- 91重口
- 91重口 Literary Arts Festival
- Pre- and Post-Reading Questions
91重口 Literary Arts Festival
West of Kabul, East of New York
Pre- and Post-Reading Questions
Write a one-paragraph answer to each question, providing details and or stories where appropriate.
The pre-reading questions are designed to help you connect your own life to the content of the book. Give yourself time to think about them; don鈥檛 give up just because something doesn鈥檛 come to you right away. It may help to discuss the pre-reading questions in small groups. On the other hand, if you feel like the information is too personal, you can share a different example, or choose to keep the answer just between yourself and the instructor.
The post-reading questions are designed to make sure you are reading and understanding the text. Be sure to provide enough detail that it鈥檚 clear you understood the information in the chapter.
Be sure to attend the SP '22 91重口 Literary Arts Festival for which Tamim Ansary will be the keynote speaker and lead a memoir writing workshop. Your instructor may offer extra credit for attending one or more of the events and submitting a one-paragraph summary of your experience.
Schema Building Questions:
- What do you already know about Afghanistan and Afghan history? What questions do you have?
- What do you know about the Islamic religion? What questions do you have?
- What do you know about the U.S. war in Afghanistan, its causes, its progression, and its end? What questions do you have?
- What is the history of your family鈥檚 roots geographically and culturally? How connected are you to those places and cultures? In what ways, if any, do those cultures show up in your life?
Prologue, page 3:
Vocab: guffawed 3, derided 4, apoplectically 4, pundit 7, secular 9, agitator 10, nostalgia 10
Pre-reading question:
Have you ever felt that something going on in the world, or the U.S., or even your local area, was a threat to you personally, or to someone in your family? How did you, or would you, react?
Post-reading question:
The attacks on 9/11 compel Tamim to write an emotional email to a few friends. What happens when the email message spreads, and how does Tamim respond? Describe some of his actions, fears, and regrets.
Part One: 鈥淭he Lost World,鈥� pages 13-97
Chapter 1, page 15: 鈥淰illages and Compounds鈥�
Vocabulary: permeated 19, ablutions 19 , suffused 20, mullah 21, smattering 23, bohemians 23, vassals 29, punctuated 30
Pre-reading question:
What are some of your experiences dealing with 鈥減rimitive鈥� living conditions (you might think about camping, backpacking, power outages, travel, etc.)? Can you imagine spending a length of time without access to electricity, urban amenities, or even furniture?
Post-reading question:
How are women treated in the Afghan culture Tamim was born into, and how was his mother, as a foreigner, treated differently than other women?
Chapter 2, page 32: 鈥淭he Ansary Network鈥�
Vocabulary: anarchic 33, prowess 33, spastic 34, nubile 37, redoubtable 40, acerbically 40, bumpkin 41
Pre-reading question:
What stories and relatives form the identity of your family? If you don鈥檛 know very much about your family鈥檚 past, how do you think that has affected your own identity?
Post-reading question:
What do we learn in this chapter about Tamim鈥檚 uncles and his grandmother? Describe at least 2-3 things about some of these characters.
Chapter 3, page 42: 鈥淕erm of the West鈥�
Vocabulary: disseminate 43, buoyant 43, somnolent 44, jocular 45, milieu 46, vis-a-vis 46, chafe 49, dichotomy 49, premonition 52
Pre-reading question:
Describe your early experiences being taught the stories of a religious tradition and/or moral lessons: what stories captured your attention, and did you ever violate the rules of behavior? If so, were you caught?
Post-reading question:
Who were the four khalifas who succeeded Muhammad, and how did they differ? Why was Omar Tamim鈥檚 favorite?
Chapter 4, page 55: 鈥淢ortality鈥�
Vocabulary: segued 56, boors 56, melancholy 58, profundity 59, inexorable 61 kismet 61, duplicitous 62
Pre-reading question:
Write about a time you鈥檝e had to face saying farewell to a place, pet, or person. How did you cope with the sadness? Were there any positive aspects to the upcoming change?
Post-reading question:
How did Tamim鈥檚 Afghan and Sufi background give him perspective on saying goodbye as the family prepared for its upcoming move?
