Dreaming in Cuban

Lesson 10
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ELA

Unit 5

11th Grade

Lesson 10 of 31

Objective


Analyze and explain how Lourdes’s tragic past may have shaped her current views on Cuba, the United States, and immigration. 

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Dreaming in Cuban by Christina Garcia  pp. 64 – 74 — "Lourdes"

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Target Task


Question 1

The paragraph beginning with “Lourdes did not” on p. 71 mainly serves to:

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Question 2

The description of the different scents Lourdes remembers indicates:

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Question 3

In this section, the reader learns of two separate memories Lourdes has of Cuban soldiers. How have these memories shaped Lourdes’s current self? Include her opinions on both the United States and Cuba as well as immigration in your response. 

Key Questions


  • What is happening on p. 64?
  • What is the mood at the bottom of p. 64?
  • Is Jorge actually there? Explain.
  • How does Lourdes feel when she arrives home? Why?
  • What does Lourdes hate according to p. 65?
  • How has Jorge’s appearance affected Lourdes on pp. 65–66?
  • Why does Garcia include the anecdote about Lourdes’s employee Maribel?
  • What do we learn about Lourdes and Jorge’s relationship on pp. 68–69?
  • Note where the flashback begins and ends.
  • Why does the author use the word “fled” on p. 69?
  • Why did Lourdes settle on New York City? p. 70
  • Note the further flashback on p. 70.
  • What happened to Lourdes’s second child? 
  • What can the reader infer about the soldiers based on Lourdes’s reaction to them on p. 70?
  • What is the tall soldier’s tone? 
  • Why do you think Garcia spends so much time describing the smell of this scene on p. 71–72?
  • Why is the carving on Lourdes’s stomach significant?
  • Note the flash forward on p. 72.
  • What are Lourdes’s views on immigration according to p. 73?

Notes


  • Pages 69–72 include Lourdes’s rape scene. This should be treated delicately; perhaps have students read on their own to p. 69 and then do pp. 69–72 as a group or with audio.
  • Pages 72–74 can be assigned as homework if necessary.
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Lesson 9

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Lesson 11

Lesson Map

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