A Rainbow Colored Lens, Darkened: Exploring the Role of Sight in Geha's "News from Phoenix"

Abstract

A Rainbow-Colored Lens, Darkened: Exploring the Role of Sight in Geha’s “News from Phoenix”

Joseph Geha’s “News from Phoenix” is a tale of two families who, despite having completely dissimilar ideologies, manage to connect with each other in the exotic but undeniably lonely landscape of America. Told from the perspective of six-year-old Isaac, the narrative charts the astonishing transformation in his Lebanese-American family’s perspective regarding the Kleins: from fearsome Jews to true and loyal friends of Erwin, Sofia and their two sons. Throughout the course of their time together, Isaac is witness to a number of events that reveal to him the true nature of the hostile world around them and the fragility of those who he cares for. By examining Sofia’s arduous trip to the art museum, Isaac’s hard-won admittance to school and the melancholy Christmas Eve party, I aim to prove that each of Isaac’s visual insights are a step on the road to his eventual adulthood. To emphasize the importance of each of these events for Isaac's personal growth, I will be drawing my research from three areas: child psychology, the immigrant experience, and Lebanese-American culture/values.