A Formulating Questions piece is meant to help us understand the writing better and to help us be able to generate questions about texts in the future.
I enjoyed completing formulating questions because it helped my mind think about the text and helped me come up with questions. It made me wonder about different things and in trying to find the answers I was able to answer more questions I didn't even know I had.
Formulating Questions #1
Oaxaca - A state in Mexico God - A superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity Death - The action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person or organism. Fair - In accordance with the rules or standards; legitimate. Peasant - A poor farmer of low social status who owns or rents a small piece of land for cultivation Poor - lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.
Why is God so confident? Why does Death seem less full of himself than God? Why is the peasant giving his family the food he needs so he doesn’t starve? How does the peasant steal the chicken? In order for the peasant to steal the chicken would God have to allow it?
I think that God is so confident in himself because he is all powerful and isn’t used to being refused. I think that Death isn’t as full of himself because he isn’t as loved, people loathe meeting him and try to avoid it as long as possible. I think that the peasant gives his family his portions because he would rather starve than them. I think that the peasant might have swiped it from a vender, but there is no way to be sure. As much as I try, I am not able to answer this.
This made me think of the real difference between what is fair and unfair. I came to the conclusion that fair and unfair aren’t that different, the definition changes person to person. It also changes on the situation.For example my mom’s definition of fair is “honest and just” and her definition of unfair is “unjust.” She said that something would only be unfair if it was unjust.
Formulating Questions #2
Swindlers - a con artist Procession - the act of moving forward Magnifique - the French word for magnificent Nysseligt - the Danish word for excellent Cavaliers - a supporter of the king Chamberlains - an officer who handles the household of a monarch
Why would the Emperor believe the swindlers? Why did the swindlers hide the gold and silk? How did the swindlers convince the Emperor to give them more gold and silk? Why did it take a child saying that the Emperor wasn’t wearing any clothes for them to realize it? In the end did the Emperor know that he was tricked?
I believe that the Emperor believed the swindlers because he is very gullible and selfish and he wanted the best clothes for himself and wanted to see who was incompetent and stupid of those who worked for him so that he may fire them and hire someone who wasn’t. I think that the swindlers hid the gold and silk so that if/when they were caught their riches couldn’t be found and then confiscated. I think that the swindlers told the Emperor that they needed more silk for the outfit and that they required more gold because it was more work then anticipated or some lie like that. I believe that it took that because a small child can not know anything without being incompetent or stupid and so they would be able to see the clothes, and when they weren’t able to see the clothes everyone finally realized that there weren’t any. I think that in the very end the Emperor knew that he had been tricked because he had heard the whole crowd saying that he had nothing on and he probably realized that not everyone in the kingdom is stupid and incompetent so he must have been tricked.
I want to start with the moral of this story which I think is not to believe everything you say. I learned from this fable that just because you want something to be true saying that it is and getting everyone to say it is won’t make it true and there will always be those one or two people who see through everything that you are trying to do and will call you on it and make everyone question what is happening, possibly even yourself. So really think about what is told to you and whether you should believe it or not and the consequences.