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About Me :)

My name is Ann Jacob and I am a senior in high school. I love reading, riding my bike, and baking. I was very interesting in reserching Jhumpa Lahiri becasue I fell a connection to her becasue I am also an imigrant Indian child and I enjoyed reading about similar struggles I have faced. I also really enjoyed finding what really is the catalyst to self transformation. See if you can find what I thought it was through my blog. I'd love to hear what you think is the catalyst to self-transformation. Comment on my page so we can discuss! Thanks and enjoy!

"A Tempory Matter" MC

Read the attached excerpt from “A Temporary Matter” from Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel “Interpreter of Maladies.” Then answer the questions below.

Interpreter of Maladies: A Temporary Matter

 

1. What is the reason that Shukumar and Shoba have been skirting around each other before their candlelit dinners?

A.    They have fallen out of love

B.     They are still uncomfortable with each other after being arranged to marry

C.     Shoba is having an affair

D.    They are growing apart due to their occupations

E.     They lost their baby and don’t know how to cope.

 

2. Why does the truth represent in their Shoba and Shukumar’s nightly truth game?

I.       Their truth represents how they are finally coming back to become closer to each other.

II. The beginning of a new type of relationship with the couple

III. A time of preparation for their uncertain future

1. I
2. II
3. III
4. I and III
5. II and III

3. The passage suggests that their dinners before their candlelit dinners were
1. Callous and contemptuous
2. Serene and reflective
3. Cynical and hubristic
4. Lugubrious and solitary
5. Derisive and churlish

4. What did the darkness provide for the couple that the light could not?
1. A way to mask the unknown
2. A chance to be ingenuous
3. A method to be deceitful
4. A non-binding conscious
5. A technique to ease back into their old habits

5. Why does Shukumar finally tell Shoba the truth he’s been hiding about their baby?

I.       To hurt Shoba like she hurt him

II. To share a loving memory, in this period of pain and agony

III. To release a burden off his chest

A. I

B.II

C. III.

D. I and III

E. II and III

 

"A Temporary Matter" Answers and Explanations

Multiple Choice Answers and Explanations

“A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri

1.      E

It is not A because the passage does not directly say anything about love; just their manner around each other. It is not B because there is no indication of whether or not they had an arranged marriage or not. It is no C or D because it doesn’t say either of those in the passage. In this passage it is important not to inference. Shukumar also says he doesn’t want her to be pregnant again because he doesn’t want to pretend to be happy.

2.      C

It’s not I because although the audience thinks their getting closer, Shoba actually has bad news for their relationship. III is not the answer because although they have an uncertain future, Shukumar is not preparing, although Shoba might be. It is II because, good or bad, they are beginning a new type of relationship.

3.      D

It is not A because it means insensitive and scornful, which neither are. It is not B because although it is quiet, it is not calm. It may be reflective, but the first part doesn’t fit. It is not C because hubristic means overly prideful, and neither of them are prideful. It is not E because that choice means contemptuous and rude, which neither of them are. D is right because lugubrious means mournful and they are essentially on their own, even in the presence of each other.

4.      B

It could be A because Shoba is hiding her news form Shukumar, but it is not the best answer. It is not C because Shoba is not trying to be deceitful; she is just waiting for the right time to tell her husband. It is not D because their truths are not non-binding. If anything it bonded them closer together. It is not E because their talks in the dark were never started before the incident. It is B because it lets them tell the truth after being silent for a long time.

5.      E

It is not I because Shukumar specifically says he didn’t tell her because he loved her. It is II and III because even though the memory is painful, it is her truth to know also. III because he held that burden for a long time from her. She didn’t have to feel the pain and he wanted to share his sorrow.

"If" Poem and MC

Read the “If” by Rudyard Kipling. Then answer the questions.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

1. What “two imposters” is Kipling referring to in line 11?
1. All men (l. 3)
2. Kings (l. 26)
3. Triumph and Disaster (l. 10)
4. Winnings and loss (l. 17 and 20)
5. Foes and friends (l. 27)

2. What does “sinew” address in line 21?
1. Knowledge
2. Friendships
3. Doubts
4. Virtue
5. Strength

3. Who is the speaker of this poem?
1. A grandfather to his grandson
2. A father to a his son
3. A king to his nobleman
4. An old man to a young stranger
5. A sage to an ignorant adolescent

4. What is the tone of the poem?
1. Pedantic
2. Arrogant
3. Solemn
4. Didactic
5. Haughty

5. In lines 25-26, what does Kipling say a leader must do?
1. Not allow others to offend you
2. Stay true to yourself, no matter who you converse with
3. Dream for change but don’t make it the only goal
4. Learn from both victories and failures
5. Not allow bad times to ruin the vision

"If" Answers and Explanations

Multiple Choice Answers and Explanations

“If” by Rudyard Kipling

1.      C

The answer is not A because he says that men can’t be trusted, not that they are the imposters. It is not B because he warns against being like a king in manner, not that kings are dangerous, lecherous creatures. It is not D because although winnings and loses could hurt you, they don’t hide from the truth. It is not E because although Kipling refers to friends and foes as partially dangerous, he just advises to proceed with caution. It is C because he explains that triumph and disaster can be taken as good and bad, but if one takes them as both good, one will grow.

