Discussion questions for The Bluest Eye

1) Where exactly do we think that Maureen Peal (introduced on page 62) came from.  What is her background and what makes her think she is superior to others, besides from the fact that her family is wealthy?

2) I think that deep down, Geraldine knows that her son, Louis Junior, killed the cat, but what exactly are the underlying reasons as to why she blames Pecola besides for the fact that Louis Junior says that it was her?

Daniyal Mueenuddin       

By Lauren Pugliese     

Born: Los Angeles, California in 1963                         

Died: He hasn’t died

Awards: Daniyal Mueenuddin won the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award this year.  His book, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, was in the top ranked books for TIME Magazine, Publishers Weekly, The Economist, The Guardian, The New Statesman and The New York Times during 2009.

Works: He wrote In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (2009)

Style:  He writes in a poetic-like manner, where the words flow very well together.  He writes about the class differences that those in Pakistan experience. 

Quotation: “I don’t want to be identified as a Pakistani writer, but as a writer.”

Daniyal Mueenuddin is very heavily influenced by Chekov.

-          Wikipedia contributors. "Daniyal Mueenuddin." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 11 Sep. 2010. Web. 21 Sep. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniyal_Mueenuddin>

This source provided the information on Daniyal Mueenuddin’s birth, awards and works.

-          Javed Jahangir. Interview with Daniyal Mueenuddin.  Beyond the Margins.  23 February.  2010.  Web.  20 Sep.  2010.  <http://beyondthemargins.com/2010/02/interview-with-daniyal-mueenuddin/>

This source provided information on Daniyal Mueenuddin’s writing style, quotation and his literary influence.

Response to In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

Daniyal Mueenddin’s, In Other Rooms, Other wonders, Mueenuddin tells of a man by the name of Nawabdin.  Nawabdin is a servant to K.K. Harouni, who owns a great deal of land in the Middle East.  His main responsibility is to tend to the tube wells, which are used for the irrigation of the land in a very dry terrain.   One day, on his way back home to his family of thirteen children in Punjab, he comes across a man stranded on the road in the middle of the night.  The man asks for a ride, and Nawabdin agrees without knowing the dangers involved.  Shortly after beginning on their journey together, the man pulls out a gun.  He tells Nawabdin that if he doesn’t give him his motorcycle, he will shoot him.  Nawabdin ends up shot, but townspeople heard the gun shots and come to Nawabdin’s rescue within a short period of time.  When they arrive, they find the robber and shoot him.  They are both brought to a clinic where the extent of their injuries is discovered.  Nawabdin’s gunshot wound is not life threatening, but the robber had gotten shot in the lung and dies shortly after arriving at the clinic. 

I thought this short story was very well written and interesting.  I found the very end of the story where Nawabdin refused to forgive the robber, very interesting.  This was interesting because the reader gets the impression that Nawabdin is a very kind, forgiving man who would just be thankful that he survived.  However, when he doesn’t forgive the man, it challenges the idea of who we believe Nawabdin is.  This story demonstrates how people may surprise you in terms of actions when something they love is in danger.

Author Profile

After reading In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, by Daniyal Mueenuddin, it appears that Mueenuddin is an author that focuses on lessons, life and working hard.  It is evident that Mueenuddin is a writer from the Middle East, but more specifically from India.  This short story implies that Daniyal Mueenuddin is or has been much immersed in the Middle Eastern culture and suggests that he possibly lives or lived there. 

If this was not a true story, then what was the inspiration for this?

What time period is this story exactly set in?