47
The pear tree
Textbook: Part 3, pp. 58–61
GoalGive general information on Latif Mahmudov’s story “Nok”; reflect on attachment to one’s home place using our own text.
New words
dwelling place · maskanmemory · xotirato long for · qo‘msamoqneighbourhood · mahalla
Explanation
Latif Mahmudov was born in Tashkent in 1933 and wrote stories, novellas and plays for children and teenagers. The textbook has his story “Nok” (The pear), about the feelings of a family that has moved to a new place. We do not quote it or tell its events; we read our own text. A story (hikoya) is a prose work with events, a hero and a setting. The theme is what the work is about; the idea is the conclusion we draw from it. We separate theme and idea in our own text.
Worked examples
Text “Grandfather’s library”. Malika went to her grandfather’s village for the summer holiday. Next to the village school was a small library that her grandfather had opened many years ago. Malika and her grandfather glued torn books and wiped the shelves. In the evening village children came to borrow books, and Malika read them a tale. Then she understood how dear this village was to her. When leaving she said: “I’ll come again in autumn.”
Theme: love for one’s home place. Idea: a dear place should be cared for and kept.
Class activity
“My dear place”: children write 3 sentences about a place they love and say why it is dear.
Practice
1
Where did Malika go in summer?
To her grandfather’s village
2
What was next to the school?
A small library her grandfather had opened
3
What did Malika do with her grandfather?
They glued torn books and wiped the shelves.
4
What is the theme of the text?
Love for one’s home place.
5
What is the difference between theme and idea?
Theme is what it is about; idea is the conclusion.