Homeless Bird

by Gloria Whelan “Winner of the 2000 National Book Award”

Study Guide

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Introduction to Students This study guide is to help you as you read the book. At the end are Character Biographies. You have been given Koly, you must choose another character to write on. Please make sure that you read the book well. This guide took a long time to complete in order to help you with the book. Notes & Information Gloria Whelan Gloria Whelan has been producing stories before she could write. She would tell the story to someone who would type it up. She currently lives in Michigan (USA) with her husband in a log cabin. She enjoys researching and writing stories for children. She writes everyday (from her website): “After breakfast, I’m at my computer or writing in my secret garden. I usually work until noon…After lunch I’m out walking along Lake St. Clair… Getting a story down for the first time is the hardest part because you have to make up everything: the weather, the people, their clothes and the food they eat. Revision is my favorite part. It’s when you get to make the story more and more like the story as you imagined it.” She is also a fan of the Detroit Tigers. Homeless Bird’s Setting (Map of India is on the back) Homeless Bird takes place in present day (2000) Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The population in 2001 was 166,052,859 (87,466,301 [Males] 78,586,558 [Females]). During the story Koly and her new husband are taken to Varanasi (3,147,927) and later she is abandoned in Vrindavan (56,618). Caste in India India is a society based on Castes that people are born into. The castes are supposedly based on your past life. The castes dictates one's life and whom one can marry. The main ones: Brahman – Priests and Teachers. Kshatriya – Ruler, Warriors, Landowners. Vaishya – Merchants. Shudra – Artists, Farmers. Harijans (Achuta) – “Untouchables”. Many people every year convert to another religion (e.g. Christianity, Islam) as a way to leave the Caste system behind. Widows in India Hindu widows are shunned from society when their husbands die because they're seen as a financial drain on their families. They cannot remarry. They must not wear jewelry. They are forced to shave their heads and typically wear white. Even their shadows are considered bad luck. Until modern times, widows were expected to jump on the funeral pyre of their husbands in a tradition known as "sati"; belief was that the wife’s bad karma caused the death of her husband. The practice was

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outlawed decades ago, but cases are still reported today. Arranged marriages with girls as young as 5 years old, often results in widowhood while the girl is still a child. There are an estimated 40,000,000 widows in India (15,000 widows alone live on the streets of Vrindavan). Upon the death of her husband, an Indian widow: 

will rarely inherit his property.

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will be evicted from her home.

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is denied the right to remarry.

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is blamed for her husband’s death.

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is cast out and ostracized.

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is vulnerable to abuse by male in-laws.

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children are often deprived of education

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is without medical care.

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is not even recognized in poverty statistics. Homeless Bird Family Trees Maa

Gopal

Baap

Koly

Mr. Mehta Ram

Mrs. Mehta

Hari

Chandra

Married

Reading Questions Please make sure that you look at pages 183-186 for translation of words Chapter 1 (pp.1-21) Find the exchange rate: NT$1 = rupee_____________

rupee1 = NT$_________________

1. Explain the first line: “Koly, you are thirteen and growing every day,” Maa said to me.” (p.1) 2. Why does Koly need to find a husband? 3. What does Koly's father need to find? 4. What is Koly’s father’s job? What is her mother's? 5. What is literacy? ---From CIA: Litereacy India (61% (48% women))

Taiwan (96.1%)---

6. What do Koly's brothers say after they hear she will get married? 7. Why does Koly want to go to school? 8. What do all the women in the family do?

