LITR 4333: American Immigrant Literature

Sample Student Final Exam Answers 2001

Assignment for "Large" question / answer--Option X:

Time: at least one hour.

Student Choices and Responsibilities:

• The student will choose Option X or Z and plan an essay accordingly
• You are responsible for developing the organization and choosing the texts for the Large question / answer.

• Based on Literary Objective 3. To distinguish fictional and non-fictional modes of the immigrant narrative

• Also based on "Fiction-Nonfiction Dialogue" presentations (Syllabus, p. 12; plus go to http://www.uhcl.edu/itc/course/LITR/4333/fnfdials.htm for examples of posted presentation summaries)

Texts: Any four texts from the entire course, whether anthology pieces or longer texts, with the following restrictions: 2 must be fiction, 2 must be nonfiction; only two of the texts may be pairs from the presentation assignments.

Assignment: Review your texts, identifying, comparing, and crossing the "markers" of fiction and nonfiction, evaluating the powers of each. Summarize your learning experience.

Option X: Fiction-Nonfiction Dialogue

Fiction Text #1: "Thank God for the Jews"

Markers of fictional writing:

The first line of the story contains one of the markers of fictional writing: "On a morning like any other August morning. . ." (222). This line is an example of the fictional marker that one scene stands for many scenes. It is obvious that what we read following this line is a description of Ali and Fatima’s normal morning routine, and therefore, this one scene stands for many.

Another fictional marker present in this story is universalized details: "The Eight o’Clock News had just begun. The Jews and Muslims were fighting again in the Middle East. A tall, handsome reporter, who, with his upturned coat collar and straw-colored, wind-swept hair, seemed to belong in an ad for Burberrys in the New Yorker, . . ." (225). In class it was mentioned that this man could be part of a so-called global culture. It seems impossible to get one’s details more universalized than that. At least one detail has been repressed because the name of the reporter is left out.

Another fictional marker present in this story is that the ideas inhabit the character’s voice: "Whenever Fatima remembered to, she recited, "There is no God but Allah and Muhammed is His Prophet" while she rinsed the meat with cold water. Remembering to undertake that little ritual made her feel pious and wise beyond her years" (224). If this were a piece of nonfiction, the author would talk about how she would do this little ritual because it made her feel good about herself. She might also talk about how she was doing this as, maybe, a way of making up for the fact that she was using regular store-bought meat instead of halal. Since this is a piece of fiction, the ideas are expressed through Fatima’s thoughts and feelings, and therefore, there is a much more personal level to the message/idea.

Markers of genre bending:

I think that this story could very likely be a true story that was fictionalized. I can very easily picture a family that does not strictly follow its Islamic custom being thrown into a panic because their fundamentalist/conservative relatives are visiting and they do not have any of the special meat that their family requires: "Sometimes Fatima and Ali bought halal meat, meat prepared the Islamic way, from one of the many Pakistani shops that ubiquitously lined Jackson Boulevard in Queens. . . . But for the most part it was beef, chicken, and lamb from Grand Union for them" (224). While this quote seems to be an example of the fictional marker of repressed and/or universalized details, it is very easy to picture a Muslim family not wanting to bother with the hassle of getting special the halal, unless relatives are coming in.

A non-fiction marker that seems to be in this story is that has details in it that have become dated—at least to a younger reader: "Gregory Peck. The man who had invaded her daydreams many an afternoon when she was a teenager. Even now he smiled and she wished she were Ava Gardner" (223). I have only barely heard of Gregory Peck, and I have never heard of Ava Gardner. So, these details definitely date the story for me—it shows that the character being described here is definitely older than I am.

Fiction Text #2: "The English Lesson"

Markers of Fictional Writing:

A couple of the fictional markers appear in the following passage: "Every Tuesday Mrs. Hamma traveled to the Lower East Side from Bayside, Queens, where she lived and was employed. . . . "Why if these people can make it to class after working all day at those miserable . . . jobs, well, the least I can do is be there to serve them. . ." (22). The author all but tells the reader that this scene stands for many scenes because it is obvious that Mrs. Hamma has taught this class many times. The other marker of fiction in this passage is that the ideas that the author is expressing inhabit Mrs. Hamma’s voice.

Markers of Genre Bending:

Besides from the fact that it is very obvious that this is very factual/real life based story, I really did not find any markers of genre bending in it. It is very obvious that this story realistically reflects the real-life experiences of many immigrants, who want/need to learn English. The story has a timelessness that most nonfiction pieces do not have. Therefore, this story does not age or become dated because there are very few specific little details that are traceable to a specific generation/time period.

