A Place at the Table

The Citizenship test booklet, which Mrs. Shainmark and Mrs. Hameed initially avoid, is a unifying object that connects them. Neither mother avoids studying because they lack the desire to become citizens. Instead, they face many outside challenges that prevent them from learning—Mrs. Hameed must focus on her business to make ends meet, while Mrs. Shainmark struggles with depressive episodes brought on by grief after her mother’s death. Alongside their independent struggles, the mothers share the collective challenge of learning a new history and culture as they grew up in different countries. The citizenship test booklet symbolizes the challenges immigrant families face as residents in their respective communities.

Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan create tension between the older immigrant generations and the native-born citizens of the newer generation. Sara and Elizabeth cannot understand why their mothers do not prioritize citizenship; the mothers do not understand why citizenship is significant to their daughters. This emulates the tensions in multi-generational immigrant families. The parents, as portrayed by Mrs. Shainmark and Mrs. Hameed, feel like acquiring citizenship means potentially sacrificing their identities, while the children, portrayed by Sara and Elizabeth, feel that their identities are separate.