I gulp hard and nod halfheartedly, trying to disguise my mortification at his comments.
You see, neither Peter nor anybody else in my class has any idea about my Lebanese-Muslim background. In fact, my real name is Jamilah Towfeek, but I'm known as Jamie when I'm at school because I'm on a mission to de-wog myself. (5)
Jamilah "Jamie" Towfeek has never had anyone from school over to her house. If anyone ever did visit, they would instantly find out that Jamie is an Australian of Lebanese-Muslim heritage, which is a problem in their clearly divided high school. She comes up with elaborate excuses to prevent friends from finding out about her over-protective father, her feminist/activitist older sister, and her mechanic older brother. The only person she is perfectly honest with is an e-mail penpal. While she tries to convince her father that she should be allowed to go to prom, her two best friends stop talking to one another and her e-mail friend blocks her messages. Randa Abdel-Fattah presents this dual-identity situation in Ten Things I Hate About Me.
AMY
No comments:
Post a Comment