Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
Man aren't we all Born Confused? Aren't we all just trying to survive high school? Does life come with a self-help manual? Have you started to feel the hate for Gwen? Or do you see her tragic flaws? What does Ms. Hidier want us to learn about culture clash? about deception? about time? What part does fate play with Karsh and Dimple? Let's hear your thoughts!!!
posted by CapEnglish3-4 @ 9:41 PM
42 Comments:
Hidier shows us that in todays life many people lose their attacment to their cultures. Within the book you discover many obsticals that Dimple faces changes her perception on her disattchment to her culture. Meeting Karsh is only one thing that helps her change, following her in this adventure may also change your views on your own cutlure.
Sheryl 10th grade
As a reader it's hard to watch Dimple have so much self-doubt. She's so fun and interesting, but she thinks Gwen's life is better. Maybe teen readers can feel more confident about themselves if they think that Dimple should feel better about herself!
In Born Confused, Hidier uses Gwyn and Dimple to show how everyone wants exactly what they can't have. Dimple wants to live Gwyn's life and Gwyn wants to live Dimple's life. Once Gwyn shows Dimple everything she has, or has the opportunity to have, Dimple wants it all of the sudden. from rhakis to Karsh, Gwyn wants it all. Dimple does the same with Gwyn's life, only replacing Dylan with Julian, and then Karsh. Dimple needs to know and appreciate what she has: what things she has and looks forward to that Gwyn doesn't. It's only then that Dimple will truly be happy with her life.
Hidier portrays a perfect example of friendship, love, and a little bit of envy. She also shows how a person, especially a teenage girl this day and age, can be so torn between her culture and what her parents believe is best for her and then what she believes in and what dreams she has for herself.I think she gives Dimple strong features for a reason to show how she struggles and still maintains.Dimple often compares herself to her friend Gwyn not particularly because she is jealous of her but because she envies some of the things she has and some she doesn't. When Dimple realizes that she has truly unique qualities in herself is when she'll find her happiness.
Born Confused, so far, is just about Dimple finding herself in life. She wants to be like Gwyn. Getting a chance to do things that her parents won't normally let her do. She is getting a dose of real life incidents in every chapter bringing Dimple closer to herself and her family. She looks at her family questioning her place. Then looks at Gwyn's and just wants to be like her;Dylan, FREEDOM. But her way to escape from those around her is through her talent;PHOTOGRAPHY.
i agree with ms. riek that its really sad to read about all the self doubt dimple has. i think gwyn even though she acts perfect she is really just as insecure and unhappy as dimple. What i have a question about is why doesnt dimple just tell gwyn she likes karsh because it seems like it makes dimple miserable to hear about how much gwyn likes him.
I noticed in this book, Dimple seems to put herself down constantly. She's alway being negetive towards herself and never gives herself enough credit. She thinks her pictures aren't what people say they are and she's not perfect like Gwyn.
Everyone, I've been telling you that Karsh is a real person. His real name is Karsh Kale (pronounced Kursh Kah lay) He just released a new CD. YOu can check him out and listen to samples at the following link:
http://karshkale.calabashmusic.com/
in class ms. henry says this book is very challenging; in what ways are you being forced to think? are there hidden meanings behind most of what the characters say and do and are they obvious?
my theme for this book is deception, and i think gwyn decieves people by looking flawless and perfect. i think deep down she is insecure and not happy with her family. i think even though she has a lot of freedom she wishes she had a family like Dimples. I also think thats why she relates so well to karsh, because they both lack father figures in their life. Karsh takes over the male role in his house. He is the security and stability she needs in her life, thats why she is drawn to him. alrite after that novel..haha.. i dont know though.. feedback please?
