In class/Typed Response essays
Sunday 3/2 - Your TEQ for this WED 3/5 is as follows:
Compose 2 Essay-style Responses to these 2 Questions, working into your short Essay pertinent Quotations as textual evidence to support your ideas:
#1) OBJECTIVE Response (no 1st-person opinions): CH. 11 - WHY does Conway, in the end, accede to Mallinson's pleading request? = What is Conway's motivation for agreeing to do what Mallinson asks? And what does it reveal about Conway as a person?
#2) SUBJECTIVE Response - your thoughts: Epilogue - Given your well-pondered reading of Rutherford's conversation with the unnamed narrator, who finished reading the manuscript (= CHS. 1-11) that Rutherford had given to him in the Prologue, how does the Epilogue clarify/elucidate the novel's title LOST HORIZON? Why Lost? What Horizon? ... Explain how it might be BOTH a geographical place AND not be a visible/tangible place at all?
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Typed ESSAY-PART for the Midterm-Exam (there will be in-class, informal, handwritten PARTS - to be presented in class on WED 3/5) - to be considered a well-pondered DRAFT. See our Syllabus on this "Draft" writing-endeavor. Read, with particular attention, the few selected pages given below in the handout-pages from Prof. Jack Weatherford's Introduction and Epilogue to his book GENGHIS KHAN AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD (2004)
Your typed ESSAY-PART for the Midterm Exam will be within 2 pages, 12-pt.font with double-spacing, ONLY your name & date on the same line at the top, with a THEMATIC TITLE. Preferred due-date is our exam-day WED 3/12, but no later than 12noon FRI 3/14. The topic derives from the handout that I gave you on Genghis Khan, Kublai's grandfather.
So, Prof. Jack Weatherford (Anthro. at Macalester in St. Paul) provides you with your essay-thesis/theme that you will be expected to justify/support with factual knowledge presented by Prof. JW in ONLY THE SPECIFIED PAGES from the handout. It's not necessary to read all the handout-pages. So, READ attentively just these pages for composing your Essay:
- topXVIII-upperXX: "In twenty-five years [around 1180-1205], ... Soviet revolution"
- midXXII-lowerXXIV: "The Mongols made no ... and blood."
- top-mid267: "Although he arose ... our time."
As you read these few pages, keep Prof. JW's thesis-declaration in mind, and then compose your Essay in which, after you state Prof. JW's emphatic affirmation about the contributions of the Mongols - beginning with Genghis Khan - to humanity's civilizational journey, you present OBJECTIVELY (this is not an opinion-piece with impressionistic judgments) knowledge-evidence derived from JW's pages in support of his positive, historical conclusion. Prof. JW lays out any number of historical support-facts that led him to his "revisionist" perspective on what the Mongols actually ended up achieving, as he looked back and examined the historical record retrospectively with fresh-eyes.
Well, Prof. JW, relying on all his research and exploratory travels in Mongolia, declares with scholarly authority the following, which revises the old, negative and narrow viewpoint on what the Mongols, after all, accomplished:
- p. 267: "Although he arose out of the ancient tribal past, Genghis Khan shaped the modern world of commerce, communication, and large secular states more than any other individual. He was the thoroughly modern man in ... his commitment to global commerce and the rule of ... law. ... [all of which] ended as a Mongol amalgamation of cultures."
- p. XXIII: "The Mongols swept across the globe as conquerors, but also as civilization's unrivaled culture carriers."
Mon. 2/24/14 - Hi, Folks! In the reading-assignment for this WED, we learn that Conway & the High Lama (= Fr. Perrault, age about 250!) have fairly frequent conversations, all of which make Conway "feel quite at home." And together with his conversations with Chang, especially about Lo-Tsen (the "little Manchu" who plays the harpsichord) toward whom he was "very quietly in love," Conway was led more and more to experience a deep "tranquility" such that he thought that he had never been so happy: "He liked the serene world that Shangri-La offered him, ..."
