Exploring the Text

  1. Dinaw Mengestu opens the essay with a paragraph of commentary before he provides a more chronological account of his early life. What is the effect on you as a reader? What do you know about the narrator from this paragraph? How do you interpret the final sentence?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: Dinaw Mengestu opens the essay with a paragraph of commentary before he provides a more chronological account of his early life. What is the effect on you as a reader? What do you know about the narrator from this paragraph? How do you interpret the final sentence?
  2. How does the form of the following sentence, taken from paragraph 2, reinforce its meaning?

    I’ve only known a few people, however, that have grown up with the oddly permanent feeling of having lost and abandoned a home that you never, in fact, really knew, a feeling that has nothing to do with apartments, houses, or miles, but rather the sense that no matter how far you travel, or how long you stay still, there is no place that you can always return to, no place where you fully belong.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: How does the form of the following sentence, taken from paragraph 2, reinforce its meaning? I’ve only known a few people, however, that have grown up with the oddly permanent feeling of having lost and abandoned a home that you never, in fact, really knew, a feeling that has nothing to do with apartments, houses, or miles, but rather the sense that no matter how far you travel, or how long you stay still, there is no place that you can always return to, no place where you fully belong.
  3. One of the themes that Mengestu develops in this essay is isolation. What are the different ways that isolation manifests itself in different people and settings in the communities he describes?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: One of the themes that Mengestu develops in this essay is isolation. What are the different ways that isolation manifests itself in different people and settings in the communities he describes?
  4. What does Mengestu do to make his “first attempt at assimilation” (para. 5)? How does his new, chosen identity as a “poor writer with inflated ambitions” (para. 4) contribute to this attempt?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: What does Mengestu do to make his “first attempt at assimilation” (para. 5)? How does his new, chosen identity as a “poor writer with inflated ambitions” (para. 4) contribute to this attempt?
  5. What does he mean when he writes that he begins to think of himself as “emblematic of a grander immigrant narrative” (para. 7)?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: What does he mean when he writes that he begins to think of himself as “emblematic of a grander immigrant narrative” (para. 7)?
  6. What are the qualities about Kensington, Brooklyn, that appeal to Mengestu and draw him in? In what ways does he interact with his neighborhood?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: What are the qualities about Kensington, Brooklyn, that appeal to Mengestu and draw him in? In what ways does he interact with his neighborhood?
  7. In what ways has Brooklyn served as “a second home” (para. 9) to different groups over the years, as explained in this essay?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: In what ways has Brooklyn served as “a second home” (para. 9) to different groups over the years, as explained in this essay?
  8. Mengestu describes himself in various ways: for example, “haunted and conscious of race and identity at every turn” (para. 8), “foreigner and tourist” (para. 9), “quiet, jealous observer” (para. 11). Who is he by the end of the essay—one of these, a combination of them, or something else entirely? Consider what he means by the qualifying phrase “however foolishly” in the final line of the essay.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: Mengestu describes himself in various ways: for example, “haunted and conscious of race and identity at every turn” (para. 8), “foreigner and tourist” (para. 9), “quiet, jealous observer” (para. 11). Who is he by the end of the essay—one of these, a combination of them, or something else entirely? Consider what he means by the qualifying phrase “however foolishly” in the final line of the essay.
  9. Discuss the role of walking, taking walks, or being a walker in this essay. What different ways of walking and motivations for it does Mengestu describe? In what ways does walking take on metaphoric meaning?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: Discuss the role of walking, taking walks, or being a walker in this essay. What different ways of walking and motivations for it does Mengestu describe? In what ways does walking take on metaphoric meaning?
  10. According to this essay, how does Mengestu define “community”? What does the concept mean to him? Is it the same as “home”?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 6 - Home at Last - Exploring the Text: According to this essay, how does Mengestu define “community”? What does the concept mean to him? Is it the same as “home”?