Share your literary essay with the rest of the students that chose this short story. Take some time to read 2 or 3 other essays. Comment on them. Your comment should be about something you noticed them doing well from our lessons. For example, "You did a really good job explaining your evidence
“The trip” A short story by Sona Charaipotra That takes place mainly in an airport. What makes this story interesting is that at the airport there is some people judging Rajain (the main character) for being a certain race and religion. While Rajain and friends are at the airport he is taking into a room because of his race. Sona Charapiotra did this to show us that we should treat everyone the same and all equally.
ReplyDeleteWhen Rajain is first entering the airport she instantly feels like she is not normal people are looking at her like she is some really bad person as a result of them thinking this they treat her differently. They do not understand that Rajain is actually a U.S citizen. These people at the airport are starting to get concerned just like the guards they are thinking that she might be a naughty person just because of her color/race. Rajain thinks this is very unfair just because she is a different color of skin and a different race does not mean she should be treated differently.
The Liking of Rajain in the airport was already low enough but it most likely got even lower because of the history some people had that were the same skin color/race. When it is rajains turn in line to get her passport checked and everything the guards think she is has a fake passport and do not let her through. She knows they only think that because of her skin color and religion. The plot, so in this story the plot is mainly the airport and what is happening and why it is happening. So the big main plot event in this story is obviously Rajain not being able to go on his flight with his friends. So when Rain gets into the Interrogation room there is a instant bad vibe in there it is dark and Rajain thinks she might go to jail just because of her looks.
What actually happens in the integrate room? Well when rajain is in the interrogation room security comes in to talk to rajain. They ask her what she is going on the plane for, they ask her if she has her passport all of those types of question. When they ask to see Rajains passport they almost immediately think that it is fake just because of her race and religion. Rajain is in major disbelief because she knows she is not the only person they has ever happened too. They finally get escorted back out of the interrogation room but not pleasantly. They have to fight there way through being nice to the workers although the workers are not being nice to them. Finally they get into the lobby check in get onto there plane just in time for The Trip.
At the end of the story Rajain thinks to himself how did she even get in this situation. Why is this world like this as she can not help her race and should be able to be free to be what religion she wants. He is grateful for what has happened today so maybe he can share it with peers so it can be spread around the world that everyone should be treated equally not matter what.
A short story “The trip” by Sona Charaipotra is about a girl named Sharika who is going on a school trip to Geneva. She is going through the body scanner and it keeps going off. It all goes wrong from there. The lady that is checking her is suspicious because Sharika is dressed in baggy clothes her hair in braids and the scanner keeps going off. The lady scanning her is think she is a terrorist because the way she is dressed and acting. I feel like Sona is trying to say don't judge a book by its cover based on how they look and act. This takes place in Airport with her UN team.
ReplyDeleteShakira is going through the scanner and it buzzes every time. The security lady starts following her and gets Sharika bags and start rummaging through the bags. She asks for the passport and her passport has gotten flagged due to where she lived. The security lady took her phone and her passport. Now she is thinking that the lady that took her phone and passport was just a criminal. Sona is saying make sure someone is someone and that you don't aussum someone is someone that you think. There was a dude that was taking Sharika to this random place in the back of the airport due to her passport being flagged. She is asked up to a counter and Shakira is giving them some info about her. Sona is giving more explanation about dont judge a book by its cover because they keep taking sharkia to a place and scanning her and taking some info about her.
Shakira is getting scanned over and over due to her underwear and her bra. They don't know that though, they are really confused and thinking she is a terrorist based on how she looks, acts and her passport being flagged. She is now feeling judged. They realize that she is a normal person and is just trying to get on a plane by herself. This is amazing explanation of don’t judge a book by its cover. She is being judged based in her looks and her passport being flagged due to where she lives.
Sharkia is going on a school trip to Geneva when her passport gets flagged and the scanner is going off at her. The sceratey lady is suspicion of her because of that. They think Shakira is a terrorist based on her actions, looks and her passport being flagged. They realized once they took her information she was just an average person. Sona is teaching us that just because someone looks like a terrorist don’t mean they are one. They are explaining that judging may lead to something you are not expecting.
In conclusion, “ the trip” by Sona is teaching us to don't judge a book by its cover. Shakira was going on a trip with her UN team to Geneva. Shakira was going through a body scanner when is all turned wrong from there. Her passport got flagged based on where she lives. She is taking to a random place in the airport getting asked questions. They finally realize that she is normal. Just because someone is acting strange doesn't mean they are something bad.