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---Remember from A Single Shard how the work of the potter was passed down from father to son. Discuss how it is typical for children to do the jobs of their parents.--9. How does Koly's mother make money? 10. What is a sari? 11. Why is red a lucky color? 12. Who helps Koly find a husband? 13. What is Koly going to add to her dowry? 14. What does Koly put on her quilt? ---Circle this line: “My younger brother said, “There is sure to be something wrong with anyone who agrees to marry you.” (p.6)--15. What is included in the dowery? 16. What is ghee? 17. What does the husband's family want to know? 18. What does Koly's mother give her? 19. What is the name of Koly's husband? 20. How old is the boy? 21. Where is the wedding going to take place? 22. Describe how Koly says goodbye. 23. How does the family get to the Methas? 24. What is the name of Koly's new sister? 25. Explain this line: “’Then you must learn to like him.’” (p.13) and the tears that followed.” 26. What is not auspicious? 27. How did superstition cloud the vision of Koly’s parents to what was going on? 28. Do you believe that Koly’s parents know that something is wrong with Hari? 29. Discuss how Koly gets ready for the wedding. ---Kohl – You should remember this from Seesaw Girl when Willow was getting ready for her wedding she had kohl applied to her eyes. Kohl is native to India.--30. What surprises Koly? 31. Talk about the groom’s speech and how it shows woman’s role in a marriage. (p.18) 32. Why are women thought as second class citizens in some parts of the world? 33. Why has Koly’s parents not seen Hari before agreeing to the wedding? 34. What does Koly's father give her? 35. What does Koly not give Mrs. Mehta? 36. Why does she not give her the earrings? 37. Why is Chandra nice to Koly? 38. Discuss this line: “…I felt like a newly caged animal….” (pp.20-21)

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39. How were Ram’s words “There is sure to be something wrong with anyone who agrees to marry you.” (p.6) true? Chapter 2 (pp.22-33) 1. Why is “husband” too serious of a word? 2. What does Sass have Koly do? 3. How does Sass treat Koly? 4. Discuss how even at 13 Koly understood that a wife and a husband should be together. 5. What does Koly bring Hari? 6. What does Hari like to collect? 7. Why did Hari believe that he was strong enough to order Koly around? 8. What does Hari say to Koly about his health? 9. Where is Hari going to be taken? 10. What does Koly make Hari? 11. What does Sass say when she returns? 12. Discuss the relationship between Hari and his mother. 13. Why was Hari married to Koly? 14. How does this show more the idea of the treatment of girls in some parts of India today? 15. How does Hari's sickness affect the way that his parents treat him? 16. Why does Hari want to hear about Koly's village? 17. What is TB (tuberculosis)? What form does Hari have? 18. Who comes to visit the boy after the doctor left? 19. What does this show about the difference between Mr. and Mrs. Metha? Chapter 3 (pp.34-47) 1. How was the family going to Varanasi? 2. How many times had Koly ridden the train before? 3. How do people react when they see Hari? 4. What does Koly see being loaded onto the train? 5. How long does the train take to go from Koly’s new village to Varanasi? 6.

What does Koly see out of her window?

7. What place does Koly past by? 8. How does the family go from the train station to the house? 9. What is a rickshaw? 10. Discuss the people that are on the street. 11. Who is the friend of Hari's parents? 12. Why would Hari’s parents be ashamed to admit that they had married off a sick boy? 13. What does Mr. Lal give Hari? ---Circle “drank the water on page 40.---

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14. What does Koly see on the way to the river? 15. Discuss what people did in the river. (Go back to the circled part on page 40) 16. How does the river help Hari? 17. What happens that night? 18. Counting the wedding as day 1, on what day is Koly made a widow? 19. Who goes to river to see the body off? 20. What is bought for Koly before leaving the city? Talk about the significance of this. Chapter 4 (pp.48-66) 1. How does life change for Koly? 2. What does Sass tell Koly to be careful of with the untouchables? 3. What does Koly think that Sass seemed to take pleasure in? 4. Where does Sass take Koly? 5. Why does Sass blame Koly for Hari’s death when it was her that agreed to the marriage? 6. What does Koly try to do? 7. Why can Koly not go home? 8. What does Koly begin to do? 9. What festival occurs? 10. What happens at the festival? 11. When does Sass bring the children home? 12. What does Koly think of Chandra? 13. What does Koly want? 14. Why does Koly want to read? 15. What does Sassur agree to teach her? 16. How does he teach her? 17. What does she dream about? 18. What season is it? (Not Summer) 19. How does Sass treat Koly? Why? 20. What is Sassur's job? How is it? 21. Why does the book of poems affect Sassur? Tagore’s Poem Many are the human speeches I've heard migrating in flocks, flying on invisible tracks from obscure pasts to distant inchoate futures. And within myself I've heard day and night in the company of countless birds a homeless bird speeding through light and dark from one unknown shore to yet another. On cosmic wings a refrain echoes through space: 'Not here, no, but somewhere, somewhere else!'

