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 15th 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 2nd, 1930 –
September 12th, 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 and
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
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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=HpbjWlXJl
pQ&feature=related
Resources
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http://www.abrahamverghese.com/biography.asp
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2009/janfeb/features/verghese.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/11/abraham-verghese-ethiopia-coup-1973
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/Quit.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_da_Gama#Pilgrim_ship_incident
http://www.pragjesu.info/en/african_mission.htm
http://www.carmelitemissions.org/st.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayali
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayali
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Cochin+in+the+State+of+Kerala&um=1&hl=en&biw=979&bih=405&tbm=isch&tbnid=feJBFrvVu089bM:&imgrefurl=http://www.ucanews.com/diocesa
n-directory/html/dps-ia_cochin.php&docid=moDyhk8KR-dh6M&imgurl=http://www.ucanews.com/diocesan-directory/images/dpsia_cochin_map.gif&w=313&h=324&ei=x3ZuT7qiC4Xn0QGwrfXdBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=310&vpy=47&dur=4649&hovh=228&hovw=221&tx=120&ty=137&sig=11673069807319941016
6&page=3&tbnh=104&tbnw=100&start=28&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:28
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Cochin+in+the+State+of+Kerala+Map&um=1&hl=en&biw=979&bih=405&tbm=isch&tbnid=IIAm20Cc1QSyM:&imgrefurl=http://keralatravelinformationkeralatourism.blogspot.com/&docid=8R2wbSHXeZUYMM&imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/Qg2n99F1qqM/TYMNQzyFXHI/AAAAAAAABGI/CdBhaSERCfg/s1600/kerala-touristmap.gif&w=640&h=598&ei=KXduT9WdOKng0QHOnMS4Bg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=51&vpy=75&dur=1466&hovh=217&hovw=232&tx=144&ty=164&sig=116730698073199410166&page
=1&tbnh=100&tbnw=107&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=India+and+Ethiopia+map&um=1&hl=en&biw=979&bih=405&tbm=isch&tbnid=9lJe2topHDmkM:&imgrefurl=http://www.wocuk.org/where.htm&docid=6BbI8RHMn3SvXM&imgurl=http://www.wocuk.org/images/map-large.jpg&w=684&h=390&ei=x3duTUM6e7SAZGa6MwG&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=641&vpy=85&dur=3338&hovh=169&hovw=297&tx=243&ty=98&sig=116730698073199410166&page=5&tbnh=80&tbnw=141&start=50&nd
sp=16&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:50
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=India+and+Ethiopia+map&um=1&hl=en&biw=979&bih=405&tbm=isch&tbnid=S0FHX0HCs_f_KM:&imgrefurl=http://www.thebusinessage.com/2010/
03/23/ethiopia-becoming-major-centre-for-indian-investment/&docid=ZKt9N2KP_leERM&imgurl=http://www.thebusinessage.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/03/ethiopia_map.jpg&w=475&h=507&ei=x3duTUM6e7SAZGa6MwG&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=83&vpy=44&dur=9500&hovh=232&hovw=217&tx=130&ty=134&sig=116730698073199410166&page=4&tbnh=112&tbnw=105&start=35&n
dsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:35
http://www.imperialethiopia.org/selassie.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adwa
http://www.imperialethiopia.org/history1.htm
http://www.imperialethiopia.org/languages.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror_(Ethiopia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Ethiopian_coup_attempt
http://sirius-c.ncat.edu/AAU-Network/news/feature/esm.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Ethiopia#Ethnic_groups