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"Fluke" Questions

Questions for "Fluke" short story

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amanda.edwards
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345 views

"Fluke" Questions

Questions for "Fluke" short story

Uploaded by

amanda.edwards
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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“Fluke” questions Name:___________________

What does the word “fluke” mean?

Make notations for each of these characters:


character Descriptions from the text Ideas / inferences drawn about this
character

Mr
Weerakoon

Vasantha (the
narrator)

2 women

12 men

Buddhist
monk

Lucky
Find evidence of these motifs & think about why they might be significant:
motif Text evidence significance

The water /
pool/ sea

The lunch
served

Marketing /
business
strategy

Luck

IRONY:
This story is full of irony [situational - the opposite occurs than what is expected; verbal - someone
says something but the opposite is true (sarcasm can apply), and dramatic - the audience knows
something other characters do not]
Find examples of each type of irony and discuss their effects
Quote Language features/ Effect / significance
techniques

“His blue suit is tight so that he


looks like he is bursting with
energy, which I imagine
impresses his clients who are in
need of gurus with vitality” (pg 1)

“He was a man of the modern


world. The brand-new face of
our remodelled country open at
last for full-on business” (pg 1)

‘You better stay in the room


then. Keep that Gucci flowing.
Good for you anyway. You might
get a tip or two about marketing.
You are a small-size
entrepreneur, no?’ (pg 2)

These days it is so hard to spot


a fake (pg 2)

‘Exactly. You have to think


strategically. If you don't start
the fight, you don't get to throw
the first punch. Every navy in
the world learnt the lesson of
Pearl Harbour’ (pg 4)

“Chasing whales must be better


than chasing Sea Tigers” (pg 4)

“The trick is to learn how to be


lulled into sleep. I thought I
should tell Mr Weerakoon that,
on our way back. Marketing is a
doddle. Dealing with a cock-up
is the real problem. Small
mistakes that grow into bigger
ones. God knows we have had
plenty of those. A tip from me to
him: find out from the sailor how
to sleep easy. Whatever your
foibles, your wanton misdeeds,
you can dream of new ventures
and be a success if you can
sleep easy. It can't be that
difficult. People do it all over the
place. A secure pin number is a
good start” (pg 5)
In an article that reviews Noontide Toll, author Shehan Karunatilaka makes some observations (you can
read the article here). Think about how these observations could connect to allusions, events, or
characters in “Fluke”
Observation from the article Discussion / connection to “Fluke”

“Our civil war may have ended five years ago, but
the arguments never stopped – over why we
harass minorities, why we silence journalists and
why even countries with dodgy human rights
records find us offensive.”

“Vasantha's thoughts are the soul of the book,


rambling and poetic, wrapped in folksy wit and
shrewd observation. Through him, Romesh
Gunesekera examines the central argument that
continues to rage across the island and its many
roads. How should Sri Lanka address its past? Do
we dig it up or do we bury it?”

“Do we write as outsiders, or admit complicity?


How truthfully can we describe Sri Lanka? Do we
parade the horrors like a human rights
documentary, or present the beauty like a travel
brochure?”

“The book is littered with symbols, including the


van, once white, like many that feature in reports
of political abductions. The white van is now a
symbol of Sri Lanka's intolerance of dissent;
while the characters seek peace and
reconciliation, the vehicle they travel in reminds
us of how far away those destinations are.”

At the end of the story, it’s implied that Vasantha unlocked Mr Weerakoon’s phone. What do you
think he did after unlocking it?

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