Chapters 41-51 Due Monday, October 10

Chapter 41
This is an important chapter which contains descriptions of attributes of the 3 miniaturists--one of whom is the murderer. Read the descriptions of the painters attributes carefully. Master Osman tells us "genuine artists have an instinctive desire to draw what's forbidden!"(p253)

Chapter 42
A contest is devised to entrap the murderer. What is this contest and what will be the clue used to identify the murderer? Black is fearful that he will himself be caught up in the contest. Master Osman reveals his fear that this is the end of an era in Islamic painting. (p272)

Chapters 43, 44, 45
We observe each of the miniaturists drawing the horse. We learn more about each. At the end of each of these chapters, the miniaturists reveal a statement about how they feel about their painted images. These are important statements to help identify the murderer. Anyone want to take a "stab" at who the murderer is?

Chapter 46
The murderer tells us he knows the competition to draw the horse is a trap.

Chapter 47
This chapter is told from the point of view of Satan. An interesting line on p288:
If all men went to Heaven, no one would ever be frightened, and the world and its governments could never function on virtue alone for in our world evils is a necessary as virtue and sin as necessary as rectitude." Do you agree?

Chapter 48
Shekure shares that she suspects Black may be the murderer.

Chapter 49
Master Osman and Black are taken into the Sultan's secret treasury to identify the specific technique that will identify the painter of the horse and hence the murderer. What do you think is Mater Osman's true motive for getting into the Sultan's treasury?

Chapter 50
This chapter told by Two Dervishes found on a painting in the Sultan's treasury. They tell a tale of how they fooled a Venetian painter.

Chapter 51
Master Osman is overwhelmed when he finds and gets to examine one of the rarest paintings in the Sultan's treasury a work by master Bihzad. Master Osman then does a horrendous thing. What did Master Osman do? Why did he do it?

Outside resources:
If you haven't already viewed this, please watch this overview of the book:
http://www.learner.org/courses/worldlit/my-name-is-red/watch/

Wikipedia reference on dervishes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dervish

Chapters 30-40 Comments due 9/19/11

Chapter 30 - Shekure discovers her father's body. This is an interesting chapter describing Shekure's and Hayriye's reactions to the Enishte's death.

Chapter 31 - Written by the color red. A beautiful and imaginative chapter where red tels us it is half serious and half mirthful and also that colors are not know, but felt.(p187)
Have you ever felt a color?

Chapter 32 - Shekure and Black plot to hide Enishte's death.
Can you list one of the reasons they want to do this?
Shekure gives Black 4 stipulations to follow if she agrees to marry him.
What are these stipulations?

Chapter 33 - Black obtains the divorce he needs to marry Shekure and they decide to keep Enishte's death a secret until after the wedding. Shekure adds yet ANOTHER stipulation before she will marry Black.
Can you list this?
We also learn that the murderer stole the last painting from Enishte's house.
Did you find situations in this chapter that were humorous?

Chapter 34- Everyone is feeling guilty and fears being accused of Enishte's murder. In this chapter, Shekure tells us about her fears for her children. Black is confronted by Hasan.
Can you list one of her fears for her children?

Chapter 35 - This chapter is told by a horse. The horse brags about it's beauty and criticizes miniaturists who have never gone off to war and therefore incorrectly depict its gallop.

Chapter 36 - Black mulls over the paintings made for the forbidden book and comes to the realization that they hold the secret of who the murder is. The children are told of their grandfather's death. Black goes to report the death Enishte to the Head Treasurer and turns over the 9 forbidden illustrations. It is noted that the 10th and last illustration, which was to to be a portrait of the Sultan, was taken by the murderer.

Chapter 37 - Enishte returns to us one last time to let us know how it feels to pass through to death and that he is pleased with his funeral. Enishte admits that he desired to have his own portrait painted in the Venetian style, but was frightened and settled on having the Sultan's portrait painted.

