Team Questions Tale
of The Genji Ch 39-43 Evening Mist (Yugiri) –Red Plum Blossoms (Kobai).
Common Core
Standards:
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions (one-on- one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades
11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
a. Come
to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study;
explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and
other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned
exchange of ideas.
b. Work
with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision-making, set
clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed.
c. Propel
conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and
evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue;
clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and
creative perspectives.
d. Respond
thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence
made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and
determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the
investigation or complete the task.
Please use the
Academic Language Terms such as Mono no Aware, Wabi, Sabi, Yugen, and Iki where
appropriate.
1. Discuss the Imagery in the
Evening Mist chapter; identify passages that illustrate the concept of IKI.
2. “Ah,
when the Shining Genji, as they called him, was a Commander, and I was a boy, I
was just as close to him as this, and I loved him forever then. People nowadays
think very highly of those two young gentlemen, who certainly deserve all the
praise they get, but they are nothing compared to him. No, there could never be
another one like him, or so at least it seems to me, though perhaps I am only
imagining things. And if someone perfectly ordinary like me cannot recall him
without a pang of sorrow, I imagine that those who were really close to him and
survived him must find life very long indeed.” Compare this transition to the Iliad after Hector dies or to
War and Peace after Prince Andrei’s death. If you have not read either text,
discuss the implications of the loss of a central character and the choices an
author faces.
3. “What
can it all mean, and whom have I too question? What is my secret, when I myself
do not know whence I come or where I go? “ Pp. 787 Tyler Version, Ch 42 The
Perfumed Prince. Compare and
Contrast with Shakespeare’s Hamlet, especially the To be or Not to Be Soliloquy.
4. Extra Credit: For Game of Thrones
fans/fanboys compare and contrast the Adolescent Kings of Westeros. What are the manifestations of puberty
in each author/director’s vision?
5. Extra Credit: Compare and Contrast IKi in Bob Dylan's Desolation Row with key passages in Murasaki's Tale of the Genji. Desolation Row Lyrics