Well, in his last (! - you'll learn why) dialogue with Fr. Perrault, the High Lama returns to his "vision" and expands upon it. Compose a TEQ within 1 page in which you OBJECTIVELY present how he envisions Humanity's future. You must include QUOTED brief phrases (= story-details, conversation-snippets, ...) as textual evidence to support your statements regarding the High Lama's visionary remarks to Conway about the future.
And, in terms of our world/global society and its recent history, SUBJECTIVELY speaking, do YOU think he, in some measure, saw it right? How so? Briefly explain.
Monday 2/17/2014: TEQ for this WED 2/19/14 - In Chs. 7 & 8 of LOST HORIZON, Conway and the High Lama have a prolonged conversation - or, more exactly, Conway listens to the High Lama's eloquent historical and autobiographical "lecture" on how Shangri-La came to be, on what the future could offer Conway (and the others) if he chose to stay, and on what the purpose - the mission, "the point" - of Shangri-La's very existence is all about. The High Lama explains "the point" in terms of a "dream" or "vision" that he experienced in the past - which is actually prophetic of the near-future that Conway (and the world) will have to face.
So, within 1 typed page - 12-point font and standard spacing - only your name and date at the top PLUS a DESCRIPTIVE, THEMATIC TITLE for your short Essay in which you OBJECTIVELY (not subjectively - no opinions!) PRESENT - in your own words PLUS quoted words from the High Lama himself to support, as textual evidence, your statements - the substance/content of his dream/vision that explains/justifies the very reason why the monastery/lamasery of Shangri-La exists at all. Bring them to class for class-discussion.
Monday, Feb. 10, 2014: For this WED's class, focused on LOST HORIZON, compose and bring to class 2 "mini-essays" (in paragraphs with logical, complete sentences; and DO proofread) within 1 page (more if you wish, of course), double-spaced, 12-point font, with only your name & date at the top. So, here are the 2 topics:
1 - From both Chs. 5 & 6, present at least 4 STRIKING story-details that illustrate the WEST "meeting" the East = that is, identify 4 Western "things" that are surprisingly discovered/observed IN this monastery, a Buddhist lamasery, which is a place, as we would expect, rich in Eastern cultures.
2 - From Ch. 6, present at least 3 STRIKING features of how the Blue Moon valley society is "governed" = that is, highlight 3 specific aspects of their ways of daily living that guide their conduct of everyday life. We will see that Conway appreciates what he learns & observes about the way of life of the valley people. In fact, he thinks that the "arts" of government in the West, so far in the course of history, have not yet attained perfection, whereas the Blue Moon society manifests enlightened societal living, evidently more positive by contrast.
SUMMER 2011: PART II of the SYLLABUS: Formal & Informal Writing-Assignments
WEEK I - M 6/27: *** Bring to class a typed (double-spaced, clearly & logically expressed, with standard spacing & 12-pt. font) Response Essay within 1 page focused on the following: Pay close reading-attention to the scene in the law office (RR: bottom17-mid24 up to "... behind me."), and compose your response to: East meets West in the conversation between Judge S. R. Murthy and the lady lawyer, Ms. Kelly Golden, BUT their meeting is not one of mutual understanding. So, EXAMINE their dialogue-scene by presenting HOW they move from a polite introduction to flustered parting. WHY the misunderstandings? What went wrong between them?
- W 6/29: *** In-class Informal handwritten mini-essay #1: Pay close visual attention to Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Ginevra de'Benci; then, after reading G. Nagle's comments, let your imagination project what Ginevra's inner thoughts might be. Be ready to respond to a question with that in mind. Not open-book.
