Paired Texts > Interview

In "America's Shifting Views on Immigration," Mike Kubic discusses the history of immigration in the United States, from immigrants' initial passage through Ellis Island to immigration today.

In "Immigrants in Our Own Land," a speaker describes the demoralizing effects of prison as hope gradually gives way to bitterness and despair.

Considered to be one of the most popular songs in modern America, "America the Beautiful" is a ballad written by Katharine Lee Bates. This figurative languaged-filled song captures America's core democratic principles. 

In "Ghareeb," a speaker visits their family home and struggles with feeling disconnected from their heritage. Pair “Interview” with “Ghareeb” and ask students to discuss how each text explores the concepts of home and belonging. What experiences make the speaker in “Interview” feel that they do not belong? How are these similar to and different from the narrator’s experiences in “Ghareeb”? How do the speakers in each poem navigate multiple identities?

In "Mariah Carey, Queen of the American Dream," Darrel Alejandro Holnes argues that Mariah Carey's music represents an inclusive and joyful version of the American Dream. Pair “Interview” with “Mariah Carey, Queen of the American Dream” and ask students to discuss immigration and assimilation in the United States. How does the speaker in “Interview” convey his experience as an immigrant? How does the author of “Mariah Carey, Queen of the American Dream” convey his experience as an immigrant? What is similar about these two immigrant narratives and what is different?

In "The Way We Live Now: 9-7-03: Questions for Jhumpa Lahiri; Crossing Over," Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri describes her ambivalence toward her Indian American identity. Pair “Interview” with “The Way We Live Now: 9-7-03: Questions for Jhumpa Lahiri; Crossing Over” and ask students to compare the themes of the texts. How does the speaker describe his relationship to different places and cultures in “Interview”? How does Jhumpa Lahiri describe her relationship to different places and cultures in “The Way We Live Now: 9-7-03: Questions for Jhumpa Lahiri; Crossing Over”? How does the poem explore similar themes to the interview? How are the perspectives offered in the two texts similar and how are they different?

In "Border Boy," the speaker describes having a complex relationship with the border near their home. Pair “Interview” with “Border Boy” and ask students to compare how the speakers’ identities are affected by migration. In “Interview,” how has the speaker’s relationship to home changed over time? In “Border Boy,” how has the speaker’s relationship to the border changed over time? Compare the role of migration in shaping each speaker’s identity.

In Excerpt from Solito, Javier Zamora recounts the days before his harrowing solo migration from El Salvador to California at just nine years old. Pair “Interview” with Excerpt from Solito and ask students to discuss ideas of home and belonging in both texts. Explain the speaker’s alternating feelings of being both isolated and “at home” in “Interview.” Although it is never referenced directly, how might Javier define “home” in Excerpt from Solito? Is home where he has been raised in El Salvador, in the United States with parents he has not seen in years, or a combination of the two? In Excerpt from Solito, Javier Zamora writes from the point of view of his nine-year-old self. What impact does this point of view have on the narrator’s perception of “home” when compared with the adult speaker in “Interview?” In the last line of Excerpt from Solito, the reader learns that “no one who’s left to La USA has ever come back to visit” (Paragraph 14). What feeling did the author intend to provoke with this line? How might the speaker’s adult point of view in “Interview” predict some of Javier’s feelings and challenges as an adult?