My theme for this book is love and I think Dimple can't show her love for someone without decieving them. She's actually falling in love with Karsh but telling gwyn would ruin everything. SO instead of telling gwyn upfront she waits until it really hurts gwyn. Plus she seems to love it when gwyn gets things wrong so in a way shes deciving her best friend. That's just my opinion though. What do you think of the book so far?
my theme is fait/ coincidence. i agree that karsh helped get more into her culture but i also think that gwyn her bff helped as well. i would kind of think that if was dimples faith to meet gwyn and to have gwyn help learn more about her cultur.the fact that her granfahter past away and that also helped,spending more time with her cousin kavita helped as well not only in learnogn more about her culture but of finding herself in between the "major" culture clash that she has been having.And havimg to find her place where she might belong.
ms. reik i disagree but then again you do have a point and as we humans we think that others should have a little less self-doubt but when we take a look at our life it is harder for us to see that and that is how we continue to accumulate more and more self-doubt. that is an issue because once we know that we have it all and it is going to continue to be there than we want to have something that we can get our selves and show that we got our-selves that is how we can learn to appreciate what we have, now, either we learn that way or we can learn until we lose it and have to work for it. yes she does compare herself but she envies the way gwyn is willing to show her personality even if she has to pretend.
to lita: i see what you mean when you say that karsh is what dimple needs in life. he fills in the little voids that dimple is always pointing out to herself. this ties in with deception through her lies. she is trying to lie to herself and make herself believe what even she knows isn't true: she doesn't like karsh and can be like gwyn if she tries hard enough. it reminds me of that part when she's trying to squeeze herself into those jeans at StyleChild...
my theme for the novel is feud/cultureclash/civil disobedience. i know that dimple is disobidient when she goes around with gwyn, dylan, and julian to the clubs and gets drunk in the movies and stuff, but all i really recognize (for the most part) is deception. she's constantly lying to her parents... help please?...
shelby, you have a point. i agree that dimple can't get,not only love, but anything else without decieving people around her. this proves that dimple loves the people around her and doesn't want to hurt them, but in doing so, while she waits it out, she gets all their hopes up and when the truth comes out, everyone becomes downhearted, just like when the truth about dylan's fling with cashmere came out at the coffeeshop.
dimple isn't accepting enough credit she deserves. if you notice, throughout the book, she is always contradicting the compliments that the people around her give her. she simply won't accept it! but at the same time, if someone tells her that she's bad at something, or that she's ugly or something of that nature, she won't be accepting to that either! she'll be upset, and probably let that get to her head more than the compliments, but she won't full-on let them fill her head. i think that this attitude imbalance will get her into some trouble if she doesn't change soon. all this will lead to conflict between people like her mother and gwyn who think more of her.
does anyone know what karsh's tragic flaws are???? thanks.
when i read born confused, i see a lot of deception and tragic flaws and that's how i connect the readings to my theme of civil disobedience and feud. how do dimple's relationships affect the way she behaves around them? you have to admit, she seems a little two-faced. how does this connect to the themes of love, deception, and feud?
both gwyn and dimple need to learn to be happy with what they already have. gwyn has looks, dimple has culture. each one wants exactly what they can't have and they aren't willing to let go of that fantasy and get on with life. it gets even worse when karsh comes into the picture because both girls like him and think that the other has better qualities than she. gwyn thinks that she'll win karsh over with the indian culture, and dimple thinks that gwyn is winning karsh over with her looks and indian wannabe attitude. the girls need to appreciate what they have already and get on with their lives or else they will never be happy and this will cause a lot of feuding between more than just gwyn and dimple, it'll involve their families, as well as karsh's mom, too.
i would think that karsh's tragic flaws are that he gives dimple the impression that he likes gwyn and that also goes for gwyn thinking that karsh likes her.
gabbym5, i wouldn't neccerly call her a two-face she is more likely to be seen that she is not willing to share her thoughts and feelings with anyone else like zara and kavita have been telling her to say what she feels and to be herself and i guess if you really think about it she may seem like a two-face. although i think that she doesn't have that quality.
i would think because they want what they each have (and yes! although that will creat fued) that will in the way help them bring their happiness and help with their disagreements and andission towards " what they can't have" which i highly doubt that they are not going to get.