- Th 6/30: *** 1st group of 3 students (= Stacy B, Brittney B, Cecily C) to present their reader-responses to RR's short story: Think about how the friendship between Lakshmi and Elias Filian, the librarian, helps Lakshmi to adapt to her present life-circumstances in American society. Highlight what strikes you as important. You will send me - by 3 p.m. Fri 7/1 - via email as an Attachment (preferably in WORD) your typed Essay-Draft within 3 pages forming your composed reader-response. This will be considered your "Draft" that I'll return to you on Tues 7/5. Even tho' a "Draft," give it your writer's best. + Everybody else: Hand-in to me in class Thurs 6/30 ONE typed page responding to: How would you describe Lakshmi's relationship with her husband, taking into account the closing scene at the story's end?
WEEK II - T 7/5: *** ALL students bring to class a 1-page typed Essay-Response to this question: Choosing one of the 4 following images - Fig. 2.44 (JC) or Fig. 2.45 (CM) or Fig. 2.46 (VvG) or Fig. 2.47 (CH) - contemplate it asking yourself in which scene you would LIKE to find yourself. WHY? Justify with pictorial details that grabbed you.
- W 7/6: *** In-class Informal handwritten mini-essay #2: Pay close visual attention to the photo-portraits on pp. 101 & 103; then, after reading G. Nagle's comments, reflect upon the DIFFERENT MOODS conveyed by HOW the persons are photographed. Be ready to respond to a question with this in mind. Not open-book.
- Th 7/7: *** 2nd group of 3 students (= Robert D, Kimberly E, Brandin H) to present their reader-responses to RR's short story: Think about how Lata's ideas & feelings about her relationship with Luke change as she involves herself with - and reflects upon - the marriage-plans of her friend Su with Sameer, "Cal Tech guy." Highlight what strikes you as important. You will send me - by 3 p.m. Fri 7/8 - via email as an Attachment (preferably in WORD) your typed Essay-Draft within 3 pages forming your composed reader-responses. This will be considered your "Draft" that I'll return to you on Mon 7/11. Even tho' a "Draft," give it your best. + Everybody else: Hand-in to me in class Thurs 7/7 ONE typed page responding to: How would you describe what's going on inside Lata's and Luke's hearts as they unexpectedly meet in the closing scene (93-94)? And what might you imagine the story's sequel to be?
WEEK III - T 7/12: *** 3rd group of students (Michael L, Shana L, Jesse L) to present their reader-responses to RR's short story: Think about the CHALLENGES Arundhati faces as she, a recently widowed lady of 69, comes to live with her son & his wife and family in America (the Boston area). Highlight what strikes you as important. You will hand-in your Essay-Draft - typed within 3 pages - to me tomorrow Wed 7/13, and I'll return it to you on Thurs 7/14. Even tho' a "Draft," give it your best. + Everybody else: Hand-in to me in class Tues 7/12 ONE typed page responding to: How would you describe the personality of Rukmini, who befriends Arundhati, as revealed in her experiences with Arundhati.
- W 7/13: *** In-class Informal handwritten mini-essay #3: Read diligently about the Viet Nam Memorial and the Pyramid of Zoser, and look attentively at Figs 4.2 & 4.3 and 4.4 & 4.5, and be ready to respond to a question about how their outward differences reflect the societal values of Ancient Egypt, on the one hand, and 20th-century America, on the other. Not open-book.
- Th 7/14: *** 4th group of students (Christopher L, Vong P, Kathie R [+ Michael M]) to present their reader-responses to RR's story: Think about the character of Neha, Shankar's wife, as she adapts to their new living-situation in the Boston area. Highlight what strikes you as important as you learn about Neha as an individual (= a person with her own values, ...) and as an Indian wife now living in America, land of self-reliance & opportunity. You will send me - by 3 p.m. Fri 7/15 - via email as an Attachment (preferably in WORD) your typed Essay-Draft within 3 pages presenting your reader-responses. This will be considered your "Draft" that I'll return to you on Mon 7/18. Even tho' a "Draft," give it your best. + Everybody else: Hand-in to me in class Th 7/14 ONE typed page responding to: How would you describe Shankar's personality - especially as revealed in his "street-deeds" in Boston? Offer story-specifics.
