Wei-Lei and Me (Aditi Gouvernel)

Wei-Lei and Me (Aditi Gouvernel)

1.  What word in the opening sentence means ‘short and flat’? Pug nose

2.  What is so ‘Australian’ about Barry West? Barry is described to have the red stained face like Australian Summers.

3.  What is the opening interaction between the two characters about? Barry and the author are fighting becuase Barry thinks she is dirty becuase of her Indian background.

4.  What is the protagonist’s home country? Delhi India.

5.  What word means “noble and splendid”? (p75) aristocratic

6.  In what way is the protagonist’s home country “aristocratic”? Delhi described by the author with it's Places, towers and temples seems very aristocratic. 

7.  Where did the protagonist’s father move his family to? Why? The authors father moved the family because he felt that there was no opportunity in Delhi. In Australia being such empty nation had lots of opportunity for the family.

8.  What is the protagonist’s attitude towards the citizenship ceremony? (pp75-6) The author didn't really think the ceremony meant that much as she 'Met Australia' in the playground.

9.  How is Barry West the antagonist? Barry West is the antagonist because he is the character who is in conflict with the author who is the protagonist.

10.What is the irony of the comments made by Amy and Cris? (p76)The irony of the comments are that Amy and Cris are discriminating the author to be 'dirty' becuase of her Indian background despite both of them being of Eastern European decent telling from their last names.

11.What is “you have to face the world” a metaphor for? (p76) This means that no matter what happens you have to experience it whether its good or bad becuase that's just what happens in life.

12.What is the teacher’s hair compared to? Is this an example of a metaphor or simile? (p77) The teachers hair is compared to a halo, this is an example of a metaphor becuase she isn't saying its like a halo she is saying a halo.

13.How is the children’s cruel creativity put into action once Wei-Lei arrives? (p77) The childrens cruel creativity is an obvious cliche of children changing around people's name into something funny. Wei-Lei making his name sound like pee.

14. Explain the relevance of the ‘cat and toy’ metaphor. (p77) The relevance of this metaphor is a true indicator of the kids brutality. Their cat like actions are a strong description of their harsh treatment of Wei-Lei.

15.How does the children’s cruel creativity have a more sinister side? The childrens cruel creativity could well as be an indicator or a dark side to them which gives the reader an idea to feel fear for this person in the future.

16.What does the protagonist mean by “the afternoon passed like a death sentence”? (p78) The author meant that all day she was worried of what might happen becuase of what she had done to Barry. There was always that adrenaline feeling when you know something bad might happen in the future.

17.Why does the protagonist see everything Indian “lit by a spotlight”? (p78) When she goes home after being so heavily evolved with the tradition of Australia as soon as she comes home she realised how traditional her family is.

18.How does the story build to a climax? (p79) The story builds to a climax by giving us the cliche version of a immigrant working hard through tough times to success. We see through the harshness of the authors childhood and how it turns to a more positive and better life as the author grows up.

19.What is the irony of Barry’s fate? (p80) The irony of Barry's fate is how he made fun or and discriminated the authors Indian background and where he's going is going to be very similar people to the author.

20.Explain what the protagonist means by “as our faces changed, so did Canberra” (p81). The author means as they grew up and became more mature their lives changed in Canberra to the harshness of school to the wonders of university and what they wanted to do for a living and how they wanted to live their lives.

21.What do you think the protagonists’ definition of being Australian would be? (p81) I think the authors definition of being Australia is feeling a sense of belonging. I think once the author fitted into society and did the little things like go to the cafe everyday and go to the bar and talk with her friends after many years she had finally felt like she belonged, therefore her idea of being Australian.