Comparing Naomi Shihab Nye and Liliana Heker - Essay Example

Comparing Naomi Shihab Nye and Liliana Heker When considering the essay by Naomi Shihab Nye, “This is Not Who We Are,” and the short story by Liliana Heker, “The Stolen Party,” there are a few similarities and differences. This article will take some of the similarities and differences of each written work. Through the use of examples, an analysis of these two types of writings will be discussed and will include the use of how the story and essays differ in type of writing and how their themes are similar in regards to discrimination. Heker’s story begins with an attention grabbing first few sentences that make the reader curious as to what the story will be about. The first sentence as paraphrased says that she went into the kitchen to look for the monkey. This is an odd beginning because the character is not introduced. Readers have no idea who the person is looking for the monkey nor why there would be a monkey in the kitchen. While it is attention-grabbing, it is not something I would typically pick up to read. It also starts out with a lot of dialogue between the girl and her mother which still does not describe the character in detail (Heker 1). By continuing to read the opening paragraph, the reader realizes that the first paragraph is something that is happening in the present and is discussing a party she was attending. The dialogue that occurs afterwards between the mother and daughter were what had actually occurred before she went to that party and so it was more of a flashback. Shibab Nye’s story is a bit more attention-grabbing at the beginning but in a different way. It is obvious that the person telling the story is sitting at a drive-through window and listening to NPR. She uses several adjectives to describe what is going on which makes the story more appealing and easier to envision such as describing smells in her kitchen where she group up in St. Louis where it smelled of mint and garlic, there were plump pillows on the couch and coffee. While there is some dialogue, there is at least a setting and you learn a little bit about the narrator right off the bat, such as she is the mom of a ‘hungry teenager’ (Shihab Nye 1). Throughout the story too, the author also uses several similes such as ‘lands grieving’ to add emphasis about the Middle East, for example. While Shibab Nye’s story begins talking about being in a drive-through with a teenager, it sinks into thought about the Middle East. It is not just a story but almost like a journal entry where the reader can get her ideas about how she feels about people and peace in the Middle East. As a reader, one can gain more understanding and it actually has a motive behind it to inform and to give thought to people who might not otherwise think about the situation in the Middle East. There was almost a historical insight into the life of how an Arab-American lived in the United States with crisis going on overseas and how the impact of how the September 11, 2001 attack changed the way Americans looked at people with Middle Eastern ancestry. However, “The Stolen Party,” pretty much begins with a page of dialogue about a daughter attending a party she was invited to by a friend and her mother scoffed at her because she thought that the girl who invited her was not a real friend and was just a rich girl. When comparing the two written works, while one is considered an essay and one is a short story, both are actually the same in length at four pages of typed story and dialogue. One might consider that Shibab Nye’s work was more like a writing in a journal which made it an essay. It is not one that had a true beginning or end. It just was a series of thoughts that were developed to have meaning. However, “The Stolen Party” has a distinct beginning, middle and end. Heker’s short story is from a third-person point of view. She uses pronouns such as ‘she’ and ‘her’ rather than ‘I.’ “This is Not Who We Are,” is in first-person point of view which makes it a little easier to slip into the actual character and readers can almost feel as though they are going through the same motions as the narrator. Another comparison is that in Shibab Nye’s story, she tries to avoid stereotypes and feels sorry for the one that has been placed upon her (Shibab Nye 3). However, the mother in the story by Heker is very deliberate about putting stereotypes on people, even wanting to forbid her daughter from going to a party because it was being hosted by a rich girl and it sounded preposterous to her. Both were discussing the fight of stereotypes. However, in Heker’s story, the mother wanted to segregate her daughter from a particular crowd but then gave in and tried to make her look really made up to go to the party (Heker 2) though she was clearly invited because her mother was their maid. At one point, the magician even was mean to one of the children, calling him a “sissy” for being afraid of the monkey which was not kind at all (Heker 4) but when everyone was leaving, the girl realized she was different. While the other guests at the party got favors, she was given money for ‘helping’ which was insulting to her because she thought she had been invited as a friend. It seemed as though this was the first time she had been discriminated (Heker 5). Shibab Nye just wanted to live the life that she had always known without shame or pity but was more compassionate about stereotyping. I actually like the first-person point of view better because it is easier to follow the story. I find myself slipping more into the story. Whereas when I am reading from an outsider’s perspective, it is harder to actually get ‘into’ the story but instead I feel like more of a spectator. Unfortunately, both were sad tales that I could learn more about how painful discrimination is. Works Cited Heker, L. “The Stolen Party.” Shihab Nye, A. “This Is Not Who We Are.” In L. Williford and M. Martone (Eds.) The Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Non-Fiction, 1970 to the Present. (2007) New York, NY: Touchstone. (pp. 401-404) Outline I. Introduction: Name both titles to compare; discuss reason for essay; include thesis II. How Stories Were Written a. Beginning b. Use of dialogue c. Determine who characters were d. Use of similes, adjectives, etc. to add to description in story III. How the Story is Established a. Location b. Description of character IV. Essay vs. Short Story a. Journal thought vs. Beginning, Middle, End V. Use of Narrative Points of View VI. Description of Theme of Discrimination Read More