2. Group C--jbechard26

In my book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Oscar the main character is the black sheep of the family. He's very nerdy and on the heavier side and has acne during his middle/highschool days and even still when he is in college. In the beginning the book talks about him and how he was getting girls and stuff but then his gf threatened to break up with her since he had another gf. He broke up with his other gf Olga but then his other gf breaks up with him and he grows up he becomes a nerd and he got bigger and no girls wanted him. Then later on he goes to college and he meets a girl named Ana which he falls in love with and she brings him out on a date. But she doesnt get with him and instead goes back with her ex. The book then moves onto his sister, his sister lola hated their mom deeply even though their mom was sick. Which made her run away from home with a boy named Aldo but they eventually broke up and then she gets another boyfriend named Max but then my book kinda cuts off into their mothers story. In my book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao talks about his and his sister's mother (Beli).  She had a very repetitive life but she got a scholarship and throughout school she dreamed about boys which upset her mother. Then she got her first bf named jack he's considered the schools handsomest but they didn't last long but then they got back together but that also did not last long and she dropped out of the school.she eventually got with a gangster for a long time, she got pregnant by him but his wife sent her off with some grunts that beat her near to death, she was dumped on the road and somehow she lived. She then later left Santo Domingo to go live in New york. My book moves on back to Lola, her grandma tells her that she has to move back with  her mom and she quit her classes and everything and she even broke up with Max. She felt like utter crap and she wasn't herself. She fooled around with one of her classmates' dad who was after her which made the guy happy till she asked for a lot of money. She had gotten the money and stashed it. She soon found out that her ex Max had died which was heartbreaking for her since she hadn't seen him since the break up. my characters did infact struggle to fit in and fight the feelings of cultural bias during some of the parts of my book. except during the second part of my book theirs not alot of them struggling to fit in, they are mostly struggling with problems they have with their family or loved ones. one of the times my character (which in this case its Lola) had to struggle with family issues was when her grandmother was making her go back to living with her mother. "I couldn't believe what she was saying. it felt like the deepest darkest of treacheries to me I wouldn't feel that again until I broke with you." (Diaz 205)

in my book, Girl in translation” by Jean Kwok. Kimberly, who moved to the US from Hong Kong. where she has to balance life between school, and working at a sweatshop. But soon after they found themselves with a minute level of comfort. Despite the remarks she gets made about her. The shop owner Al informed them that the block was going to be demolished and they should find somewhere else to go. But then, when she is applying for colleges. She gets a full scholarship which is a huge thing for Kimberly and her mother.

in my book on page 139, she's changing in the bathroom, she had just finished changing, when someone took a picture of her over the stall door. and the day after, people were making fun of her. later she argues with her mother on this and Ma asks how they saw and Kimberly says "I told you, everyone changes together and everyone looks at each other! this isn't China, ma!" (Kwok 140) I think it shows in an odd way, that she's fighting by trying to fit in. but she is still struggling greatly to do so.

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue is about a small Cameroonian family and their experience immigrating to New York and their experience so far. The Jonga’s (the family in question) came to New York in search of a better life for their six year old son, Liomi. Through this search they meet the Edwards, a rich family who made it because of their father, Clark, and his involvement as a top Investment banker at Lehman's Brothers. Jende Jonga, the father of Liomi, is employed by Clark as his personal and family chauffeur. As he carries out his job he learns of the true sadness and tension in the otherwise happy seeming Edwards family's life. He learns of their sons and how one of them (Vince) is unhappy with his father and how he, in Vinces’ opinion, makes all his life choices for him so he decides to live in India as a sort of retaliation. He learns about the Edward family's mother (Cindy) and her drinking and drug problems and the tension between the married couple through his wife (Neni) and her short employment by the Edwards as a house maid. They have been fighting to get Jende his permanent residence in America and things are moving slowly. Eventually he finds out his story proving why he came to America isn’t sufficient and his request was denied. It leads the Jonga family to think of what would happen if they were split up and what they would do if sent back to Cameroon, “Jende dreamed of…strange men in uniform taking him away from his fainting wife and crying children…They could never take him back to Limbe. If they took him back he might no longer be the happy child he is and…forever resentful towards his parents.” (Mbue 227) They are fearful and have nightmares about it. They have one more chance to prove why Jende should stay in America and it's going to cost a lot of money at the same time the Lehman’s Brothers end up declaring bankruptcy after being involved in a scandal. Leading up to this declaration, Clark and Cindy’s marriage gets shakier and Clark eventually tries to negate this by going to see a private escort. Cindy finds out, gets Clark to fire Jende and he and his wife end up out of a job. They have enough money for a few months worth of living but their legal case will cost more.

In the book, there isn’t much talk about how the Jonga family feels about their difference in being immigrants as opposed to being born in America, but that's not to say that there isn’t the occasional page or two where they do talk about it. When discussing Jendes job and its stake, they say this, “You think tomorrow you lose your job, she’ll remember your name?” “You’re just a black man who drives her around,” Winston said. (200) They believe that they are not seen as equal to the Edwards. It’s true to some extent, the Edwards don’t believe they are equal but it’s more in a status sense. They believe they are better because they have more money, not because they were born in America and aren’t immigrants. 

In my book A Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok Kim recently moved to the United States from Hong Kong. Kim is still struggling with the challenges of being an immigrant, balancing her education, work and the struggles that come with being in a new country. Kim still struggles with the language barrier between her and her classmates which often makes her feel isolated.Kims feels isolated at school because of the language barrier and the cultural divide. In my book Kim feels embarrassed because of her working class background because she has to work at a sweatshop while her classmates don't have to worry about that. She often feels isolated from her classmates because of the language barrier and the cultural divide, “ The students who were smiling showed even, white teeth to match their even, white skin. Was I going to be the only white person in the whole school?” ( kwok 105) This quote shows that even when Kim goes to a completely different school she still faces a cultural divide which causes her to feel isolated from her peers.