2.      E

This one is a tricky one, but the answer is E because Kipling focuses on a common term of heart mind and body. Thus, “sinew” is talking about body and parallel to body is strength.  It is not A because mind has already been addresses. It is not B because the line addressed doesn’t mesh with outside sources. It is not C or D because they are both part of the mind, and again, the mind has already been addressed.

3.      B

Although, the last line ends with “my son!”, don’t be quick to pick B because son could just be used as a nickname of sorts. In this case though, it is clear from the context and tone that an older person is giving advice to a younger one. It is not C because the tone is more jovial and friendly than formal. It is not D because the tone conveys a sense of familiarity. It is not E because nowhere in the text does it mentions the boy’s response.  Between A and B, one must inference from the text and the tone is that of a close father-son relationship.

4.      D

The poem is advising a young boy on how to live life. It is not A because pedantic means to know obscure details. It is not B because the speaker is not acting like he knows everything about the world and how to live in it. It is not C because the speaker is not reminiscing or wallowing in thoughts of the future. It is not E because he is not acting like he as travelled the world, knowing all it’s riches. Didactic something one can learn by and this poem is meant to advise and teach a boy.

5.      B

In the poem, the speaker advises many things but specifically in lines 25-26, Kipling says a leader must stay true to oneself, not matter whom you converse with. It is not A because A is addresses in lines 1-2. It is not C because C is addresses in line 10. It is not D; lines 11-12. Not E; 15-16.

Poetry Essay #1: Dig to the Core

Ann Jacob

Ms. Nichole Wilson

AP Multicultural Literature B

Dig to the Core

 “Digging” by Seamus Heaney demonstrates how although your roots hold you in place, you still must dig for your own identity. I noticed similarities within this poem and my second novel, “Unaccustomed Earth”, and specifically the short story, “A Choice of Accommodations” by Jhumpa Lahiri. Both “Digging and “A Choice of Accommodations” convey similar themes of identifying your roots but creating your own story. I enjoyed this poem because it was easy to read and understand, yet it had many internal themes and meaning that were quite intriguing. To start, the title “Digging” not only indicates the physical action but also digging for your identity. In Heaney’s poem, the speaker, not specifically Heaney, is a writer, watching remembering, and respecting his father and grandfathers work as farmers, hoping that his work will rise in merit to their level. In the first stanza, as the speaker watches his father below, his mind begins to wander, imagining how differently he will evolve compared to his familial roots. Throughout the entire poem, there is no rhyme scheme. By choosing to omit this part of the poem, the poet allows the poem to flow slowly, permitting the speaker to reminisce over the past and prepare for his future.

The speaker also references many earthly symbols such as the “living root” (Heaney l.27). The poet incorporates this stylistic device into the poem in order to create numerous meanings and to give depth to the poem. In the speaker’s case, the roots not only stand for familial roots but also references the nature of roots. Roots gather minerals and water to give the plant energy in order to grow. Similar to the plant, the speaker also gathers energy to begin digging a new life. The speaker says that although he’s got “no spade to follow men like them….I’ll dig with [my pen]” (Heaney 1. 28, 31). In connection with “A Choice of Accommodations”, I am able to see the parallel between the speaker and Amit. Amit is a Bengali man who has a faint resentment to his parents ever since he was “stunned by his parents’ decision” to drop him off at Langford boarding school (Lahiri 95). Nonetheless, he strives for their approval, although he does not follow the typical Bengali life mentality; he married an older, Caucasian women and didn’t make doctor from Columbia, and instead chose to begin writing for a journal. Throughout the story, as Amit and his wife, Megan, attend a wedding at Langford, Amit remembers how it all began. After being emotionally detached from his parents and wife for some time, Amit begins to see what he has been hiding from and with his “heart beating rapidly,” he begins to rekindle his relationships with his parents and wife (Lahiri 127).  The connecting themes of identity and approval of authority figures allows these two works to mesh in a way that conveys the need to find one’s identity.