Key Scenes

1. The first key scene is, when Ghandi is still a young man and puts the Indian people up to burn their passes in a public meeting. I think this is the first act, where Gandhi shows that he’s very strong and that he has the competence to convince others.

2. Another key scene is the assassination scene in the beginning and in the end. First it shows us, that Gandhi has been killed, but we still don’t know why. In the end we’re informed and we can follow his life and his doings in the Indian history. I think it’s a special key scene because it shows us that Gandhi was a holy person and in the beginning we want to know how it comes to the killing.

3. The third key scene is in the train, when Gandhi has thrown out by two British conductor. It’s very important, because he realized that the living conditions in South Africa has to change, particularly for the minority.

4. The fourth key scene is the salt march. Gandhi decided to do it to show that the Indian are independent by the British. I think it’s very important because he shows that he overrides the British authority.

5. The fast scene is the fifth important scene. Gandhi decided to fast because he wants to set a sign that his homies should not use violence to fight for their indepedence.

GANDHI

When Gandhi finally meets up with his colleagues he finds out what the actual social conditions are in South Africa, yet up until then, he was ignorant of these. What does this say of communications in this time period?

What is Gandhi’s decision regarding the social conditions in South Africa?

The social conditions in South Africa in the past shows us that the people, who live there, accept it without thinking of their suffering. They are frightened and have fear to beat for their rights. In this part of the story Gandhi decides to stand up for the rights of the Indians in South Africa. This could be trace back to the fact that he would discriminated in a racistic way in a train, where a guard throws him out because he sat in the first class although he is an Indian. Gandhi developped a passive resistence, which he called Satyagraha and started with his political engagement in South Africa.

Contrast the second meeting that Gandhi has about the pass law. Pay spacial attention to his speech techniques as well as the crowd’s reaction. He also gives his philosohpy of passive resistance. What is it?

Gandhi speaks very calm and doesn’t let himself provoke by the listener, who says that they would beat the British and that they would fight against them. But on religious grounds Hindus aren’t allowed to kill human, so Gandhi appeal for a fight for their right without violence. This is the basic of his philosphy of passive resistance, which contains non-violence (Ahimsa) and the attendance to bear suffer and pain. The background of this idea is to win the emeny as a friend. Gandhi sees Satyagraha not as a weapon of the poor people, but as a weapon of the mental strong persons.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyagraha)

Describe the massacre of Indians by the British army and list the various results from the event, both for the Indians as well as the British.

The Indians protested for their independence in Amritsar but over hundred were killed by the Britsh. At a later date, an other protest march claims more Indian victims and because of that the policemen were killed. After this event there are riots everywhere in India.

What is the “salt march” and why is it significant? What is Gandhi’s philosophy of civil resistance? How is this philosophy further exhibited by the Indian demonstration at the salt works?

The salt march should clarify the civil disobedience and should be a sign against the dependence of the high taxes by the Britsh gouvernment. Gandhi and his follower walked 385 kilometers to the Arabian Sea, where he demonstrated his civil disobedience. It exhibits that the Indians fight for their independence without using violence. This conforms with the strategy of Gandhi of passive resistance.

The last part of the movie incorporates the same scene as the movie’s opening: the assassination scene. Why do you think the director uses this scene twice? Cinematically speaking, what are the differences between the first version of the scenes and the second? As a member of the audience, compare your reaction from the first viewing of the scene to the second.

I think that the first scene should show us that Ghandi was such a holy person, and because of that his funeral was a big cermony with thousands of people. That we can see this scene in the beginning makes us curious and we want to know how it comes to his death. The difference between the scenes is, that we just see the killing first and in the second scene we see the funeral, where his ash were dispersed over the sea and we know the background of the life of Gandhi with his political engagement.

Plotting the story (pp. 149-154)

What role does Maji play in the narrator’s life?

When the narrator comes to know that she’s pregnant she doesn’t seem happy with it. She decides to abort the child and Maji should it. They prepare themselves for the abortion and in this part Maji plays a big role in the narrator’s life, because she should make the abortion. The narrator has the posibility to ask Maji for the operation, for example how she would do it and and Maji explains several ways. And just out of curiosity the narrator gives her consent that Maji shows her the abortion on herself. She calms her by saying “Don’t be afraid” and doesn’t hurt her. They’re “simulating” the abortion until the narrator cries “No please stop!”. She gets anxious but Maji appeases her with her attendance and her knowledge about abortions and pregnancy.

Plotting the Story (pp.116-127)

*What attitude to abortion comes across in this section, and what does it say about Indian society?

It’s Maji who offers the narrator an abortion. She gives the impression that she knows a lot about abortions, because she informes the narrator about the different ways and she preformes all of them. Maji tells the narrator that it’s the only way to save people from dishonour and suffering in many cases. She performes many abortions in this good case by herself.

I think Maji advises the narrator to make an abortion because her own children all live rather far away and her husband is dead. She has no reason anymore to care about her family and about other people to whom she has the responsibility and it makes her sad. In this case she decides to disadvise the narrator to carry a child to term because she doesn’t want that she’s in the same situation like her.

Besides the love of Inder Lal and the narrator has no future, because Inder Lal has a family with a wife and the narrator doesn’t want to tell him of the pregnancy after some tries to tell him.

Plotting the Story (pp. 77-102)

What other stories or films can you think of, in which a women is torn between two men or in which a married women starts getting interested in another man?

