Burnt Shadows Lesson Plan

Both Hikoro and Raza are marked in some way or another as outsiders in their community. Explain how this outsider status manifests differently between the two of them.

Hikoro has been living as an outsider since she left Japan long ago. First living in Delhi, she was notably different from everyone else (not Indian or English) and people were unsure how to behave around her. She’s also an outsider in her community in Karachi, a Japanese, non-Muslim woman who clearly looks differently but also dresses much differently than her peers. All this being said, Hikoro’s status as an outsider doesn’t faze her. In fact, she, like her friend Rehana, feels “at home in the idea...