The Girl in The Tangerine Scarf

It was interesting how throughout the beginning of the novel, Khadra and her family did not associate themselves with Americans. They were separate people. Americans were dirty, selfish, malicious, promiscuous, and money-minded. Khadra identified herself through Muslim. When the family had to become citizens of America, it was painful for her, so much so that she had difficulty pretending that she would honor and love this country above all else. A dramatic thing happened to Khadra when they went on haj. Khadra's experience with REAL Muslims was not anything like she had expected it to be. The trip starts with her diappointment that she will not be able to pray at the mosque. Khadra does not understand this and is deeply hurt. Because she is a woman it means that she is inferior in that country. Khadra is not accustom to this kind of oppression. More importantly, she can hardly believe this is a custom of her religion. To make matters worse, she encounters some other young Arabs while she is there. Immediately, she is assumed different because she is from America; however, it seems as though she is more Arab and Muslim than any of the people she meets during this experience. She is shocked by their perverted behavior and disrespect for women, and the women's disrespect for themselves. The novel states, "And even though she was in a Muslim country at this moment, and not just any Muslim country but the Muslim country...she had never felt so far from home. There was a nip in the air all of a sudden" (177). It appears as though Khadra has lost her identity. It was very difficult for her to relate to people in America, and finally in the place she thought she belonged, she feels like she does not belong at all. It was as if something has left her during this experience. She feels cold; more alone than ever before. I believe that this was a major turning point in Khadra's life.

Kindred

Dana brought up an interesting point in the book. She stated, "Time passed. Kevin and I became more a part of the household, familiar, accepted, accepting. How easily we seemed to acclimatize... it seemed as though we should have a harder time adjusting to this particular segment of history" (p. 97). Both she and Kevin were accepting the mentality and customs of the people and culture of the time period. Dana was not surprised that she had, but at how easily and fast she had done it. In a matter of days she had accepted her submissive role as a woman, and a black woman at that: she had no rights, she had assumed the role of being a mere piece of property. Looking at our life today, or at least from the mid 20th century on, I dare say that unfortunately this could happen to society as a whole if we stop attempting to make progress toward total equality of race and sexes. This idea of freedom and equality for everyone is a fairly new concept considering how long slavery went on (and continues to go on)around the world. It would be easier to regress if we do not make a collaborative effort to continue working toward a place where everyone is treated equally. After Dana had experienced the lifestyle of past times, I was surprised to find that she was no more outspoken about women rights. I got the opposite impression in fact. She had been beat down and the experienced affected her to a point where I think she lost site of she deserved being an African American woman. She felt sorry her ancestors, and realized the endured so much more than she ever could, but I did not get the impression that she came out of believing she was a more empowered woman. The experience humbled her as opposed to strengthening her.

Kevin was also an interesting character throughout the book. I feel that he was at times, at a greater risk for harm during that time period than Dana. Kevin was not ignorant, and believed that African Americans were human beings that deserved the same respect and opportunities as everyone else. He did not see African Americans as being any different than he. This mentality was dangerous during that time. It was not even possible for him to pretend he accepted this lifestyle. As a result, he was looked upon as being foolish by Tom Weylin and was almost killed while trying to help slaves during the five years Dana was gone. Kevin was more dangerous to the community because of his thoughts were radical for the time period, and no one could stop him because he was a free white man. Dana on the other hand, was little threat to the community had she attempted to voice her thoughts and opinions of that time period she would merely be reprimanded by her owner and what she had said would have little bearing on the community.

The Bluest Eyes

A common theme throughout the book was acceptance. Whether it be acceptance in family or community, each character experienced their own struggle with standing above the stereotypes created by their society. One character that stood out in particular, other than Pecola, was Cholly. It was impossible to feel any remorse or sympathy for Cholly basically throughout the entire novel. His behavior and personality was repulsive and he was a poor excuse for a husband and father. The author provoked these feelings throughout the entire novel. Cholly had a time of redemtion though when the author glimpsed into his life. It was easier to understand why he had become the way he had. He had no faith in friends, family, or anyone for that matter. He had no family, his mother had a abandon him and his father rejected him. There was not much talk about his friends, and the older white men who harassed him at one point during his youth haunted him for the rest of his life. No matter how hard Cholly tried, he could not find someone or someplace that he could resolve his internal conflicts. Unfortunately, he ended up a drunk and a deadbeat with little hope of a promising future. Cholly could have been the place of blame for much a of the Breedlove's problems, but Cholly could not help himself. He had hit rock bottom with little hope of coming up, and in all honesty, I can not blame him. Mrs. Breedlove's tactics did not help the situation much. Maybe if Cholly had been given a break from family and the society he could have rose above the imaged society had created, and perhaps gotten his life if order so that maybe he would not have raped and impregnated is own daughter.