Short Stories: The American Dreamers (2020)

Lesson 5
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ELA

Unit 12

7th Grade

Lesson 5 of 13

Objective


Explain the symbolism of the slip of paper with Mr. Kapasi’s address on it. 

Explain how Lahiri captures the sadness and emptiness of the American dream through the Das family. 

Readings and Materials


  • Short Story: “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri (in Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1999) 

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

On the last page, Lahiri writes, “The slip of paper with Mr. Kapasi’s address on it fluttered away in the wind.” What is symbolic about the piece of paper fluttering away? 

Key Questions


  • How do Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi misinterpret each other’s verbal and nonverbal signals? How is their misunderstanding the result of a cultural difference? 
  • Text to Text: Both Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi are racially Indian but culturally different. Compare their relationship to that of Beneatha and Asagai in A Raisin in the Sun
  • How does Lahiri continue to convey the theme of loneliness through the Das family?

Common Core Standards


  • RL.7.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • RL.7.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.

Next

Analyze how Ibrahim and his wife adapt to the American way of life. 

Lesson 6
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