Another theme idea could have been “ Bad beginning is a happy ending” because there are a lot of moments in the story where there are bad stuff happening to Shakira and at the end there are happy things that happen to her at the end. The beginning there she is getting scanned so many times then her passport was being flagged. At the end she is able to go on the plane and have a good time with her UN team in Geneva. This could have been better because there are a lot of bad things and good things happening in this story. I just think don't judge a book by its cover is more affected to the story.
“The Trip” by Sona Charaipotra is about Sarika, a Hindu girl who is going to Geneva, Switzerland for a school trip. While the group is at the airport and going through security, Sarika gets stopped at the metal detector when her bra sets the alarm off. Sarika is then prompted to take off her jewelry and come to the backroom when the security guards realize she doesn’t have her passport. She is then interrogated about where she was born and where she lives currently. The author is trying to tell the readers that racial profiling and discrimination happens everywhere and all the time.
ReplyDeleteSymbolism in “The Trip” develops the claim of racial profiling by giving the reader background knowledge about the main character. One of the main symbols that help you get to know Sarika is her Ganesh necklace, ““Remove your necklace, please,” Faux-Ever Blonde says, and I slip off my little Ganesh chain and place it in the round bin the lady holds out.” This indicates that Sarika is Hindi, and wears the necklace because Ganesh is the god of new beginnings. This is also another indication on why they pulled her to the back room for questioning. This could be interpreted as religious hatred but clearly it means racial profiling because nobody else is getting pulled to the side.
The tone in “The Trip” also supports the claim of racial profiling by letting the reader know how Sarika is feeling in the moment. “Especially these days, with all the bullshit with the Muslim ban and stuff. It’s definitely that. They think I’m a terrorist.” This shows that Sarika has, potentially, gone through this/heard of this before. It also shows that Sarika thinks that the airport security assumes that she's a terrorist, which frightens her because she knows she’s not a terrorist, but she really doesn’t have anybody to back her up on that or evidence.
The setting can also support the claim, because during the Muslim Ban most if not all Muslims, or people that looked like they were Muslims, were told that they are terrorists and they couldn’t do they same things everybody else can do. This includes the airport where this section of the book is takes place, and where most of the profiling and discrimination took place.
The characters like the blonde lady at the security station and the guy Sarika calls “meanie”, can bring in a lot of empathy on how/what Muslims went through. Hollander the teacher can also bring in the sense of a white savior complex, because she comes to the rescue so Sarika doesn’t get in trouble or miss the flight. Making Sarika Hindu/Indian can also make some readers (who happen to be Hindi/Indian or Muslim and have been accused of being a terrorist) relate to her and sympathise with her.
At the end of “The Trip”, Sarika is helped by her teacher Hollander and is able to board the plane. She talks to her mom on the phone while getting on the plane, and her mother is super worried but Sarika knows that she’s safe now with her friends. Sarika lets her mom go and tries to relax before she gets to Geneva where she hopes she can enjoy everything without having to worry about being accused of something she’s not.
PART ONE
ReplyDelete“The Trip” by Sona Charaipotra is a story that’s told through the point of view of Sarika Shah, a teenage girl on a school trip to Geneva, Switzerland. She is stopped by TSA after having a small amount of metal in the underwire of her bra set off the metal detector in the airport. She is prompted to take off her jewelry and let the officer see her passport, which she didn’t have because another official had kept it when looking through her group’s passports. She gets detained and questioned about her passport and assumed to be a terrorist simply because of her skin color and her birthplace, Kashmir, a disputed territory between Central and Southern Asia. The author is trying to tell us, in this story, that racial profiling and discrimination happens everywhere, even in places and at times that most don’t think about.
The Trip by Sona Charaipotra uses symbolism to show that racial profiling is a very real issue and it happens all too often. She uses the symbol of a Ganesh necklace, Sarika’s symbol for new beginnings, to not only show the new beginning for Sarika at the end of the story, but also it showcases a piece of her culture. This necklace, given to her by a family member, proves to be very important to Sarika, indicating that her religion, Hinduism, and her culture are very important to her and her family. The necklace is taken by TSA while she’s being searched and later it’s given back to her by Rajan, somebody who knows how much it means. Along with Sarika’s payal, which she had to take off while going through security, like many people of color and other cultures might feel like they have to erase small parts of their culture or lives to make others that are unfamiliar with it feel more “comfortable.” Although this could be another theme, the text really shows that it is racial profiling through many other outlets, and even Sarika’s own words.
