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Chapter 8-21 You still need to go into more depth with analysis and application. 23/25

This half of book the starts off with the arrival of **Sophie Mol** and her mother **Margaret Kochamma**. A very important observation (?) that was made in the first few pages of this section was that of **Mammachi’s** apprehension regarding the return of **Margaret Kochamma**. The book mentions that when **Chacko** saved **Mammachi** from getting beat by **Pappachi**, **Mammachi** completely committed herself to **Chacko**. “From then onwards he became the repository of all her womanly feelings. Her Man. Her only Love.” (pg. 160) **Mammachi** hated **Margaret Kochamma** because she left **Chacko**, but she would have hated her even more if she had stayed with him. **Mammachi** was most afraid that she would resume her sexual relationship with **Chacko**, so she would slip money into **Margaret Kochamma’s** pockets in the same way she did with the women **Chacko** brought home to satisfy his needs. While the family was in the house, **Velutha** stopped by. **Ammu** watched how **Rahel** interacted with him and for the first time really saw him as a man. **Ammu** also noted that she was slightly jealous of **Rahel** and **Estha’s** relationship with **Velutha**. She was jealous at how her children were so at ease with **Velutha**, how easily they interacted with him, an untouchable. In that moment when **Ammu** really saw **Velutha**, **Velutha** saw her as a woman as well. During the time of **Sophie Mol’s** stay, **Estha** became very afraid that the **Orangedrink Lemondrink Man** would come after him, so he suggested to **Rahel** that they run away. While he was thinking to himself, he had come to the conclusion that anything can happen to anyone and that it’s best to be prepared. **Rahel** agreed because she was unhappy with **Sophie Mol’s** presence. Throughout the book she refers to herself and **Sophie Mol** and One Loved a Little Less and One Loved from the Beginning. But soon enough **Sophie Mol** was allowed to run away with the twins across the river because she showed herself to be human. It was during one of their trips across the river that **Sophie Mol** drowned. The three of them had decided to run away from the adults. They crossed the river while it was raining. The boat flipped over but **Sophie Mol** couldn’t swim. **Estha** and **Rahel** crossed the river without her. While they were at the haunted house across the river, they saw **Velutha**. He was there because **Baby Kochamma** told the police that he had raped **Ammu** when he didn’t and that he kidnapped the twins and **Sophie Mol**. Now the police were after him. **Velutha’s** father was the one that told them (**Mammachi** and **Baby Kochamma**) about what **Velutha** and **Ammu** were doing. It was **Baby Kochamma’s** idea to lie to the police. Theyhad locked **Ammu** up in her bedroom so she couldn’t deny the claims. The police knew that **Velutha** was hiding across the river. The six of the police that were sent across the river found him and beat him nearly to death (he died later that night) right in front of **Rahel** and **Estha**. After they had beaten him the police officers noticed that there were toys and cooking utensils among other things lying around. That was when they realized that what they were told about **Velutha** was a lie and that they could all get in trouble for killing **Velutha** especially since he didn't break the law. The police sent for **Baby Kochamma** and told her that they knew that she lied and that they all could go to jail if she didn't convince the twins to lie to the police and say that **Velutha** kidnapped them. **Baby Kochamma** told the twins that if they didn’t answer ‘yes’ when the policeman asked them if **Velutha** kidnapped them, they and **Ammu** would go to jail for killing **Velutha** and **Sophie Mol**. The policeman took **Estha** to where they were keeping **Velutha**. When they asked him, he said yes. When **Estha** returned, he told **Rahel** that it wasn’t really **Velutha** back there but his twin brother **Urumban** (**Velutha** never had a twin brother.) and **Rahel** was relieved. **Baby Kochamma** knew that if she didn’t get **Ammu** and the twins out of Ayemenem then she would go to jail so she told **Chacko** that it was the twins’ fault that **Sophie Mol** died. **Chacko** threatened to kill **Ammu** if she didn’t leave. This is how **Estha** got returned to their father. At this point the book fast-forwards 23 years and it says that **Estha** is waiting in his room to be arrested. The book ends with **Ammu** and **Velutha’s** first encounter across the river. The last word of the book is Tomorrow with is very significant since throughout the book there was a common theme that everything can change in a day.
 * Summary: **

Finally I can give my opinion because I know everything that happened. With that knowledge, I can truly say that this is a tragic story. There’s no other way I could describe. There were many times when this book hurt too much to read, but it is so well written and captivating that you can’t help but to want to read it over and over again. I’m not one to read tragedies and I feel like a masochist for wanting to read this book again. So what makes it so captivating that you want to read it again?
 * Analysis: **

