The GiRl In tHE tAnGeRiNe ScArF

"The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf," by Mohja Kahf brings up a lot of issues about how immigrants view Americans and how they see themselves outside of "American life." At the beginning of the novel, there were many instances showing how Khadra's family looked down upon Americans and would never think of labeling themselves as Americans because after all, they were dirty and immoral. Khandra' mother ran the laundry twice in the laundry room because she said, "You never know with Americans. Americans don't care about impurities"(4). Another instance when Khandra and her brother Eyad were eventually found by their parents after an adventure by the creek, caused Khandra's mother to become furious and exclaim, "We are not Americans, We are not Americans!"(67). She was implying that that they do no leave their children wandering in the streets, like American do. Because Khandra was raised in this type of environment, where she was never identified with being American, she hated when she actually had to become a citizen. As Khandra grew as a person and broke away from her "old self," she began to realize that she was American, but still not the same type of American as the typical "Indiana Hoosier." She looked at her American identity through an Us vs. Them lense, which clouded the way she viewed herself and others even more. Finally at the end of the novel, she began to look at the world around her without a lense and embrace who she truly was. While at the race track, she observed the "Midwestern Hoosiers" around her, who were set in all of their ways, who valued God, and who were afraid of change. It was at that moment that she realized that "they" were just like her and her family. The Us and Them coincided, atleast for that moment.

KiNdReD

I thought that these were a couple of the best lines of the novel:
"She means it doesn't come off, Dana. The black. She means the devil with people who say you're anything but what you are."
I first viewed this quote in a positive way, considering the context of the black slaves accusing Dana of being "too white," and almost betraying them. But, after reading it a few times, I get the feeling that maybe Butler used this line to say that black people couldn't escape the oppressions that came along with having black skin, no matter how educated they were, or what century they came from. Butler applies the same idea in 1976 when Kevin's sister absolutely rejected Dana and wanted nothing to do with her. She uses this scenario to explain to the reader that although the racism and oppression is not nearly as horrifying or degrading as it used to be, it still was present in 1976 and even today.
When I was reading the novel, I was wondering if there was any deeper meaning to Dana always wearing pants and dressing as a "man" because it was brought up constantly. Did people respect her more just by simply being dressed like a man? She had several opportunities to change the way she dressed, but she always opted not to. Maybe I am reading into this too much, but I was just wondering what other people thought about it.
Also, I was very VERY confused as to what exactly happened at the end of the novel with Dana's arm and the wall. Why did that happen? If someone could please explain that to me I woud be very much appreciative.

The Bluest-Eye(continued)

The question of whether someone's upbringing can alter someone's character and who they truly are brings about mixed feelings for me. The belief that if someone has grown up in poverty and has little to no family life makes that person more likely to live an unsuccessful life is pretty much a common belief in American society today. We are always trying to help the kids living in the "ghetto" so that they have hope for the future and can make something of themselves. But, who can say what exactly causes a person to rape someone or verbally abuse someone else? Are these offenses an effect of how someone was brought up or are they just a character flaw, a reflection of the type of person that they truly are? In Cholly's case, I believe that his upbringing definitely had some sort of effect on the way he lived his life and treated others, but on the other hand I sometimes think that that excuse is a cop-out. Why couldn't Cholly choose to treat people with respect and why couldn't he be faithful to his wife and truly love his children? So I guess what I am ultimately saying is that I believe a person can choose what kind of person they really want to be, despite all of the horrible things that may have happened to them in the past.

The Bluest Eye

Do you believe Cholly Breedlove's character would have changed if he had been brought up differently? Can a person's true character be altered by their upbringing?