Rami Movvagh's fifteen-year-old daughter Karuna is a sophomore at Verona Park High School. She had been bored with school until she met a young man named Dominic in her P.E. class and he has attracted her interest. She finds him physically attractive, with a very pleasant personality. He also seems to be fond of her. They met when Mrs. Hebergeiss assigned them as partners for the recreational folk dance unit of their P.E. class. Karuna has agreed to go with Dominic to the school Valentine's Dance, but her parents have forbidden her from going on the date. Karuna now fears that there will be more serious problems with her parents.
Karuna has grown up in a family in which marriages are traditionally arranged by the parents. In Karuna's case, her father has arranged that she will marry Patrick Patel, the son of Mr. Movvagh's close friend and business associate, Cleveland Patel. Patrick Patel is now a senior at Middle Border State University, where he is studying business management. Patrick expects to graduate at the end of the school year. Eventually Patrick will take over his father's garage construction business. Although Karuna and Patrick have seen each other at several family gatherings, they have never actually been on a date. Karuna finds Patrick handsome, and she knows that one day he will be quite wealthy; but she is definitely not interested in marrying him. She is especially not interested now that she has met Dominic.
In Karuna's family, respect for parents is a central value. She has never defied her parents' wishes. But what should she do now? Should she openly insist that she will not marry Patrick? Should she simply go along with the arrangement, even though she knows she does not love Patrick? As you work in your group to decide what to do in this situation, complete the following steps:
1. List the possible courses of action that Karuna could take.
2. What are the possible advantages and disadvantages that could result from each course of action?
3. What course of action could solve the problem in the most constructive way? Why?
4. What course of action would be the most destructive? Why would you characterize the choice as destructive?
5. Compose a letter to Karuna. Explain what you understand the current problem to be. Let her know that you've thought about the problem by identifying several actions she could take. Identify the best course of action, and explain why it is the best in the sense that it will offer the most benefits and the fewest disadvantages.
Return to Verona Park.