In Joyce Zonana’s Dream Homes, the author recalls her experiences with literacy and language. Even from an early age Zonana knew that language separated her parents and family from mainstream America. The first example of this occurs on page 8 of her memoir, when her mother recounts their experience with being quarantined shortly after they first immigrated:
“Tu etais tre malade,” my mother tells me. “You were very sick. You had a high fever, and they told us we had to stay in our room.”
“We were quarantined?” The idea is exotic, simultaneously romantic and frightening, evoking scenes of turn-of the-century immigration, the long lines and cold examination rooms at Ellis Island. Where were we? On the boat? In New York Harbour? My mother’s focus drifts.
“Yes, quarantined,” she repeats. “That’s the word. On etai si bite. We were so stupid. I stayed with you in the hotel for three days while Felix went out. No one ever checked.”
Her parents knew so little of the new language that they had a hard time communicating with border officials and people they came in contact with. They settled in a neighborhood where most people spoke their language; they felt comfortable there. Her mother felt most at home in the market, because it reminded her of her old home. This idea reinforces the salad bowl metaphor. In opposition to the melting pot theory, immigrants actually merge together in groups; though they are part of the whole, they function as separate independent communities. Zonana’s family functioned that way: they were part of the community, yet they were isolated by their differences. Their neighbors might have been united in some ways, but her family was Egyptian Jewish, and that set them apart.
Throughout her life Zonana searches for where she belongs. The older generation of her family connects through their old homestead, but Zonana was too young to remember it. She questions adults all the time, and asks them how something made them feel, what they saw, what they remember. She gets short, sharp answers, like the one quoted above. Her family either doesn’t want to speak about their pain or do not have the words to express it. She experiences Diaspora without really remembering the land that she lost. The younger generation of the family conforms better with the American culture because that is all they have known and they don’t miss the difference.
She recalls being at the airport when her mother’s parents were going through customs. Her mother was so excited. She banged on the glass separating the arrivals from the waiting families. Zonana wrote that, “In those days, I hated to be out with my mother in public. There she would be, obviously attached to me, speaking in her awkward, accented English, asking questions that embarrassed me, acting so unmistakably foreign, while I ached to be like everyone else.” When Zonana learns that neither grandparent knows English and sees how they stand helpless and speechless with the customs man ordering them to open bags and answer questions, she wants to help; she “wanted to run down to those old people trapped behind that glass wall, unable to speak the language, lost. I wanted to take their hands, to talk to the customs officer in my perfect, unaccented English, to lead them proudly from the chaos of the airport… (pg. 14).”
Throughout the entire book she searches for where she belongs and what it means to be Jewish. She wanted her dad to teach her Arabic so she can understand the older generation and therefore belong to that group, but he won’t. Her parents want her to connect to the American culture. When she grows up she hires a tutor to teach her the ancient language, and struggles with it because she is not learning it as a first language. She struggles throughout her entire life to belong to one culture or another, eager to fit into at least one.
Written by: Amanda Walker (NOTE: We are still working on how to pull in more than one author.)
Discussion Questions
1. What scene do you think shows Zonana’s desire to belong most? Do you think the desire is stronger to fit in with her family or her new friends?
2. Do you think a difference in language is the strongest divide between those immigrating to America and those born here? Does the scene of Zonana’s grandparents at customs influence your position?
3. Why was her mother ashamed of her ignorance? Do you think Zonana shared her mother’s sense of shame or did she pity her mother for her circumstance?
If you click on "design" on your navbar at the top, it will take you to where you can tweak everything, add new posts, and do other stuff. Click on the "settings" tab, and then the "permissions" tab under that. Here, you can put in your group members' email addresses to "invite" them to be authors. After they accept the invitation, they should be able to post to the blog. And if you go back to that "permissions" spot after they accept the invitation, you should be able to give them "admin" privilages. I'm not sure what all this will let the other members fiddle with, but it would probably let them do stuff like delete bad comments and change up the design.
ReplyDeleteHope that helps. :)
Thanks, Laura! That helped a lot. Thanks for checking out our blog.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Discussion Question 2:
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure that I would say language is the strongest divide. I think it is ONE of the strongest. Initially, if someone immigrating doesn’t know the language of their new country, then yes, that is the initial divide, but I can’t overlook the idea that even after a language has been mastered, there are still cultural divides. I think culture plays a significant part in what divides a foreigner from a native. Culture can even be different from region to region or different within the same religions. For example, when Zonana is in grade school, a child asks her, “What kind of Jew are you?” She must culturally define herself (which is something she has trouble doing until she is much older) so that her “type” of Jew is understandable to the child.
The scene of Zonana’s grandparents at customs was a powerful scene. I think it makes my point that language can be one of the divides, but even culturally, they are different. Zonana doesn’t go into great detail about their appearance, but I’m sure their features are unique and obviously, not “American.” I’m sure they dress differently, they carry themselves differently. There are other factors besides their lack of language that divide them and make them different, make them foreign, make them immigrants.
nicely said, Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteFor question number 3, I think that her mother didn't necessarily feel ashamed of her "ignorance" until she had left her native country and culture. She became a stranger in a new country where everything was different and the people, religions, etc. might as well have been from another planet. I kind of wondered if her mother was literally ashamed of the fact that she was ignorant, or if it was more likely due to the fact that she felt that she would always remain this way. She and Zonana's father appear to be set in their ways, customs, traditions... it's as if she knows they will not have as great of an opportunity as their daughter for an easier transition toward cultural assimilation.
ReplyDeleteZonana appears to identify with her mother's feelings more than she or even her mother realizes. It takes her decades to finally figure out who she truly is as a person, and she obviously couldn't have done so without her mother's stories and influence, which I would actually consider "knowledge," even if it's not the sole knowledge her mother wanted her child to obtain and settle for.
-Jessica
1. During chapter 7 when Zonana goes to college, she seems to want to most fit in with everyone else. She goes so far as to have a break down because she manage to make herself fit in and then leaves college. I think she needs to fit in with her friends even more than with her family. She knows that being a part of her family means that she has to fit in with them in some way. With the people around her however, she has no idea what common bonds she can share with them with makes her a complete outsider to them. Naturally she wants to be a part of their world even more than to be a part of her families world.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, language is the biggest divider for anyone going to a different country. I went to England over the summer and although they speak the same language as I do, I still found myself not as willing to speak. If I said something they would know that I was an American and if I kept my mouth shut they would have no idea. At the same time, for those who don’t look like the people of the country they are visiting, it can be just as difficult. For example, people who have strong Asian or Hispanic features are probably going to be treated differently than if they had ‘American’ features when in America. There is a resident in Northeast Hall who had Asian features, but he was born here and the moment I heard him speak, I was surprised because I thought he was an exchange student. Many of the Asian-looking people here at WKU are exchange students. The scene with Zonana’s grandparents has no influence over my position simply because I have personal experiences to trump it.
3. I don’t know that Zonana’s mother is ashamed of her ignorance. She blatantly tells Zonana that she wrote so illegibly because she couldn’t spell, but she chose to hide more important things from her. I think she may be ashamed of the frolicking nature of her past more than she is of her ignorance. Zonana pitied her mother because she no longer was able to have the freedom she had as a child when rooming around the pyramids and such. I don’t think she is ashamed of her because she doesn’t know the whole story of her mother’s past and her mother isn’t telling her about it.
-Kelly
These are great questions to get the ball rollingo n Dream Homes. I like that there not simply, "how did you like it?" but instead dig much deeper to intricate relationships and themes. Great work!
ReplyDelete