tottochanstorysummary and quest PPT.pptx

totto chan story summary

1. TOTTOCHAN Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

2. Introduction and Summary

3. This book is the story of a Japanese television personality and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador,  Tetsuko Kuroyanagi , who wrote down her experiences in Tomoe Gakuen , a unique school in 1940s. The book was published originally as Madogiwa no Totto-chan  in 1981, and became an instant bestseller in Japan. The book is a translation from Japanese, and laid out as a series of small incidents. The book is about the values of the unconventional education that Kuroyanagi received at Tomoe Gakuen , a Tokyo elementary school founded by educator Sosaku Kobayashi during World War II It is considered her childhood memoir.

4. Totto-chan never could concentrate in her earlier school, and she seemed to get into trouble much too easily. Every teacher found her to be more than a handful. Being easily bored with seemingly dull classes at school, she would sit by the window of her school and get fascinated by the street musicians walking by. The main turning point for Totto-chan was when her mother took her to another school, hoping that she can be less of a pain to her classmates and teachers. She takes Totto-chan to meet the headmaster of the new school , Mr. Kobayashi. From that moment a friendship is formed between master and pupil.

5. It is here that Totto-chan’s appetite for wonder and curiosity, are fed. The classrooms are railroad cars, and the ‘gate’ to the school is an arched tree. She is at Tomoe – a school with an alternate philosophy for education. The book goes on to describe the times that Totto-chan has, the friends she makes, the lessons she learns, and the vibrant atmosphere that she imbibes. All of these are presented to the reader through the eyes of a child. Thus the reader sees how the normal world is transformed into a beautiful, exciting place full of joy and enthusiasm.   Here, each child is encouraged early to pursue what they enjoy…while there are subjects to learn and bells that ring, the main agenda seems to be to bring out each child’s best.

6. Handicaps and religions that were different from the worship of the Emperor were not tolerated. But, we see that " Tottochan " making best friends with a boy who has polio. And to top things off, this boy is raised in a Christian Family which could have jeopardized everyone who associated with them.   The driving force of this setup is their headmaster, Sosaku Kobayashi whose heart is forever set on these children who are more than just fee – payers to his institution. The whole school has about 50 students in all, including physically challenged children. Another boy that has joined the school was raised in America for all his life and cannot speak Japanese, let alone know some of the basic rules of etiquette. But the headmaster tells the kids to learn English from him even though there were governmental restraints against using the "enemies" language.

7. The story ends with Tomoe being destroyed in the war. But we read to find out that it is at this very moment that the headmaster asks “What kind of school shall we build next?” as he sees the school burning. But one day, the school is bombed, and was never rebuilt, even though the headmaster claimed that he looked forward to building an even better school the next time round. It was never done and this ends Totto-chan's years as a pupil at Tomoe Gakuen .

8. THEMES

9. A school with an alternate philosophy for education. Something from the hills, something from the ocean” – Each day at lunch-time, the headmaster asks the children if they have, in their lunchboxes, something from the ocean and something from the hills. This fascinates the children, for they wonder each day where their food comes from and how it is made, and also starts off discussions on nutrition. Can we see the railroad coming in? – When the school is expecting to add a new railroad car to be its library, the children wonder how a railroad car could possibly be transported into their school. They ask the headmaster if they can watch it coming in, and encouraging their curiosity, he asks them to get permission from their parents to watch this event at midnight.  He teaches the children haiku along with maths and science and he runs a school that takes classes in train bogeys   LEARNING

10. FREEDOM The headmaster tells the kids to learn English from him (physically handicapped boy from America) even though there were governmental restraints against using the "enemies" language. The headmaster should have been reprimanded for such actions. But in the epilogue, you find that Headmaster Kobayashi had good connections with leaders in government. This connection is hinted when one of "Toto Chan’s" friends is mentioned as having an aunt who was a poet laureate of the Imperial Court. That a child with such heritage would be in such an orthodox school would have been unthinkable during this time. There had to be something special about Headmaster Kobayashi.

11. ACCEPTANCE The book ends with Tomoe being destroyed in the war. But we read to find out that it is at this very moment that the headmaster asks “What kind of school shall we build next?” as he sees the school burning. Totto chan is the heart of a child. Hence the language of Totto Chan is also childlike. It is not childish, however. How hard the author tries to bring the cuteness of childhood to the language, elements of maturity creeps into the language. This happens especially in moments of realization

12. CHARACTER ANALYSIS

13. Tetsuo Kuroyanagi Disruptive in class Simple, Innocence, bright, cheerful and optimistic Childish, especially in the way she constantly changes her occupational choices (spy to ticket collector, to street musician, to teacher, and so on and so forth) Hyperactive, decisive, Looking for solutions, never gave up Absent minded, often forgets what she’s told/supposed to do Innate sense of humor Kind hearted, with her friends, her dog and anyone that seemed to require it We see her grow through the book, Being disruptive to being the most obedient An object of teachers’ complaint to a best friend of the headmaster A girl of confusions to a girl of clear thoughts, and expression An innocent girl of mother’s fear to a girl of mother’s hope Being a girl to be taken care to a girl showing at most care to the needy A girl experiencing and dealing with loss and separation HEADMASTER SOSAKU KOBAYASH

14. Wise, causing her to worry for her daughter’s future Very accepting of her daughter’s social inhibitions Patient with her daughter’s antics, frivolous nature; never scolded her irrationally Stern, when she needs to be Understanding of her daughter’s special needs Open minded towards daughter’s behavior, school’s strange requests MOTHER

