Shabanu (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
By SparkNotes
()
About this ebook
Making the reading experience fun!
Created by Harvard students for students everywhere, SparkNotes is a new breed of study guide: smarter, better, faster. Geared to what today's students need to know, SparkNotes provides: *Chapter-by-chapter analysis
*Explanations of key themes, motifs, and symbols
*A review quiz and essay topics Lively and accessible, these guides are perfect for late-night studying and writing papers
Read more from Spark Notes
Bird by Bird (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Fear Shakespeare Audiobook: Romeo & Juliet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Macbeth: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Much Ado About Nothing (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAs You Like It (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King Lear: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tempest (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outsiders (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Autobiography of Malcom X (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Richard III (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Measure for Measure (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No Fear Shakespeare Audiobook: Julius Caesar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Merchant of Venice: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Gentlemen of Verona (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings100 Years of Solitude (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHenry V (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Merchant of Venice (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Comedy of Errors (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Winter's Tale (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Atlas Shrugged SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Raisin in the Sun (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTempest: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Fear Shakespeare Audiobook: Othello Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing Lear (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dune (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Kill a Mockingbird SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Eden (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Shabanu (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
Related ebooks
One Sohra Summer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReady Reference Treatise: Shabanu Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Suzanne Fisher Staples's "Shabanu" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStories the Iroquois Tell Their Children Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Adventures of Zumba and Rumba: Book Two – the Hunt for Their Father Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSacajawea: Lewis and Clark Interpreter and Guide: Educational Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Unconventionality Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSacajawea: Lewis and Clark Interpreter and Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Palisades Mountains Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Animal Wife: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Almost Tomorrow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBound by the Scars We Share Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJackals' Wedding: A Memoir of a Childhood in British India Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSIMLA VILLAGE TALES - 51 illustrated tales from the Indian foothills of the Himalayas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Half-breed Bride (The Proud Ones, Book 2) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One Bead at a Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTales from Randhor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLahore Express Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHalloween Love: A Boxed Set of Four Love Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMyths and Legends of the Sioux Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Am the Beggar of the World: Landays from Contemporary Afghanistan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Salt of My Desire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFaceless The Only Way Out Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Tales for White Children Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTravels in a Dervish Cloak Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tales From Birehra Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUp On The Mountain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen the River Rises Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Woman with the Diamond Heart Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRubyrajan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Book Notes For You
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig: Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gavin de Becker’s The Gift of Fear Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence | Summary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 AM Club Summary: Business Book Summaries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill: Conversation Starters Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman: Conversation Starters Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Summary of 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Workbook for Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy: Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi: Summary by Fireside Reads Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Summary of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Ichiro Kishimi's and Fumitake Koga's book: The Courage to Be Disliked: Summary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Poverty, by America By Matthew Desmond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SUMMARY Of The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in Healthy Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Shabanu (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Shabanu (SparkNotes Literature Guide) - SparkNotes
Shabanu
Suzanne Fisher Staples
© 2003, 2007 by Spark Publishing
This Spark Publishing edition 2014 by SparkNotes LLC, an Affiliate of Barnes & Noble
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
Sparknotes is a registered trademark of SparkNotes LLC
Spark Publishing
A Division of Barnes & Noble
120 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
www.sparknotes.com /
ISBN-13: 978-1-4114-7752-0
Please submit changes or report errors to www.sparknotes.com/.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Context
Plot Overview
Character List
Analysis of Major Characters
Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
Guluband
Birth and Kalu
Safari and The Bugtis
Sibi Fair, The Bargain, and Shatoosh
Dowry, Nosepegs, and Channan Pir
Sharma, Desert Storm, and Thirsty Dead
Derawar and Ramadan
The Landlord and Spin Gul
Yazman and Justice
The Choice and The Wedding
Cholistan
Important Quotations Explained
Key Facts
Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics
Review & Resources
Context
Suzanne Fisher Staples spent her childhood in Pennsylvania and studied literature and political science at Cedar Crest College. She worked as a UPI correspondent in southern Asia for thirteen years in the 1970s and 1980s. Besides working as a reporter, Staples participated in a women's literacy project in Pakistan. During the course of this project, she lived with a Pakistani family in a small village.