Chapter 5, page 63: 鈥淎merican Lashkargah鈥�
Vocabulary: pensive 63, bemused 63, escarpment 65, leprechaun 67, hinterlands 69, orator 70, paragon 73, innards 75, squelched 78, pugnaciously 82
Pre-reading question:
Describe a time when you or someone you know felt excluded from a group of peers -- what happened, and how did the situation get resolved?
Post-reading question:
Why did the students at the school get beaten by the teacher, and why did Keyeum and Tamim鈥檚 father feel they had to support this action?
Chapter 6, page 83: 鈥淯nintended Consequences鈥�
Vocabulary: afoul 83, erratic 83, blithely 84, solidarity 85
Pre-reading question:
Describe a time when something big that you鈥檇 expected and prepared for turned out to have 鈥渦nexpected consequences.鈥� What happened, and in retrospect, what could you have done to avoid the outcome?
Post-reading question:
This brief chapter provides a step-by-step description of why the Afghan government鈥檚 plan in Helmand Valley didn鈥檛 go as expected. Write a short paragraph summarizing what happened.
Chapter 7, page 86: 鈥淟eaving Afghanistan鈥�
Vocabulary: convened 87, coup-d鈥檈tat 89, innuendo 90, tact 91, thrummed 92, truck 93, repartee 93, furtively 94, coveted 95
Pre-reading question:
Think about a time you were so happy and excited about something that you weren鈥檛 paying attention to the struggles of someone you cared about. What happened, and do you wish you鈥檇 done anything differently?
Post-reading question:
Why does Tamim feel he ultimately sided with the West, and that 鈥淚slam and the West have parted ways鈥�? What do you think about his feelings on this issue?
Part Two: 鈥淟ooking for Islam,鈥� pages 99-219
Chapter 8, page 101: 鈥淭he Letter鈥�
Vocabulary: ruinous 101, hobnobbed 103, ultimatum 104, verboten 105, malefactions 109, feigned 111
Pre-reading question:
Have you, or someone you know, ever had romantic feelings for someone you 鈥渟houldn鈥檛鈥� feel that way about? What complications did this create, and how did you react in the situation?
Post-reading question:
How does the Iranian revolution end up inspiring Tamim鈥檚 journey, and what are some of the reasons he decides to leave?
Chapter 9, page 113: 鈥淭he Convert鈥�
Vocabulary: destitution 113, scoffed 114, inadvertently 117, precluded 118, stropping 119, ostentation 122, irreverence 123
Pre-reading question:
What, if any, religious background were you raised with, and what has made you become more or less religious at a certain point in your life? (If you don鈥檛 feel your own religious beliefs have changed, write about someone you know who seems to have gone through a change of beliefs.)
Post-reading question:
Describe some of changes in Tamim鈥檚 mother and brother that we learn about in this chapter. How do these changes seem to affect Tamim?
Chapter 10, page 125: 鈥淭angier鈥�
Vocabulary: warren 126, nonchalantly 127, pidgin 128, simulacrums 129, compunction 130, lax 131, nondescript 132, tenets 134, gauntlet 139, epithet 141, emanated 142
Pre-reading question:
Have you ever had a scary encounter while traveling, or in an unfamiliar environment? What happened, and how did you respond?
Post-reading question:
What are the key things Abdullah tells Tamim to educate him about Islam?
Chapter 11, page 143: 鈥淐rossing Morocco鈥�
Vocabulary: bereft 143, abstruse 145, promulgate 146, enjoin 146, jurisprudence 147, thwarted 149, furtive 150, bleated 152
Pre-reading question:
Think of a time when you were traveling (or just around town, if you haven鈥檛 traveled) and were confronted with an opportunity to do something unexpected -- did you decide to do it? What happened? What were the risks that you considered? Do you wish you had made the opposite choice?
Post-reading question:
Why do you think the young man on the train wanted to take Tamim to this location in Morocco, and why was Tamim so unimpressed with the adventure?
Chapter 12, page 153: 鈥淭he Border鈥�
Vocabulary Note: From now on, for each chapter locate and define 3 new or sophisticated
vocabulary words of your own.
Pre-reading question: Describe in detail a time when you or, 鈥渟omeone you know,鈥� was afraid of being caught for something illegal.