Chapter 38 - This chapter is written by Master Osman, who grieves over the fact that the style of paining that he has devoted his life to will now change and become less significant. He is summoned by the Head Treasurer who tells him about the secret book, that his miniaturists were working on it and that Enishte has been murdered, probably because of it. The Head Treasurer tells Master Osman that the Sultan demands two things of him.
Can you name these two demands from the Sultan?
We find out that Olive, Stork, Butterfly and Black are the murder suspects and that there are intentions to torture them to find the guilty party.

Chapter 39 - Esther helps attend to the women while the men are at Enishte's funeral. She learns of the suspicions that Enishte was dead before Shekure and Black were married. Shekure sends Esther to Elegant Effendi's widow to find out why that widow whose husband died under similar circumstances has not sent her condolences to Shekure.
Why did Elegant Effendi's widow ignore acknowledging Enishte's death?

Chapter 40 - Black is summoned to the palace. He is frightened of being tortured by the guards to admit to Enishte's murder and he regrets he hasn't even had the chance to make love to his new wife yet.
On his way to the palace, Black picks up something that he thinks is a token of good fortune sent by Allah.
What is this good luck token?
Black is tortured but does not admit to the killing. The Sultan then orders the torture to be stopped and Black is informed that Master Osman has been given three days in which to interrogate Olive, Stork and Butterfly and disclose the murderer and come up with the missing illustration. Black is to assist him.
What will happen if they fail?

Optional reading:
An article on the Tower of London torture chamber:
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/torture.htm

Wikipedia citation on the beautiful Turkish horse. Were fed an interesting high protein diet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkoman_horse

Chapters 19-29 Comments due Monday 9/12/11

Ch 19 is one of my favorites so far. Written from the point of view of a gold Venetian coin, I found this perspective to be both creative and amusing. I seem to remember seeing a movie once about a dollar bill--following it's travels through the hands of many people with insight into their stories.
How many times did the coin change hands in during it's last 7 years in Istanbul?

Ch20 Black has an excellent discussion with Enishte about why the new art of portraiture is so frightening. They also talk alot about "shadow."
Can you list a few of the fears they expressed about this new type of painting?

Do you know of any other examples from other cultures/countries/religions that prohibit taking or making human images?

Ch 21 Enishte feels the approach of his own death. He can imagine his death at Black's hands (p112). He fiddles with e Mongol inkpot Black gave him as a present. (p111) He tells Black that the last picture contains a depiction of death. Enishte makes Shekure promise that if he dies, she will make sure the book is finished.

Ch 22 Black reignites his desire for Shekure and realizes that he must come to terms with her sons if he is to marry her.

Ch 23 The murderer begins to feel the sinister ache at the back of his throat. On pg 125, the murderer follows Black and gives us some very revealing information/clues.....

Read the three paragraphs starting with As I watched Black walking..." and complete this sentence......COULD THE MURDERER BE___________________.

Ch 24 A chapter written by death itself. Tellingly, death says the miniaturist who drew him now believes he's become what he has drawn. (128)

Ch 25 Esther tells us (p131) one of her motives for encouraging the love triangle.
What would that be?

How hard a life could you image it would be for a aged widow without family in those times?

Ch 26 Hasan writes Shekure a letter in which he tells her he is going to bring her back to his house. (p136) Shekure agrees to meet Black in the house of the Hanged Jew (p139). Shevket tells his mother that he thinks Black killed his father (p143) Shekure arranges for her sons to be taken out of the house for the day (145). During their meeting in the house of the Hanged Jew, Black finally gets to embrace Shekure (p148)

Ch 27 Shekure ups the ante on Black in their game of love chess.

Shekure wants Black to do 4 things before she will marry him. What are they?
Ch 28 The murderer comes to Enishte's house with forethought and intent (p155) and receives signs that Allah approves of what he is about to do. He gets further encouragement to carry out his task by remembering an interaction with Enishte that happened long ago (p164). The murder admits to Enishte that he killed Elegant (p165).

Ch 29 Enishte is murdered.