104 pages • 3 hours read
Ibtisam BarakatA 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.
In Tasting the Sky, birds appear at multiple points in the memoir and, as such, they take on a larger, symbolic significance to Ibtisam’s story. What are some of the symbolic meanings of birds in the book? Consider these points as you reflect on the text to answer the question.
Teaching Suggestion: Guide students toward the idea that birds are symbolic of freedom and joy throughout the text. For Ibtisam, birds reveal her desire to “fly away” and to escape the wartime hardships and difficulties that keep her confined—both literally and figuratively. As Ibtisam begins to process her trauma through poetry, birds appear in her poetry—an indication that Ibtisam finally finds a kind of freedom in her ability to tell her story.
Differentiation Suggestion: For advanced learners—and particularly those students who are energized by higher-level literary analysis—this discussion could be expanded to consider birds as a symbol in a wider literary tradition.
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection