'The Clay Marble' by Minfong Ho
1 Read the following extract from the novel carefully and then answer the questions below it.
Pound and lift, up and down, the two dolls took turns crushing the rice with exactly the same jerky rhythm that real village women pounded it to get the brown husks off. There were even some real grains in the miniature mortar set between the two dolls. It was the cleverest thing I had ever seen.
Children crowded around Jantu, pressing it from all sides, to watch her work it. “Let me hold it,” I begged, standing next to Jantu. “I helped you find the stuff for the dolls.”
Jantu nodded. Breathlessly I held it carefully and blew on it. It worked! One of the dolls bent down and pounded the mortar with its club. The other doll straightened up and waited its turn. I was still engrossed with it when someone shouted a warning: “Watch out, Chnay’s coming!”
Even in my short stay at the camp, I’d heard of Chnay. He liked to break things, and he was a bully. An orphan, Chnay had made his way to the Border alone. Too young to be recruited into the resistance army, Chnay roamed the fields by himself, scrounging for food and sleeping whenever he liked.
Chnay sauntered up and showed his way through to us. “What’ve you got there?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” I said, trying to hide the toy behind me.
Laughing, Chnay snatched it away from me. One of the dolls was ripped loose and dropped to the ground.
As I bent over to retrieve it, Chnay pushed me aside. “Leave it,” he s aid. “That’s for kids. Look what I have.” He thrust his arm out. It was crawling with big red ants, the fierce kind that really sting when they bite. “I’m letting them bite me. See?” he bragged. Already small fierce welts were swelling up on his arms, as some ants kept biting him.
“That’s dumb!” I exclaimed. Dodging behind him, I tried to snatch the mobile back from him.
Chnay flung the toy to the ground, scattering straw and red ants into the air.
I grabbed his hand, but he was taller than I, and much stronger. He’d shoved me aside and stomped on the dolls until they were nothing but a pile of crushed sticks and rags. Then, kicking aside a boy who stood in his way, Chnay strode off, angrily brushing red ants off his arm.
I squatted down beside the bits of dolls and tried to fit them together, but it was no use. The delicate mobile was beyond repair. I could feel my eyes smarting with angry tears. “I should’ve held on to it more tightly,” I said bitterly. “I shouldn’t have let him grab it away from me.”
Jantu knelt next to me and took the fragments of the dolls out of my hands. “Never mind,” she said quietly, putting them aside. “We can always start something new.”
“But it took you so long to make it,” I said.
Idly Jantu scooped up a lump of mud from a puddle by her feet and began to knead it in her hands. “Sure, but the fun is in the making,” she said.
a) What are your impressions of Chnay based on this extract?
Do you agree with the narrator that Chnay is a bully?
Support your answer using evidence from this extract.
b) What is your impression of Jantu?
What kind of girl do you think she is?
Post your comments:
1. You should say something worthwhile.
You should on focus on the impression that you have of the characters of Chnay and Jantu in this extract.
2. There should be no socialising or making personal comments in the posting.
3. Check that your comments are free of grammatical and spelling mistakes before you post them.
3. It will be a bonus if you are able to make further comments on your friends’ postings.
54 comments:
My impression of Jantu is that she is very calm. When the narrator was upset that Chnay has broken her doll, Jantu just said 'Never mind'.
-Ayisha
You spelled 'sentance' wrongly . It should be 'sentence' .
Yes i agree with what you say , give more details and evidence .
My first impression of Chnay is really bad. He was a bully and had a really bad temper. He tore the dolls into piece and threw it into the mud. That was really bad.
For Jantu, she's a really nice girl and I think that she really like to encourage people. She is persevering, just like when the doll was torn, she didn't seem angry. She said that it was possible that she can make another new doll. This shows that her temper and Chnay's temper is really different.
1)Jantu seems afraid when she realizes that Chnay is coming which suggests likely that Chnay is a bully and Jantu is afraid of him.
2)Jantu is a person who is calm and understanding in nature and does not get angry easily and this is shown when she is not angry when Chnay destroys one of her dolls.
Judging by the way someone shouted Chaney's name as he was approaching shows how Chaney has made an impact on the other kids and his ruthless actions shows how ill mannered he is.The fact that every child knows him shows how scary he is.His physical properties shows how strong and capable he is.His boastfulness shows it all.
Sharafuddin and Shawn
1 ; I agree that Chnay is a bully because while Dara and Jantu were making dolls , someone shouted ,"Watch out , Chnay's coming!"
This shows that people are afraid of Chnay . Chnay also snatched Dara's dolls which was ripped loose and it fell to the ground .
2; Jantu seems like a girl who is calm and does not get angry easily . She did not scold Chnay when he broke the dolls . She did not even get angry when Dara did not hold the dolls tightly enough .
Instead , she said that it is more fun to make it . Its good to have a friend like Jantu .
@I ROX - Its Chnay not Chaney .
[a] i agree that Chnay is a bully . he broke Jantu toys that she make herself . He has an impact on the children there . Everywhere he go , the children would stay away from him .
[b] for me , jantu seems like a nice and patient kid . eventhough chnay broke her toys , she did pursue the matter .
tilla fyliana ~
Sorry for the wrong spelling of Chnay
I agree that Chnay is a bully. In the passage, it says that someone shouted a warning that Chnay is coming. This shows that the children are afraid of him. He also snatched the doll away from Dara and broke it. But I pity him because he has no family and has to find food and shelter on his own. In the passage, it says "An orphan, Chnay had made his way to the Border alone. Too young to be recruited into the resistance army, Chnay roamed the fields by himself, scrounging for food and sleeping whenever he liked." What caused Chnay to be a bully is that he has no parents to discipline him.
jantu is in my openion is a very high spirited person because even though chnay was being mean and distroyed jantu's dolls she stayed posative and said to darathat making the dolls was half the fun.
1)Our impression of Chnay is that he is a mean and a nasty bully who likes to break people's(childen)things because through the passage,Chnay not only break Dara and Jantu's toys,he also sneered at them.
We both agree with the narrator that he is a bully as quoted from text:"Even in my short stay at the camp, I’d heard of Chnay. He liked to break things, and he was a bully.".
2)She is open minded and she let goes of thing which is unpleasant easily and she is mature.
We think that she is someone quite wise as through the passage,she said that the fun is in the making but not in the end,which usually people will grumbled or scolding Chnay behind his back as he destroy their fun.
1)I agree that chnay is a bully that he spoiled the toys of other in perpose.He is inconsiderate,and a person that do not care for others but his self happiness.He also like to show off himself by bully the others.He like to build his happiness on others' misery.
2)Jantu is a kind girl that will not mind anything that other do to her.Compare to chnay's childish,Jantu is a mature and helpful girl.
My impression of Jantu is that he is a bully.The actions taken by Jantu for example sauntering towards the narrator.The impact on other children while he was walking was that the other children was giving out warning telling that Chnay's coming;it shows that chnay was feared by the children.
1)Yes,i agree with the narrator.I think Chnay is a very selfish boy,he don't think of people's feeling before he broke the toy("Chnay snatched it away from me. One of the dolls was ripped loose and dropped to the ground").I think because he is an orphan("An orphan, Chnay had made his way to the Border alone"),he does'nt have people that cares about him.
2)Jantu is a very positive girl.When her toy is broken,she did'nt say anything bad.If i am Jantu,i will definitely scold Chnay.When Dara apologised to Jantu that she should’ve held it more tightly,Jantu was very positive,saying that they could make something new.Jantu is matured
Question 1: Chnay is a boy who is very lonely as he is an orphan. I do not agree with the narrator that Chnay is a bully as he came to the border alone and that might have changed his attitude towards others as maybe he thought an injustice has been done to him.
Question 2: I think Jantu is a very positive minded girl as when Dara said that she took such a a long time to make it, jantu simply replied that the fun is in the making.She is also a girl who does not care about what the toys she make but cares about the fun in making the toys.
Apoorva~&Htet~
I think that Chnay was the big bully of the village because when Dara was still engrossed with the doll when someone shouted a warning: “Watch out, Chnay’s coming!” This show that the people there is scared of him.
@Murugesh
1)Jantu seems afraid when she realizes that Chnay is coming which suggests likely that Chnay is a bully and Jantu is afraid of him.
