Pick out one important passage from the reading (at least 5 lines but no longer than a page). Comment on this post, and share your passage. You don't need to type out the whole passage. Just write down the page number as well as the starting and ending words of the passage so we can find it in our books. Then, write a follow up question about the passage. Make sure you read over any passages your classmates have already shared so you don't repeat passages.
"'Of course she's welcome. But she is not your friend Alfred. Nobody cares what happens to Alfred. If Eloise disappears, every policeman on the East Coast is going to be out searching for her.' And sure enough, no sooner does Naomi finish her sentence than there is a rapping on the screen door" (185).
ReplyDeleteQuestion: From our last class we kind of talked about Naomi and Alfred and what makes them different and their perceptions of the world. While Naomi has created her own identity for herself, breaking out of the "set" that African American people are perceived to be a part of, Alfred is the exact opposite. This scene however shows Naomi addressing the difference between Eloise, the epitome of "whiteness" and Alfred, so does this change your opinion on Naomi? Can this be considered racism?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"After the other topics over conversation, she goes for a long walk. This one full of interesting ritual ablutions-- people washing down their driveways, their cars, their dogs. The more Jewish you become, the more Chinese you'll be--that's what Rabbi Horowitz told her once. Meaning what? Is Mona on her way home again already? And how is it that she feels she's become part of someone else's experiment?" (pg.190)
ReplyDeleteQuestion: What does Rabbi Horowitz mean when he tells Mona that the more Jewish you become, the more Chinese you'll be? Is Mona getting more in touch with Chinese culture because she's going against American stereotypes by being Jewish? How does this internal conflict differ from the beliefs of her parents?
"'Que sera, sera, right?' says Mona. 'Only it was your experiment instead of ours. You didn't want to be in someone else's experiment.'... "'I mean this has nothing to do with race.''Nothing to do with race!' Seth guffaws. 'You may be right about the James Bond part. But how can anything have nothing to do with race?'" (pg. 194 - 195).
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteQuestion 1:
DeleteThis passage mentions a theme that appears several times in this reading section, namely that of the main characters performing an "experiment" of some kind. What exactly are they trying to study? How do they go about performing this experiment?
Question 2:
Seth states, "How can anything have nothing to do with race?" Do you agree with Seth? Is Barbara's reaction to Evie's & Alfred's deception motivated in part by racism? How do concepts of racial/social privilege tie into this confrontation?
"Actually he has a great sense of humor," Mona says.
ReplyDeleteSeth goes on. "What does he do besides milk his workers like a capitalist oppressor? Doesn't he have any hobbies?
Mona tries to explain while no, Ralph doesn't have any hobbies, this is only because he was an oppressed proletariat not so long ago. Or if not a proletariat, at least oppressed. Or if not oppressed, at least not an oppressor. Ralph might seem like Seth's parents to Seth, she says, but he isn't. She says her family's seen some rough times.
"This pancake house is everything for us."She is lying on her back, squinting up at the attic rafters. "We're not like you. We don't have investments. We don't read the Wall Street Journal. I've never even seen a stock certificate." (pg. 159)
Based on her attempts to distance herself from her Chinese parents, why do you think she is so quick to defend her father from Seth's accusations? Is she taking Seth's accusations personally?