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22. Why is Sass scared of books? 23. What does Koly do to Sass? 24. What is the one thing that she wouldn't do? 25. Why does Chandra question Koly about this? Chapter 5 (pp.67-78) 1. Who is going to marry Chandra? 2. What does he do? 3. What had Koly's father said about computers? 4. What does “I will learn to love him.” mean? 5. What does Koly need to give Chandra? 6. What do the silver earrings mean to Koly? 7. What has come been coming to the house every month? 8. Why does Koly make Chandra a quilt? 9. What does Chandra think of the quilt? 10. Why can Koly not help Chandra get ready for the wedding? 11. How does the groom arrive? 12. How does Koly get a chance to eat the food? 13. What does the marriage mean for Koly? Chapter 6 (pp.79-87) 1. Were Koly’s parents as sad as the Methas when she was married? 2. How does Koly change her attitude about the way that she acts? 3. What comes to Sassur's school? 4. Why does Sassur feel he is no longer a person? 5. What does Sassur say to Koly? 6. Why does Koly look fo something to love? 7. What does she find? 8. What does the dog do? 9. What does she tame next? 10. Why does Koly go to meet the official in charge of the widow money? 11. What does he tell her? 12. Why is Koly trying to run away? 13. Why does Koly not run away? 14. What happens at the end? Chapter 7 (pp.88-103) 1. What is the color of funerals in India? 2. Who comes home? Homeless Bird, 7

3. How has Chandra changed since her wedding? 4. What does Koly remember Sassur saying? 5. Why do the people drop stones? 6. How is Chandra's Sass? 7. What does Chandra think of computers? 8. What improper things has Chandra seen on TV? 9. How long does Chandra stay? 10. Why does Chandra not want Koly to run away? 11. Why can’t Mrs. Metha see that the society sees her and Koly as the same? 12. What does Sass need to do? 13. What does Sass plan to sell? 14. Why does the book mean more to Koly than the earrings and her freedom? 15. Discuss how Sass changed after the letter from her brother. 16. Where does Sass say that they are going? 17. What is sold? 18. Discuss Koly's saying goodbye to her home. 19. Where do Koly and Sass get off the train? 20. Why does the boy laugh at being told to take them to a temple? 21. What does Koly see on the street? 22. What does Sass try to do to the boy? 23. What does the boy do before leaving? 24. What does Sass give Koly? 25. What does she want her to do? 26. What does Sass do? 27. How much does Koly have (in NT$)? 28. Who does Koly talk to? Chapter 8 (pp.104-121) 1. Why does Koly believe that she should have known? 2. What does the boy tell her to do? 3. Where does Koly spend her first night? 4. Why does she sleep there? 5. Why is the old woman there? 6. How does the old woman survive? 7. What does Koly see on the street? 8. Where does Koly go to clean in the morning? 9. Where does Koly keep going back to? 10. Why could Koly not get her widow’s pension?

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11. What does Koly try, but not like? 12. What does the rickshaw boy say about staying in the station? 13. How is the boy correct? 14. What does the boy tell Koly? 15. Why does the rickshaw boy help Koly? 16. Why can the boy not ask for more money from his boss? 17. Where does he take Koly? 18. What is the name of the boy? 19. What is the name of the woman who helps widows? 20. How old is Koly? (How many years has see been a widow?) 21. Why does removing the widow’s sari mean so much to Koly? 22. Who supports the house? 23. How had Tanu come to the house? Chapter 9 (pp.122-143) 1. Where does Tanu take Koly? 2. What was Koly’s new job? 3. What were the flowers used for? 4. How much time do the girls have for lunch? 5. What do they do during lunch? 6. How does Koly help her new boss? 7. What reward does she receive for helping her boss? 8. What do Koly and Tanu do for extra work? 9. Who likes it better? 10. How would Koly be able to save money? 11. What does Koly read to Tanu? 12. Why couldn’t Raji read? 13. Why does Koly offer to teach him how to read? 14. How do Raji and Koly start to grow together? 15. Where does Raji take Koly? 16. What do they see? (Important) 17. Why does Raji tell Koly about the farm? 18. Why does Raji tell her about wanting a wife? 19. Why does Raji not return to see Koly? 20. Who comes to the house? 21. What surprises Tanu? 22. What does Koly see the woman wearing? What does this mean? 23. What does the lady know about Koly after looking at her quilt?

