When the emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka

Please answer each of the questions to the best of your ability and INCLUDE SPECIFIC QUOTES FROM THE NOVEL to support your asseritons.

1. How would you define the Amin family based on your reading so far. What, specifically do you connect to or identify with as you meet the characters? Provide specific examples from the novel to illustrate your points.

2. Note the narrative style at the beginning of each chapter. Centered consciousness point of view is when an omniscient (god-like looking at the events) narrator focuses in on the internal thoughts of a specific character. In this novel, with each chapter, the omniscient narration is focused (centered) on a different character’s thoughts (consciousness). What impact does this shift have and why do you think the author uses this technique? Include specific examples from the novel to support your assertions.

3. Indifference: As Isaac Amin is arrested, he notices the indifference of the items on his desk “witnessing this event.” The following morning, his wife Farnaz thinks: “That the city is short by one man this morning makes so little difference.” Does one man’s suffering or misfortune really affect those around him, or are we essentially alone in the world—whether we are experiencing pain or joy? While we may feel compassion for someone undergoing a difficulty, can we ever truly understand what that person is experiencing?

4. Isaac and Farnaz (as well as Isaac’s sister and her husband) are very attached to their belongings. To what extent do the objects that we collect over the years come to define us?