This book speaks measures about selfishness found in human nature and self-preservation. I feel like many of the things mentioned in the book aren’t cultural things. I don’t know how things like these things play out in other cultures but I know that in the States everyone knows that snitches get stitches. If only one person gets caught committing a crime and there were three involved, that person is supposed to keep silent.
 * Application: **

Another thing that I noticed was how the old caste system played a huge part in the plot of the book. The caste system had been abolished. Technically there was no such thing as an Untouchable but people still acted as if there was and no one was there to stop them. **Mammachi** was there when **Baby Kochamma** was coming up with a plan to get **Velutha** in jail and did nothing to stop her. They both knew that he was innocent and that everything he did with **Ammu** was consensual but they were both so caught up in not wanting to be shamed when the rest of the village found out about **Ammu** and **Velutha’s** relationship simply because **Velutha** was an Untouchable. So what does this have to do with the Essential questions? Did you know there was a death sentence on Rushdie's life for being anti-Muslim?

Chapters 1-8 Please include the title of the book and pages your covered. 22/25

Because the book isn’t told in chronological order, it is hard to give a summary without it getting confusing because I don’t have all of the information about the events that took place (well I do because I read the whole book already…).

The book starts with one of the main characters **Rahel** returning to Ayemenem, where she spent her childhood. The only reason she returned to Ayemenem was to see her twin brother **Estha**. The book then trails into what **Rahel** remembers about her childhood though the story is not told in her point of view. The most significant memory was that of the twins’ cousin **Sophie Mol’s** funeral. **Rahel**, **Estha**, and **Ammu** were allowed to attend the funeral but they weren’t allowed to stand with the rest of the family. As the funeral progressed, **Rahel’s** thought process and thoughts seemed kind of incoherent. **Rahel** said that **Sophie Mol** did a cartwheel in her coffin and that no one could hear her screaming in her coffin. **Rahel** said that **Sophie Mol** died because she couldn’t breathe. After the funeral **Ammu** took them to the police department and said that she wanted to make a statement regarding someone named **Velutha**. The police officer called her a //veshya// (prostitute) and sent her away. After that **Estha** was sent back to their father and **Rahel** hadn’t seen him for a long time. Around this part is when the book fast-forwards 23 years. **Estha** was re-Returned by their father. It mentions that as a child he was always quiet but now that he is an adult he doesn’t speak at all. With the way the author characterizes **Estha** and **Rahel** it is very clear that something is wrong with them. **Rahel** talks about her childhood after **Ammu** died. She says that she drifted away from the family. She says that **Chacko** (her uncle) and **Mammachi** (her grandmother) tried to care for her but eventually gave up. She talks about how she went from school to school while she was younger because of her behavioral problems. **Rahel** talked about her life in America. She mentioned that she was married to a man, but they had divorced because she was distant. **Baby Kochamma** (her baby grandaunt) had written to her that **Estha** had been re-Returned to Ayemenem, and **Rahel** left America and returned as well. **Estha** hadn’t talked to **Rahel** when she came back. **Baby Kochamma** said that she told her so. It is mentioned that **Baby Kochamma** is very uncomfortable with the twins being in Ayemenem. There is mention of the Love Laws. The law that determines who should be loved and how and how much. The police arrested **Velutha** and **Baby Kochamma** said that ‘as ye sow, so shall ye reap’. In that section it was mentioned that she said those words as if she had nothing to do with what happened to **Velutha**.
 * Summary: **

Like I mentioned earlier, because this book isn’t written in chronological order it is very hard to form a solid opinion about this section because so many important details have been left out. This book has a very gloomy feel to it. Even when I read about some of the happier times, I have the knowledge of what happens next before it even happens because of the way the author chose to write the book and ultimately, it makes those moments very bitter sweet almost to the point where I don’t want to read about them because I know that they will come to a harsh end. I feel that **Estha** and **Rahel** have been dealt a terrible hand and are super unfortunate. It makes me sad.
 * Analysis: **

This whole story revolves around **Rahel’s** family. When the book describes the family more and more, I realize that they are not a normal family. They are extremely dysfunctional. **Ammu** saying that she loved **Rahel** a little less because **Rahel** said something that hurt her feelings. **Baby Kochamma** having something to do with what happened to **Velutha**. **Rahel** drifting away from her family. They also have other problems that are mentioned later. There is so much that I have to say about the family but a lot of the important/significant connections to the essential question come later in the book and I’m only supposed to report the first half. So what does a dysfunctional family have to do with the essential questions?
 * Application: **

