The Lazarus Project

Vocabulary Words:

Vociferates: shouts out

Vestibule: entrance hall; enclosed area at rail car entrance

Dubious: possibly dishonest or immoral

Nascent: just beginning to develop

Resin: substance from plants

Claret: deep red; red wine

Rucksacks: bags carried on back

Sheitan: satan; the devil (in Islam)

In reading the first part of this novel, there were two contrasts that really stuck out to me. The first was the contrast between the American culture and the Bosnian culture. It was my impression that the Bosnians had a harder time adjusting to American culture, and often found themselves in adverse circumstances. For example, Hemon says, “Americans, we are bound to agree, go out after they wash their hair, with their hair still wet-even in the winter! We concede that no sane Bosnian mother would ever allow her child to do that, as everybody knows that going out with your hair wet can result in a lethal brain inflammation.” This is just one example of how Bosnians are portrayed as having greater worry; Americans go outside with their hair wet, but Bosnians are too worried that they will contract a brain inflammation. Hemon also describes the trouble that Bosnian children have to maintain their Bosnian culture, “A choir of kids of uneven height and width (which always reminds me of the Chicago skyline) struggles with a traditional Bosnian song, their hearing and accent forever altered by American teenagehood.” These children have been exposed to American culture for so long that it makes it difficult for them to remember their traditional Bosnian songs.

The other key contrast I found while reading this book was the contrast between genders. Not only were Bosnians portrayed as “having it harder” than Americans, as minorities and immigrants often do, but men in the story were portrayed as having more worries and stress than women. For example, Hemon describes the mother, “Mother used to soak her varicose legs in a tub of hot water, but she would always forget the towel. He would be the one to fetch it, wash her feet, and wipe them dry. Her soles were ticklish; she would squeal like a little schoolgirl.” Pedicures, and soakings are a luxury; a luxury that is more common for women. The fact that the mother forgets the towel, and the male would be the one to fetch it, wash her feet, and wipe them dry portrays the man as having a greater responsibility. Also, the Mother is described as having ticklish feet, and “squealing like a schoolgirl.” Hemon compares the mother to a schoolgirl because schoolgirls are carefree, and do not have anything to worry about; they are young and their parents care for them. Similarly, the mother is shown through her soaking her feet and always forgetting the towel to be carefree. Also, relating back a bit to the contrast between Bosnians and Americans, Hemon says, “Whereupon I could show Mary that I was not a wastrel or a slacker or a lazy East-European, but a person of talent and potential.” This not only shows the contrast between gender, because he feels like he has to prove himself to Mary, but it also relates to the Bosnia-America contrast. He feels as if since he is from Bosnia, he might be automatically viewed by Mary as a “wastrel or a slacker.” He is a male from Bosnia, and therefore feels as if he has to work extra hard to compensate. Lastly, in describing the young man at the beginning of the novel, it reads, “Never trust a hungry man, his eyes tell her.” Again, this shows a contrast between Bosnia and America because the reason the man is hungry is that he is a poor immigrant. In addition, there is a great contrast between the male and female pronouns “he” and “she” that helps add to the theme of passing judgments, and accentuates the distinction between men and women and their roles.