15. Experiments conducted in the education system are against conventional norms Encouraged the students to try beyond Optimistic in treating children’s fault Instilled students’ trust in the institution Inculcated the ability to understand their vocation through the system Created conducive and unbiased learning atmosphere Instilled patriotism among the students through their meeting with wounded soldiers in the war Making them understand the consequences of war with examples Trusted peer teaching Educating the meaning of life through sharing personal experience Instilled humanism and inclusivity in the students Created an environment where children will be away from being ‘morbidly curious’ about the differences in their bodies and fear of supernatural powers Invited students to be participative Aided students to develop their skills in various fields and subjects Took great trouble to ensure the best education for his students Are the parents happy about Tomoe’s education? Educational System

16. Tottochan as a Children Memoir Tottochan : The Little Girl at the Window – Justification of the Title The importance of third person narrative for the memoir The ignorant world of children Experience of the child with the voice of the matured Distance between the narrator and the character How did Korayanagi present the her childhood experience? What sort of education system Korayanagi constructs through her narrative that portray her experience during primary education? How did korayanagi present the world of children? The relationship between mother and daughter The relationship between Tottachan and the Headmaster The relationship between Tottachan and Rocky Educational System

17. Mother was very impressed by this and thought that few headmasters were capable of expressing such an important rule so simply. Oddly enough, just having to choose from two categories made preparing lunch seem simpler. Like the other six already at the school, this car, which had carried so many people, had its wheels removed. Its traveling life was over. From now on it would carry the sound of children's laughter. "Look!" she said proudly. There were A's and B's and other characters. Naturally, Totto- chan didn't know yet whether A was better than B or whether B was better than A, so it would have been even harder for Rocky to know. Educational System

18. They stayed on the tree for a long time and talked about all sorts of things. My sister in America says they've got something there called television," said Yasuaki- chan with enthusiasm. "She says that when it comes to Japan we'll be able to sit at home and watch sumo wrestling. She says it's like a box." Totto- chan was somewhat amazed. She had never heard anyone before say you had to be nice to girls. Boys were always the important ones. In the families she knew where there were lots of children,-it was always the boys who were served first at meals and at snack time, and when girls spoke, their mothers would say, "Little girls should be seen and not heard." Educational System

19. Josef Rosenstock, Daddy had told her, was a very famous conductor in Europe, but a man called Hitler was starting to do terrible things there, so Mr. Rosenstock had to escape and come all the way to Japan in order to continue to make music. Daddy said he greatly admired Mr. Rosenstock. Totto- chan didn't understand the world situation, but just at that time Hitler had started persecuting Jews. If it hadn't been for that, Rosenstock would never have come to Japan, and the orchestra that composer Koscak Yamada had founded would probably never have made such progress in the short time it did, through the efforts of this conductor of international standing. Educational System

20. If you asked him what eurythmics was, he would reply, "It's a sport that refines the body's mechanism; a sport that teaches the mind how to use and control the body; a sport that enables the body and mind to understand rhythm. Practicing eurythmics makes the personality rhythmical. And a rhythmical personality is beautiful and strong, conforming to and obeying the laws of nature.“ Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire. These are the things to fear, said the headmaster. Totto- chan was somewhat amazed. She had never heard anyone before say you had to be nice to girls. Boys were always the important ones. In the families she knew where there were lots of children,-it was always the boys who were served first at meals and at snack time, and when girls spoke, their mothers would say, "Little girls should be seen and not heard." Educational System

21. Japanese children are usually taught at home not to talk at mealtimes. But as a result of his experience abroad, the headmaster used to encourage his pupils to take plenty of time over their meals and enjoy conversation. Besides that, he thought it was essential for them to learn how to get up in front of people and express their ideas clearly and freely without being embarrassed, so he decided it was time to put this theory into practice. Educational System

22. There was another event called Find-A-Mother Race. At the signal the children had to run toward a wooden ladder propped up on its side, crawl through it between the rungs, take an envelope from a basket, open it, and if the paper inside said, for instance, " Sakko-chan's mother," they would have to find her in the crowd of spectators, take her hand, and return together to the finishing line. One had to ease oneself through the ladder with catlike grace or one's bottom could get stuck. Besides that, a child might know well enough who Sakko-chan's mother was, bur if the paper read "Miss Oku's sister," or Mr. Tsue's mother," or Mrs. Kuninori's son," whom one had never met, one had to go to the spectators' section and call in a loud voice, "Miss Oku's sister!" Educational System

23. It took courage. Children who were lucky and picked their own mothers would jump up and down shouting, "Mother! Mother! Hurry!" The spectators, too, had to be alert for this event. Something amazing happened on Sports Day. Takahashi, who had the shortest arms and legs and was the smallest in the school, came first in everything. It was unbelievable. While the others were still creeping about inside the carp, Takahashi was through it in a flash, and while the others only had their heads through the ladder, he was already out of it and running several yards ahead. Educational System

24. During their walks to Kuhonbutsu Temple, or when it rained and they couldn't play outdoors but gathered in the Assembly Hall, Tomoe's Issa Kobayashi would tell the children about haiku. He also used haiku to illustrate his own thoughts about life and nature. Some of Issa's haiku might have been written especially for Tomoe. Educational System

25. Relationship between Mother and daughter What were the limitations of Amy Tan's mother's language? Explain from your reading of the essay "Mother Tongue". What, according to Linda Hogan, is the relationship between Man and Nature? Explain with relevant instances from "Waking up the Rake" How is the narrator's "ancient song" significant in the context of the poem "Black Woman"? What do the images of nature convey in the poem "Summer Storm"? Discuss the Black Woman's plight in terms of her race, class and sex in the poem. How does the 'rake' wake up according to Linda Hogan? Elucidate with reference to the essay "Waking Up the Rake". The Stolen Party  is a classic tale of class difference. How do the characters represent the extremes of class division? How do Kichizo and Okyo differ in their worldviews? List a few instances from the story to substantiate your argument.