5 Pooja Shaam Arab American Literature – ASIAN 22004-01 Professor Brown T/TH 4:10 – 5:25 PM Foreignness and Familiarity in Once in a Promised Land Written by a Jordanian American author, Once in a Promised Land by Laila Halaby, showcases the stark transformation from invisibility to hypervisibility after the disastrous attacks on 9/11, of a Jordanian American couple, who migrate to America in the hopes of fulfilling their desires and attaining the coveted American Dream. The book is ultimately about the loss of hope in America and the loss of identity of Arab Americans in the aftermath of the attacks in New York City and Washington. Although they live many miles away from the epicenter of the attacks, they are unable to escape the paranoia …show more content…
Jassim is a hydrologist who works for a water supply company and hopes to one day make fresh water accessible to his home country of Jordan and Salwa, who was born in America, is a banker and realtor and is desperate to have a child, so she deliberately stops taking her contraceptive pills in an attempt to get pregnant. On the other hand, Jassim is reluctant to have a child, and this causes a rift in their relationship. Both Salwa and Jassim’s family, who live in Jordan, fear that 9/11 is the harbinger of repercussions of Arabs in America. At the same time, Jassim gets involved in an accident that kills an American skateboarder who is hateful of Arabs. An FBI investigation prompts the government to believe that he is the culprit and Jassim loses his job after much racial profiling. An already vulnerable marriage is further flawed by secrets the couple withholds from each …show more content…
This insightful novel takes a deeper look at the harrowing effects of Islamophobia and the struggles Arab Americans deal with in the post 9/11 era. This book demonstrates how the intolerance and suspicious nature of Americans leads to the fragmentation of assimilated Arab Americans and to have their world turned upside down truly exposes the dark side of government policies, such as racial profiling. Furthermore, this novel exemplifies the hidden costs of the pursuit of the American Dream, including the loss and exiles the characters, Jassim and Salwa experience in