#3 White 4----esallee24

Ifemelu has multiple experiences where she has felt as though she doesn’t belong. Whenever she is around people she feels like the elephant in the room. People look down on Ifemelu, bringing up their experiences and dismissing hers. To Ifemelu, the constant talk about Africa and her Africanness makes her uncomfortable, why can’t she just be a regular person? Why does the color of her skin and her ethnicity sway the direction of a conversation? “She said “motherland” and “Yoruba religion” often, glancing at Ifemelu as though for confirmation, and it was a parody of Africa that Ifemelu felt uncomfortable about and then felt bad for feeling so uncomfortable” (Adichie 415). All eyes are on Ifemelu whenever Africa is mentioned, a feeling that she dreads and hates. Bringing out the fact she is African lessens the feeling of her belonging; trying to blend in society is nearly impossible when others bring out how they don’t belong. 

In my novel, Love Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed, Maya a 17 year old Indian-Muslim who is struggling with her parents. She doesn't want to stay close to home and go to college to become a lawyer. She wants to go to a film school,NYU. She believes that is where she needs to be, unlike her parents who want her home. She got accepted into the college and finally she had to tell her parents. When she did her mother was very quick to get angry with her because it is not what they chose for Maya to do. Maya pleaded about going because that's what she genuinely wanted to be and she knew that. 

“‘Maya, you’re not going to NYU. The answer is simple. No. It’s too far. We agreed that you would be staying close to home.’ I feel a little prickle of anger. ‘No, Mom. You and Dad agreed. Not me. I want to go to NYU. It’s one of the best film schools in the country.’”(Ahmed,127) 

In the third section of Out of Knowhere by Maria Padian, Tom meets with Alex to stop him from trying to get Saeed kicked off the team. Accidentally, Tom tells Alex that Saeed doesn't know his age and guesses. “I’de handed it to them. Told him Saeed had no papers back in Africa and he estimated his age and might actually be older” (Padian, 236). Because of this, Saeed is suspended from the team for a few days. In the midst of this, Donnie gets in an accident during a Noreaster. While Tom visits him, Saeed goes missing. Cops go to Saeed's house and Tom greets them there. The Cop's question in Saeed is angrier than usual. They think he may be a terrorist because of other terrorist attacks across the country with young Muslims facing anger. Turned out he was at another soccer league with no ride home and no service to contact anyone. 

Because of Saeed's citizenship, his age is not known. Because of this, Saeeds is unable to play soccer because of questioning. He is also accused of terrorism when he disappeared because he has no documentation or citizenship. This proves that many assumptions are made against people with no citizenship. 

My book in the 3/3 Phoenix (Main character) gets put on trial and they decide that they are going to deport him but he can appeal for a new trial but he doesn't want to because he doesn't want the family that took him in to spend more money than they already have and on top of that he has to go to Texas to help his brother with his case because he won't talk to anyone and Gretchen goes with him to help Ari to see if he can draw out what he witness in El Salvador instead of talking and Phoenix can describe what the pictures are Ari is able to stay and he gets Adopted by a nice family in California and Phoenix ends up staying with him until he has to get deported but Gretchen flies down to Cali to try to get him to appeal his case so he doesn't have to leave and she tells him about all the people who want to help him with his case so he can stay so he says yes and he is able to stay and they all live in California.

Phoenix has a few conflicts and struggles a lot but he struggles most with his tattoo that he got from the gang when he was 13 and drunk and they forced him to have it he tries to hide it but its hard when he has more things to focus on like his trial and Ari's trial. but when Gretchen finds it she freaks out and tells him to leave and that she never wants to see him again, and this is what he was afraid of that people would push him away and think the worse about him.

"I'm frozen, kneeling in front of her, unable to com up with anything to say to her. 'I didn't--' 'there's only one way to get that tattoo!' she thrust on leg out of the tiny ball she's in and kicks me " (253 Marquardt) 

In the book, Out of Nowhere, by Maria Padian, Tom Bouchard is a captain of the soccer team and leader off the field as well. Tom is a smart and talented student and helps in school leadership programs. When Tom is encouraged into vandalizing a rock at their soccer team's rival high school he has to face the consequences and risk his leadership reputation. Tom has to complete one hundred hours of community service teaching Somalians. After spending time teaching and learning Somalian culture, Tom releases their struggles and starts being a better person towards them showing that he cares unlike the automatic bias of most Americans. Tom becomes a better person through these struggles and even sticks up for Somalian culture often correcting his friend about what they wear and what they eat. "Your father is making a stink right before we head into the postseason, and our guys have to sit out a few games while it all gets resolved! Its bullshit, and you know it" (Padian, 228) Tom's Somalian teammates are dealing with not being able to play soccer because of Tom's rival captain Alex's dad who keeps pushing for a investigation into players legal status. This has affected the outcome of Tom's postseason to certainly lose in his teams playoff run. 

our books dont connect. I would say our book relates more to the TED Talk I talked about. She had started a soccer team with these kids that are imagrants.