The Summer of the beautiful white horse
By: William Saroyan
Do you think Mourad is crazy?
He's crazy
• He popped up at his cousin's house at four in the morning with a white horse
- "...[M]y cousin Mourad, who was considered crazy by everybody who knew him except me, came to my house at for in the morning and woke me up by tapping on the window of my room." (p. 1) • He was crazy enough to steal a horse and risk ruining his family's beloved reputation of honesty - "Mourad, I said, where did you steal this horse? Leap out of the window, he said, if you want to ride. It was true, then. He had stolen the horse." (p. 3) • He feels like he has a way with everything; farmers, dogs, or horses - "Don't forget that I have a way with a horse." (p. 4) "I have a way with farmers." (p. 8) "I have a way with dogs." (p. 9) |
He's not crazy
Although he popped up at his cousin's house at four in the morning, he had a reason for it. It was so that he would not get caught that he stole the horse, and no one is up at four in the morning.
- "What are you waiting for? We've got to take him back before everybody in the world is up and about." (p. 5) • Even though he risked his family's honest reputation, he was fairly intelligent to know that he should hide the secret and not reveal it to anyone, except Mourad. He even sneaked back the horse in without getting caught. - "Early the following morning we took the horse to John Byro's vineyard and put it in the barn. (9) • Mourad isn't crazy because he knows not to keep the horse forever. Eventually, it could happen that he would be caught and his family reputation would be ruined. - "We could keep the horse a year. My cousin Mourad leaped to his feet. What? he roared. Are you inviting a member of the Garoghlanian family to steal? The horse must go back to his true owner." (p. 8) |
Vocabulary
For each word you must provide the quote from the book and a definition
Consequently - The definition of consequently can be defined as: as a result or as aconsequence
-"Consequently, even though I could smell it, so lovely; even though I could hear it breathing, so exciting; I couldn't believe the horse had anything to do with my cousin Mourad or with me or with any of the other members of our family, asleep or awake, because I knew my cousin Mourad couldn't have bought the horse, and if he couldn't have boughten it he must have stolen it, and I refused to believe he had stolen it." (p. 2)
Pious - The definition of pious can be defined as: a godlike presence; holy
- "There was a pious stillness and humor in each of them which on the one hand delighted me and on the other frightened me." (p. 3)
Irritable - The definition of irritable can be defined as: annoying
-"Before him was our uncle Khosrove, an enormous man with a powerful head of black hair and the largest mustache in the San Joaquin Valley, a man so furious in temper, so irritable, so impatient that he stopped anyone from talking by roaring, It is no harm; pay not attention to it." (p. 4)
Capricious - The definition of capricious can be defined as: random or inconstant
-"The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning capricious and vagrant." (p. 4)
Vagrant - The definition of vagrant can be defined as: careless
-"The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning capricious and vagrant." (p. 4)
For each word you must provide the quote from the book and a definition
Consequently - The definition of consequently can be defined as: as a result or as aconsequence
-"Consequently, even though I could smell it, so lovely; even though I could hear it breathing, so exciting; I couldn't believe the horse had anything to do with my cousin Mourad or with me or with any of the other members of our family, asleep or awake, because I knew my cousin Mourad couldn't have bought the horse, and if he couldn't have boughten it he must have stolen it, and I refused to believe he had stolen it." (p. 2)
Pious - The definition of pious can be defined as: a godlike presence; holy
- "There was a pious stillness and humor in each of them which on the one hand delighted me and on the other frightened me." (p. 3)
Irritable - The definition of irritable can be defined as: annoying
-"Before him was our uncle Khosrove, an enormous man with a powerful head of black hair and the largest mustache in the San Joaquin Valley, a man so furious in temper, so irritable, so impatient that he stopped anyone from talking by roaring, It is no harm; pay not attention to it." (p. 4)
Capricious - The definition of capricious can be defined as: random or inconstant
-"The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning capricious and vagrant." (p. 4)
Vagrant - The definition of vagrant can be defined as: careless
-"The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning capricious and vagrant." (p. 4)
Reflection: Morals
Objective: Write a reflection or T-chart about your family's morals and how it relates to Mourad.
Objective: Write a reflection or T-chart about your family's morals and how it relates to Mourad.
Our Morals
- Respect elders - Have manners - Do Your Best |
Mourad's Actions
- Mourad steals the horse that belongs to the friend of the family; John Byro, which means that he did not respect his elder when he did this "It was true, then. He had stolen the horse." (p. 3) - Mourad did not have manners when he stole the white horse, and woke his cousin up at four in the morning for something as simplistic as that, but he did have manners when he knew to return back the white horse he had stolen. "The horse must go back to its true owner." (p. 8) - The few things Mourad did in the story where he did his best were hiding. He HID the fact that he stole the horse. He HID the horse some place where no one would look. And he even HID the fact that he returned it. "Early the following morning we took the horse to John Byro's vineyard and put it in the barn." (p. 9) |