Blog space for incoming 9th grade students to discuss summer reading novels and assignments. This blog space is for both Lower Merion and Harriton High School students
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Whats on your mind? (Fasting&Feasting)
What are you thinking as you read Fasting & Feasting? Do you like it? Hate it? Do you understand it? Are you confused by it? Share your thoughts and ask your questions.
I have been trying to find out why fasting, feasting is called what it is....is there an obvious reason, why it is called that....or do you really need to think about it for awhile?
Is there any reason to the title? I don't understand it. Also...I am not the biggest fan of this book. It doesn't have a story which makes it really hard to keep myself interested in it.
I really liked the book! The beginning was a little confusing, but i caught on quickly. In the beginning of Part 2, in Ch. 14, Desai talks about how school's out and Arun's living with Mrs. Patton for the summer, but then a few chapters later Arun's looking for a place for the summer (the Patton's). Why does she talk about that school's at and he's moved in with his neighbor's sister and then chapters later Arun's looking for a house...that was confusing! Other than bits and pieces that were confusing, I thought it was a good book, much better than Haroun!
I think the book is called Fasting, Feasting because it is separated into two parts, the first part is in India (the fasting part) and the second is in America(the feasting part). If you noticed in the story, Arun was very uncomfortable with Mrs. Patton constantly buying food, he was used to the Indian way of living. In India, they finished the food they already had before they went to get more.
Although it does most of the time, sometimes the book doesn't move in a chronological order; an interesting choice by the author. I liked how Desai wrote in the present tense throughout the book, instead of the past tense, which most westernized readers are used to. That being said, I did not enjoy this book very much, as the author seemed to be trying a tad too hard to relate to real life, and just didn't quite get the job done.
Actually, Desai did occassionally write in past tense, she'd switch often. The first half of the book had many flashbacks from Uma's life. However, sometimes she jumped back into the present, like in the very beginning and when her cousin took her out, etc. Once she got into part two, she only used past tense, seeing as Arun's life was not as completely horrible as Uma's, and he didn't need to retreat into memory to deal with it.
It's really interesting that India would be Fasting and America Feasting, because Melanie, who's living in the US, is the one with the eating disorder. I think both halves of the title could apply to both halves of the book. There is feasting in the US because of the abundance of food and the easy access to it, but there is also fasting, what with the culture revolving around thinness. There is a lot of religion in the book, which has fasting involved, and there is a lot of poverty in India, which would also involve fasting. However, in the first half, the parents often demanded Uma to fatch them food, and there was always some mention of it, so they could be feasting as well.
I searched the web and found something very interesting. Uma is actually a goddess and the wife of Shiva in Hinduism. That's exactly what Mira-masi mentioned when Uma failed every attempt at marriage. Anamika means "no name" or that her future is not predetermined.
I personally enjoyed Part 2. Part 1 was slow and lacking a plot in my opinion. Overall the book was a little confusing but not too bad. I was also thinking about the title Fasting, Feasting. Many people are saying that India is the fasting but I believe it's America, by the way that Desai portrays it. Everyone seems to be starving themselves in America, not only in the sense that Melanie is bulimic, Arun has no good food to eat, and the mother barely cooks anything. It's also that India feasted on culture and traditions in Part 1. While, in America, we just do whatever we want, which is usually lying in front of the TV doing nothing.-- Just something I was thinking about
part one was kind of slow, part two was not as slow, but i still found my self dozing off a bit, and was a little confused when it talked about Arun and Mrs Patton talking to Mr Patton about being a vegetarian, then skipping back in time, the next chapter. that threw me off. I just figured out what was going on like two chapters later. but overall, even though its a little slow, they could have picked one worse
i am on part one and it is very boring. Nothing is happening it feels as if there is no story line. Uma is in her twenties and is serving her dad? that doesn't make any sense. Also Uma's self control seems to perfect. she never stands up for herself even though she has so much emotion building up inside her. There is no event and no conflict that really sticks out to make the story eventful. There is nothing to relate to which also makes the story drag more.
Anne, I understand your perspective. There are several issues at play within the text. For one, the book is not told "chronologically;" therefore, sometimes Uma is twenty, sometimes she's 12- it depends on what issue the author is trying to highlight. The book really is hinging on culture. So- Uma has unbelievable servitude DESPITE having desires of her own. What is Desai saying about the women in India? What have you learned about the culture in part 1? How does "fasting" fit into this? I would also guide you to look at how religion is being used in this section. Keep reading- and hopefully you start to see the beauty of the work in Part 2!
