1. February 14,2012 Explore reading response chapter 5 Taylor Cunha 8-14
I have finished reading chapter 5 of the novel Iqbal, by Francesco D’Adamo, there are no pictures because
the author probably wanted the readers to try and imagine there own. The novel falls in the category
realistic fiction, and the type is narrative, the narrator is a young girl in the book named Fatima. The main
characters in this chapter are Hussian Khan, Iqbal, Fatima and the foreign buyers. It takes place in a dusty
carpet factory on the country side of Lahore, Pakistan then later the Tomb. The main idea in chapter 5 is
Iqbal cutting the rare blue Bukhara carpet which made Hussian Khan lose what he values most money.
I think the author’s purpose for writing chapter 5 is to get the readers more aware about Iqbal’s braveness.
He is brave because he cut his carpet knowing his fate in the Tomb. It also shows that Iqbal is an artist
because he made a very rare blue Bukhara carpet that only gets made twice a year so only people with an
artistic ability can make the carpet. Iqbal is also very determine because he planned to cut the carpet and
stuck with his decision to not bend to the will of the master.
In chapter 5 the key lines worth remembering are “Hussian Khan screamed like a stuck pig” because it
really describes Hussian Khans anger towards Iqbal when he cut it right through the middle, also because
the author choose to represent his anger with a simile by comparing Hussian Khan to a screaming pig. I
also think “certainly nobody could have imagined what was going to happen” because everyone probably
thought it was just going to be a normal with the foreign buyers coming, but when Iqbal lifted the knife and
cut it right in half everyone was probably confused and scared, they most likely had a lot of questions
running through their minds. The last important line I choose is “He took the knife that we all used to cut the
ends of the knots, raised it above his head and seemed to look each of us in the eye”. I choose this line
because it gets you wondering what Iqbal is going to do next. Also because it is the main conflict in this
chapter. Keywords worth remembering in this chapter that I choose are Blue Bukhara carpet, rebel and cut.
The first one I choose is Blue Bukhara carpet, I choose this word because they are very rare and only
about two are made each year, which means they are worth a lot of money and it would take an artist to
make one. I also choose the word rebel because it perfectly describes Iqbal's character in this chapter and
he is acting out and very rebellious when he slices his carpet. Lastly I choose the word cut, I choose this
word because that was the act that caused the conflict between Iqbal and Hussian Khan. The names that i
think are worth remembering in this chapter are Hussian Khan, Iqbal, Fatima and the Foreign buyers. I
chose Hussian Khan as one of the names worth remembering because he is the antagonist and the
master/ruler of the children working in the carpet factory which means that he gets all the money the
Foreign buyers spend on the carpets made by the children. I choose Iqbal because he is the protagonist,
also because he is being very rebellious, so he stood out in this chapter. I choose Fatima because she is
narrating the story and she is one of Iqbal’s friends that work with him in the carpet factory. Lastly I choose
the foreign buyers, I choose them because Iqbal purposely cut the carpet on the day that they were
coming, I think he cut it on the day they were coming because he wanted to show them the conditions that
they are in. The places worth remembering in this chapter are the carpet workshop and the Tomb. I choose
the carpet workshop because it is where the children are forced to work from dawn to dusk to pay off their
family's debt that never goes away. I also choose the Tomb, I choose it because It is where Iqbal is
forcefully dragged after cutting the carpet and making Hussian Khan scream like a stuck pig.

2. February 14,2012 Explore reading response chapter 5 Taylor Cunha 8-14
This book is in a novel form. The chapters are organized with numbers instead of titles, I think that the
author might have choose to do this because he probably didn't want to give away the main idea in the
chapter, also because he might have wanted you to think of your own titles along with pictures because this
chapter has no illustrations besides the cover of the book. This chapter has a beginning middle and end
that keeps you hooked to the book. If i had to give this chapter a name i would call it “the plot” because it
gives the readers a small clue that someone has planned something but it doesn't give to much away so it
makes you wonder what’s the plot?, who came up with it?, and many other questions could result from this
title.
I can relate to this chapter by comparing myself to Iqbal. I compared myself to Iqbal because he showed
Hussian Khan that he was brave when he stood up for himself. I can relate to him because I’ve stood up for
my friends in the past and I think it takes a lot of bravery and confidence to stand up for yourself or others.
In chapter 5, my ah-ha moment was when Hussian Khan put on a fake character and was “nicer” to the
children then usual just because the Foreign buyers were coming and he wanted to make money off them.
But his inner-self showed when Iqbal cuts the carpet. Questions I have after reading this chapter are “Will
Iqbal ever get out of the Tomb, if so what happened to him, and what are the conditions in the Tomb?”
Another question I have after reading this chapter is “What does Hussian Khan do after he threw Iqbal into
the Tomb?” This chapter is easy to relate to but I connect to it because a lot of people I know are very
brave and courageous like Iqbal. My cousin Gina is very brave, she is brave to me because she went
through a lot of hard times two years ago and she still stayed strong when she had every right to break
down. Her older sister Hilary was murdered, she was very upset but she still stayed strong and comforted
over people through her tears.