Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Anton Shammas/"Amerka, Amerka". Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page essay that summarizes and critiques Shammas' essay on what it is like to an immigrant in the US, specifically a Palestinian immigrant, within the context of current-day American culture. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khasaapa.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
US, specifically a Palestinian immigrant, within the context of current-day American culture. In so doing, Shammas outlines both the erroneous nature of Western perceptions in regards to the Middle East,
but also the manner in which Palestinians "abroad" in the US have been able to "reconstruct" their sense of place. Shammas begins with Americas "debut in the Middle East, which
occurred in the 1820s with the coming of "blue-eyed" American missionaries to Lebanon and their ambitions to convert the "infidels" to Christianity and translate the Bible into Arabic (295). One
such missionary, Dr. Eli Smith, designed the Arabic letters to be employed in printing the Bible in Arabic, but his letters, like his translation, possess "no grace" (295). As this
illustrates, Shammas has a knack for picking out details that speak volumes beyond his direct discourse, as in these few lines, he implies a centurys worth of ethnocentric myopia that
cast the Western Christian worldview as "right" and the Middle Eastern Islamic culture as "wrong." This observation leads easily into Mark Twains reactions to visiting Galilee vs. Shammas reactions to
Arizona. "Mr. Twain, I have been to Arizona, and, with all due respect, Arizona aint no Galilee" (295). As an official exchange visitor of the International Communication Agency
(ICA), Shammas was literally forced to view some "nature" while in the Southwest, which resulted in what sounds like a miserable trip to a Phoenix zoo where he saw "three
recalcitrant iguanas, five friendly snakes and seven cacti" (296). Shammas then goes on to recount more details of his culture shock in dealing with the experiences in the US, before
going on to relate his familys history with immigration. Shammas family originates from the small village of Fassuta in Galilee and relatives have been emigrating from there for quite some
...