WEEK IV - M 7/18: *** ALL students bring to class a typed 2-page Essay responding to this question: Choosing ONE of the following 4 images of DOMICILES - #1 - Versailles Palace: Figs. 4.49/50/51 OR #2 - Coonley House: Figs. 4.53/54 OR #3 -Taliesin: Figs. 4.55/56 OR #4 - Smith House: Figs. 4.61/62/63/64 - ask yourself in which domicile you would LIKE to reside. WHY? Justify with architectural specifics.
- W 7/20: *** 5th group of 3 students (= Eric R, Nathan R, Claire S) to present their reader-responses to RR's short story: Think about Uma's love for traditional Indian dance bharata natyam - especially in terms of her experiences (= her encounters, thoughts, feelings when in India) as she takes dance- (and life-) lessons from her lady-teacher in Hyderabad, Guru-ji. Highlight what strikes you as important. You will hand-in your Essay-Draft - typed within 3 pages - to me tomorrow Thurs 7/21, and I'll return it to you on Mon 7/25. Even tho' a "Draft," give it your best. + Everybody else: Hand-in to me in class Wed 7/20 ONE typed page responding to: How would you describe Uma's relationship with Hafeez, the Indian Muslim car-driver? What does Uma learn, through her experiences with him, about herself as an American teenage-girl of Indian Hindu heritage?
WEEK V - T 7/26: *** 6th group of 3 students (= Dara S, Andrew S, Rebekah W) to present their reader-responses to RR's short story: Think about the boy Krishna's self-image, finding himself in middle-America Kansas, having moved from the pluricultural Boston area. Highlight what strikes you as important. You will hand-in your Essay-Draft - typed within 3 pages - to me tomorrow Wed 7/27, and I'll return it to you on Thurs 7/28. Even tho' a "Draft," give it your best. + Everybody else: Hand-in to me in class T 7/26 ONE typed page responding to: How would you describe Ramesh's relationship with his wife, Sarojini? Offer narrative details to support your ideas.
- WED 7/27: RETROSPECTIVE CLASS using Review-Pages - comments on exam-format
- THURS 7/28: Final EXAM: contents selectively cumulative - exam-format will likely include short handwritten Essay-Response Questions + a Matching Column + Fill in the Blanks + a typed Essay-Response
*** POINTS-POTENTIAL = 400 = 1 typed 3-page Response-Essay @ 60 + 1 typed 2-page Response-Essay @ 40 + 8 typed 1-page Response-Essays @ 20 = 160 + 3 Informal in-class handwritten response-Essays @ 15 = 45 + I Final Exam (selectively cumulative with typed & handwritten components) @ 95
SUNDAY 11/28/10 - Review Pages for last Exam derived from MW's INDIA, RR's stories, and JL's stories. Format yet to be designed - more on this later on.
--- MICHAEL WOOD - INDIA: Chapter 3 - 104-5: "An ancient guide ...": written by a Greek merchant-traveler named Hippalos and titled "The Periplus of the Erythraean [Red] Sea": describes ports-of-call of the western/southern coast of India where Roman & Greek mariners landed to trade and even to settle - esp. the town of Muziris on the SW tip of the Kerala coast + bottom105-mid106: East meets West: Arabs, Jews, Romans, Greeks - all involved in the lucrative spice-trade
--- lower111-top113: on the East-West contacts in the "early Tamil kingdom," such as the Pandyam kingdom's embassy to Rome in 21 BCE --- city of Madurai's cultural pre-eminence + 111: quotation from Polybius ( c.200-c.120 BCE) on the East "connected with" the West in the 2nd century BCE
--- upper120: on Afghanistan as "the stepping-stone" between East & West --- Kushan embassy to Rome between 117-389 CE = "a time of ... exchanges ... between East and West. The first East-West meeting ... of the whole world.'" --- Emperor Hadrian r. 117-138 CE --- Kanishka the Great r. 120-150 CE
--- 132-top133: on "The happiest time" --- the archeological dig in Peshawar, Pakistan: prosperity because of peace
--- mid138-mid139: on "The beginning of a world economy": Roman gold coins as "the weight standard" facilitating "commercial enterprise" under Kushan dynastic auspices
--- bottom141: on "The legacy of the Kushans": key features of Indian civilization = trade-bridge between East & West AND trade-source for the West (spices, ...) AND adapter of Western cultural elements, such as gold Roman coinage & the Gandharan (= Greek-influenced) sculptural style: photo, p.130
--- Chapter 4 - mid153-mid154: on the Gupta dynasty as illustrative of "Hindu kingship" from c. 300 CE to c. 550 CE
--- mid154-mid157: "A golden age?": on certain Gupta kings --- observations of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim named Fa Xien, who praises the Gupta rulers for their virtues of "benevolence and righteousness"
