Ethnic American Literature, spring 2008
Essay #2
Due in class March 19

Choose one:

1. On pages 162-164, Hoffman compares her story to that of Mary Antin. Evaluate this comparison – does Hoffman get it right, wrong, or somewhere in between? Use examples from The Promised Land as well as Lost in Translation in order to make your argument.
2. Hoffman uses Antin in order to understand her own experience – the similarities and differences between the two lives help her to clarify who she is. Likewise, Marianne Hirsch’s “Pictures of a Displaced Girlhood” employs Lost in Translation as it portrays Hirsch’s own life story. What are the important similarities/differences between your own life and Hoffman’s? How does Lost in Translation help you to understand your self?
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?

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. Although this essay will probably not require any reading beyond the primary text, you should 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.