Team Reading Circle Questions Ch 39-43 Evening Mist ( Yugi) Red Plum BLossoms( Kobai)

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