Chapter Summaries
Asian Rumors: Asia: Michael realizes that he wants to go search for his family roots. He describes how he grew up in a childhood he really didn't know but how he recalls some past events that lead him to want to go back. Jaffna Afternoons: Michael sits with some family members and attempted to trace the relationships of their ancestors. Overviews the role of his aunt and uncle.
A Fine Romance: The Courtship: Examines Mervyn’s dramatic background and how he fooled the people around him. Mervyn ran from interaction and avoided confrontation. He stole money from his parents as well as got engaged and called off engagements. Honeymoon: There is no mention of the actual wedding or honeymoon, only negative current events …show more content…
The myth is told that if you eat the tongue you will have verbal brilliance. Lalla made her son Noel eat it and he choked on it. Michael refers to his first memory. Sweet Like a Crow: A poem that lists gross and unpleasant things and sounds. The Karapothas: Michael talks about how he is the foreigner. Reference to the prodigal son. Later talks about the Sinhalese alphabet. High Flowers: Describes the simple but crucial role of the toddy tapper and the women that work to create the Ceylonese alcohol. Develops the idea that Ceylon is a simple town. To Colombo: Michael returns from Sigiriya hills. He describes things visually as they come to him. Women Like You: A poem that describes a woman carved in a rock and the letters men write to her. The Cinnamon Peeler: Describes a poem about a man that wants to leave his cinnamon scent on his wife. In the end she realizes her identity and wants people to know she is the cinnamon peelers wife. \Kegalle (ii): When he was a kid, they found snakes in rock hill, but his father and his stepmother would shoot them. The second part talks about rebels that would steal from people, but left Michael’s house alone because they respected his …show more content…
One memory that stuck out to him was when he had to say goodbye to his sister.
Monsoon Notebook (ii): Michael recalls the wildlife in Ceylon and one night sets up a tape recorder to record the sounds he hears every night.
How I Was Bathed: During a dinner, Michael’s sister brings up the memory of Michael going to a girls school where he would be violently bathed. This memory seemed to come from others, not himself.
Wilpattu: As Michael and his family shower in the rain, they see wild boars in the jungle around them. The next morning they wake to find that the soap was gone and concluded that the boar took it.
Kuttapitiya: Explains the beautiful gardens in Michael’s last family home. Because Lalla stole plants from people’s gardens, Mervyn started planting prickly plants so she wouldn’t want them.
Travels in Ceylon: Many different train anecdotes about Mervyn in the Ceylon Light Infantry. Ultimately exemplifies his drunken state he is in all the time,
Sir John: Michael goes and talks to Mervyn’s friend John about Mervyn. He talks about an incident where Mervyn thought the Japanese were attacking but he was just
Asian Rumors: Asia: Michael realizes that he wants to go search for his family roots. He describes how he grew up in a childhood he really didn't know but how he recalls some past events that lead him to want to go back. Jaffna Afternoons: Michael sits with some family members and attempted to trace the relationships of their ancestors. Overviews the role of his aunt and uncle.
A Fine Romance: The Courtship: Examines Mervyn’s dramatic background and how he fooled the people around him. Mervyn ran from interaction and avoided confrontation. He stole money from his parents as well as got engaged and called off engagements. Honeymoon: There is no mention of the actual wedding or honeymoon, only negative current events …show more content…
The myth is told that if you eat the tongue you will have verbal brilliance. Lalla made her son Noel eat it and he choked on it. Michael refers to his first memory. Sweet Like a Crow: A poem that lists gross and unpleasant things and sounds. The Karapothas: Michael talks about how he is the foreigner. Reference to the prodigal son. Later talks about the Sinhalese alphabet. High Flowers: Describes the simple but crucial role of the toddy tapper and the women that work to create the Ceylonese alcohol. Develops the idea that Ceylon is a simple town. To Colombo: Michael returns from Sigiriya hills. He describes things visually as they come to him. Women Like You: A poem that describes a woman carved in a rock and the letters men write to her. The Cinnamon Peeler: Describes a poem about a man that wants to leave his cinnamon scent on his wife. In the end she realizes her identity and wants people to know she is the cinnamon peelers wife. \Kegalle (ii): When he was a kid, they found snakes in rock hill, but his father and his stepmother would shoot them. The second part talks about rebels that would steal from people, but left Michael’s house alone because they respected his …show more content…
One memory that stuck out to him was when he had to say goodbye to his sister.
Monsoon Notebook (ii): Michael recalls the wildlife in Ceylon and one night sets up a tape recorder to record the sounds he hears every night.
How I Was Bathed: During a dinner, Michael’s sister brings up the memory of Michael going to a girls school where he would be violently bathed. This memory seemed to come from others, not himself.
Wilpattu: As Michael and his family shower in the rain, they see wild boars in the jungle around them. The next morning they wake to find that the soap was gone and concluded that the boar took it.
Kuttapitiya: Explains the beautiful gardens in Michael’s last family home. Because Lalla stole plants from people’s gardens, Mervyn started planting prickly plants so she wouldn’t want them.
Travels in Ceylon: Many different train anecdotes about Mervyn in the Ceylon Light Infantry. Ultimately exemplifies his drunken state he is in all the time,
Sir John: Michael goes and talks to Mervyn’s friend John about Mervyn. He talks about an incident where Mervyn thought the Japanese were attacking but he was just