50 pages • 1 hour read
Michele MarineauRoad to Chlifa
Michele MarineauFiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1992A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
SECTION 1
Reading Check
1. What word does the narrator use to describe Karim’s effect on the class?
2. What type of French does Karim speak?
3. Where does the teacher, Robert, take the class for the weekend?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Compare Karim’s version of his first day of school with the narrator’s version of Karim’s first day.
2. What are some of the struggles that Karim experiences in his new life in Canada? How does he try to contend with the challenges?
3. Summarize the conversation regarding ethnic diversity amongst the students. How does Karim respond to this conversation?
4. Why does Karim wake up in the hospital? How does this event reveal the true characteristics of some of his classmates as well as Karim’s own motivations?
Paired Resources
“Shifting Aspirations: Young Syrian Refugees’ Experience in Canada”
- Refugee Outreach’s 2023 article is an overview of the challenges that Syrian refugees face in the North American nation.
- This information connects with the themes The Heterogeneity of the Immigrant Experience, Nature Versus Culture, and The Importance of Storytelling.
- How do the experience of Syrian refugees compare with Karim’s experience as a Lebanese refugee 30 years prior? What might these experiences suggest about the adaptation and effectiveness of refugee resettlement programs in Canada?
SECTION 2 (PAGES 37-84)
Reading Check
1. What happened on April 13, 1975?
2. Who is the relative Nada and her parents are trying to save when they die?
3. What phrase do many members of the community use to describe Maha?
4. What is Maha’s primary concern with going to France?
5. What is the meaning of “Lebanon” in English?
6. According to the narrative, what type of event does not hold anyone’s interest?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Describe the circumstances that keep Karim away from his parents.
2. Who is Nada? How does this person shape Karim’s memories of the war?
3. Why does Maha want to go to Chlifa? How does Karim respond to this decision?
4. Who is Antoine Milad? How does Karim hope this person can aid him and Maha in their journey?
5. With what tapestry does Maha become enamored? What does she compare this tapestry to?
Paired Resources
“Lebanon’s Ordeal From Civil War To Port Blast”
- Reuter’s 2020 article provides a timeline of the conflict in Lebanon, including events after Marineau’s novel.
- This article connects with the theme Legacies of Violence and Classical Mythology and Lebanese Culture.
- Has the conflict resolved in Lebanon? Explain.
- Minority Rights Group provides a detailed overview of the political and ethnographic history of Lebanon.
- This information connects with the themes Legacies of Violence, The Heterogeneity of the Immigrant Experience, Nature Versus Culture, and Classical Mythology and Lebanese Culture.
- What connections exist between Lebanon’s diverse population and its history of violence? Explain.
SECTION 2 (PAGES 85-132)
Reading Check
1. What parting gift does Milad give Maha?
2. What “unreal and haunting” natural site do Karim and Maha see while walking?
3. How did Maha learn about Karim and Nada’s relationship?
4. What did Maha promise herself that she would do if she saw snow?
5. What title is Maha given upon her death?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What are some of the topics that Karim and Maha discuss while traveling to Chlifa? How do these conversations affect Karim’s opinion of Maha?
2. What does Maha mean by “old ruins” and “young ruins”? How does she differentiate these terms and what sentiment does she attach to them?
3. Who is Black Beard? How does she help Karim and Maha in their journey?
4. How does Black Beard lose her life? What does this reveal about the setting that Karim and Maha are in? How does Maha react to the situation?
5. Summarize the circumstances surrounding Maha’s death. How does Karim react and what does he decide to do?
Paired Resources
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art shares the background and an analysis of the Unicorn Tapestries.
- This information connects to the theme The Importance of Storytelling.
- What is the significance of the unicorn allusions in the novel? How do they connect to Maha’s development as a character?
“The Lebanese Crisis and Its Impact on Immigrants and Refugees”
- Migration Policy Institute’s article discusses the challenges that both Lebanese refugees as well as refugees living in Lebanon faced in 2006.
- This resource connects with the themes Legacies of Violence, The Heterogeneity of the Immigrant Experience, and The Importance of Storytelling.
- According to this article, what is the refugee experience like for those from Lebanon? How does Karim’s story compare to the situation in 2006 described in this article? Explain.
SECTION 3
Reading Check
1. According to Karim, what does he recall in the hospital bed?
2. According to the narrator, for whom does Karim have “a soft spot” in their class?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What are the 3 observations that Karim makes talking to My-Lan in the hospital? How do these observations cause him to reflect on life?
2. What list does Karim send to Béchir? What does this list reveal about his future goals?
Recommended Next Reads
Cassiopée: L’été Polonais by Michèle Marineau
- Marineau’s 1988 novel centers on protagonist Cassiopée who runs away from home.
- Shared themes include The Heterogeneity of the Immigrant Experience, Nature Versus Culture, and The Importance of Storytelling.
- Shared topics include bildungsroman, difficult journeys, and late-20th century novels.
Refugee by Alan Gratz
- Gratz’s 2017 novel follows three refugee children as they navigate the difficulties of travelling to find safety in a new country.
- Shared themes include Legacies of Violence, The Heterogeneity of the Immigrant Experience, Nature Versus Culture, and The Importance of Storytelling.