Staples returned to the United States in the mid-1980s and began working for The Washington Post. In Publishers Weekly, she remembers experiencing greater culture shock upon returning to the United States than she had experienced when she first traveled to Asia. Americans seemed frivolous
to her and were not genuinely interested in hearing about her time in Asia. At this point, Staples began to work on Shabanu.
The novel takes place in Pakistan, which became an independent nation in 1947, when the British, who had given up their colonial domination of present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, divided the area into a primarily Hindu country (India) and a primarily Muslim country (East and West Pakistan). East Pakistan fought for its own statehood in 1971. In 1972, East Pakistan became Bangladesh. West Pakistan kept the name Pakistan.
The people of Pakistan speak a variety of different languages. More than half speak Punjabi, though this language is not common to the whole population. Others speak Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, and Balochi. The Pakistani people make their livings mostly by farming, herding animals, and working in factories and service professions. However, Pakistan is one of the poorest countries in Asia. Many skilled and educated Pakistanis leave the country to make their living abroad.
The country consists of four regions: the mountain ranges in the north, the Balochistan Plateau in the southwest, the Indus Plain in the center, and the Thal, Cholistan, and Thar deserts in the east. The Indus is the country's principal river and supports the country's most prosperous agriculture. The temperature in the desert, where Shabanu is set, ranges from ninety-five degrees in the summer to four degrees in the winter. The July/August monsoon provides most of the year's rainfall: about six to eight inches in the desert.
In an interview with Publisher's Weekly, Staples states that she spent three years writing Shabanu. She based the protagonist on a thirteen year old Pakistani girl who did not want to get married. The girl had a grandmother, who, like Aunt Sharma in Shabanu, left her abusive husband and lived alone in the desert. Staples explains that she draws much of her writing from real-life experiences. During her time in Pakistan, she sat with her family
every night to tell and hear stories. She wrote many of these tales down and used them as material for Shabanu.
In 1990, Shabanu won a Newbery Honor award. Her second novel, Haveli, is a sequel to Shabanu.Haveli tells the story of Shabanu's married life. Her third novel, Dangerous Skies, takes place in the Chesapeake Bay area, and like Shabanu and Haveli, explores the lives of young people struggling with the prejudices and traditions of the adult world around them. She is currently at work on a fourth novel.
Staples has her critics: both Americans and Pakistanis question her right and ability, as an American woman, to accurately and compassionately depict the life of a young, poor woman of a culture with values and traditions so different from her own. Others defend Staples's work, pointing out that Staples lived for an extended period of time in the country whose culture she strives to depict. Proponents of her work also argue that such a depiction, since so few like it exist, serves the unique purpose of making the perspective of a young Cholistani girl available to young Americans.
Shabanu is an example of a young adult problem novel
. Until roughly the 1960s, most literature for young adults was romance, fantasy, or adventure, and, with a few notable exceptions (such as Little Women and the works of Mark Twain), not of the highest quality. As a result of the cultural turmoil of the 1960s, however, publishers became more interested in books for young adults that displayed life realistically. Such novels endeavor to represent the imperfections of the adult world and the difficulties of growing up.
Plot Overview
Shabanu lives with her mother, father, older sister, grandfather, aunt, and young cousins in a compound of mud huts near the border between Pakistan and India. They own a herd of fine camels, and as long as there is water in the nearby pond (called a toba
), they live a proud and free existence in the windswept desert of Pakistan. Once a year, they attend a fair in Sibi, which lies across the desert and where they sell their camels in order to buy goods they need. When the toba dries up, they move to nearby villages with deep wells. When this happens, they wait eagerly for rain to fill the toba, which will allow them to move back to their beloved desert home.
Shabanu regards her older sister, Phulan, with disdain and envy. Phulan is beautiful and graceful. Her parents have promised her to a young man, Hamir, in a nearby farming village. The wedding will take place in the summer, when the monsoon rains come. Shabanu has been promised to this young man's brother, Murad, but as she is younger, her wedding is still far off. Shabanu loves her life in the desert. Her parents are gentle and indulgent. She adores the camels of their herd. She is especially proud of Guluband, a great and intelligent beast, who dances when he hears music.
Shabanu and her father travel across the desert lands to the fair at Sibi. Their sales at Sibi this year are especially important, as they will help pay for Phulan's dowry. At Sibi, Guluband is by far the best camel. Many people want to buy him, but Dadi refuses to sell him. An Afghani soldier, who will subject the poor camel to the conditions of war,