Jon, There are no required study guides for either text. The only assignment is to read and have working knowledge of the text. Now, to make that feasible, it may be a good idea to take notes, complete a supplemental activity, or do some post-reading journaling. Support material can be found on the ninth grade summer reading eboard. Hope this helps!
personally, i liked the first part of the book, but towards the middle, where Uma's life becomes terrible, I hated it. I didn't particularly like her brothers part, but I didn't not like it. The book was sad, but it was really interesting and I'm glad I read it.
Fasting, Feasting, in my opinion, really showed the differences between the American and Indian cultures. As I finished part one and turned the page to begin part two, it felt like I was reading a completely different book. Reading this book made me realize that although some tasks in the US are done one way, in other countries they are done the complete opposite way. Sometimes we have several privileges that the Indian culture does not. For example, in India, when a girl is of age, her parents are to choose her husband and "marry her off", whether their daughter loves her new husband or not. In America, men and women have the right to choose their own spouse. Also, in India, the son of the family is raised in order to complete an education and get a job (in Arun's case, studying abroad in America), while the daughter remains at home to learn to cook and clean. On the other hand, both children of the family are usually encouraged to take on an education in the US. Anita Desai showed in this novel that the Indian culture fasted in relevance to the American culture (which feasted) because of the privileges that the Indian culture occasionally lacks.
I enjoyed this book, though the style was somewhat confusing because the book was not in chronological order. However Desai did a wonderful job with displaying the two different cultures in Fasting, Feasting. -Cindy :)
Cindy makes an excellent point. I believe that Desai really does show the differences of both cultures in her book, "Fasting, Feasting." Examples can include: -Arranged marriage vs. the freedom of marrying someone of your choice. -The son of an Indian family receiving the highest education when the son in an American family having an option of the amount of education he is given. -Or simple things like eating together in Uma's family while the Pattons eat alone at their own time.
When I came up with these differences of both cultures, I automatically turned to the title of the book. How did she come up with the name? I don't think that Anita Desai named the book literally. The title was meant to compare both cultures but I believe it has more than representing fasting for India and feasting for America...or even the other way around. I think there are many reasons packed into why Anita Desai named the book, "Fasting, Feasting."Perhaps, she used "fasting" for the limitation of- not food, but freedom that is found in Uma's family and later on, "feasting" for the abundance of freedom and individualization within the Patton's household. This is an out-of-the-box idea but it is worth thinking about.
24 comments:
eating disorders?
No..no...no... :)
Fasting and feasting is not about reading disorders...keep reading kiddo!
Is there a study guide that we need to fill out for this book?
I have been trying to find out why fasting, feasting is called what it is....is there an obvious reason, why it is called that....or do you really need to think about it for awhile?
Is there any reason to the title? I don't understand it.
Also...I am not the biggest fan of this book. It doesn't have a story which makes it really hard to keep myself interested in it.
I really liked the book! The beginning was a little confusing, but i caught on quickly. In the beginning of Part 2, in Ch. 14, Desai talks about how school's out and Arun's living with Mrs. Patton for the summer, but then a few chapters later Arun's looking for a place for the summer (the Patton's). Why does she talk about that school's at and he's moved in with his neighbor's sister and then chapters later Arun's looking for a house...that was confusing! Other than bits and pieces that were confusing, I thought it was a good book, much better than Haroun!
I completly agree
I think the book is called Fasting, Feasting because it is separated into two parts, the first part is in India (the fasting part) and the second is in America(the feasting part). If you noticed in the story, Arun was very uncomfortable with Mrs. Patton constantly buying food, he was used to the Indian way of living. In India, they finished the food they already had before they went to get more.
I agree that the book is confusing until I realized that most of the book is probably remembering past memories.
Although it does most of the time, sometimes the book doesn't move in a chronological order; an interesting choice by the author. I liked how Desai wrote in the present tense throughout the book, instead of the past tense, which most westernized readers are used to. That being said, I did not enjoy this book very much, as the author seemed to be trying a tad too hard to relate to real life, and just didn't quite get the job done.
Actually, Desai did occassionally write in past tense, she'd switch often. The first half of the book had many flashbacks from Uma's life. However, sometimes she jumped back into the present, like in the very beginning and when her cousin took her out, etc. Once she got into part two, she only used past tense, seeing as Arun's life was not as completely horrible as Uma's, and he didn't need to retreat into memory to deal with it.
It's really interesting that India would be Fasting and America Feasting, because Melanie, who's living in the US, is the one with the eating disorder. I think both halves of the title could apply to both halves of the book. There is feasting in the US because of the abundance of food and the easy access to it, but there is also fasting, what with the culture revolving around thinness. There is a lot of religion in the book, which has fasting involved, and there is a lot of poverty in India, which would also involve fasting. However, in the first half, the parents often demanded Uma to fatch them food, and there was always some mention of it, so they could be feasting as well.
