Activities:

Literary Element Question Answer

Setting 1. Where and when did 1. The setting of place is at

the story happen? Chechnya, Russia and the
setting of time is during
the Caucasian War in
1851-1852.
Character 2. Who are the 2. Its central characters are
characters in the Sonia/Sonja, a surgeon in a
Chechen hospital, Akhmed, an
story? incompetent doctor who
becomes her unwilling
assistant, and Havaa, a girl
Akhmed rescues when her
father is captured by
Russians.
Direction: Fill out the table with setting and character. Use skimming as a reading

Assessment:
1. What descriptions were given about the setting of the story?
The story happened in the hospital in Chechnya. The story also implies that this happened during the
war.

2. What seems to be the conflict surrounding the story?

The story involves a young woman doctor, Sonia who is requested to take care of war orphans when she
was not capable of looking after her patients, sisters and herself. This is a story about war, human
trafficking and other brutal atrocities which took place during the war.

3. What was the deal made by Sonja and Akhmed?

She agrees to shelter Havaa on the condition that Akhmed, who trained as a doctor but is painfully
aware of his inadequacies(insufficiency) in that profession (he wanted to be an artist), stay on also as
her assistant surgeon.

4. What change in attitude was evident in the main character of the story at the beginning and at the
end?
The main character had a big change in attitude from beginning compared to end the story reveals that
the loss of her sister to the war is partly the reason for her indifference towards her job.

5. Why was it important for the writer to narrate the events that happened during the wars to reveal
traditions in Chechnya? The impact of the writer narrating the events is that it gave the readers ideas
about how hard those in the hospital during the war that affected the perspective of the characters in
life.