Comparing Maw's Of Beetles And Angels
If you had to leave America, move to another country you know very little about, and do not know the language, the culture, or anything about the land, how would you feel? Would you have expectations for the natives? In the book Of Beetles & Angels a family from Ethiopia, moved to America and attempted to immerse themselves in the American ways. They are slain with hurtful words and treated badly but are truly lovely to Americas’ people. By critically reading, you will notice many things you might not have if you were just reading it to get the grade. Some things someone may notice are how people from different cultures interact with others, how the central culture treats different cultures, and the stereotypes used to describe Mawi’s life in his book.
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In the book the many different cultural people treat each other differently. Mawi’s brother, Tewolde, helped many people who were not a part of his culture.
“We approached the library’s entrance and saw a dark-haired white brother shivering under the awning… we went to him and asked him if he was hungry, and he said, “I lost my job and never got another one, and I do not think I’ll ever get one again.
I’m done”” (Asgedom 64).
Tewolde helped him out: first by giving him sandwiches and later found him housing and a job, encouraged him to prosper, and even gave him money when he could. Another example of how cultures treat each other is how the immigration officers treated the refugee immigrants. They first had them pass an immigrant test, which most failed for unknown reasons. Later, Mawi’s family wanted to bring Mawi’s half-sister, which the immigration officers refused to do. The Asgedom family had to wait a whole other year just for the immigration officers to let them leave with her.
“Right before we were to leave our village forever, my half-sister Mulu came from another region of Sudan, surprising us… my father and mother refused to leave without her… “Look,” they told us, “world relief agreed to work with a family of five, not a family of six. They agreed to bring you now, not later, and it’s impossible for her to come with you. She has no paperwork” (Asgedom
16).
In Of Beetles & Angels we can see how the leading culture treats different cultures, the African refugees. Most of the time the white kids are mean to Mawi and Tewolde.
“African boodie-scratcher! Scratch that boodie, Black Donkey! You’re so Ugly, Why don’t you go back to Africa where you came from?” (Asgedom 34).
These are just a few examples of the mean and hateful words their classmates spoke to them. Mawi and his brother got into countless brawls at their school because they said,
“We were accustomed to fighting almost daily… So it was usually no contest, especially when the two of us double-teamed them, as we had done so many times in Sudan” (Asgedom 35). Eventually when the kids at school saw famine-stricken Ethiopians on TV, Tewolde and Mawi were teased even more, but over time his sister Mulu got the tail end of it. Mulu fought back until she was suspended from school.
“Her classmates drew skeletons on her locker and even serenaded her with the popular famine fundraising song, “We Are the World”” (Asgedom 37).
As stated above the suburban rich kids were often mean to the African refugees and used many stereotypes to make fun of them. People would compare the African Americans to the starving people of Ethiopia. Because people believed the societies living in Ethiopia were starving, so then everyone from Ethiopia had to be starving. Individuals often teased Mawi and his brother by offering to give their food to them.
“Hey, Salami! You look so skinny. Let me know if you need more food. You want another sandwich? How about some extra milk? I don’t want you to starve” (Asgedom 37).
In the book Of Beetles & Angels, you see how people from Ethiopia and America interact, how the dominant culture treats other cultures, and the stereotypes in the book. The book teaches people that by treating someone nicely, it helps them out and also helps. As Mawi’s dad said, “Treat everyone as if they are angels, if the smallest beetle.” When someone is being mistreated it is very easy to just stand by and watch or join in mistreating someone. However, you should, “Treat everyone as if they are angels, if the smallest beetle.”
Citation Page
Asgedom, Mawi . Of Beetles and Anfels. 1st ed. Megadee Books, 2001. Print.
In the book the many different cultural people treat each other differently. Mawi’s brother, Tewolde, helped many people who were not a part of his culture.
“We approached the library’s entrance and saw a dark-haired white brother shivering under the awning… we went to him and asked him if he was hungry, and he said, “I lost my job and never got another one, and I do not think I’ll ever get one again.
I’m done”” (Asgedom 64).
Tewolde helped him out: first by giving him sandwiches and later found him housing and a job, encouraged him to prosper, and even gave him money when he could. Another example of how cultures treat each other is how the immigration officers treated the refugee immigrants. They first had them pass an immigrant test, which most failed for unknown reasons. Later, Mawi’s family wanted to bring Mawi’s half-sister, which the immigration officers refused to do. The Asgedom family had to wait a whole other year just for the immigration officers to let them leave with her.
“Right before we were to leave our village forever, my half-sister Mulu came from another region of Sudan, surprising us… my father and mother refused to leave without her… “Look,” they told us, “world relief agreed to work with a family of five, not a family of six. They agreed to bring you now, not later, and it’s impossible for her to come with you. She has no paperwork” (Asgedom
16).
In Of Beetles & Angels we can see how the leading culture treats different cultures, the African refugees. Most of the time the white kids are mean to Mawi and Tewolde.
“African boodie-scratcher! Scratch that boodie, Black Donkey! You’re so Ugly, Why don’t you go back to Africa where you came from?” (Asgedom 34).
These are just a few examples of the mean and hateful words their classmates spoke to them. Mawi and his brother got into countless brawls at their school because they said,
“We were accustomed to fighting almost daily… So it was usually no contest, especially when the two of us double-teamed them, as we had done so many times in Sudan” (Asgedom 35). Eventually when the kids at school saw famine-stricken Ethiopians on TV, Tewolde and Mawi were teased even more, but over time his sister Mulu got the tail end of it. Mulu fought back until she was suspended from school.
“Her classmates drew skeletons on her locker and even serenaded her with the popular famine fundraising song, “We Are the World”” (Asgedom 37).
As stated above the suburban rich kids were often mean to the African refugees and used many stereotypes to make fun of them. People would compare the African Americans to the starving people of Ethiopia. Because people believed the societies living in Ethiopia were starving, so then everyone from Ethiopia had to be starving. Individuals often teased Mawi and his brother by offering to give their food to them.
“Hey, Salami! You look so skinny. Let me know if you need more food. You want another sandwich? How about some extra milk? I don’t want you to starve” (Asgedom 37).
In the book Of Beetles & Angels, you see how people from Ethiopia and America interact, how the dominant culture treats other cultures, and the stereotypes in the book. The book teaches people that by treating someone nicely, it helps them out and also helps. As Mawi’s dad said, “Treat everyone as if they are angels, if the smallest beetle.” When someone is being mistreated it is very easy to just stand by and watch or join in mistreating someone. However, you should, “Treat everyone as if they are angels, if the smallest beetle.”
Citation Page
Asgedom, Mawi . Of Beetles and Anfels. 1st ed. Megadee Books, 2001. Print.