--- mid161-mid163: revival of Gupta grandeur in the 600s CE under King Harsha whom the Chinese Buddhist monk named Hsuan Tsang writes about as "praise[d] in song" by the people for his virtues: "... his sense of justice ...the people were at peace.'" --- a patron of Buddhism --- HT returned to China in 646 CE but lost some Buddhist scriptures (sutras): his letter to an Indian monk in Bodhgaya
--- 170: an overview of the "Empires" of south India, esp. the Cholans (c.1000-late1200s) under Rajaraja the Great whose imperial capital was Tanjore: photos on 171, 173, 175 + the summing-up on lower 179+181: "From ancient to medieval" = from early CE centuries to 1200s onward
--- Chapter 5 - upper-mid192: "The story of Babur's death ... Akbar the Great.": Babur, leader of the Mughal army from Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1526 founded the dynasty that would rule northern India until the mid-1800s. Note the counsel to his son, Humayun, about respect for other religions in India. The document, even if unhistorical, nonetheless expresses an ideal that Akbar will later try to actualize.
--- 194-95: 2 illustrations with captions - Akbar's open-mindedness regarding Hinduism & Sikhism
--- mid196-top201: text&illustrations on Akbar's quest to overcome the "hatred between Hindus and Muslims ... [that] arose out of mutual ignorance" by providing knowledge = establishing a "kingdom of light" = realm of Reason, not of unreasonable attitudes/deeds, and this he tried to accomplish with his "conferences on religion": "By 1580 ... all religions tolerated ... access to him." (199) Akbar's "rule of reason" was acknowledged by Q Eliz I in a letter praising his "humanity"
--- 204-5: photo & text on Shah Jahan's majestic Taj Mahal: monumental mausoleum symbolizing God's throne of judgment and "a paradise garden" = the tomb for Mumtaz M and Sh J himself
--- 207 + 210-mid212: on the great-grandson of Akbar, Dara Shikoh, who also sought, through his own study & writing - his treatise: "The Confluence/Convergence of the Two Oceans" of H & I - to establish religious harmony = "to bridge the gap between religious faiths" - M. Wood calls Dara's endeavor "a ground-breaking book for its time" - Dara studied classical Hindu literature and had public conversations with a Hindu guru, Baba Lal
--- mid-bottom214: "Lost dream or continuing legacy?" - M W's summing-up of the enlightened ideas - the "utopian aspirations" (217) - of Akbar the Great & Dara Shikoh as still relevant in democratic India - and in our global society
Chapter 6 - upper222-lower223: "Sitting here in Allahabad ... a new relationship.": MW's reflections on British imperialism's deleterious impact on its colonies world-wide - yet, despite the E I Co & the Raj in India, East fruitfully met West, in such figures as Charles "H" Stuart & Ram Roy + illustration with caption
--- top228-bottom230: "British rule and ... But it was India.": MW's further reflections on the consequences - for better or worse - of "the British colonial project" in India involving economic "exploitation" AND, paradoxically, the idea of "India as a political unity"
--- 235: "The story of ... complete independence.": on the 1885-1947 history of India, with M. Gandhi's significance + painting & caption
--- 238-top240: on the tragic, unfulfilled promise of Partition: "It is a ... suffering was for.": India divided
--- 246: from MW's serious question to Ravi, a journalist, who has an optimistic response based on India's recent history + "By way of an ending" that echoes Ravi's optimism about India in the present and into the future. = India could serve as a model for our 21st-century global society
*** from RISHI REDDI's collection of Short Stories:
--- "Karma" - top134-top138: Shankar's act of kindness - his reflections on the "unfairness of things" = "The world was a sad, ... why certain things happened ... failures recently." - his boyhood past with Prakash - Neha: "Everything will happen ... time." - " ... would not lose her." - Sh & Pr and the slingshot incident
--- mid144-mid146: "When she [Neha] returned ... Hospital once again.": emotional conversation between Sh and Neha: " ... 'But people are not ... the world is not ... place.' 'I have disappointed you.' 'You have scared me.' ... did not answer." --- Helping oneself ... Gandhi taught? ... for self-help ... box full of birds ...": Sh's kind acts, even ignoring his own safety: "... cars on the road ..."
