3. Group E - avachon25 (Replacement D)

In my book Sway with Me by Syed m. Masood, The main character Arsalan is a teenage Indian boy who lives with his great grandfather, after his mother passed and his father went to rehab, because of this he has an older soul and dresses and acts much different then others his age. to try and come out of his shell from being raised this way, he goes to an Indian match maker to try and find love. instead he gets pulled into doing a dance competition with the match makers daughter so the daughter will teach him how to be more confident and then in the end, match make him. Arsalan isn't an immigrant but he was raised by one, they aren't too connected to their culture but because Arsalan was raised by a very articulate 92 year old man, which does define him, it defines the way he talks,dresses, and acts towards others. and because of this he's having a hard time becoming his own person. "I adjusted the knot on my tie and tugged at the lapels of my sports coat. 'its my uniform.' 'Tennyson doesn't have a uniform.'" (Masood 9) 

The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, Oscar a nerdy overweight kid, had very low self esteem and the desire and passion for love. Growing up he struggled to get the confidence to talk to girls, most often being rejected if he did. This only made his desire grow stronger. Later on in the story Oscar goes to the Dominican Republic on a trip with his family, he meets this girl that he instantly falls in love with. He had really liked this girl and his passion for her was tremendous, he would do anything for her. Oscar had to go back home to New Jersey and he could not stop thinking about her. Oscar's friend Yunior for money to get an apartment when he gets back to New Jersey. Oscar had gotten money and did not use it for an apartment; he immediately booked a flight back to the Dominican Republic. Oscar had never had Confidence but this girl gave him So much confidence he felt as though he had powers. Oscar gets to Ybons house, the girl that he is in love with, and she opens the door and tells him he needs to leave immediately. She is now married to a gang leader, Oscars proceed to try and pursue her, learning where she goes to try and talk to her. She would run into him at the bar that she goes to and give him notes telling him he needs to leave before he gets hurt, but of course Oscar didn't listen. Oscar had taken a taxi back to see his grandmother one day when the taxi had been hijacked by the gang's henchmen. They had taken the car to the cane field and beaten Oscar until he had eventually died. His family had to fly out to the Dominican Republic and eventually had a funeral where on close family had gone.“It was like being at the bottom of an ocean, she said. There was no light and a whole ocean crushing down on you. But most people had gotten so used to it they thought it normal, they forgot even that there was a world above.”(Diaz 157) this quote shows as how he feels like her can be his own person that he has to hide his self from the world.

In the Book The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is a book about the mother Ashima is pregnant and tries to leave the hospital without naming him because of culture. The doctor says that can’t be done and they give him the name Gogol which is a pet name. Gogol then receives his “good name” Nikhil which is his more official name. Kids start making fun of Gogol’s name.   Gogol changes his name to Nikhil. He then goes to Yale for architecture. Then his father tells him why he was named Gogol. Everyone in the family moves away from each other. Everyone moves back to Boston because of his fathers death. Gogol is depressed and is then told by his mom to go on an arranged date. Where he meets a girl he knew from past Bengali events. Gogol later marries her and starts working on architecture. Gogol does not like his wifes friend and is jealous of them. Their love starts falling out and his wife becomes unfaithful and gets caught by a small lie. Gogol goes to his home and goes to his old room to his old closet. He found the book his dad gave him made by the author Gogol Nikoli. That is when he finally connects to why his dad named him Gogol. "Until moments ago it was destined to disappear from his life altogether. (290-291 Lahiri) in this quote he is talking about his name which he has struggled with this whole time till now. He figures out why his dad named that and accept that name he was given.

In my book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, Oscar fell in love at first sight when he went to The Dominican Republic. He saw this beautiful girl who gave him the confidence he had always wanted, because growing up he was fat, couldn’t get a girlfriend, and was a nerd. So this girl changed a lot in Oscar, so much so that he went back to the Dominican Republic to find Ybon already married a gang leader while he was gone. Oscar saw her at the bar coincidentally, and Ybon slid him a note saying to get out before he gets hurt, which couldn’t have been more true. Oscar's taxi was hijacked by one of the gang members, and Oscar was beaten to death.       Oscar doesn't have a lot of problems being an immigrant, he just wants to go back. early in his life, he was known as the Dominican Republic kid, which means the blackest skin tone. “If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.” (179 Diaz) 

Based on where I am in my book, The Good Braider by Terry Farish, it is very hard for Viola to become the person she wants to be when she lives in a state of fear from the war going on in Sudan and how she plans on moving to America to get the freedom she desires. To protect her little brother from a soldier, she signals her brother to keep quiet while she follows the soldier and he takes advantage of her. "'If you cry out, I will kill you,' he says. I am crushed into the red earth and do not know if this is alive or dead, this place where there is only ripping pain" (Farish 32). In this quote, Viola is unfairly taken advantage of by one of the Sudanese soldiers, this shows how hard it is for her to become the person she wants to become in Sudan rather than the United States. In The Good Braider, Viola is very passionate about traveling to America to see her uncle and be able to do the same things that every teenage girl in America does. "But her hair, this girl's hair, springs out in knots of gold. The sun shimmers through the red beads. I look in the mirror and watch that girl, with the round, unsmiling, sure lips. She wants to be free" (Farish 41). This quote shows Viola is not defined by her culture and wants to become the girl she wants in America.

In my book "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros Esperanza deals with being defined as an immigrant and only that. There are rarely moments where she isn't defined as an immigrant child. "She says, I am the great grand cousin of the queen of France" (Cisneros 12). This is one of the only moments that stands out in the book about her and not being defined by her appearance or culture.