“Return”
This story follows a character returning to her to her place of upbringing, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I don’t feel that her being of mixed race, not even of Cambodian decent, was a critical incident. There was one quote that caught my attention, when thinking about what we’ve learned in class. “It was natural to think about the crocodiles, their unseen and furtive presence was, however, well-known by the inhabitants of the area (p.31, paragraph 3).” When I thought about this quote, all I thought about was the Roma community of Italy, as they are on the backdrop of Italian society. The following paragraph of the quote talks about a method farmers used to kill the crocodiles, this again I felt was a very rough comparison to the Roma, how Italy has “other’d” them, even though they’ve been inhabitants of Italy for centuries now.
“Give Me Back My Coat”
I didn’t really get this story. One question is what did the character go through to make him decide that death was the only way out? But reading it a second time, I don’t think the character wanted to actual kill himself but to feel belonged. I say this because he kept talking about all the different ways he could of killed himself but he always had a reason not to do it that way. Also he went to the bar to have some last drinks with some people and then there was the one person that the main character could be envious of, the person with the job interview and took his coat. This here I interpreted in the way where he wanted to see if the person succeeded that’s why he wanted to have his jacket back from the person after they are done using it.
“Light Beer and Peanuts”
Identity seemed to be a major part of this story as the character went through her own issues involving her identity throughout her life. I feel the reason she ended up the way she did was because how she was brought up; her father said she had nothing to do with India and her mother was trying to keep her from looking Indian. What I wanted to know was why she went back to India when she told herself that she wouldn’t. Also after visiting India, how did she feel and did anything change for herself after returning at an older age, able to understand more?
“The B-Line”
Although this was shorter than the rest, I felt it had a lot to say. “Far from the forest, the lion cannot roar like it used to (p.55, paragraph 1).” This quote expresses how immigrants and refugees go through, as they are far from their country and are usually never able to be what they were in their new homes. In some occurrences it could benefit emerging cultures as they are able to create a new identity for themselves and/or their cultural background. Or it can do the opposite and just reinforce stereotypes.
“The Beggar”
Up to now, this story has been my favorite out of the selection of stories in the book. I enjoyed the way the author connected the words that each person gave in the story. It easily gave imagery to each one of them, even though there wasn’t a lot given and the beggar was blind. What was interesting was the name of the church the beggar went to, the Church of Consolation, and the only words he was getting from there were very oriented. This could tie with the hegemony of Rome, the Church. Home to the Vatican, Rome is very church oriented and I feel that has hindered the progression of tolerance towards the immigrant community.
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