"Leaving" by M.G. Vassanji

Stylistic Devices

Characters

In the story, there are two major characters and a few minor characters.

Allusion: a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication:

Situational Irony: irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.

Imagery: the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively

Point of View: the position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the narrator's outlook from which the events are depicted and by the attitude toward the characters.

Aloo

Sister

"When (Mr Datoo) came he recieved a tumultuous welcome. For the next few days he toured the town like the Pied Piper followed by a horde of adulating students one of whom was Aloo."

"Your Uncles in America will pay thousands of shillings just to send you to college"

*Point of view

*Reserved

*Aloof

*Supportive

*Smart

* Protagonist

* Very smart

* Dependent

*Conflicted

*Calculated

*Traditional

the story is told in the point of view of the sister.

an example is when the doctor referred to a game of "Whist"

The Mother

Other Siblings

*Antagonist

*Selfish

*Conflicted

*Worried

*Sensitive

*Loving

Mehroon -

*married to a former batsman

*finished school

*stayed in town

Razia -

*a wealthy housewife

*lived in a more coastal town

Firoz -

*dropped out

*lost cause

*worked as a bookeeper

Conflicts

Aloo VS His Mom

Aloo VS Himself

person vs person

-wants to go to school in America

-wants to keep his mother happy

-doesn't have the money to go

person vs person

-mom wants him to stay near her in Africa

-mom doesn't want to lose her son

-Aloo wants to decide his own future and his own decisions

-Aloo doesn't want to disappoint his mom and ruin the great relationship he has with her

Mom VS Herself

Aloo VS Society

person vs person

-wants what's best for Aloo

-doesn't want to lose her son

-doesn't want Aloo to lose his sense of tradition and values

person vs society

-Aloo wants to choose what he's going to do with the rest of his life

-local university decides for you

-Aloo wants more opportunities and doors open for his future.

-local university is very limited mainly focusing on agriculture

Theme

Theme Statement

When rare opportunity arises, seize the moment and take advantage of a chance to enhance your life experience.

Atmosphere Setting

Topics

*Aloo had a once in a life time opportunity

*The whole short story was about seizing every opportunity and about how important a proper education is

*Aloo realized to better his life for the future he had to leave home (Africa) and move to America to go to school.

*Aloo's mother had to let him go and make his own decisions and create his own life.

*He had love for him family, heritage and tradition which made it so heard for him to make a decision.

*It was a huge risk for Aloo to go to a whole new place and couture without knowing anyone.

It was a complete change in heritage and culture changing from one continent to the other.

*Aloo and his mother both surrendered: his mom surrendered her values and Aloo surrendered his tradition.

The setting took place in Upanga, Africa in the present day. The setting in this story is very important because it expands on the poverty they're going though and the traditions they have.

I found the atmosphere to be conflicted based on where you looked. At the beginning it was more depressing because it mentioned how her mom had already lost her other two sisters and had put all of her hope in her two youngest. In the middle, aloo and his mom got in a heated argument about the universities, causing the atmosphere to feel tense, and at the end it was more hopeful because his mom finally gave in and let him control his own life.

Thank you so much for watching and your attention.

"Leaving" by M.G. Vassanji

Maddy, Lauren, Kate, Kelsey , Morgan