I searched the web and found something very interesting. Uma is actually a goddess and the wife of Shiva in Hinduism. That's exactly what Mira-masi mentioned when Uma failed every attempt at marriage.
Anamika means "no name" or that her future is not predetermined.
I personally enjoyed Part 2. Part 1 was slow and lacking a plot in my opinion. Overall the book was a little confusing but not too bad. I was also thinking about the title Fasting, Feasting. Many people are saying that India is the fasting but I believe it's America, by the way that Desai portrays it. Everyone seems to be starving themselves in America, not only in the sense that Melanie is bulimic, Arun has no good food to eat, and the mother barely cooks anything. It's also that India feasted on culture and traditions in Part 1. While, in America, we just do whatever we want, which is usually lying in front of the TV doing nothing.-- Just something I was thinking about
part one was kind of slow, part two was not as slow, but i still found my self dozing off a bit, and was a little confused when it talked about Arun and Mrs Patton talking to Mr Patton about being a vegetarian, then skipping back in time, the next chapter. that threw me off. I just figured out what was going on like two chapters later. but overall, even though its a little slow, they could have picked one worse
i am on part one and it is very boring. Nothing is happening it feels as if there is no story line. Uma is in her twenties and is serving her dad? that doesn't make any sense. Also Uma's self control seems to perfect. she never stands up for herself even though she has so much emotion building up inside her. There is no event and no conflict that really sticks out to make the story eventful. There is nothing to relate to which also makes the story drag more.
Anne,
I understand your perspective. There are several issues at play within the text. For one, the book is not told "chronologically;" therefore, sometimes Uma is twenty, sometimes she's 12- it depends on what issue the author is trying to highlight. The book really is hinging on culture. So- Uma has unbelievable servitude DESPITE having desires of her own. What is Desai saying about the women in India? What have you learned about the culture in part 1? How does "fasting" fit into this? I would also guide you to look at how religion is being used in this section. Keep reading- and hopefully you start to see the beauty of the work in Part 2!
Sincerely,
Ms. O. - Harriton English teacher
For fasting feasting do we need to complete a study guide or anything like that?
Jon,
There are no required study guides for either text. The only assignment is to read and have working knowledge of the text. Now, to make that feasible, it may be a good idea to take notes, complete a supplemental activity, or do some post-reading journaling. Support material can be found on the ninth grade summer reading eboard. Hope this helps!
-Ms. O.
personally, i liked the first part of the book, but towards the middle, where Uma's life becomes terrible, I hated it. I didn't particularly like her brothers part, but I didn't not like it. The book was sad, but it was really interesting and I'm glad I read it.
Fasting, Feasting, in my opinion, really showed the differences between the American and Indian cultures. As I finished part one and turned the page to begin part two, it felt like I was reading a completely different book. Reading this book made me realize that although some tasks in the US are done one way, in other countries they are done the complete opposite way.
Sometimes we have several privileges that the Indian culture does not. For example, in India, when a girl is of age, her parents are to choose her husband and "marry her off", whether their daughter loves her new husband or not. In America, men and women have the right to choose their own spouse. Also, in India, the son of the family is raised in order to complete an education and get a job (in Arun's case, studying abroad in America), while the daughter remains at home to learn to cook and clean. On the other hand, both children of the family are usually encouraged to take on an education in the US. Anita Desai showed in this novel that the Indian culture fasted in relevance to the American culture (which feasted) because of the privileges that the Indian culture occasionally lacks.
I enjoyed this book, though the style was somewhat confusing because the book was not in chronological order. However Desai did a wonderful job with displaying the two different cultures in Fasting, Feasting.
-Cindy :)
Cindy makes an excellent point. I believe that Desai really does show the differences of both cultures in her book, "Fasting, Feasting." Examples can include:
-Arranged marriage vs. the freedom of marrying someone of your choice.
-The son of an Indian family receiving the highest education when the son in an American family having an option of the amount of education he is given.
-Or simple things like eating together in Uma's family while the Pattons eat alone at their own time.
When I came up with these differences of both cultures, I automatically turned to the title of the book. How did she come up with the name? I don't think that Anita Desai named the book literally. The title was meant to compare both cultures but I believe it has more than representing fasting for India and feasting for America...or even the other way around. I think there are many reasons packed into why Anita Desai named the book, "Fasting, Feasting."Perhaps, she used "fasting" for the limitation of- not food, but freedom that is found in Uma's family and later on, "feasting" for the abundance of freedom and individualization within the Patton's household. This is an out-of-the-box idea but it is worth thinking about.
-Sitara
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