1.  Pirates of the Caribbean: Will Turner, who is in love with Elizabeth Swann, is an armourer in Port Royal, where  Elizabeth lives with her father. Everything is fine, but then Port Royal were attacked of pirates and Elizabeth were kidnapped. Will asked the famous pirate Jack Sparrow if he helps him to find Elizabeth. First they capture a ship called “Interceptor”, where Elizabeth is detain. Will and Elizabeth are escaped with the crew of the “Interceptor”, but Jack Sparrow is captured of some pirates. They had a naval battle, but this time Will is captured and Jack and Elizabeth are abandonned to a lost island. While Will is fighting with the bad pirates, Jack and Elizabeth are rescued themselves. They’re hurrying to help Will and together they are outflanked the pirates. In the end, Will and Elizabeth are confessed their love to each other and Jack is sailed away with the ship “Black Pearl”, which he gained from the pirates. In the continuation of “The pirates of the Caribbean”, Jack and Elizabeth are converged, too. Jack becomes amorous towards her, and even suggests marriage. Elizabeth is a kind of embarrassed, after kissing him. But then Jack is captured of some bad pirates again. To rescue him, Elizabeth kisses him, but they are observed of Will. To beat the ill, Jack sacrifices himself for Will and Elizabeth. In the end, Will and Elizabeth get married and bear a child.

2. Sweet Home Alabama: Melanie Carmichael is a young, successful women, who is living in New York. She’s going to marry Andrew, the son of the mayoress. Melanie announces that she has to go back home alone to Alabama to tell her parents in person. Her private reason is to demand a divorce from Jake. She has not told Andrew that she is still married. At that time, Jake was a real loser and up to now he he refuses to sign the papers of divorce. But Melanie fast notices that a lot of things are changed while living in New York. Because Jake has build up his own business and is successful, too. They are converged again. Meanawhile, Andrew and his mother decide to arrange the marriage in Alabama, so that Melanies family and friends have the possibility to be present, too. While the marriage is in progress, Melanies advocate appears and shows her that she doesn’t sign the papers of divorce, but Jake. In the end, Melanie decides herself against the marriage with Andrew and is going to be with Jake.

The suttee

“Being in favour of a barbaric ritual like the suttee reveals Olivia to be unreasonable, naive and disloyal. Her infatuation with the Indian culture makes her ignore that oppression, barbarism and cruelty are rife in this country.”

In my opinion the comment isn’t true. Olivia doesn’t have an infatuation with the Indian culture. She just wants to support her position to set herself apart from her British friends.

“She had no desire to recommend widow-burning but it was everyone else being so sure-tolerant and smiling but sure-that made her to want to take another stand.”

Olivia gets upset by hearing the opinions of the others. Therefore she try to hold her view.

Plotting the Story (pp.49-61)

1) Write a description of Inder Lal’s wife.

The wife of Inder Lal called Ritu. The narrator descripes Ritu as very shy and that she would like to talk more with her, but she noticed that there is something weak with her. Ritu is very thin, but the narrator has the impression that the mind of Ritu is not strong either. But sometimes Ritu gets over her shyness and visit the narrator in her room. The narrator tries to speak with her, but it doesn’t work, because her Hindi is very bad, so Ritu jumps up and runs away. The same thing happens when the narrator tries to visit Ritu in her room.

A few nights ago Ritu screamed for unknown reasons. By the time the narrator got to her bed, her mother-in-law already had her hand clamped over Ritu’s mouth. The two helped Ritu inside and Inder Lal’s mother sprinkled return to their beds in the courtyard.

2) Examine the role of suttee in this section.

Douglas was in charge of the district, because a wealthy grain merchant’s family had forced his widow to her death. Douglas had run to the scene, but he arrived too late. At the dinner party of the Crawfords it was the main topic. Olivia and the others, except for Douglas and Dr. Saunders, discussed that suttee is a rather gruesome form of suicide, but they’re agreed that it’s a part of their religion. And Dr. Saunders said that some of the multilations he’d seen were enough to make him proud to call himself an atheist.

Quotations

“There is no person in existence as the general Indian.”

1) I think the author of the quote is an Indian, who thinks that India is very special. Maybe he wants to hint at the special culture in India, especially their religion, which is very different in contrast to the Western religion. Otherwise it means that the Indian are too special for the British gouvernement to be a colony of them.

2) ????????????????????

‘Heat’ and ‘Dust’

Heat

Who do you think Olivia and Douglas are?
- They are the protagonists of the story. They are a couple and they both came from England and lived in India.

Where they are?

- They are in India.

What are they arguing about?

- They arguing about a trip to Simla, where Olivia doesn’t want to go, because she wants to stay with her husband. But Douglas wants her to go to Simla because Olivia can’t stay the heat.

How is the quarrel resolved?

- Olivia accepts that it is her own fault if she doesn’t go to Simla.

Do you feel that unpleasent heat can have an effect in emotions? Have you ever experienced anything like that?

- I think I’ll come into a bad mood after a while, because it’s very stressful to live in a country where it is so hot. If you’re doing some sightseeing-trips, you’ll get a headache and be very nerved. When I was in Houston/Texas, we did a lot of sightseeing-trips and there it was very hot, so i was very annoyed and sometimes I couldn’t enjoy the trips.

DUST

What are your feeling when you are confronted with the description of such a landscape?

- I wouldn’t like the country because it’s very dusty and i would feel despressed. I don’t want to visit such a landscape.

Explain why you would or would not like to travel or love there?

- In my opinion after a while it’s going to be boring to live there and i would feel very alone, so I don’t want to live there.