Cutting for Stone Brenna Hickey and Kayla Smith

Setting

Cutting for Stone • “I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work. ” --Hippocratic Oath

Abraham Verghese • He was born to Indian parents in Ethiopia in 1955 • His family is originally from Kerala, India • Both his parents were school teachers who eventually immigrated to the United States

Verghese • Began his medical school career in Ethiopia, but fled in 1973 • He ended up in New Jersey with his family, but he decided to no longer pursue a degree. • He became an orderly in a hospital in New Jersey • Eventually, he was able to continue medical school in Madras, India.

Verghese • In India at medical school, he began to focus on beside manner, which has carried him through his entire career • After medical school, he returned to the United States to begin his residency at East Tennessee State University • Continued his training in infectious diseases at Boston University, but eventually returned to East Tennessee to be a member of the faculty

Verghese • During the AIDS epidemic, he began to write stories about his experience caring for his patients who were returning to their small hometowns to die • Took a position at Texas Tech Health Science Center that did not require him to do research so he could keep up with his writing • Is now a professor at Stanford, where he writes two days a week and teaches at bedside

Sister Mary Joseph Praise and Dr. Thomas Stone’s Trip

Influence of Catholic Religion • Page 16: “…. my mother became a Carmelite nun, abandoning the ancient Syrian Christian tradition of St. Thomas to embrace…this Johnny-come-lately, popeworshiping sect. They couldn’t have been more disappointed had she become a Muslim or a Hindu. It was a good thing her parents didn’t know that she was also a nurse, which to them would mean that she soiled her hands like an untouchable. ” • The arrival of Europeans and the Portuguese in the 15 th century formed Catholic and Orthodox communities • He demanded the expulsion of Muslims and Hindus • Carmelite Missions have become a part of the Catholic tradition. Mother Theresa inspired these missions. As a young child, she would save pennies for the children in China. Later when she fell ill with Tuberculosis at the age of 24, she told her Sisters not to save money for her burial, but for the missions in China and in Africa.

Quit Movement • P. 15 – “It was 1947, and the British were finally leaving India; the Quit India Movement had made the impossible come about. ” • 1939 - India and Britain went to war against Germany and Ghandi started the Quit Movement in 1942 to gain independence of India

Ethiopian History • Early colonization in Ethiopia (e. g. Italy) categorized the natives as dark Caucasians. However, the majority of the population is black. • Some Ethiopian peoples, such as the Surma, were tribal and semi-nomadic, while others were more reliant on agriculture. (complex ethnic mix of peoples. ) • Ethiopia has cultural ties to the Mediterranean • Biblical connections to Ethiopia • Rise of the “Solomonic Dynasty” • Ancient Greeks and Romans knew of Ethiopia and also traded with them

Ethnicities/Languages in Ethiopia • “Rosina’s Amharic makes Almaz and Bebrew laugh because her guttural, throat-clearing syllable don’t really exist in Amharic…Italinya comes easily to her, and strangely its meaning is clear, even though no one else speaks it, such is the nature of that language. When she speaks to herself, or sings, it is in her Eritrean tongue – Tigrinya – and then her voice is unlocked, the words pouring out. ” (p. 224) • The Afro-Asiatic (Hamo Semitic) language group, which includes the Semitic and Cushitic languages of Ethiopia, developed during the eighth millennium BC (BCE). Amharic has long been the dominant language, but Ethiopia itself was always a conglomeration of peoples. Today, Ethiopia's principle ethnic groups are Oromo (about 40 percent), Amhara and Tigrea (32 percent), and Sidamo (9 percent). Tigrinya and Orominga are widely spoken.

Reign of Haile Selassie November 2 nd, 1930 – September 12 th, 1974 • With British backing, Haile Selassie returned to defeat the Italian army • He destroyed the military and political power of the feudal aristocracy. • Selassie integrated Ethiopia into a capitalist system and as a result, the ruling class gained a lot of resources. For example, in Addis Ababa, over 80% of the land was owned by the 20 noble families and the Orthodox Church.

1960 Attempted Coup • Coup d'état was staged in Ethiopia in order to overthrow Haile Selassie. While he was away on a state visit to Brazil, Germame Neway and his older brother Brigadier General Mengistu Neway commanded Kebur Zabangna (the Imperial Bodyguard) to take hostage of ministers and other important people. • After taking control of most of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, they declared the regime of Haile Selassie had been deposed announced the beginning of a new, more progressive government under the rule of Haile Selassie's eldest son, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen that would address the numerous economic and social problems Ethiopia faced. • Haile Selassie University students supported this effort. However, other military units remained loyal and worked together to crush the coup. By 17 December, loyalists had regained control of Addis Ababa and the conspirators were either dead or had fled the capital.

Ethiopian Student Movement in the Struggle Against Imperialism 1960 -1974 • • Increase in national diversity and students influenced the support for a radical critique of the old social system Support for the 1960 attempted coup September 1961 – Etrinean Liberation Front (ELF) operated against the government Goal of movement was to create tension between dictatorship of Selassie and those being exploited (peasants). In 1974 an Ethiopian student leader argued against such gradualism: "We are supposed to prepare the people for change, but they are ready for change. Peasants have started shooting their landlords. They know that landlords are the cause of most of their hardships [. . . ] We want the establishment of [a] provisional people’s republic, the grant of all democratic rights, and a fundamental change of the socio-economic structure of society. ” After the defeat of the Neway coup until 1967, when the University Students’ Union of Addis Ababa (USUAA) was founded, the students forced several confrontations with the regime, but did not score any major victories. This period began the first stage in the development of the student movement.

The Second Phase of the Student Movement • High school and university students in the capital boycotted classes, mixing demands for educational reform with those for faster economic growth and measures to end mass unemployment. • After the Emperor appealed over the radio for a return to class, the IEG, as a diversionary tactic, organized demonstrations against Syria, where the ELF had just hi-jacked an aircraft.

Questions • How does the difference in treatment between Shiva and Marion change their experience growing up? • How do various cultural influences shape their identities? • How does the shift in perspective inform the narrative? • How do shifts in time impact the story?

Music • Tizita • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Hpbj. Wl. XJl p. Q&feature=related

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