Additionally, there are lots of examples of tone, both in Sarika’s inner thoughts and her external dialogue and actions. She uses sarcasm in the line, “Funny how no one else’s bra ever causes such drama” when she gets stopped by TSA for her underwire triggering the metal detector. Not to mention, later in the story, Sarika herself brushes off the reason she was being questioned as, “probably just a classic case of racial profiling.” The author also uses tone to express Sarika’s fear towards getting deported or being detained for even longer. Her fear shows an attachment to her family and to convey that Sarika knows there’s a possibility she wouldn’t see her family again if the unlikely happened and Sarika got deported.
PART TWO
ReplyDeleteAnother important thing that is used to push this theme is the setting. The setting is just an airport in New Jersey, some time after the events of September 11, 2001. This becomes apparent when Sarika mentions the Muslim ban as a reason why she was stopped. Sarika isn’t Muslim, however, she’s Hindu. The reason she’s stopped is because of her birthplace, Kashmir, a very disputed territory with a largely Muslim population. This must’ve been at a time where people weren’t very open minded about other religions and cultures. Sarika is simply on a school trip, with a chaperone and multiple other kids who can confirm that she’s with them, and she’s still detained for what was, in her opinion and the chaperone’s, a stupid reason. She’s been an American citizen since she was two and her passport showed that.
While the figurative language and setting are important in this story, I’d say one of the most important parts into realizing the theme is the characters themselves. Sarika Shah, a Kashmir born, American girl who is just trying to go on a school trip to Geneva to escape the small troubles in her family, that she still loves very much. She’s stopped by airport security for no good reason and based off of the story we can assume she had been stopped before, when travelling with her family, who might still have “Indian” accents or even more culturally significant clothing. Hollander, one of the chaperones of the trip, who stood up for and did her best to protect Sarika in this situation and ended up being the one to demand Sarika be cleared in time for their flight. Rajan, Sarika’s crush and somebody who we are led to believe is also Indian or Middle Eastern. He says at the end of the story that he, too, has been stopped like Sarika was at the airport ‘especially when he doesn’t shave.’ Sarika and Rajan, both people with names that sound different than ours might, are stopped. They’re both questioned in airports simply because they might be middle-eastern or they might be “terrorists” according to our government. Hollander had never faced this issue and based off of the context clues we can assume that she’s white. None of the other students were stopped or detained, just Sarika.
At the end, when Rajan briefly speaks about his similar experiences, Sarika seems to realize that while she was on the plane for now, this might happen to her again and it might happen for the rest of her life if something doesn’t change. Even with all of that, Sarika knows she wouldn’t change a thing about herself. She’s proud of her culture and her religion. She’s proud of who she is, unapologetically. The author uses this to show that racial profiling and discrimination is real and happens often, but the author also seemingly wanted to say that nobody should have to change who they are to make others feel more comfortable, especially those with different cultures and religions. She leaves the readers to imagine what might happen on Sarika’s school trip and she leaves us to think about the message with the very last line, “My ganesh. The god of new beginnings” knowing that this trip is Sarika’s new beginning.
The story “The Trip” is a story written by Sona Charaipota. The story takes place at an airport. The setting and the main focus of the story is about how a 16 year old girl in an airport that got accused of being a terrorist because of the way she looks. In the story The Trip, it shows the theme really well, the theme i think is that dont judge people by their looks, It shows in the book how the 16 year old girl got accused.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story they were taking off on a trip while getting ready at the airport. When she was going through the checking line her passport had some things wrong with it which probably started the idea of her even being a terrorist. They looked at her and thought she might be a terrorist and they took her away. Just because she looked like one they treated her not so nicely because they thought she was something she wasn't. This gave the 16 year old no hope in the story.
She explained that she and her parents were from another country and she was only a 16 year old girl. Instead of letting her go they just kept asking her more questions about the fact “she was a terrorist”. They didn't believe her and continued to believe that she was a danger even at the age of 16.
In the short story The Trip the 16 year old girl, if she didn't look different and came from a different country she would have passed without a problem but they were very suspicious and started taking her away from the group.
