Wei-Lei and Me (Aditi Gouvernel)
- What word in the opening sentence means ‘short and flat’?
- The word in the opening sentence which means 'short and flat' is pug nose
- What is so ‘Australian’ about Barry West?
- He had the 'red stained face of Australian summers', indicating that he was always sunburnt
- What is the opening interaction between the two characters about?
- The opening is about two kids playing tag, an Indian girl and an Australian boy. The girl brushes her palm against the boys' shirt and he states that he has to wash his shirt, because he thought that as she was Indian, she wiped her butt with her hands.
- What is the protagonist’s home country?
- The protagonist's home country is India
- What word means “noble and splendid”? (p75)
- In what way is the protagonist’s home country “aristocratic”?
- She describes it being filled with palaces, temples, gardens and tombs
- Where did the protagonist’s father move his family to? Why?
- They moved to Canberra, and although it is not clearly stated why, it gives the impression that they wanted a better life.
- What is the protagonist’s attitude towards the citizenship ceremony? (pp75-6)
- They couldn't really remember much of the ceremony,, just snip-its of what it would stereotypically look like
- How is Barry West the antagonist?
- He is the antagonist because he use racial comments against the protagonist
- What is the irony of the comments made by Amy and Cris? (p76)
- Its ironic that they have built on the comment made by barry, and turned it into something bigger, calling her shit and saying that is gross
- What is “you have to face the world” a metaphor for? (p76)
- This statement is a metaphor for saying that you have to stand strong against the setbacks of the world
- What is the teacher’s hair compared to? Is this an example of a metaphor or simile? (p77)
- She compares it to a halo of red curly hair, which is a metaphor
- How is the children’s cruel creativity put into action once Wei-Lei arrives? (p77)
- By recess his name had been shortened to Wee, the piss, and at lunch we was mauled, kicked, spat on and made to pull down his pants.
- Explain the relevance of the ‘cat and toy’ metaphor. (p77)
- The relevance of the cat and toy metaphor is to describe how harshly the boy was treated, being mauled
- How does the children’s cruel creativity have a more sinister side?
- They made a circle around him at lunch times and practically brutally attacked him.
- What does the protagonist mean by “the afternoon passed like a death sentence”? (p78)
- The author means that they had a horrible feeling as if they had been given a death sentences and that they were going to die. This was because of the incident with Wei-Lei, Barry and the rock
- Why does the protagonist see everything Indian “lit by a spotlight”? (p78)
- This is because to everyone else, she had been singled out because of her culture, but as Wei-Lei had a different culture to Australians as well, there was nothing that either of them saw wrong with it.
- How does the story build to a climax? (p79)
- The story builds to a climax as of the conflict with Barry and the Indian child. Since the incidence with the rock they were enemies.
- What is the irony of Barry’s fate? (p80)
- He was being forced to move to a country of a different culture, where he would most likely be singled out for being the different one.
- Explain what the protagonist means by “as our faces changed, so did Canberra” (p81).
- The author meant as they grew up, so did their view on Canberra, being able to experience different activities and seeing the world in a different way.
- What do you think the protagonists’ definition of being Australian would be? (p81)
- At the beginning of the short story it would have been someone who grew up in Australia, but after growing up, they would have said someone who has experienced and lived in Australian culture.