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24. What does the woman offer? Chapter 10 (pp.144-164) 1. What is the woman's name? 2. What does Mrs. Davi have? 3. Discuss Mrs. Devi’s father’s story. 4. Where does Mrs. Devi take Koly? 5. What is the name of the boss? 6. What is Koly’s new job? 7. What does Koly make for Mr. Das to show him what she could do? 8. How is this job much better than the last one? 9. Why does Koly add a dog and a goose to a sari? 10. Who is “The Shrew”? 11. What was taken one night? 12. Who is Mala? 13. How does Mala get away with being late? 14. What does Maa Kamala say about Koly spending the night at Mala's place? 15. Why does Koly want to go to Mala’s room? 16. What is Koly's and Tanu's plan? 17. What does Koly put on? 18. What does Koly see that surprises her? 19. Why does Mala steal the wedding veil? 20. What is lassi? 21. Who helps Koly? 22. What was in the lassi? 23. What does Tenu tell Maa Kamala? 24. What does Mala say to Koly? 25. Who returns? Chapter 11 (pp.165-182) 1. How does Raji know that Koly was at Mr. Das' shop? 2. Where does he take her? 3. Why does Koly want to tell Raji about the night at Mala? 4. What does Raji ask Koly? 5. Why does Raji want to marry for love and not a dowry? 6. How does Koly react? 7. What is the answer to Koly's questions as to what she would do? 8. What does Raji tell Koly not to do with his letters? 9. How often does Rajo write? What does he write about?

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10. Where do Koly and Tanu move to? 11. What do they have to share? ---Remember this book happens in present day India. Be ready at the end of the book to discuss how people who are poor in India are MUCH worse off than Taiwanese poor.--12. What does Koly start to think about? 13. How does Mala get punished for stealing? 14. Explain this line: “What had happened to her was like breaking a fine vase.” (p.176) 15. Where does Koly take Tanu? 16. Why does Tanu not like the area? 17. What does Raji write in a letter? 18. What would her son and daughter do? 19. What will be Koly’s third quilt? 20. What will Koly do for Mr. Das? 21. How does Tanu take the news? 22. When will Koly see Tanu? 23. Discuss the meaning of the last line.

Questions for the end 1. Give examples of how the lives and treatment of children in in the book are different than Taiwanese kids today? 2. Would you want to trade places with the main character? (Why? /Why not?) 3.Are there any advantages to the character's life, compared to yours?

Deeper & Possible Test Essay Questions Ch. 1a – Why did we not learn the last name of Koly or her parents’ first name? How does this show the place that women sit in the society of India? Ch. 1b – In the first chapter we go from meeting Koly to her wedding day. Why did the author do this and not spend more time developing the characters? Ch. 1c – India is a country that is both a third world and a first world country. In many parts girls are still married off early. They are required to pay a dowry that can cost several years of the family’s wealth. How does this affect the treatment of girls in the society? Ch. 1d – How does educating women and girls change a society. There is not a discussion of whether girls will be educated in Taiwan, so why is there such a discussion in India. Ch. 1e – Discuss how Koly's marriage is similar and different to marriages in Taiwan. Use examples from the book and your experiences in Taiwan to support your answer.

