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The short story "Sufficing" by Susan Muaddi Darraj is a story that realistically represents the sorrow of powerlessness that an immigrant feels in America as a minority. The narrator of the story is an Arab woman who immigrated to America from Ramallah, a Palestinian City. Her daughter Hanan, who was born and grew up in America, is ashamed of her mother's strong accent, and she does not even like her own Arabic name.
Her daughter's cold attitude makes the narrator feel sad. Therefore, she sometimes wants to become an American completely for her daughter because if she were an American, her daughter would not have been ashamed of her. She says, "But I took a chance on him, and I don't regret it except in moments like this, when I wish I was American enough for my daughter" (14). She continues, "I'm afraid that she'll grimace when I speak to her in Arabic" (15).
Even though she talks to her Husband, Michel, about her sorrow and worry that she feels in America, he cannot fully understand her sorrow because he is an Arabic guy who was born and grew up in America and he had not experienced severe struggles as an immigrant. She says, "He doesn't comprehend the details, the nuances of my feelings" (14).
Her lack of English and her difficulties in assimilating her new culture and its ideas make her feel the sorrow of powerlessness. Furthermore, her lack of English causes the communication gap with her daughter; therefore, the conflicts between her and her daughter become deeper. For her, the solution for resolving the conflict between her and her daughter is to write a letter disclosing her honest and frank mind. She wants her daughter to understand her difficulties that she has to face in America.
She experiences conflicts in American society because the majority group (the Whites) does not try to understand the culture of her minority group (Arabic culture). It is very difficult for her to keep her identity as a minority group member because the more she tries to keep her identity, the more she is in conflict with majority group members. The narrator's sorrow of powerlessness results from American society's intolerance of embracing different cultures.
Even though she talks to her Husband, Michel, about her sorrow and worry that she feels in America, he cannot fully understand her sorrow because he is an Arabic guy who was born and grew up in America and he had not experienced severe struggles as an immigrant. She says, "He doesn't comprehend the details, the nuances of my feelings" (14).
Her lack of English and her difficulties in assimilating her new culture and its ideas make her feel the sorrow of powerlessness. Furthermore, her lack of English causes the communication gap with her daughter; therefore, the conflicts between her and her daughter become deeper. For her, the solution for resolving the conflict between her and her daughter is to write a letter disclosing her honest and frank mind. She wants her daughter to understand her difficulties that she has to face in America.
She experiences conflicts in American society because the majority group (the Whites) does not try to understand the culture of her minority group (Arabic culture). It is very difficult for her to keep her identity as a minority group member because the more she tries to keep her identity, the more she is in conflict with majority group members. The narrator's sorrow of powerlessness results from American society's intolerance of embracing different cultures.