- Aciman placed several rhetorical questions in the beginning of the text. What purpose do you think these sentences serve?
- On page 21, he emphasized what it meant to be an “exile.” Was there any moment in your life where you felt like an exile?
- Which part stood out to you the most? Is there a reason this caught your attention? Did you relate to it?
2. There was a time when I felt like an exile about a few years ago. I was in a new school, I didn’t know anyone and i felt like I just didn’t belong or fit in.
3. The part that stood out to me the most was when he described Straus Park. This stood out to me because although he described it as unpleasant and filthy, he still made a connection to his hometown. This proves how it is the true meaning behind the park, not what it looks like that makes it valuable.
2. I felt like an exile when I moved to the United States and started high school, I didn’t have any friends nor did I speak English.
2. I felt like an exile when I went on this trip in my sophmore year in high school. We went to this coding intervention in Manhattan and big firms were supposedly coming to hire young students. When we arrived, I immediately noticed that most of the people there were Caucasian. Being a tanned hispanic, I noticeably stood out. Since my classmates that I came along with were also minorities, I felt a little comfort. Although most of us were together, I couldn’t stop feeling like I didn’t belong. I felt like the recruiters were expecting something different when they welcomed us inside the building.