Setting
Where does Eliot stay after school
Mrs. Sen's apartment
Who is Mr. and Mrs. Sen and Eliot
Mrs. Sen is the babysitter of Eliot and Mr. Sen is Mrs. Sen's husband. Eliot is the kid being babysit/supervised
Who are the main characters
Elliot and Mrs. Sen
What is the main theme
Immigrants adapting to cultural norms
How is Eliot's mother lonely?
She overworks herself and never has time to spend with her son, which stops her from forming meaningful relationships with Eliot or anyone else.
Where does Mrs. Sen like to go to
Where is Mr. and Mrs. Sen from
India
Who does the story follow/who's perspective
Eliot's POV
What shows isolation in Mrs.Sen?
The distance from her homeland
What does Mrs. Sen crash her car into
a telephone pole
what was the sofa covered in
a green and black bedcover with rows of elephants
What type of point of view(s) is used throughout the story?
third person POV
How is whiteness normalized in the story
Provide Specific Examples
Mrs. Sen is expected to adapt to cultural norms, such as driving etc.
how does Mr. Sen settle the crash
reimbursing Eliot's mother with the payment for November
Where is Mrs. Sen's Apartment
In a university at the edge of campus
What is Mr. Sen's job
a math professor at the university
he doesn't appreciate the smell of Mrs. Sen's fish.
What does 'Mrs. Sen learning to drive' symbolize?
Mrs. Sen adapting to American Culture
What leads to Mrs. Sen crashing her car
the horn startled her when she took a too early left turn
What color are the tiles of the lobby of the apartment and what does she have a row of
What happens to Mrs. Sen and Eliot after the crash
Mrs. Sen cut her lip and cut her vermilion. Eliot had some brief pain in his ribs. Mrs. Sen cries in the bathroom after Mr. Sen drives the 2 back to his apartment.
how is Mrs. Sen's life style differ from Eliot's perspective compared to what we see as normal
We normalize the white person life, and we see Mrs. Sen's cultural difference through Eliot's eyes. Mrs. Sen's lifestyle is traditional and stems from the Indian culture, which Eliot sees as isolated compared to the fast paced American Society.
Eliot’s mother nodded, too, looking around the room. “And that’s all…in India?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Sen replied. "Everything is there."
This excerpt reveals a theme of...
A. Freedom
B. Isolation
C. Adventure
D. Success
B. Isolation
What is the secret Mrs. Sen and Eliot hide from Eliot's mother
Mrs. Sen using a blade to cook, and Eliot helps her put it away.