52 pages • 1 hour read
A Place at the Table
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Essay Topics
Research your family’s history and learn where your family’s roots are. Then, write a report explaining what you have learned and how your family’s heritage contributes to being “American.”
In what ways are Elizabeth and Sara flawed? How do they address these flaws and grow? Which characters help and hinder them?
Take the US Citizenship and Immigration Services practice exam. Write a response using your experience from the practice test, your own knowledge of reasons for immigration, and the text to explore why the Hameeds sought a new life in the US.
How do Stephanie Tolleson and Maddy Montgomery play massive but secondary roles in the novel? Explore the connection between Sara, Elizabeth, Maddy, and Stephanie to examine how each makes the others better.
How do different characters understand the American dream? How do different understandings illuminate a generational divide?
Explore at least two areas where Sara and Elizabeth belong beyond the other’s family. How do they create that belonging and why do they fit in that space?
How does food play a role in the narrative? How does it bring characters together? In what way does it reflect rifts?
The Citizenship Test Booklet makes multiple appearances throughout the plot. Trace its appearances and provide brief explanations for how its symbolic meaning—the challenges immigrant families face—appears each time.
Compare the Halwa Cuppa Tea Ice Cream to Sara and Elizabeth’s previous dish concepts. Specifically, pay attention to the s’mores paratha. Why did the authors make the s’mores paratha fail? What makes the Halwa Cuppa Tea stronger than the s’mores paratha?
How do Sara and Elizabeth’s biases affect their discussion of Stephanie throughout the text? How do their perspectives influence their thoughts about her, and how are these distorted?
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