Chapter 5 of Winter Flowers begins with Jumana talking about her best friend and neighbor, John David. Ever since his older brother died, his parents paid less and less attention to him. Jumana is getting older, and realizes that she is not “fragile” like the other girls in her class at school who enjoy playing house. She enjoys her time with John David more and more.
When they begin third grade, their teacher is the first black teacher at their school. After the first day many children are pulled out of her class and put into a private school, because their parents cannot handle the idea of their children being taught by a black woman. Jumana is obviously very keen for a third-grader, and asked her mother if she was ever treated differently for being an Arab Muslim. Her mother related the story of when she was nearly attacked by a man, for being Muslim in New York City. That is when she stopped practicing Islam.
This brings up an interesting point: Discrimination on any basis is wrong. It took a long time for Americans, especially in the South, to realize it, but discrimination against blacks is wrong. One day we will realize that discrimination against Muslims is every bit as wrong as discrimination against blacks.
To all the Muslims reading this, especially Muslims in America, were there any times that you were discriminated against for being Muslim?
The very first sentence of Winter Flowers reflects the importance of the relationship between a mother and daughter, and in the second chapter the author recollects fond childhood memories of her and her mother. She wins the lead role in her class’s Christmas play, thinking that she has finally one-upped her unspoken rival, Ashley. Ashley is the model of Southern perfection and incredibly smart, and 7-year-old Jumana feels that she has to beat her to have a sense of self-worth. However, on the evening of the school play, she realized that she did not need to be better than anybody because her mother was on the front row, applauding her. Her mother called her a masterpiece.
This chapter was very revealing about how many of us join the rat race in trying to prove how good we are, so that somebody will pat us on the back and say what a good job we have done. All too often we feel that we have to beat people to climb up the ladder of success. However, what really matters is having somebody to belong to, and when we can realize this, stepping on people’s faces is not nearly as important as it formerly was.
There were some very interesting points in this chapter, and I would love to see your comments on them. One is that her mother never celebrated Christmas; however, when I lived in Jordan I spent time with many Muslims who do celebrate Christmas. Although Christmas is traditionally a Christian holiday, why do some Muslims choose to celebrate it?
Jumana was confused about her religious identity because her mother was a nonpracticing Muslim and she grew up in Mississippi. Where do we get our religious identity from? Is it a matter of family, personal choice, or a combination?
In your opinion, why is the relationship between a mother and daughter important?