TITLE: Candle In The Wind Grade Level: 8-9 AUTHOR: Maureen Wartski THEMES: Communication, escalation and de-escalation of violence, perspective taking, and bias. SYNOPSIS: Harris Mizuno is killed on the night his parents are giving a party to celebrate his full scholarship to Harvard. The elderly man who shot him had mistaken him for a thug. The community gets caught up in the aftermath of racism and revenge while the Mizuno family seems tossed apart in their grief. Fifteen-year-old Terri Mizuno comes to a deeper understanding of hate and reason through her Japanese grandmother, her newest friend and the man who shot her brother. QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTED ANSWERS: Q. Choose one of these quotes from Candle In The Wind and explain how it sums up the book’s message. "An eye for an eye makes the world blind." "I understand how you feel, but force isn't the answer." Q. How did Terri become friends with Nick Kawalsky? A. Nick advocated reason and tolerance when Terri’s friend Melanie discussed Harris’ murder in the school hallway. Later in the library Nick shared his feelings about his mother's death. Q. There are many nonviolent ways to deal with anger. How did Nick deal with his feelings after his mother was killed by a drunk driver? A. Kept a journal. Q. Although Terri’s Japanese grandmother seems very critical of strong women, how has she demonstrated her own strength? A. She kept her children from starving during the war. She defied her husband's edict and kept in touch with Terri’s family. She left Japan in old age to come to the U.S. She got up and spoke from her heart to the marchers. Q. What are some of the ways that hatred and intolerance were forced on the Mizuno family? A. Windows broken, graffiti sprayed on the house, taunts, racial slurs, physical attacks, tabloid headlines, ostracism. Q. In 1994 a home was vandalized for displaying the Jewish menorah during the holidays. Hundreds of community members displayed paper menorahs in their windows as a show of support and respect for diversity. The situation was defused. What are some possible ways the Mizunos’ community could have shown support for the Mizunos? A. Answers may vary, some examples: Buttons, ribbons, some visible show of respect. Fund-raisers for scholarship in Harris’ name. Vigils outside Mizunos’ house to deflect vandalism. Supportive letters to the editor. Supportive cards, visits Zero tolerance laws passed to curb threats of civil rights violations. Efforts by the schools to teach conflict resolution. Q. Describe how Terri's feelings about Rodney Waring changed after she talked to him and intervened on his behalf? A. Answers may vary. Q. Studies show that the more TV people watch, the more fearful they are of crime and the more readily they say violence stops violence. Do you think this correlation is true of people in your life? A. Answers may vary. Q. Obaachan says, "Man's life is only a candle in the wind...Hate from inside...is what puts the candle out." How did she learn this from events in her own family? A. Her husband suffered the disgrace of being taken prisoner by Americans during the war. He disowned their son for not sharing his hatred of Americans. Their family was never together again. Q. "A single golden rose is growing in the garden and it is elegant in its perfection, spotless until a speck of soot chances to fall on it. But it's such a tiny speck, a pinhead of darkness, so nobody pays any attention. But then more and more soot falls...A hundred specks of soot will blot out the beauty of the rose. How much hate will it take to extinguish the light of reason inside a person?" What does this passage mean to you? A. Answers may vary. Developed by Laura P. Weldon. Reprinted with permission of Peace Grows, Inc.
State Home Page | OCDRCM Home  | The Commission | Updates | Useful Resources For Schools | For Courts and Communities | For State and Local Governments | Write to us