Post-reading question: How did the Algerian government make sure that a visitor spent at least $100 dollars in their country and didn鈥檛 use any dinars they already had with them?
Chapter 13, page 156: 鈥淐rossing Algeria鈥�
Pre-reading question: Describe a time when you felt uncomfortable around someone, or disliked that person, but that person wouldn鈥檛 leave you alone.
Post-reading question: What did the molluk want Tamim to do and how did Tamim get out of it? What were Tamim鈥檚 arguments?
Chapter 14, page 183: 鈥淢ichelle鈥�
Pre-reading question: Describe a time when you denied yourself something you wanted in order to follow your own principles.
Post-reading question:What does Tamim mean by 鈥淎nd that was the night I married Debby?鈥� What did he do that made him feel that way?
Chapter 15, page 188: 鈥淭he Bus to Turkey鈥�
Pre-reading question: What鈥檚 the most difficult or scariest trip you鈥檝e been on? If you can鈥檛 think of one, ask someone you know to describe one that you can tell us about.
Post-reading question: What difficulties did they encounter on the bus ride?
Chapter 16, page 194: 鈥淚stanbul鈥�
Pre-reading question: What are problems that persist in our country through multiple presidents and administrations, no matter what party is in control? If you鈥檙e not sure, do some research.
Post-reading question: What is the argument about price controls and in what ways did price controls fail to work under Ecevit?
Chapter 17, page 201: 鈥淭he Embassy鈥�
Pre-reading question: Describe a time when someone鈥檚 opinion of you changed. What happened and why did it change?
Post-reading question: What epiphany, important realization, did Tamim have about his goal on this trip?
Chapter 18, page 209: 鈥淭he True Believer鈥�
Pre-reading question: Describe a belief that you have, religious, philosophical, or cultural. How does that belief affect your interactions, behavior, or relationships?
Post-reading question: What is Abdul Qayum鈥檚 claim about the lack of necessity for leaders in Islam? How does it strike you as an argument?
Part Three: 鈥淔orgetting Afghanistan,鈥� page 221-285
Chapter 19, page 223: 鈥淭he Rebel Leader鈥�
Pre-reading question: Describe a cause that you or your family has supported. How did you learn about the cause, what did you do to support it, and why?
Post-reading question:How did Mujadeddi get others to like him, and what specifically did he do with Tamim?
Chapter 20, page 239: 鈥淢y Father鈥檚 Masterpiece鈥�
Pre-reading question: What are some similarities and differences between you and your parents or guardians?
Post-reading question: What did Tamim鈥檚 father consider his masterpiece and what did Tamim eventually do with it? What symbolic meaning do you take from the translation of it?
Chapter 21, page 249: 鈥淭he Art of Losing鈥�
Pre-reading question: Describe a time when you had a disagreement with someone to whom you were close and how it affected the relationship.
Post-reading question: What were Tamim鈥檚 main concerns about his brother鈥檚 ideology? In what ways does the statement 鈥淭he windows are all mirrors鈥︹�� (258) show up in this ideology?
Chapter 22, page 263: 鈥淗anging On鈥�
Pre-reading question: What charities or charitable work have you or your family supported and in what ways? What types of work do these charities do?
Post-reading question: How does Tamim connect the Taliban to the ideas he鈥檚 heard on his journeys throughout this book? What are his conclusions about the Taliban?
Epilogue, page 279
Pre-reading question: What does it mean, to you, to be an American, whether you are one or not? Where did you get these ideas?
Post-reading question: How are Tamim and Rebecca different in their relationship to Afghanistan?
鈥淭he E-mail,鈥� page 287
Pre-reading question: Describe a time when an email, text, or communication of yours or someone else鈥檚 ended up going to people you didn鈥檛 expect.
Post-reading question: What are Tamim鈥檚 main concerns in this email?
Afterward, page 293
Pre-reading question: Describe a trip you took that turned out differently than you鈥檇 expected.
Post-reading question: When Tamim says, 鈥淭he pattern is never visible until it鈥檚 over--and it鈥檚 never over鈥� (300), what does he mean and how does it apply to one instance in this book?
Post Reading Question:
Write a one-page letter to Tamim Ansary that answers the following questions:
What did you think of the book and why? What did you learn? How did it connect with your own experiences? What questions do you still have?