Nonfiction Text #1: "Amerka, Amerka: A Palestinian Abroad in the Land of the Free"

Markers of Nonfiction Writing:

A couple of the nonfiction markers appear in the following passage: "My storyteller and I belong to a different generation from Abu-Khalil’s. We, and others like us, are too young to think of smuggling roots and soil, though not young enough to forget all about the birds we left behind. We travel light, empty-pocketed, with the vanity of those who think home is a portable idea . . ." (293). The main nonfiction marker present in this passage is that non-fiction’s analysis and interpretation distances the reader from the action/story that is being described/told. If this were a piece of fiction, I can imagine the author telling the story of how two people of different generations immigrated to America and how just show through character development how their difference in age affected how they lived their lives once they got here. However, since this is a piece of non-fiction, we are removed from the action and Shammas is just telling us what happened and then giving us his interpretation/analysis for why it happened that way. Another one of the nonfiction markers present, in this passage, is the alluding to, or summarizing of, many different scenes.

Markers of Genre Bending:

I did find some definite genre bending in this essay. The following passage has a real storytelling quality about it: "We will call him Abu-Khalil. Imagine him as a fortysomething Palestinian . . ." (291). There is something about this passage that gives me the impression that Shammas is just making this story up as he goes along, even though I also get the feeling that he describing something that really happened.

Nonfiction Text #2: "Like Mexicans"

Markers of Nonfiction Writing:

The first line of this story demonstrates one of the nonfiction markers: "My Grandmother gave me bad advice and good advice when I was in my early teens." In this one line Soto has broadly summarized many scenes that occurred during his teenage years.

Another nonfiction marker present in this essay is that it has a few sentences in it that date it/do not age very well: "But then one afternoon while I was hitchhiking home from school . . ." (303). I may be wrong, but I do not think that picking up hitchhikers is something that many people are doing anymore because it is considered to be too dangerous. Most of the movies that I see where people actually pick up hitchhikers are set in the 1970’s and before. I cannot imagine someone in the present talking so cavalierly about hitchhiking home from school. Most likely the kid’s parents would be picking him or her up from school because they are worried about kidnappers.

Markers of Genre Bending:

There do not seem to be all that many markers of genre bending in this essay. However, there are a couple of passages at the end of the essay that strike me as being fictional in nature: "When I opened the door, I was startled by a kitten clinging to the screen door, its mouth screaming ‘cat food, dog biscuits, sushi. . . .’" I see this as being fictional because cats cannot talk. Therefore, Soto is making up his own interpretation as to what the cat was actually screaming about. (This making an interpretation of the events that happen around him is actually another of the non-fictional markers because the analysis distances us from the story.) The other marker of genre bending is that this essay’s ending has a happily ever after quality to it: "On the highway, I felt happy, pleased by it all. I patted Carolyn’s thigh. Her people were like Mexican’s, only different" (304). Therefore, because his fiancée’s family is of the same social/economic class as his family is everything is wonderful because he can marry her without feeling like he is not worthy of/good enough for her.

In "Thank God for the Jews" the narrative is told from the third-person viewpoint where the narrator is limited omniscient because the reader only knows the inner thoughts of Fatima. In "The English Lesson" the narrative is told from the third-person viewpoint where the narrator is omniscient because the reader knows the inner thoughts of many of the characters. In "Amerka, Amerka" Anton Shammas is the first-person narrator, and in "Like Mexicans" Gary Soto is also the first-person narrator. Therefore, both essays are written from their points-of-view, so the reader does not know much about the other peoples’ inner thoughts and feelings. [DT 2001]

The lines between fiction and nonfiction have blurred. When dealing with the genre of American literature known as Immigrant Literature, these lines become even more crossed. The authors of American Immigrant literature are primarily writing about the immigrant experience, and since they are immigrants themselves, their writings—whether fictional or nonfictional—are going to have an autobiographical feel. An example is when Tahira Nagui writes about her halal meat dilemma in "Thank God for the Jews." Certainly she must be writing about either personal experience or an immigrant friend’s experience. Yet the piece is classified as fiction. What is it that distinguishes fiction and nonfiction in a genre-bending genre like American Immigrant Literature? Or can such a distinction even be made in this intensely personal literature? [lost attribution--sorry!]