--- mid-bottom149: Sh'a job-announcement to Neha: "... kissed her."
--- lower-bottom151: "'I have not seen ... same view.'" = karma = consequences of our deeds
--- "Devadasi" - mid163-bottom165: Uma's conflicted responses to her visit in India: "Uma heard ... arguing about everything?": her love of classical Indian dance - the kitchen servant, Mathyam - "Do you like India?" - Uma's mother's perspective that she questions
--- upper169-mid172: "the dancer's living ... Uma felt free.": Hafeez drives U. to the venerable dance-teacher addressed as Guru-ji: Uma's liberation of body and spirit
--- lower173-lower176: "the next time ... a thing before.": U.'s second visit where Guru-ji tells her about her marriage & the classical tradition of bharata natyam, esp. the role of the devadasi "in those ancient days." - her words of wisdom: "You must study ... believe ... things."
--- upper182-end185: "On the way ... in the world.": Uma's awakening to ethnic/religious differences leading to social violence & personal despair.
--- "Lord Krishna" - mid204-mid207: K's moment of openness with his father, Ramesh; the father's outrage; his mother Sarojini's "sadness" and sense of cultural loss: "Krishna was quiet, and ... and they were moist.": Indian religion/culture overwhelmed
--- top210-end213: Krishna transcends the situation, overcomes negative feelings about himself, even forgives: "His mother and ... sense of liberation [= moksha]."
*** from JHUMPA LAHIRI's collection of Short Stories:
--- "A Temporary Matter" - lower10-bottom11: "It was nearly ... said suddenly.": Sh and S's tragedy - the ritual never performed - unremembered India
--- "When Mr. P ..." - 23-bottom28: "In the autumn of 1971 ... into his mouth." - between March & December of 1971 East Pakistan in a state of civil war, becomes Bangladesh, with majority Muslim population, innumerable Hindus exiled as refugees into neighboring NE Bengal India - Mr. P is Muslim; Lilia's family Hindu - for Lilia, all are the same, culturally speaking, despite Partition (= breaking-up) of India in 1947 = end of the Raj = British colonial rule
--- "A Real Durwan" - 70-lower73: "Boori Ma, sweeper ... fancy neighborhood.": B M's affirmed hardship-experiences at the time of Partition in 1947-48 = her repeated, if enhanced, testimony mirrors the bitterly harsh & violent realities as M. Wood presents for us in his Ch. 6
--- 82: how to explain Mr. Chatterjee's unkind remark about B M, also spoken on p. 72? Think about it: "... of ashes."
--- "The Treatment ..." - 169-172: "Their baby, a girl, ... [to the end].": B H 's chronic affliction, her relatives & living situation, her longed-for cure - a happy ending, after all!
