DISCUSSION QUESTIONS - SUH, ALVAREZ & ALI

“The Eye of the Beholder” by Grace Suh

1. What causes Suh to get a makeover?  What circumstances lead her to this decision?

2. After getting the makeover, Suh exclaims, “You can’t even see me!”  What does she mean by this?  Who has she become?

3. What is the significance of the title of this piece?  Does it remind you of another common phrase?  What part of the face is important in both the title and the article?  Why?

“I Want to Be Miss America” by Julia Alvarez

1. Alvarez writes, “There they stood, fifty puzzle pieces forming the pretty face of America.”  What are the features of this “pretty face?”  What did Miss America usually look like?  Does she still look like that?

2. Alvarez talks about the lengths she and her sisters went to in order to fit the American ideal.  What kinds of things did they do?  How did their mother feel about the changes they made?

3. Did watching the Miss America pageant have only negative effects, according to Alvarez?  Explain.

“Do I Look Like Public Enemy #1?”  by Lorraine Ali

1. Ali states, “An entire race of people was being judged by its most violent individuals.”  What does she mean by this?  What are the stereotypical characteristics of a “bad Arab?”

2. Why does Ali consider herself a “fake Arab,” and how do the episodes from her childhood and adolescence illustrate that feeling?

3. This article was written in 1999?  Does it still hold significance today?  Why or why not?