Plot Stages
Maya and her family immigrated from Kazakhstan.
What is exposition?
This tastes like my shoe!
Who is Papa? What is when Maya burned the chicken for dinner?
"Take this to the office, please."
What is imperative?
Maya describes how she feels about changing the principal's words.
What is p. 202, paragraph 92?
___________ has a powerful walk, like a large, strong horse that plows fields.
Who is Papa?
Nurzhan gets in a fight at school, and Maya has to translate.
What is rising action?
"I forget sometimes when there is so much work that you are just a young girl...my mother gave [it] to me when I was sixteen."
Who is Mama? What is when she gave Maya a bracelet to wear to the dance?
But at a dance?
What is not an imperative?
We learn about how Mama feels about speaking English.
What is p. 203, paragraph 119?
___________ looked like a rabbit caught in a trap.
Who is Nurzhan?
Maya's mother hurts her leg, and Maya must do her job as well as the household chores.
What is rising action?
"Don't joke with me about such a thing, boy!"
Who is Maya? What is when Nurzhan told her she could go to the dance?
Open this door!
What is imperative?
Maya describes how she feels about doing Mama's jobs.
What is p. 209, paragraph 177?
...with wet palms flat against the wood, like a prisoner about to be shot.
Who is Maya?
Nurzhan convinces Maya's parents to let Maya go to the Spring Fling.
What is the climax?
"The other boy, Ossie Nishizono, needed two stitches at the hospital."
Who is the principal? What is when he was telling Maya and her father about the fight?
This tastes like a shoe!
What is not an imperative?
Mama and Papa argue about Maya's actions with Daniel.
What is p. 206 paragraphs 142-151?
They don't know about things here, only their own ways. They are like stone.
Who are Mama and Papa?