Time to Look and Listen

Organization and Ideas 

---

1.      Asfahani recreates her experiences as a seventh-grader by portraying her relationships with her peers and how she felt and retreated as a child in a very detailed way. First, she set out the scene by using the history event that U.S Marine barracks had been bombed in Beirut. Then she describes how this hijacking event caused discrimination against her as an Arab in school. Her classmates not only taunted her with cruel names but also attacked her heritage and religions. Therefore, she became to ignore her proud cultural history and tried to forget her heritage. She began to stop inviting friends over for dinner because she thought the Arabic food was weird and even felt her parents’ accents humiliated her.

2.       In Asfahani’s essay we can find the subject about discrimination, education, American values and stereotype. Among these subjects, I think education is the most important issue because Asfahani shows her thesis by giving the sentence “Education is the key to understanding.” Those subjects of discrimination, American values and stereotype can probably be dealt with proper education.

3.      She said although the world is changing, discrimination and stereotype still exist. However, through education we can better understand the differences of people, learn to take a little time to look and listen and not jump to conclusion or judgment too quickly before we truly understand the facts. 

4.       I think Asfahani is trying to explain her position and persuade her reder not to rush to judgement without knowing the facts. Her aim is to show how education can solve discrimination issue which she has encountered and occurs in any country that allows immigration and to tell people that we must never be ashamed of our past. It is our collective differences that unite us as a nation.

5.       I think Asfahani probably want to show her gratitude to both her homeland and her country as what she said in the essay “I love my country as many who have been here for generations cannot” by publishing the essay just after Thanksgiving.