Second Person Singular: Arab Life in Jerusalem
The book "Second Person Singular" by Sayed Kashua depicts the lives of two Arab men of different social status's living in Jerusalem. He illustrates how status plays a role in making life as an Arab easier in Jerusalem, but emphasizes that there are biases towards Arabs nonetheless.
In the beginning, Kashua narrates from the perspective of the lawyer. The lawyer talks about how he was always respectful to the Israeli soldiers who would stop him on the streets, but mentions that he was stopped less after he became wealthier and started wearing clothes that were more expensive. This implies that his high class status influenced his treatment. The lawyer also talks about the stereotypical differences between Arab cars and Israeli cars, stating that Arabs typically had expensive looking cars with large engines to show off their wealth and to prove their status to others.
As for the Arab social worker, he is not as well off as the lawyer and has to take some jobs he doesn't find exemplary such as taking care of a brain dead man named Yonatan. Because it is clear he is not well off, the social worker describes different treatment towards him that is not as pleasant, and has to go out of his way to appear appealing to Israeli employers. For example, when planning on confronting social services he claims he'd "show them that [his] Hebrew was as good as any native speaker's and [he'd] tell them that the problem with the outpatient clinic in the Arab part of town was [his] colleague's miserable work ethic. [He'd] speak despairingly of Arabs and the Jewish interviewer would nod." (Kashua 183) Because he has to prove he fits in with the Israeli community by speaking fluent Hebrew and by putting Arabs down, this further shows negative biases towards Arabs in Jerusalem. Furthermore, he also states that "many of the Christian students wore [a cross] over their clothes, displaying it so that everyone would know: I'm not a Muslim, not really an Arab." (Kashua 115) This statement clearly illustrates how Arabs are viewed so poorly in Jerusalem that people who are Arab go out of their way to seem less Arab.
This book clearly depicts through narration and dialogue that it is difficult being Arab in Jerusalem.
In the beginning, Kashua narrates from the perspective of the lawyer. The lawyer talks about how he was always respectful to the Israeli soldiers who would stop him on the streets, but mentions that he was stopped less after he became wealthier and started wearing clothes that were more expensive. This implies that his high class status influenced his treatment. The lawyer also talks about the stereotypical differences between Arab cars and Israeli cars, stating that Arabs typically had expensive looking cars with large engines to show off their wealth and to prove their status to others.
As for the Arab social worker, he is not as well off as the lawyer and has to take some jobs he doesn't find exemplary such as taking care of a brain dead man named Yonatan. Because it is clear he is not well off, the social worker describes different treatment towards him that is not as pleasant, and has to go out of his way to appear appealing to Israeli employers. For example, when planning on confronting social services he claims he'd "show them that [his] Hebrew was as good as any native speaker's and [he'd] tell them that the problem with the outpatient clinic in the Arab part of town was [his] colleague's miserable work ethic. [He'd] speak despairingly of Arabs and the Jewish interviewer would nod." (Kashua 183) Because he has to prove he fits in with the Israeli community by speaking fluent Hebrew and by putting Arabs down, this further shows negative biases towards Arabs in Jerusalem. Furthermore, he also states that "many of the Christian students wore [a cross] over their clothes, displaying it so that everyone would know: I'm not a Muslim, not really an Arab." (Kashua 115) This statement clearly illustrates how Arabs are viewed so poorly in Jerusalem that people who are Arab go out of their way to seem less Arab.
This book clearly depicts through narration and dialogue that it is difficult being Arab in Jerusalem.
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