--- "The Third ...": This short story, more than any of JL's other stories, narrates the meeting/confluence of East (South Asia = India) and West (Europe = London and America = Boston) in the life of the unnamed main character from Calcutta. We might say that this story's thematic thread - becoming a global citizen - is at the heart of OUR course called HUM East-West. So, what I'm thinking about right now (Sun. 11/28), as a PART of the exam, is an essay-topic - yet to be defined - based just on this story. ...
WED 2/23/11: Selected REVIEW PAGES for our MIDTERM Exam from Michael Wood's INDIA :
--- MICHAEL WOOD - INDIA: Introduction: mid-to-bottom10: "India's modern transformation ... barely possible.": India's rich past & traditionally affirmed "life-goals" (= which are?) can "teach us all" with Michael Wood as our guide. (Hindu moksha, in the sense of "liberation" or "emancipation" from the cycle of samsara, is very close in meaning to Buddhist nirvana)
--- Chapter 1 - upper-lower17: "Between 3000 and ... mankind.": on the Aryans from central Asia bringing their Vedic rituals into India, which are presented in the ancient scriptures called Vedas, written down in Sanskrit: see below 38-40
--- top32-mid33: "So a picture ... humanity.": on the Indus river-valley civilization - archeological sites are mainly in today's Pakistan - take note that there has been "no [archeological] evidence of war and conflict" = and so, "the idea of non-violence [= ahimsa] runs very deep in Indian thought": the Buddha, the Jain tradition, ... Gandhi (to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the current Egyptian protesters, as well as the Tunisian and Moroccan citizens - but not in Libya, given the regime's violent crack-down attempts)
--- lower38-lower40: "'Here we are, bundle ... a little earlier.": on the RIG-VEDA as India's first religious scripture - MW's conversation with Prof. Biswas in Calcutta - Vedic rituals & hymns to nature deities (such as the sky-god, Varuna) - only chanted by Brahmin priests performing sacred rites - there are 3 other Vedic scriptural collections
--- lower45-mid48: on the MAHABHARATA, India's great epic-poem, full of war-tales and heroes, with an underlying moral lesson: "dharma - the necessity of doing one's [socio-moral-religious] duty" in an unself-centered/unselfish way = Lord Krishna, divine avatar of the god Vishnu, counsels the warrior Arjuna to act without ego as he performs his kshatriya-caste duty in the battle for justice. Their dialogue occurs in the section called "The Song of the Lord"/ BHAGAVAD GITA: lower51-top52, with image-caption: "None of this, of course, ... out of hand." + our translation of the B-G by Barbara Miller
--- Chapter 2 - lower56-mid57: "The story of India ... Zoroaster.": north Indian society around 500BCE - the ear of Mahavira, Jain tirthankara (= holy figure or saint in Jainism) and Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, as well as other significant historical figures of the "Axial (or Axis) Age"
---mid58-mid59: Rethinking the World = questioning the socio-moral order: the Jain tradition voiced by Mahavira, the great holy man, advocates ahimsa = non-violence towards all living creatures "bar none," as MW emphatically says in the film.
--- mid59-mid65: on Prince Siddartha Gautama's inward journey and outward wandering to find "an end to suffering" in life by attaining a sublime serenity = nirvana, also called in Hinduism moksha = liberation from the unending cycle of birth-life-death-rebirth = samsara - after years of ascetic practices (extreme fasting, ...) and deep, prolonged meditation SG grasped the Four Noble Truths about suffering as ego-caused but, with discipline, to be overcome - the discipline = the 4th NT = the Noble Eightfold Path involving moral conduct (honesty, ...), mindfulness (critical self-awareness) and meditation (inward turning = "examination of conscience" as ego-purifying) - SG's awakening/insight/enlightenment emerged from his meditation under the bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya when in his mid30s, thus he came to be called "the Awakened/Enlightened One" = the Buddha (bodhi = wisdom) + lower66" "So the Buddha ... the Buddha replied.": he was an itinerant/wandering teacher - guru/sadhu - for 40+ years thereafter, dying of illness at age 80, never to be reborn = his parinirvana
--- lower67-lower69: "Nirvana: the end and new beginning": on the Buddha's final days & his counsel to his disciples (and perhaps even to us?)
