Running in the Family

Tea Country- Last Morning

Zitlaly, Ricardo, Carol

GLD Plans • Summary of each chapter • Apples to Apples in small groups(small

discussion) • Class discussion

Tea Country • Background information on the tea country: It was

where Mervyn took Dorris to live, love, to have kids and

• He goes to visit his half-sister Susan and her husband Sunil in the tea country.

• Theme: Silence vs. Noise, Water

Tea Country

What we think of Married Life

•

Doris Mervyn

• Calmness • Quietness • Dramatic nature

which pleased everyone

• Read her favorite poems out loud

• Exaggerated• Loving “loved, always

loved”(170)• Good actress

• Anger• Argumentative• Dramatic nature

which only pleased himself

• Swallowed the heart of the books and kept that knowledge and emotion to himself

• Minimal • Private • Desire to be reclusive

What we think of Married Life

• In this chapter he focuses on his parents marriage and how some of the arguments played out.

• Relationship between Lalla and Mervyn • Throughout the marriage there were arguments

and they were mostly fought it theatrically by Dorris.(170-171)

• Her last “scene”(172)• Quick glimpse of her life after

o Got a job at the the Grand Oriental Hotel while training to be a housekeeper-manager, supported them by working in hotels in Ceylon and England til she died

Dialogues• Short stories told by Susan to Michael about father,

mother and them as children • (i) His siblings almost got killed because Mervyn was drunk and almost drove

them over a cliff because he fell asleep at the wheel• (ii)Mervyn had just lost his job and felt guilt for ruining all of them(wife, kids)• (iii)When Susan left for England and Dorris didn’t get to spend much time

saying goodbye since Mervyn was home alone and was going to drink and get into trouble

• (iv)Mervyn slept with many pillows and each of the children has to massage his legs for ten minutes

• (v) Different sides of Mervyn. To them he was always charming, always gracious, open, and loved those who visited. They only once saw him drunk they never knew that side of him. Talked about Dorris’ reasons to break up: things were rough, servants disobeyed her and bought Mervyn bottles when she told him no to, When she was sick he did not believe she was and hit her to get up until she called them and they took her to a nursing home and she never saw him again.

Dialogues • (vi) Kids perspective of hearing their parents argue which sounded like

giants were shouting. • (vii) Where and how she lived and worked: in hotels, in England in a small

room with only a gas ring• (viii) Her embarrassment of bringing over friends because she believed her

last name (Ondaatjes) had a bad reputation • (ix)Mervyn was not the same anymore he was happy to just sit there and

listen to her talk, he visited her every two weeks to bring her eggs and fertilizer.

• (x)Remembering how sad his face was, it was naked and full of sorrow.• (xi) She ran into him one night and that same night ran into Doris. She told

him how he had changed, how she should see him and how easy it’d be to contact him and have dinner. Doris was so close to calling, to seeing him but Susan stopped.

Blind Faith• Michael writes this chapter that describes his

feelings mainly towards his father.

• He uses several references from Shakespeare to

describe his relationship with his father

• King Lear and Hamlet

The Bone• It was a metaphorical and poetic story about his

father

• His father was naked, in a jungle and was holding five black dogs

• Arthur went in after his father and cut those ropes holding the dogs

• After those ropes were cut, they all went to the car where, Arthur’s sister, Stephy was waiting

Thanikama• Mervyn and Doris are no longer together

• Mervyn goes on a voyage that is self destructive

in a both emotional and physical way.

• “Would sit in the sunlight dinking beers…” (185)

MONSOON NOTEBOOK (iii)

• In this chapter the person speaking is Michael • It is about his surroundings while he wrote down

the story we’ve just read• The main focus being described is nature.

o We could relate this to his journey of writing the book. o In the beginning he starts off by saying “dry black night,” (p. 190) and

ends with “The garden…difficult to breath” (p. 191). • What could the rain symbolize?

FINAL DAYS FATHERS TONGUE

• Memories about Mervyn• Jennifer (part of Mervyns second family)

• She talked about the attitude Mervyn had towards her and her sister Susan. She mentions how he was very protective over them, and kind to them.

• His weight, drinking, and his last days; how he kept to himself • “For instance, cats…under his seat” (p.193)

• V.C. de Silva• Considered Mervyn a close friend• “medical adviser” • Tells us the Mervyns death was the cause of a cerebral haemorrhage

• Archer Jayawardene • Considered Mervyn a close friend• Talked about his last days were very dark and how Mervyn tried to hide it.• His funeral…muddy road” (p.197)

LAST MORNING • Michael’s last day in Ceylon• Woken up by the rain• He's telling himself to memorize the feeling of

being there• He thinks about al those who’ve been there

before him, and it shows a great significance because he's making the connection the his family.