I think that Randa Jarrar effectively uses the vulgarity and taboo subjects of her story to create a "real" female character and therefore an influencial piece. Any piece of literature that can be seen as relative to one's own life and more atone to the realities of life is going to be effective. Therefore, I really like Jarrar's story and agree with her usage of language and subjects. I think that by using vulgar language, she reaches more to all of those of us her have ever used vulgar language, and I doubt too many of us can say we have never talked that way. Also, taboo subjects are always eye catching because they are in fact taboo and therefore cant be discussed with a lot of people, so who doesn't want to read about them! I think that making her female character extremely real and approachable makes Jarrar's work relative to her readers and their lives and therefore more influencial as a whole.

I thought it was interesting how Randa Jarrar's character seemed to have more of an American identity than some of the other characters we have read about, but at the same time she maintained a stron identity as Arab American as well. We discuss a lot in class how there is a struggle to find the middle ground between these two identities and I think it is within that struggle that the character Aida seemed to be lost. She had the issue of finding herself a teenager pregnant out of wedlock and her strict Arab parents wanted her to get rid of the baby to not cause shame, but at the same time she wanted to keep it because she feared being judged as a bad preson by God in her faith. So I think it was interesting how she did seem to manage to identity with both identities, but at the same time that seemed to compound her already difficult situation.

Randa jarrar's "lost in freakin' yonkers" is probably one of my favorite stories we've read thus far. I think it's most similar to "the temptations of lugman.." in it's humor and honest voice. I feel that jarrar's sometimes obscene comments add alot to the story--it makes it very human and honest and easy to relate to, rather than having some sort of sugar coated sob story about a young girl getting pregnant and disowned from her family. Alot of the things jarrar talks about (such as her boyfriend being an alcoholic and beating her all the time) are serious issues, yet rather than making us feel sorry for her/pity her, her writing makes us empathize and maybe even relate to her. I love the staccato conversational tone of her writing as well; her lack of wordiness and lack of vagueness makes for an easy to read and enjoyable short story that makes an impact.

In Kahf’s “Fayetteville as in Fate” she emphasized the similarities between the rural U.S. and the Middle East. The women knead the dough the same way on either side, just as the farmers both feel the earth in their hands. The author tries to used words to bring the cultures together. In “Email from Scheherazad” The author uses informal language to describe her life as an independent Arab American woman, dealing with very American problems and life decisions. With Hijab Scene #2 the two cultural fashions come to clash, and the practicality of the conservative dress is compared to the “hobbling” heels of liberal dress.
Hammad’s poetry uses the hip hop rhythm for an Arab American poem to make it just that: Arab and American. The rhythmic poetry that is a classic trait of Arab poetry is mixed with American idioms, and straightforwardness. It sounds legitimate, and probable that Hammad would develop those habits in order to fit into Brooklyn, and adapt to a new lifestyle.
Jarrar’s short story felt like a teen rebellion against the taboos set on us all, but it is also a rebellion against all the stereotypes that have been set upon the character. When I read the story I was shocked by the blunt terms, but then questioned my own shock. I believe the narrator and author are trying to “push the envelope” of both sets of taboos.

Jarar’s vulgarity in “Lost in Freaking Yonkers” verifies the emotion in the story. The pregnant girl’s harsh vocabulary feels real – it makes the reader believe in her bitterness and in her determination. With that observed, I’d like to discuss the Hijab scenes. This series of poetic vignettes poignantly relates the strange looks, the awkward questions, and the stereotypes that veiled women face. One of my favorites – Hijab Scene #7 – sarcastically responds to typically invasive (and inane questions) – the speaker is faced with the are-you-a-terrorist and the can-you-speak-English, and that puzzled stare. I enjoyed Kahf’s dry humor. I could really feel the speaker’s exasperation. My favorite line – “Yes, I carry explosives/They’re called words” – captures the feisty spirit in the poem’s female speaker.

I believe she writes using the modern, hip-hopish style because of her time and to whom she's writing. In the poem, heifers and heroes, she's talking to a cowboy shes tracking down because he broke her heart. This speech is a way for him to understand her better,to reach to him beacuse she's different, of arab descent, perhaps. Also, she's writing in this space of ghettoes that may use this speech. It might be suitable for a daughter of Palestinian descent to write in this way to fit into the American culture, thus adopting its' talk. I think it could be authentic if she had come from the 'urban' culture long enough.

If i am not mistaken Scheherazad is the female character in "The Thousand and one nights" who tells endless stories to the king, Shahrayar, to proplong her life. This poem is written almost like a continuum of her life after "1001 nights". It seems that she has a sense of pride now that she has left her husband and can now write stories and therefore feel accomplished. The stories she told him afterall had the calming effect on him,"[stilling] the beast of doubt in him."
Mohja Kafh replaces the stereotypes about oreintal women by mentioning the divorce of Scheherazad from Shahrayar and then settling down to become a successful writer and teacher at Monclair state.
Depending on the reader's mood, "Lost in freakin' yonkers" can be described as an emotional story. Although, Jarar uses vulgarity in her story, it helps to convey the author's emotions at that particular time to the audience. It's like we can feel her parent's fustrations knowing that their eighteen year old daughter is pregnant. Using less vulgar language wouldn't have probably stirred up much sympathy for the girl or her parents.
In addition, Hayan Charara mentioned something in class about not finding a book in the fiction section of a library or bestsellers, but rather in Arab-American section, this rings true in this story. It is evident when she goes into the library but does not find a single author or book about Arabs /Arab-Americans but has to settle for somethingelse.

In this poem Mohja Kahf seems to grant a possible strength to the orient, to treat the subject as a sleeping giant, which Europeans portrayed merely as passive. The poem portrays harlots as generalized by European art, possibly commenting on colonialism which "screwed" the African and Asian cultures. Yet Kahf also critically describes the voyeuristic on-lookers as getting "sucked into Asia and Africa [...] disappear[ing] between those two great/ thighs of the world," thus emphasizing this ironic prowess. In a way, the poem also struck me as implying movement, some cyclical possibility of the docile, slave-like odalisque becoming powerful or dominating Europe after being powerless.