One of the things this story has in common with our other readings is a lightly mocking attitude toward religion. Sanjeev, when looking at the collection of religious kitsch, is "puzzled that each was in its own way so silly. Clearly they lacked a sense of sacredness." When Sanjeev informs Twinkle that they are not Christian, she sweetly replies that "We're good little Hindus." More self-aware, she realizes that there are aspects of Hindu religion that must seem silly as well. Twinkle is an enigma. Her motive for marrying Sanjeev is unclear, and the details about her life we are given are mostly meaningless. She's just kind of a quirky type.
The religious objects that Twinkle finds around the house are silly and kitschy. But they are also part of a shared, mainstream culture. Twinkle finds the manger snowglobe funny and charming because she is more comfortable inside this culture, though she is not Christian. Sanjeev is more of an outsider, like Salim in A Bend in the River, and is simply irritated by these foreign incursions into his space. Also, similar to Salim, Sanjeev's decision to get married is influenced by pressures from the home he has left, when he'd clearly rather be alone listening to Bach. He made a mistake getting married if after only a couple months he imagines locking her in the attic and wiping away all trace of her existence from the house (!).
Lang College, Spring 2011, group forum for daily readers' responses and links, media, etc.
READ THIS: PRESENTATIONS
PRESENTATIONS: please take these seriously: they are an important part of your participation in the class. Your job when you present is to lead the discussion on the reading for that day. You may bring in some research, but most of all, you should be very well-prepared with insights, interpretations, and questions about the reading at hand. You may want to begin by summarizing the progress of the plot represented by the excerpt assigned on that day. Then you should have passages picked out for the class to discuss. You may want to be ready, also, with the posts for the day (you can copy and paste them and print them out). The purpose of the presentation is to give more responsibility to the classmembers and de-center the discussion a little bit (although I will still chime in). Here are your assignments, mostly random. 1. Wed. 3/30 Small Things, 84-147, Eidia. 2. 4/4 Small Things, 148-225, Hannah. 3. 4/6 Small Things, ending, Anna. 4. 4/11 Ondaatje, Dan. 5. 4/13 Mukherjee, Michael. 6. 4/18 Poppies, 3-87, Karol. 7. 4/20 Poppies, 88-156, Jason. 8. 4/25 Poppies, 157-226, Joe. 9. 4/27, Poppies, 227-342, Will. 10. 5/2 Poppies, 343-446, Rachel. 11. 5/4 Poppies, finish, Jane.
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