- Shared topics include refugees, difficult journeys, and novels set in the Middle East and North America.
- Refugee on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
SECTION 1
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. On the first day of school, the narrator suggests that her classmates are surprised to see Karim, whom they regard with moderate interest and continued mocking. Karim’s diary reveals a similar sentiment, noting that he felt as though he caught the attention of others in a negative way. (Section 1)
2. Karim struggles with life in Canada, using his diary to talk about “the coldness, the grayness, the ugliness.” He writes about the actions of his peers as shallow and promiscuous. Based on his friend’s advice, he tries to find the positives of his new home but thinks it will be difficult. (Section 1)
3. Some of the students who have migrated from various parts of the world discuss their first impressions after moving to Canada; they note an increased amount of ethnic diversity they had not seen in their countries of origin, as well as the lack of discipline and respect that younger generations demonstrate. Karim is silent during this conversation. (Section 1)
4. Karim wakes up in the hospital after being stabbed by Dave during the school trip. The narrator reveals that Karim stepped in to protect My-Lan from Dave as Dave was assaulting her. Karim began to pummel Dave, and Dave stabbed Karim. Although the class assumes that Karim wanted to save My-Lan in particular, Karim’s inner monologue reveals that he did not do it to save her, but mostly for himself. (Section 1)
SECTION 2 (PAGES 37-84)
Reading Check
1. Events that led to the start of the civil war in Lebanon (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
2. Aunt Leila (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
3. “A bad seed” (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
4. That Maha will be separated from her brother Jad (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
5. It derives from the word for milk in Arabic. (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
6. Wars that seem to last indefinitely (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
Short Answer
1. Although the war officially started one decade before, the political situation deteriorates in the late 1980s, making war the norm of Karim’s life. Karim’s family decides to visit Karim’s grandmother in Canada, leaving Karim behind in Beirut to focus on school until he can join them; however, violence breaks out again and Karim remains there with his best friend Béchir. (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
2. Nada is Karim’s love interest. Although he has known her since they were both young, he realizes his attraction to her around the time of his 17th birthday. Béchir tries to support his friend by organizing visits with Karim to Nada’s house, a semi-regular occurrence that happens until Béchir and his family leave for France and Nada’s house is bombed. (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
3. After losing almost her entire family in the explosion, Maha determines that she wants to travel to Chlifa with Jad in order to stay with Elias, a former employee of Maha’s family. The road is long, arduous, and dangerous, and although Karim tries to persuade her to stay in Beirut, he decides to accompany her when she insists on the journey. (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
4. Antoine Milad is a friend of Karim’s father living in the Christian part of Beirut. In order to cross the Green Line, Karim gives Milad’s name as their uncle to the security officers. Milad arrives to pick up the children, plays along with their game, and briefly hosts them at his house before driving them out of the city and past the checkpoints so they can continue their journey. (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
5. At Milad’s house, Maha sees a postcard of the Lady of Unicorn tapestry, which depicts women and animals living in harmony. Mesmerized, she compares the tapestry to a dream, and she hopes to live in a place like this one day with no fear and with peace. (Section 2, Pages 37-84)
SECTION 2 (PAGES 85-132)
Reading Check
1. The postcard of the Lady with the Unicorn (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
2. Moonstones (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
3. From her sister’s diary (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
4. That she would make a snow angel (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
5. A martyr (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
Short Answer
1. As they begin their journey to Chlifa, Karim and Maha discuss a variety of topics including Nada and religion. Karim begins to feel more comfortable around Maha and sees her in a different light than before. (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
2. Maha uses the term “old ruins” to refer to ancient relics, while “new ruins” refers to the destruction of recent war, such as the bombed buildings in Beirut. Maha suggests that humanity believes ancient ruins to be beautiful, when in fact the horrors of war are attached to these sites. (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
3. Black Beard is a goat that Maha and Karim are able to catch. She helps the pair by providing milk and companionship. (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
4. Black Beard loses her life by stepping on a mine. Maha is devastated and tries to find the carcass in order to bury it, but the pair realize that they must continue their journey on the Roman road in order to avoid the bombs. Maha is upset by the death of Black Beard; she recalls the death of her sister and how she was jealous of her. (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
5. After a brief argument, Karim leaves Maha to go on a walk; upon his return he discovers that she has been raped and murdered. Devastated, he is determined to bring her body to Chlifa. He brings the body to a nearby village and she is buried under a juniper tree. He learns that Maha’s nanny, Elias, has been dead six months, so he decides to take Jad with him to Syria in order to then fly to Montreal to meet his parents. (Section 2, Pages 85-132)
SECTION 3
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. From My-Lan’s visits, Karim realizes that (1) he is not the only one who has experienced unhappiness, as she had also seen death and suffering in her country; (2) there is no point in letting the unhappiness get the better of you; and (3) people sometimes choose whether they live or die. From his conversations with her, Karim makes the decision to participate more fully in his new life in Montreal. (Section 3)
2. Karim writes the list of 21 things he likes to his friend Béchir. His list includes people, places, and things from his life in Montreal. The list also reveals that Karim is passionate about becoming a doctor and moving back to Lebanon to help rebuild his country. (Section 3)
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