Transcript PowerPoint about Caste System by YooRee Sathyamoorthy

Mrs. YooRee Sathyamoorthy
St. John’s Prep
“Sweet-makers,” the old driver said, shaking his
head. “That’s what you people do. You make
sweets. How can you learn to drive? That’s like
getting coals to make ice. Mastering a car” – he
moved the stick of an invisible gearbox – “it’s like
taming a wild stallion- only a boy from the warrior
caste can manage that. You need to have
aggression in your blood. Muslims, Sikhs, they’re
fighters. They can become drivers. You think
sweet-makers can last long in fourth gear? Why
don’t you stick to sweets and tea.”
 Brahmin: priests/educators
 Khastriya: [Shutrya] military/warriors
 Vaishya: farmers, herders, merchants
 Sudra: [Shudra] artisans, laborers
 Dalit (Untouchables): servants,
butchers
OBJECTIVE:
TWBAT (teachers will be able to)
examine the role of religion,
family, economics and politics
in modern India and its impact
on the caste system
… as portrayed in…
The White Tiger
Introduction:
An introduction to castes according to Balram Halwai
(Structure of novel: series of letters Balram writes to Premier
Wen Jiabao of China. )
Balram’s evaluation of the caste system?
Zoo analogy:
 In past , when animals were encaged (caste
boundaries enforced)  ORDER
 Post 1947 “liberalization,” cages are open,
animals attack each other  CHAOS
Shift from thousands of castes to just two…
1. Men with Big Bellies
2. Men with Small Bellies
Only two destinies: Eat or get eaten.
 Reading 1: Religion
 The Ganga, Hanuman, Sacred Cows
 Reading 2: Family
 Lizards, Money & Marriage, Personal Hygiene
 Reading 3: Economics
 The Mall, Exercise, the Rooster Coop
 Reading 4: Politics
 Education, justice & health care
Reading selections:
 River Ganga: memory from childhood
 Hanuman: description of a Hindu god
 Sacred Cows: Balram’s dream after
contemplating abandoning his entire family to
pursue a selfish goal
Action plan:
Read, share readings, share reflections & analysis
 Kusum – Balram’s grandmother
 Mr. Jiabao – Wen Jiabao
 Sadhus: holy men
 Hardwar: holy city on the River Ganga
 Benaras: holy city on the River Ganga
 Ghat: steps leading down to water
 Buffalo: equivalent to cow in India
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What are the author’s impressions of the role
of religion?
What is the author’s impression of the god,
Hanuman?
What is the author’s impression of the sacred
River Ganga? (India of Light vs. India of
Darkness)
What is the real “god” of the Ganga?
What is the role of religion with respect to the
caste system?
Reading selections:
 Lizard: memory from youth
 Money & Marriage: coming home as a
successful driver
 Personal Hygiene: an epiphany moment for
Balram, the successful driver
Action plan:
Read, share readings, share reflections & analysis
 Kishan: Balram’s older brother
 Kusum: Balram’s grandmother
 The Great Socialist: pseudonym for local
Member of Parliament
 Naxal: militant communist groups in India
 Pinky Madam: Balram’s employer (when he
becomes a driver)
 Paan: equivalent to Indian chewing tobacco
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Explain the expectations Balram’s father has
of him.
What does Balram believe his family is doing
to his brother ,Kishan?
To what extent does Balram resent his family
and his background?
What are one’s responsibilities to his family?
What is the role families play with respect to
the caste system?
Reading selections:
 The mall: The “have” and “have not” of India
 Exercise: poor dream of being rich, rich dream
of being poor
 The Rooster Coop:
Action plan:
Read, share readings, share reflections & analysis
 New India: wealthy & modern India
 Gurgaon: suburb of Delhi aka Beverly Hills of
India
 Vitiligo –Lips: a driver who works and lives in
Balram’s apartment compound
 Mr. Ashok: Balram’s employer, who recently
divorced
 Jama Masjid: largest, best-known
mosque in India
 Goa: India’s smallest but wealthiest
state renowned for beaches
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What does Balram realize at the mall when a
common person is rejected from entry?
Explain the lifestyle of the “have” compared to
the “have not.”
What is the “rooster coop?”
Explain the perpetual culture of servitude and
the factors that make it possible.
What is the role of economics in maintaining
the caste system?
Reading selections:
 Half-baked Indian: education in India
 Forced Confession: commentary on India’s
judicial system
 Health care: commentary on India’s health
care system
Action plan:
Read, share readings, share reflections & analysis
 Mr. Ashok/Pinky Madam: Balram’s
employers
 Honda City: equivalent to Honda Accord
 Kishan: Balram’s brother
 Uncle: generic, respectful greeting to any older
male
 Great Socialist: pseudonym for Member of
Parliament
*Warning* - some language
Who or what is a half-baked Indian?
2. What is the role of the Indian justice system in
perpetuating class differences?
3. How would you characterize health care in
India?
1.
Billions of Entrepreneurs
by Tarun Khanna
 Personal and local
politics in India
 An inefficient Indian
judiciary
 Indian/Australian journalist & author
 Born in Madras, emigrated to Sydney during
high school
 Studied literature at Columbia University
 Work:
 Financial/business reporter for Financial Time
 South Asia correspondent for TIME
 Freelance period – wrote White Tiger
 White Tiger, debut novel, winner of 2008 Man
Booker Prize
 Currently lives in Mumbai
“At a time when India is going through
great changes and, with China, is likely
to inherit the world from the West, it is
important that writers like me try to
highlight the brutal injustices of (Indian)
society. That's what I'm trying to do – it
is not an attack on the country, it's
about the greater process of selfexamination.”
- Aravind Adiga
“I am India’s most faithful voter, and I still have
not seen the inside of a voting booth.” (p. 86)
“There you have it. That was the positive side of
the Great Socialist. He humiliated all our masters
– that’s why we kept voting him back in.” (p. 88)
“I was looking for the key for years
But the door was always open.” (p. 228)
 Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle – The poor in
India have as much control over their own
fate as the animals slaughtered in Sinclair’s
novel.
 Richard Wright’s Native son – awakening a
nation to the realities of racial divide.
 Teaching Guides:
 http://www.teachingindia.org/
 South Asia Initiative at Harvard
University
 Friday, April 29 conference Gandhi: Beyond the Legend
 http://spice.stanford.edu/
 Global investigation on child labor
(case studies: India, Uganda, U.S. )
The Story of India – PBS
http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/
 Nonfiction:
 Billions
of
Entrepreneurs by
Tarun Khanna
 Fiction:
 A Fine Balance by
Rohinton Mistry
 Unaccustomed
 In
spite of the gods,
the rise of modern
India by Edward
Luce
Earth by Jhumpa
Lahiri
Current Events
Connections
Points
Possible
Research & Writing
1.
Full TEXT of article on Google docs (NO links)
5
1.
Dateline and byline included in article (City/news
organization and journalist who wrote the article)
5
1.


One-paragraph summary of news article
Written in student’s own words
Concise summary of entire article (not just the first few
paragraphs!)
1.

One-paragraph analysis of article
Analysis includes SPICE: social, political, intellectual,
cultural or economic
Analysis includes why the article is relevant to our
current study

10
10
Presentation
1.
Visuals (2-3 good visuals for presentation)
5
1.
Presentation: spoke to audience rather than reading
from slides or note cards, made eye contact
5
1.
Presentation was engaging and interesting
5
1.
Presentation made relevant & meaningful connections to
classroom instruction
5
TOTAL
50
Points
Earned