Day 5

Burnt Shadows Lesson Plan

Discussion of Thought Questions

  1. 1

    What is the story about the spider symbolize in the novel?

    The story about the spider is from the Quran, in which the spider saves the prophet Muhammad by ensuring he stays hidden from the cave by building a web across its entrance. It symbolizes the allegiance between the Burton-Weiss and Tanaka-Ashraf families across three generations. At one point, Harry told Raza he needed to tell that story to Kim, but he never got the chance. At the end of the novel, Kim breaks this familial bond between the families (albeit accidentally, though at fault is the prejudice she feels against Muslims after 9/11) by handing Raza, who is hiding from the CIA, to the authorities. After...

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