--- mid79 + 82: on the "legend" of King Chandragupta who renounced war and rulership to become a Jain monk = to act in accord with ahimsa - in the end, he found spiritual fulfillment = liberation from samsara = attaining moksha, following in the footsteps of Mahavira
--- top83-97: on King Ashoka who, like his grandfather Chandragupta Maurya, will renounce warfare & all violence to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha - and we can say Mahavira, also = ahimsa: as you REread these pages, focus only on Ashoka's moral character = his "conversion" to abide by "the law of life" expressed in his many (60+) stone-pillar edicts carved & placed across his vast kingdom - and a good number can be seen & read today. He ruled from around 270 BCE to 233/232 BCE, dying at around age 70. MW admires Ashoka's attempts "to implant good in a kingdom" = morality as integral to politics: "His edicts go to the key moral question of human life on Earth." = how to guide people to be/do good? = the greater, communal good, not the narrow, self-oriented good. There are historical & legendary details in these 12 pages of MW's book that we can bypass. What MW finds awesome is Ashoka's acceptance of "the sanctity of life" & his political promulgation of socio-moral ideals
--- RISHI REDDI - four stories: #1 - JUDGE SRM - upper5-top6: Manu to Judge SRM: "So you are ... our Indian food.": note the J's eagerness to CONTRAST/DIIFFERENTIATE: Indian customs vs. Western customs, Manu vs. the Judge - AND note his self-identity as "of the Brahmin caste" = highest social status - slokas are verse-prayers/hymns to the Divine
--- upper-lower22: "Why don't you ... with my chin.": note the J's emphatic affirmation that ahimsa dictates his strict vegetarianism. ... We know now what he will learn about Manu, who is no longer so strict about "dietary laws." And the J is not truly ahimsa-virtuous in his abusive outbursts of harsh language towards both Roxanna in the burrito-place and Manu after they leave Kelly Golden's office.
--- #2 - LAKSHMI, wife and mother, friends with Mr. FILIAN, librarian and son - lower-bottom46: "The next morning ... my accent." + mid54-bottom55: "They [= L & Mr. F] set in ... her eyes.": reflect upon L's nostalgic feelings of yearning/longing for her childhood in India despite all her years of family life - with 15 years in Lexington, MASS: "years of loneliness" - and her Telugu-community friends and acquaintances
--- mid61: on Lakshmi's name: "Lakshmi dresses ... prosperity.": the goddess Lakshmi is beneficent, bringing blessings in abundance to her devout followers, to those who acknowledge her gift-giving grace, her limitless kindness = so to speak, "Those who have eyes to see, and ears to hear." = who have faith, trust, hope in her: who? the Goddess, but also our story's Lakshmi: her friend, Mr. Filian, sees her in that light - and her husband, Venkat, will rediscover her outward beauty, yes, but also, and more importantly, her inward grace: upper63-end64: "In that moment, ... he smiles."
--- #3 - About the "Truth" of Love: lower69-bottom71: "The following weekend, Su and ... mother instead.": note the cultural aspects AND personal meaning of Lata's Indian dance-experiences in the context of the bharata natyam dance recital - "I always found something in my American life that related to them, ... emotionally." Her "connection to classical dance" goes all the way back to her childhood.
--- lower91-top93: "The bharata natyam music ... burden anymore.": the solo dance-performance by Uma of lovely Radha longing for her divine Lord Krishna = a "moment of truth" for Lata: she realizes a deep "connection" that liberates her emotionally: she REconnects with Su, with her own deep self, with an ancient dance - in a word, what she calls her "Indianness."
--- #4 "Bangles" - pages to be added after this Thursday's class
*** Over this weekend, as I prepare for our Retrospective on Tuesday, I'll design the exam-format and inform you on Tuesday, having typed it HERE before then - by Monday afternoon.