Ethnic American Literature, fall 2007
Essay #4
Due in class Oct. 29

Choose one.

Option 1:
Do you think Eva Hoffman has assimilated by the time she writes Lost in Translation? Why or why not?

Option 2:
Several critics, including Petra Fachinger and Matthias Schubnell, have argued for the similarity of Hoffman’s Lost in Translation and Rodriguez’s Hunger of Memory, particularly in the way that “the psychological complications, particularly the feelings of alienation and exile, resulting from the abandonment of one language for another” (Schubnell) are portrayed. Do you agree? Compare and contrast some aspect of these two works.

Option 3:
At the beginning of the book, Hoffman introduces the idea of “nostalgia, or tesknota – a word that adds to nostalgia the tonalities of sadness and longing.” What role does nostalgia play in Lost in Translation?

For all questions:
This essay should be 2-3 full pages, double spaced, paginated, with normal margins and font (Times New Roman, size 12, is standard). Do give your essay a title. Document all sources (including the primary texts) in accordance with MLA style. Keep in mind that I do not accept late papers, and plan accordingly.