96 pages • 3 hours read
Sara SaediAmericanized: Rebel without a Green Card
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
In the author’s note, Saedi writes that she deliberately uses humor to tell her family’s immigration story. How might this humor be different if there wasn’t a happy ending to her story—i.e., if her family did not receive their green cards?
What do Saedi’s diary entries reveal about her daily preoccupations as a teenager? How do they function as a literary device?
As a teenager, Saedi has many personal insecurities and doubts about her self-worth. Why does she include these narratives in a story largely focused on more important topics, such as immigration? How does she shed these insecurities?
What are some similarities between American cultural norms of beauty and Iranian cultural norms of beauty? What are some differences?
To what extent is Saedi a product of American culture, and to what extent is she a product of Iranian culture? At what point do these ideals contradict one another, and what effect does that have on Saedi?
How does the parenting philosophy of Saedi’s parents counter popular stereotypes about Iranians? How would Saedi’s narrative change if her parents were more stereotypical?
What do the “Frequently Asked Question” inserts add to our understanding of Iranian culture, history, and politics? What other Frequently Asked Questions would you like Saedi to answer about Iran?
How do Saedi’s narratives about her grandmothers complicate American perceptions of Islam and gender oppression in the Middle East? In what ways do they align with stereotype?
Americanized often reads like an instructional manual about immigration law and policy in the United States. How might this information help undocumented immigrants? How might it help those born in America?
In the Epilogue, Saedi creates an imaginary conversation between herself and an alternative version of herself who grows up in Iran. What is the purpose of this conversation, and what does it add to Saedi’s immigration story?
