Trisha Kagalavadi, Esther Kim, and Claire Yu
“The Golden Kite, the
Silver Wind”
Author: Ray Bradbury
Published in 1953
Ray Bradbury
● Born in Waukegan, Illinois on
August 22, 1920
● Published 500+ works
● Attended Los Angeles High
School
● Has won many awards
● Established reputation of a
writer with Martian Chronicles
● Four daughters and eight
grandchildren
http://upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Ray_Bradbury_
(1975)_-cropped-.jpg
Other Works
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Farenheit 451
Martian Chronicles
The Illustrated Man
Something Wicked This
Way Comes
Dandelion Wine
Dark Carnival
Farewell Summer
Death is a Lonely
Business
http://litstack.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/09/fahrenheit-451book-cover1.jpg
Setting
http://aldoublewhistory.wikispaces.
com/file/view/ancient_china_map.
jpg/282992246/ancient_china_map.jpg
● Takes place in Ancient
China
● In this time, people
believed in omens
● Specific time and
place not given
● Setting adds a
competitive mood to
the piece
Characters
● Mandarin
He is the ruler of his town, and is rivals
with the Mandarin of Kwan Si, another
important character
● The Mandarin’s Daughter
She is a main character in the story, and
she gave the clever suggestions which
helped the Mandarin.
● The Mandarin of Kwan Si
He is the ruler of the Town Kwan Si,
which is “rivals” of the other Mandarin’s
town
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00d6-bc78-796b
Characterization
● Mandarin
Flat and static
● Types of Characterization
Character’s action and opinions
● Mandarin’s Daughter
http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-488185-stock-footage-ananimated-heart-monitor-ekg-flatlines-with-sound-and-alphamatte.html
Round and dynamic
● Types of Characterization
Character’s actions and other’s thoughts on her
● Mandarin of Kwan Si
Flat and Static
Types of Characterization
Character’s actions, other’s opinions on him, and effect on others
Summary
● Neighboring town Kwan-si changes shape of their walls to
resemble a pig
● The Mandarin was furious - the shape of the neighboring town
could be interpreted as a pig eating an orange.
● The Mandarin makes the wall’s shape to resemble a club, and
then Kwan-Si changed their walls into a bonfire. The Mandarin
rebuilt the wall to a lake.
● They changed their walls over and over again to “beat” each
other’s move
● Sickness and famine struck. Both Mandarins were sick.
● The first Mandarin’s daughter said they should rebuild their
walls one last time to make a kite and wind because those two
support each other.
Plot Diagram
Point of View
Mandarin’s Daughter
● Point of View - The position of
the narrator in relation to the
story
● Third Person Limited Omniscient
● Enhances story because it
shows the character’s thoughts
and feelings
● Writer brings to life a world of
characters
● Readers learn how the main
character changes
http://images.nypl.org/index.php?
id=1185726&t=r
Technique
● Simile - “Sickness spread in the city like a pack of evil
dogs” (181). “Their breaths fluttered like winter winds in
their mouths” (181).
● Irony ○ The relationship of the main characters and the fact
that the two towns were competing over the shapes of
their walls.
○ In this story, the daughter dominates her father by
giving him advice and orders, instead of the other way
around.
○ The two towns competed over the shapes of their
walls, instead of for wealth or image
Symbol
● The golden kite and the silver wind represents unity
● "And with this lake of water," said the
whisper and the old man, "We will quench
the fire and put it out forever.”
Theme
http://www.gograph.com/stock-photoimages/helping.html
● People work together and
improve one another by
what we do
● By working together, we are
all stronger.
● The kite can’t fly without
wind, and the wind/sky is
not beautiful without the
kite.
● They have to work together
to support one another
Rating
● We give “The Golden Kite, The Silver Wind” a 2 out
of 3 stars.
● The symbols used in the story were very helpful
visually, but the plot was repetitive in the rising
action.
● The events that occurred were that the towns kept
rebuilding their walls to “out-do” the others
● The symbols showed to us how they are resembled
and portrayed in accordance with another
Citations
http://mail.colonial.net/~hkaiter/asteroidbelt.html
Weird Facts
● Ray Bradbury had a moon crater and
asteroid named in his honor
● Ray Bradbury was a descendant of a Salem
Witch sentenced to hang
● Kite flying was banned in China during the
Cultural Revolution
● The Chinese name for kite is Fen Zhang
Quotes from Ray Bradbury