WLC+Peter+P

Reading Assignments: Divide your novel into four sections - by pages or chapters. **Post the schedule below on your wiki page with your pages/chapters due filled in for each class.**

Class 39 World Literature Circles - Meeting #1 Pages / Chapters Due: 1-3

Class 41 World Literature Circles - Meeting #2 Pages / Chapters Due: 4-6

Class 43 World Literature Circles - Meeting #3 Pages / Chapters Due: 7-9

Class 44 World Literature Circles - Meeting #4 Pages / Chapters Due: 10-11


 * Preview** your book by answering the following questions on your wiki page:
 * What do you think this novel will be about based on the cover art? (complete sentence)
 * READ THE FIRST PAGE ALOUD IN YOUR GROUP
 * **What is the POV (provide evidence)**
 * The POV is omniscient third-person. "Raju welcomed the intrusion - something to relieve the loneliness of this place."
 * **What conflict is introduced?**
 * No conflicts are introduced so far.
 * **What characters are introduced?**
 * Raju, the main character, is introduced.
 * **What do you learn about each of the characters (provide textual evidence)?**
 * Raju listens and gives advice to other people.
 * **What is the setting (time, location)?**
 * The setting is not revealed in the first page, but the text in the back states this story is set in the fictional town of Malgudi.
 * **What do you think this book will be about? (complete sentences)**
 * I think the book will be about a corrupt tourist guide seeking redemption through acting as an advice-giver.


 * What was the most interesting idea or insight that was discussed in your group meeting today?**

The most interesting idea that was discussed in today's group meeting was the theme of The Guide. From what we read, it was difficult to discern the theme, because the sections we read merely contained plot events, and no major idea or theme to connect them. I suggested that a possible theme of the novel was the disparity between the level of knowledge between the city (where Raju lived) and the country (where Raju posed as a holy man). However, this was refuted by my group members, and was at most a secondary theme. Peter Kim then revealed that he read the back cover of The Guide, where he obtained the information that The Guide was primarily on Raju’s transformation into a holy man. John then added a connection between Raju’s transformation and Gregor’s transformation in The Metamorphosis - both life-changing, shocking changes. We established the theme around which all plot events revolve in today's discussion.

Research
 * **your topic of research**: tourist guides in India
 * **a URL link to your reliable source**: http://tourism.gov.in/
 * **state why you think the source is reliable**: It is the official website of the Ministry of Tourism in India.
 * **write a one paragraph summary of your source** (5-8 complete sentences): Regional level guides shall be trained by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India through the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) or their chapters. Since there are acute shortages of guides speaking some of the foreign languages such as Chinese, Russian, Korean, Thai, Arabic, Hungarian, Polish, Hebrew etc., linguists with specialized qualifications/proven skill and fluency in these languages may also be approved as Part-Time guide. Part-time Guides can hold regular employment in any other field other than in shopping establishments. They would however, undergo an abridged special training of 8 weeks successfully before they are certified as guides. The guide training course should be held by IITTM minimum once in two years. IITTM would conduct refresher courses initially once in three years and subsequently after every five years, which will be mandatory to attend by licensed guides. The licensed guides would be required to successfully pass the refresher courses for renewal of their licenses.


 * semicolon - (p 19) "Get out boys; don't come here; this is not your classroom."
 * colon
 * series (balanced pairs)
 * dash
 * parentheses
 * appositives
 * dependent clauses (use of subordinating words)
 * repetition

Today, we discussed mainly about three things: Raju's past as a corrupt tourist guide, his affair with Rosie, and his life and confession in the village. I never really understood the magnitude of Raju's corruption - whether he was a sinister parasite of innocent travelers or was just slightly oriented to achieving his personal gains - but my fellow group members enlightened me that Raju was corrupted because of several significant reasons. First, he enjoys fabricating information about the traveling sites, thus feeding off of the travelers' ignorance. He stays silent when the traveler seems informed, however. Not only that, but Raju attempts to steal a wife from her husband, which is an atrocious act of adultery in itself. Another thing we talked about was Raju's confession to a villager (whose name we were unable to remember) about his dark past, and why he was posing as a holy man. The book stated that the villager listened with all due respect, but we disagreed on how he would react after Raju finishes his story. Some of us said that he would betray Raju to the village, while others said he would cooperate with him on his plan.

Today, we discussed about a variety of things. One of the things we discussed about was about the chronology of the book. The Guide first starts from Raju's release from prison, then after arriving at the village, the book switches to Raju's childhood. This back and forth from past and present keeps repeating until finally, Raju's unfortunate past reveals to have been accountable for causing his semi-hopeless future living as a religious leader. Another thing we talked about was temple-dancing, which was a symbol of the love between man and woman, as well as person and God. Alex and I portrayed possible interpretations of temple-dancing. FInally, we talked about Raju's descent into greed and evil following Rosie's success. Overall, it was a funny, interesting, and productive discussion.

Today, we discussed about the ending of the book. In the ending, Raju ends his 12-day-long fast through dying, and feels the rain up his legs and feet before his death. We agreed that the major theme of the plot was Raju's development from a selfish person only taking his interests into account to a person who sacrifices himself for the benefit of others. We also made several connections to other books. For example, Raju's realization before his death is analogous to Ivan Ilych's realization in the book __The Death of Ivan Ilych__. Also, the court proceedings - and the satirical elements associated with them - are documented in __The Stranger__ in addition to __The Guide__. Some of the questions we asked were very insightful. To illustrate, we discussed whether it really rained in the village or not. We came to the conclusion that Raju felt the rain in his body (symbolizing his holy revelation), indicating that the rain will come soon after. We also discussed about the theme, and all of us agreed Raju's dramatic change from a self-interested tourist guide to a man analogous to Gandhi was the theme of the plot.