened in January 1961 (323)? Leah Who does Leah quote now (327 pp 1)?  What does Tata Ndu hold an election for (327)?  What does the following tell about Nathan and his worldview, “A month earlier when thunderstorms seemed imminent, Father had counseled his congregation to repent their sins and the Lord would reward them with rain. But in spite of all this repentance the rain hadn’t come, and now he told us herefused to be party to the superstitions” (328). Summarize the story of Bel & the Serpent (329).  What is Nathan’s reaction to the election? According to Tata Ndu, what are Nathan’s faults (333)?

Rachel What problem is Leah causing?  When the men of the village are arguing about Leah, they “moved on to the subject of whether you should kill a rat for its skin or kill a rat for being a rat… Tata Ndu said if it runs in a rat’s skin it is a rat. Then they got to all yelling about foreigners, the army takeover…” (338). What are the rats a metaphor for?  Why do you suppose Tata Ndu, who didn’t like the “white man’s” election process, choose the process for his vote on Leah?  What is Tata Kuvudundu’s threat to the village on pg 339? Adah Explain the process of the drought-hunt.  What is Adah’s realization at the bottom of pg. 347?

World Literature Per 3 2/19/13 Today you will Review homework (259-298) Practice for Oral Test Character group work Homework Pg 299-347 and answering questions Teaser: nsongonya comes to town and Leah & Anatole cause a “curse” to come upon the family…

Adah Who is courting Rachel and why is he interested in marriage (262)? Leah What is strange to the Congolese about the western idea of fair or of elections (265)?  How have the Prices become a burden to the village (266)?  Why is Ruth May sick (267)? Rachel What is the plan to get Rachel out of marrying Tata Ndu?  What kind of man is Axelroot (269-70)? Ruth May What does Ruth May learn about “circus mission”?  If Ruth May dies, what does she want to come back as? Characterize Rachel from the things you learn in this chapter.

Adah What do we learn about the significance of the book’s title (276)?  What is Nelson’s theory about how Ruth May got better (277)?  How do the villagers see Leah (278)?  What does this mean, “She fails to see that Anatole is breaking rules for her, and this will have consequences.” Leah How do the Congolese view money and wealth (281)?  What does Anatole have a hard time believing in this chapter?  How do you know that Leah’s worldview is evolving farther and farther away from her father’s (284-5)?  Why does Anatole translate for Nathan? What does this tell you about Anatole’s worldview (286)? Rachel How is Rachel changing?  What does she learn from Axelroot? What conclusion does Nathan draw about Congolese attachment to children? What causes him to come to this conclusion (296-7)? Do you agree with his conclusion?  What has Adah learned from spying on Axelroot (298)?

Oral Test Practice Explain how Nathan’s version of religion has impacted each member of his family.

Character Meetings Please take the initiative to divide yourselves up equally among the six members of the Price family, the more info you have for each character, the better off everyone will be for the Oral Test. Each group Discuss your character’s personality and define their worldview Find examples for each in the text Discuss how your character is/isn’t changing in the Congo Find examples in the text