It's not Jantu who was afraid of Chnay it was Dara
I agree that Chnay is a bully as one of the example is 'Even in my short stay at the camp, I’d heard of Chnay. He liked to break things, and he was a bully' and another example is 'I grabbed his hand, but he was taller than I, and much stronger. He’d shoved me aside and stomped on the dolls until they were nothing but a pile of crushed sticks and rags.' Through the Impact of others , people fear him and give a warning to other to keep out of trouble and through the action Chnay does , its tell us that he like to break other people thing
1)I agree that chnay is a bully that he spoiled the toys of other in perpose.He is inconsiderate,and a person that do not care for others but his self happiness.He also like to show off himself by bully the others.He like to build his happiness on others' misery.
2)Jantu is a kind girl that will not mind anything that other do to her.Compare to chnay's childish,Jantu is a mature.And also,she is helpful by making dolls for dara.
a) My impression of Chnay is that he is a very brave boy. He is noy afraid of the red ants on his arm and ant bites hurts a lot.
I agree that Chnay is a bully because the people in the boarder tell the other people to watch out when Chnay was walking towards them. Chnay also like to break things that does not belong to him.
b) My impression of Jantu is that she is a girl that do not like troubles. She just said never mind when Chnay stomped on her dolls until it was a pile of crushed sticks and rags.
b) My impression of Jantu is that is calm and patient. Even when Chnay broke her dolls, she just said "Never mind" and "We can do always start something new". In my opinion, the dolls and toys does not mean anything to her and are not important.
a)I agree that Chnay is a bully.From the description,he looks bigger than the other kids,making them terrified of him. Chnay also had big red ants on his hands,letting them bite him.He also snatched & destroyed Dara's toy like it was not big of a deal.
b)Jantu is a kind girl.Even after the toy that she made for Dara was destroyed,she still did not hold grudges for wasting her hard work.Instead,she started to make a new toy for Dara to make her feel better.
@MURUGESH,
I agree that when you say Jantu is afraid when Chnay comes but how can you see it?
a] I agree that Chnay is a big bully. All his actions are meaningless. Letting 'big and fierce red ants' bit him on his palm was really stupid. I feel that he was heartless to break Jantu's toys as she had took a long time and lots of effort to make it.
b] Jantu is a very patient girl. She did not flinch when Chnay broke the toys that she made but instead, she remained calm. She is also very wide-minded and creative. :)
What are your impressions of Chnay based on this extract?
Do you agree with the narrator that Chnay is a bully?
Support your answer using evidence from this extract.
Answer: My impresssions on Chnay are that he's bad because bullies children and he does not care of other people because he sleeps anywhere and steals food from other familes.
What is your impression of Jantu?
What kind of girl do you think she is?
Answer: Jantu is a girl who never gives up beacuse in the extract, Chnay broke the dolls Jantu made. She also looks at the bright side beacuse after Chnay broke Jantu's dolls, Jantu said that it's fun making it.
@D!YANA ; I agree with you . Family background also describes a person and how he behaves . Going to the borders alone can also mean that his parents did not teach him discipline .
chnay is a bully who likes to break things.He thinks that he looks brave by letting red ants to bite him,but i think its a silly act as it shows that he is lonely and he is desperate to seek attentions from others.I think he should be helping others instead of bullying when there is wars going on.
a)I agree that Chnay is a bully because he snatched away the doll from Dara and flung the toy to the ground. The doll was destroy.
b)Jantu is a kind and patient girl because when the doll that she made was destroy by Chnay, she said never mind.
chnay is a bully as when he swaggered his way towards the toy's direction, Jantu seemed afraid of him . ; impact on others . Dara just sat there eventhough she once heard that Chnay is village bully.
@Elda ; Its Chnay who is the bully , not Jantu .
~Farah
I agree with you that Jantu is calm and does not get angry easily. She did scold Chnay maybe because that he is bigger than her and might hit her badly. I agree that it is good to have a friend like Jantu.
He is a strong,tall boy.I agree with the narrator that Chnay is a bully.He is such a bully,"He liked to break things, and he was a bully."He had such a very bad impact to others,“Watch out, Chnay’s coming!”He is such a violet bully, "One of the dolls was ripped loose and dropped to the ground. "
On other hand, I somehow disagree with narrator that Chnay is a bully.I think maybe he just venting his anger,"An orphan, Chnay had made his way to the Border alone. Too young to be recruited into the resistance army."He wanted to take out his anger.