10 things I feel really awkward typing this and I don't know why. I guess you could say a major thing that has made me the person that I am today is my relationship (or lack thereof) with **my biological father**. I haven't seen or talked to him since I was eight. Over the summer my (step)dad found three pictures of me, my younger sister and my biological father. Until the moment I looked at those pictures, I had forgotten what that man had looked like. I still can't remember what he sounds like. I remember when I stopped seeing him. It was because he would give my mother gas money so she could take me to visit on the weekends (we were living in PA while he lived in Baltimore). She said that she would stop taking me to see him and he was perfectly fine with that. He called irregularly for a few weeks then all communication stopped. I believe that whole experience made me a distant person. Now I'm more cautious of the people I allow myself to get attached to including family. //Especially// family. The second thing that has molded me into the person that I am today is my relationship with **my mother**. She's been there since day 1. She had me when she was 17 turning 18. She got her GED and then got a job so she could support me. She didn't grow up with her father around so she made sure that I wouldn't have to go through some of the hardships that she had to when she was younger. She is the strongest person I know and I love her dearly. Through her I am able to see what real strength looks like. If I had even a fraction of the strength that she has I think I would be set. The man that I now call **my** (real) **father** is a big reason why I am the way I am. Firstly, it is very clear that he loves my mother with all his heart. Secondly, I've known him since I was two. That's 15 years. He's treated me as if I was his very own. I've only ever known him as daddy. Not Mr. Will or My Mom's Husband (maybe the latter only a few times when I've had to explain how my family works in depth). He's been able to fill majority of the void in my heart that being fatherless brings. The fourth thing is **my family**. I have a big family. When I say big I mean HUGE, Obscenely Large!!! Like 40-some+ people on my mom's mom side that lives in PA and Baltimore. Last Friday, I met 30-some+ people on her side that lived in South Carolina all of which are cousins. We made a joke that instead of people introducing themselves as a cousin, it would be easier to say "I'm not your cousin". Having a big family has its perks (a lot of love all around) but it also has its downsides (a lot of attention in my case). When I was younger, I loved being in the spotlight. I had to have all eyes on me. But as I grew older, I wanted more and more to blend in with the paint on the walls. I think a lot of it had to do with (let's be honest) my biological father and another part of it had to do with my past friendships (I'll talk a little on that later). Most of the times when I see my 40-some+ cousins, I want to hide away because I'm not good with large groups of people. That doesn't mean that I love them any less. I appreciate all of the relationships (no matter how small) I have with them. I know the value of always having your family around. **Friends** (or lack thereof) have also helped shape me into the person that I am now. Like I said in another post up until freshman year, I spent all of my time trying to be the person that I //thought// everyone would like instead of being me. All of my efforts had been in vain because in the end I found out that they didn't really like me. That really hurt me and made it hard for me to make real friends and trust people. In tenth grade I started doing this thing where I would make "friends" with one or two people in my classes then after the semester changed I would never talk to them again. And I would do the same thing when I got new classes. I would always smile and say hi in the hallways but nothing more. No exchanging numbers or making plans to hang out or to do whatever friends are supposed to do. **Technology** has greatly helped make me who I am today. Without technology I know for a fact that I would have never discovered my passion for eastern asian culture, specifically Korean. It had all started when I stumbled across a Korean music video and I've been in love ever since. Without technology I wouldn't be able to be able to learn so many knew things about the different cultures. I guess books would be another thing that influenced me. I was always encouraged to read since I was younger and I really do enjoy reading (just as long as I’m not forced to like for an English class). I like being able to immerse myself in a good story. Art is something else that has influenced me. Throughout my life my family had always been supportive of me and everything that I wanted to do. Art was no exception. Art is more that paint on paper. So much more. I love the creativity that goes into making art. I like the fact that you creating something that no one could have ever thought of (unless you plagiarize). Volunteering has played a big part in making me the person that I am now. Through volunteering I’ve learned how extremely blessed and fortunate I am. I have seen many people (older and younger than me) living on the streets. I really appreciate everything that I have. Getting out of Baltimore I a huge thing that made me who I am. I feel very thankful toward my parents for getting us out of Baltimore. It’s not a good place to be. If I was still in Baltimore, I can’t imagine how different I would be. If I’m honest with myself, I would probably be yet another statistics. Maybe a high school drop-out, maybe a teen mom, maybe a victim of gang violence, or maybe even a gang member. Who knows? All I know is that I’m blessed to be where I am now. In the best school in the district and in a safe neighborhood.

I appreciate your candidness in sharing. -Mrs. Sands