Plot & Events
Where is the story set?
Australia
Who is the narrator?
A young boy from a migrant family.
What major theme relates to identity?
Belonging.
What narrative perspective is used?
First person
What does the rissole represent?
Culture and identity.
What event creates tension for the narrator?
Food/cultural difference being exposed to peers (friends seeing the rissole / home situation)
What role do his friends play in the story?
They represent mainstream expectations and peer pressure.
What theme relates to feeling different?
Cultural identity/assimilation.
Why is first person effective?
We experience the narrator’s internal conflict directly.
What does school represent?
Social pressure / mainstream expectations.
Why does the narrator feel embarrassed?
He feels his family/culture is different from what is considered “normal” at school.
How is the family portrayed?
Loving but culturally different from dominant norms.
How does the story explore shame?
Through the narrator’s embarrassment over food and culture.
What tone is created during the tense moments?
Anxious / embarrassed / conflicted.
Why is food such a powerful symbol?
It connects to culture, family, and belonging.
How does the narrator react internally during the key moment?
He feels shame, anxiety, and conflict between loyalty and wanting to fit in.
Why is the narrator torn between two worlds?
Home culture vs fitting in socially at school.
What message does the story suggest about fitting in?
Fitting in can come at the cost of self-acceptance.
Identify one example of imagery (or sensory detail).
Food descriptions (smell, texture, appearance).
What does the narrator’s embarrassment symbolise?
The struggle of assimilation.
What changes (or doesn’t change) by the end of the story?
His internal awareness grows, but his family/culture doesn’t change — the conflict is emotional.
Is the conflict external or internal? Explain.
Mostly internal — his feelings of shame and identity struggle.
How does the title connect to themes?
“Exotic” shows how something normal at home is seen as strange by others.
How does word choice reinforce cultural tension?
Words like “exotic” highlight difference and otherness.
If the rissole is “exotic,” what does that say about perspective?
“Exotic” depends on who is looking — normal in one culture, strange in another.