I think Jantu is a calm and optimistic girl.She does not mind her toy was broken by Chnay.She does not mind making new toy, “We can always start something new.”
To Shyam:
Is opinion not openion.
XY,YD
@Shyam:
Is it openion or opinion?
We think you spell wrongly
Htet & Apoorva
Jantu is very crafty with her smart and elegant design she crafts toys made of clay and usually to relate real life situations and the situation she is stuck in and that is the age of WAR!But usually Jantu is very positive.She always look at a bright future and the future she would like to live in.Jantu hates dispute and even though her find work was destroyed she remained calm and would always refrain from useless disputes
I think that Chnay was being mean
as he ruined the dolls that Jantu made. But fortunately Jantu did not take this to be of any hurt and just stated that the fun was in the making of the dolls and not watching the olls in action. Jantu is a very care-free person and she is not attached to things. dara was very softspoken and shy at first but when she gets seperated from her family, she becomes brave.
Jantu used the placebo effect on Dara, making her believe that the marble that Jantu gave her was magical. This makes Dara naive.
To Shyam again:
Is "destroyed" not "distroyed"
and "positive" not "posative"
XY:YD
When Chnay was approaching the village, someone shouted 'Watch out, Chnays coming!'
This shows that the villagers are afraid of Chnay.When he wanted to know what Dara had with her, he demanded instead of asking politely. From the way he asked Dara, we can tell that Chnay always gets what he wants.
When Chnay let those ants bite his arm, we can tell his very tough and can hamdle alot of pain. With all these characteristics , we can tell Chnay is a bully
I agree with I ROX. I think that Chnay's way of behaving and treating others is wrong and his manner with affects other children's impression on him which may cause him to not have any friends in the future
My impressions of Chnay that he is really a big bully because he just broke Jantu's toy for nothing..
But, i think that Chnay is not a real bully because he just lost his parents. Which could hurt his feelings.
Shyam, your opinion is spelt with an "e" when it should be spelt with "i"
@I ROX ; Crafty is a wrong word to describe to describe Jantu .
Crafty means cunning and Jantu is not cunning . She is creative . Crafty is a negative word.
a)I think that Chnay is a big bully who is very inconsiderate as he deliberately spoiled Dara's dolls which Jantu made especially for Dara.
b)Jantu is a calm girl as she did not get angry when Chnay flung the dolls onto the ground.
We meant good with her hands
my impressions towards chnay is that he is an arrogant boy who thinks that he is the world's strongest man . i agree with the narrator that chnay is a bully .
jantu is a kind and caring friend . when dara broke her toy , she said its okay . she is nice and gentle .
i think that jantu is a kind and open-minded person , she does not mind about the toys being destroy as she think that the fun is about making the things and she also comfort Jara then jara is abit sad and guilty about not protecting them enough
My impression of Chnay is that he is a bully.The actions taken by Chnay for example sauntering towards the narrator.The impact on other children while he was walking was that the other children was giving out warning telling that Chnay's coming;it shows that chnay was feared by the children
1)i agree that chnay is a bully.He is very rude as he snatched away the doll from dara and the doll was ripped into half.Chnay did not even say sorry
2)Jantu is very kind.she is easy going because ,even though chnay broke the doll jantu said that we can also do something else
When Dara knew that chnay was coming,Dara tried to hide the dolls.After chnay broke the toys and left,Dara was very sad and felt angy,she then started to cry.While Jantu was not very affected by the incident and know they are just toys and can easily be made again even thought its time consuming.
My impression of Chnay is that he is a very terrible boy. Even Dara, who only stayed at the camp for a short duration, knows about Chnay's bad reputation. This goes to show that people around the camp dislikes Chnay.
I agree that Chnay is a big bully . He just snatched the toy away from Dara without asking any permission . Chnay is a very evil person through character .
Jantu seems scared when she realizes that Chnay is coming which suggests that Chnay is a bully and Jantu is really scared of the bully . Jantu should be scared as Chnay has a background which is not that good .
I can see a number of good answers. Many of you were able to elaborate on your answers by giving examples from the text. However, I am a bit disturbed by the number of grammatical errors in some of your answers.
With regards to the names of people, like Chnay and Jantu, please begin with a capital letter.
A few of you also forgot to put in the quotation marks when you quote the evidence. Overall,I am happy with the collaboration in the class.
Post a Comment