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Ch. 2 – What did Koly’s stories of her village tell us about her and her village? What stories would someone from 小林
 tell today? (Koly will never return to her village, so only the memory remains.) Ch. 3a – Talk about your first train trip in Taiwan. How old were you, where did you go? Go deeper and discuss your first trip in an Airplane. Explain also how travel that we think is common place is special and unique for people in other parts of the world. Ch. 3b – On page 40 Hari drank water from the Ganges. On pages 40 to 41 we read what people did in the river, how do these two things not match up? Discuss the sanity of this city and the way people use the water. Would you drink water from a river in Taiwan? Why/Why not? Ch. 3c – “Fire, Water, Earth” are three elements of the human body as explained by Hinduism. How is this similar and different to the ideas of Chinese medicine and Chinese culture? Ch. 4a – Discuss how Koly tried to keep her little place inside of her to escape her sass. Use examples to support your answer. Ch. 4b – On page 51 we read that Koly molded cow dung into something that was burned to be cooked. Discuss the problems with using this for cooking fuel. Ch. 4c – Did Mr. Metha agree to teach Koly to read out of pity for what he had done to her (marrying her to his son). If not what other reason is there for him teaching Koly? Make sure that you explain your answer well. Ch. 5a – Discuss all the ways that Koly had helped the Methas. Why is Sass unable to see all that Koly does? Ch. 5b – Discuss how Chandra’s wedding and marriage was much better than Koly’s. Ch. 5c – Pick up Seesaw Girl again and compare how Willows wedding's effect on Jade was similar and different to Chandra's wedding's effect on Koly. Ch. 6 – How is Koly trying to break out of the life that society had set for her? What keeps her in the village? Ch. 7 – Discuss how the thing that killed Mr. Metha is allowing his daughter the ability to have a good life. How does the author show the generational change in India between the parents who never saw a computer and the young people who grew up on them? Do you see the same thing in Taiwan? Ch. 8 – Look at page 109 and read the part about seeing the little child looking at her while she ate. Is she a greedy person? (Why/Why not) What would you have done if you were Koly? Make sure that you explain your answer well. Ch. 9 – Discuss how some in the society are working to change the attitudes towards widows (You should go online to find organizations). Ch. 10 – Discuss how Mala tried to use Koly. Why would she want to put the girl in danger or be used by her friends? What does this tell us about Mala? Ch. 11a – Discuss the last line of the book: “…homeless bird, flying at its home.” Ch.11b – What will happen to Koly and Raji? (Make sure that you explain your answer well).

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End – Discuss the meaning of the book’s title and the bird’s images through-out the book.

Character Map Write the names of the different characters in the book and write on the line how they are related to Koly. Don’t forget to add arrows. Not all the boxes will be used.

Bibliography Callaham, T & Pavich, R. (1998) Indian Caste System. Site unknown. Retrieved: January 6, 2009 from: http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/spring98/india.htm Damon, A. (July 5, 2007) Shunned from society, widows flock to city to die. CNN retrieved: January 6, 2009 from: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/05/damon.india.widows/index. html Government of Uttar Pradesh (Date Unknown) Retrieved: January 6, 2009 from: http://www.upgov.nic.in/ Singson, R. (date unkown). Widows Welfare Association of India. Retrieved: January 6, 2009 from: http://www.widowswelfareassociation.com/ Whelan, G. (date unknown). Something about the author. GloriaWhelan.com. Retrieved: January 6, 2009 from: http://www.gloriawhelan.com/index.html Whelan, G (2000) Homeless Bird. New York: HarperCollins.

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Character Biography (Adapted from: Lucke, M (1998) Schaum’s quick guide to writing great short stories (p. 41)) Homeless Bird Character’s Name: Koly Physical Description (What does he/she/it look like? (weight, age, height))

Profession (What is his/her/its job?)

Home (Where does he/she/it live? – Make sure you describe it well)

Personality (What are his/her/its attitudes, opinions, emotions, feelings?)

Hobbies (What does he/she/it like to do?)

Family/Relationship (Who are his/her/its family, pet(s), boy/girlfriend(s)?)

Other important information (Write anything that you think is important.)

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Character Biography (Adapted from: Lucke, M (1998) Schaum’s quick guide to writing great short stories (p. 41)) Homeless Bird Character’s Name: _______________________________ (Only one character) Physical Description (What does he/she/it look like? (weight, age, height))

Profession (What is his/her/its job?)

Home (Where does he/she/it live? – Make sure you describe it well)

Personality (What are his/her/its attitudes, opinions, emotions, feelings?)

Hobbies (What does he/she/it like to do?)

Family/Relationship (Who are his/her/its family, pet(s), boy/girlfriend(s)?)

Other important information (Write anything that you think is important.)

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