During the end of the story she starts to lose empathy towards herself and basically almost gives up, which dug her deeper in the problem until she gets help from others. If she had asked for help at the beginning she could have not been in the mess she is in the story. So that's the theme, don't judge people by their looks.
“The trip” is a short story by Sona Charaipotra that mostly takes place at an airport. What makes the story interesting and unique is that it makes you realize that people are being falsely accused all the time and aren't having the opportunity to get support, but also that it happens more than people actually realize. The short story focuses on a girl who was going on a school trip with her friends to Geneva, but ended up getting stopped and called a terrorist by the security guards. Because the guards assume that she is a terrorist, they are treating her horribly and are being aggressive. The guards also automatically assume that she is lying even when she’s telling the truth. The author uses these instances to teach us that you should not judge a book by its cover; you should not judge a book by its cover since you don't know them or their morals.
ReplyDeleteSariska is a teenage girl who was born in Kashmir, a disputed territory. She now lives in New Jersey and has not been there since her mom and grandmother escaped here to come to the U.S, seeking asylum. When Sariska Shah, finally gets to go on a school trip after a lot of convincing. She however got stopped by the airport security guard because something triggered the alarms. When she gets stopped they look at her passport and they automatically assume that she is a terrorist when she just wants to go on a school trip with her friends. As the story progresses, we find out that the security guards not only Judge, but assume that she is lying.
When Sona Charaipotra wrote this short story it made me picture a girl in an airport trying to talk but the guards are belittling her. Sariska is only a teenage girl but the fact that she is in a room with no passport, phone, or even the person who is supposed to watch her, kinda makes me wonder why aren't they letting her ask for help or even try hearing her out when she just wants to talk to them. Although it could be argued that this story talks about being stereotypical the text actually says ”"Your English is very good.", "Where's your accent?" which shows that she is being judged by the way she talks and where she comes from.
Imagery is an amazing figurative element that I can say Charaipotra uses a lot because there are a lot of circumstances in the story that make you picture yourself in Sariska shoes. For instance “They really do think I'm a terrorist. Based on one word on my passport. One word. The circumstance of my birth”. It makes you picture a teenage girl being judged by people who have a decent amount of power over her, and that they are assuming that she is a terrorist.
ReplyDelete"Can I call my parents?" I mean, even criminals get one phone call. Right? "No, Sit tight. We'll be back shortly." He stands abruptly and walks out, taking the blonde with him. Show and put an image in your head that she cant talk to someone who is over the age of 18 even when they are falsely accusing her of being a terrorist.
Another instance is "Your protocol does not apply to a sixteen-year-old American citizen traveling alone." "Yes, it does." Meanie's voice is firm, and he has a fake smile plastered to his face, which is now a livid red. "I don't make the rules. But I do follow them. And so should you, if you don't want to escalate this further." show that the teacher feels threatened, and that it kinda makes me realize why people don't speak up when they might need to, because they don't want to create a scene.
Throughout the story setting might be one of the reasons that creates the theme/problem. Since Sariska was born in a disputed territory, they assume that she was in contact and has been there recently. But in reality she hasn't been there since she was two, since her mom and grandmother left looking for asylum. During the story the big incident took place at an airport when a girl was going on a trip with her school and friends. The guards say “But your family history and place of birth when we did the scan flagged you in our system. We've been ordered to hold you and your passport for further vetting." shows that her birthplace is having a disagreement with another place and they think she is a terrorist.
Characters in this story also play a big role in helping create the theme because when the guards take her in for interrogation they ask her “why is your english good”, “Where did you live before that”. Instead of actually listening to her, they straight up ignore her and automatically think she is lying and is a terrorist.
Sariska’ friend (aka her crush) explains in the story that he is sorry that this has happened to her, and that it has happened to him before, when he didn't shave and that sometimes people will just assume instead of asking when they don't even know you.
At the end of the story, Sariskas teacher finally comes and tries to talk to the guards, but the guards just dismiss the teacher without hearing him out. Once this happens, Sariska ends up finally getting on the plane and realises that she is grateful of who she is and might become. The reader is left to realise that sometimes we do judge people without realizing it or even if we do we don't care. But after this story you can picture yourself in the character's shoes and realize that you should not judge a book by its cover when you don't know them or their morals because it might create a mental toll on someone.