I think Dimple is unique and hasn't realized her own greatness
This book parallels Romeo and Juliette well because it shows how fate has a lot to do with who you fall in love with
my theme is fate and in this book i've found a lot of evidence to support that
in the end of the story, it is revealed that karsh allegedly liked dimple more than gwyn the entire time, since they had met, but if i recall correctly, he did tell dimple that he was going to prove to gwyn that not all guys are "mean, selfish, greedy, and thoughtless." this sounds like some major deception to me! this can also be considered a tragic flaw because of miscommunication, and that same tragic flaw can lead to feuding between several characters, trying to prove whose interpretation of the quote is right.
i think it was right for dimple to call that meeting with gwyn in their childhood playhouse because they really needed to clear things up between them. both girls realized that they shared equal parts in their falling out, and needed to do something about it. i think it was good of gwyn to settle the dispute with some reflection time away from both dimple and karsh so that all of them could really calm down. i think they are finally yielding to their tragic flaws, and taking responsibility for the different acts of deception that they commited.
i believe that, in the theme of fate, karsh and dimple were destined to meet. dimple's and karsh's mothers met at a completely random moment, and when gwyn tried to intervene, she didn't succeed. she humiliated herself. in the end, karsh and dimple ended up together, even after their distanced, and long separation (thanks to gwyn). it all worked out.
i recently finished this book and i think it was really good, although i think the ending was slightly predictable. In the end when dimple finds herself i think she releases all the deception she had been using to hide the true her. but i was wondering, is being quiet and not standing up for herself a tragic flaw for dimple? and if so, because the book didnt end tragicly then does that mean its just a flaw and not a tragic one? lol i dont know if that makes sense, just wondering.
i see a parrallel between born confused and romeo and juliet. i see paris as gwyn standing in the way of their relationship. and also how romeo and juliet had alot of fate and destiny "in the stars", i think dimple and karsh were destined to be together, all of the little coincidences like their moms running in together, her cousin [kavita] and karsh going to the same school, meeting each other at the same night at the HotPot, ect ect.. so i see how this book relates to R&J
at the end of the book where gwyn tells dimple that she doesnt have it any harder than any other teenager, i agree with that. Even though Dimple soesnt fit the "beautiful skinny model" image, just because gwyn does doesnt mean her life is any easier. Gwyn is just as confused because her home life is extremely complicated, i think everyone is born confused because times are always changing so wheather your parents are from another culture or you have an unsteady home life, or you look diferent, or whatever all adolescents are born confused. right? well at least thats what i think
in today's discussion, i left out subtle details that may have contributed to the discussion in different ways. i think that i should have commented on what it took for karsh and dimple to be together. that would be: gwyn's humiliation. i thought that that was interesting. the theme it falls under: fate.
i think it's really great that dimple finally found herself. i also find it interesting that she found herself in karsh. personally, i think that when she was refusing the ways of her culture, and wanting to be like gwyn, she was refusing herself. and i also realized that dimple was now in the position that gwyn had been in the beginning of the novel, and gwyn was in dimple's. dimple has the boyfriend, and gwyn is the "third wheel." besides that, i agree with lita: the ending was pretty predictable.
i also just wantd to say i realized that it was a HUGE coincidence [or fate] that zara just so happend to work at the resturant Dimple was at.
I agree wtih lita. It was a big coinsidence that zara worked at the resturanut dimple chose to go to. There are so many things that connect to fate and time I just noticed. The end of the book was predictable but it was still really sweet. I tihnk that Gywn's and Dimple's relationship as friends might not be the same since dimple and karsh are now together but dimple finally opened up and might not care too much about what gwyn says anymore. Dimple found herself finally.
I also love that Dimple finally comes out and tells her true feelings. I think if she hadn't that she would probably would have ruined her and gwyns friendship and never got it back if she waited too long. Personally I think that gwyn shouldn't have been that mad. I mean Dimple is just sharing her thoughts and feelings. True bestfriends wouldn't get that upset. But thats just my opinion.
Also I'd like to mention all of gwyns tragic flaws. To me she's a boyfriend stealer;culture stealer and even goes far enough to try to steal dimples family! I mean yeah everyone has their tragic flaws which in the book gives gwyn everything int he beginning but because of those flaws she ends up with nothing in the ending. SHe even risks her bestfriend.
i woulnt think that gwyn would try to steal or even steal dimples culture, familly i would think that was just lookimg for a familly that she can equally share what they have to give or what she can give.a familly that she can feel that she can belong to and feel needed.to somewhere/to someone that can make her feel better and not alone.
in my point of view i think that gwyn wasnt willing to let karsh go even if it meant that she would stop being friends with dimpl. i think that gwyn was just seeking happiness and she would do anything to get it.
did anyone get the ending if so can someone explain it to me?
does anyone think that there could of been a better ending? if so what? do you think that dimple should of gotten karsh? or not just so that she could learn a lesson?
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