52 pages • 1 hour read
A Place at the Table
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Themes
The Pursuit of the American Dream
Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan illustrate the Hameed family’s resilience as they pursue the American dream. Through this pursuit, the novel reveals how Mrs. Hameed is determined to uplift her family. Her persistence reflects how badly she wants to improve their lives.
The authors also depict the perils of chasing this dream. Faruqi and Shovan underscore the toxic side of pursuit. The Hameed family is struggling financially. This creates tension between Sara’s parents, as well as between Sara and her parents, who do not initially accept Sara’s assistance.
Mrs. Hameed grapples with the challenge of acknowledging her financial struggles. She justifies her decision to take out a loan: “expand the business. Acquire more supplies. Advertise in the paper. That sort of thing” (50). However, the bills surpass her business model’s capacity. Her aspirations seem to falter, and her pursuit of the American Dream appears to lead to disillusionment. The novel shows how the financial strain creates anxiety for all when Sara witnesses a disagreement between her parents: “Apparently, there’s a lot to worry over” (100). As a first-generation American, Sara embodies a new wave of American dreamers. While older generations emphasize the importance of individual success, Sara’s generation underscores the value of collaboration and familial support in pursuing dreams. This is a key message of the novel: that there is power in unity.
Sara suggests this as she seeks ways to help her mom. She frequently offers assistance, using her artistic gifts to make Mrs. Hameed’s company stand out. After the cooking club classroom incident, where Sara feels she has endangered her mother’s dream, her father reminds her they want her to focus on school and doing well. Sara’s response reflects the ideals of collaboration and family: “Baba. That’s not going to work. If your dad had a problem, would you sit back and let him take care of it? Or would you want to help” (274). Sara desperately wants to help her mother—she understands that success does not occur in a bubble, nor does individual success happen alone.
Mrs. Hameed finally comes to the same understanding during the International Festival. When Sara reveals the logo and how she created it, Mrs. Hameed responds: “I don’t know what to say. You girls are always surprising me” (304). By the end of the festival, Mrs. Hameed passes out the flyers, proudly announcing: “Take a flyer, please. My daughter designed it” (307). Mrs. Hameed no longer stands alone in pursuing her dream. Now, she allows her family to stand with her publicly, not just in the kitchen. Accepting Sara’s help also helps Sara to pursue her artistic dreams, as she begins creating a portfolio for a summer art program. The authors portray how the characters struggle most when they stand alone and thrive when they work together to make something more significant than they can individually accomplish.
The Desire to Find Belonging
One of the novel’s primary conflicts is everyone’s craving for acceptance. Sara wants to belong among her peers after leaving her friends at Irqa Academy. Elizabeth wants to belong among her family and for her family to belong in the US. Mrs. Hameed and Mrs. Shainmark both seek to belong in a world where people accept them and where they can be their most authentic selves. The authors complicate each character’s desire for belonging by distinguishing where they believe they belong relative to where they ultimately find belonging.
Sara belongs through her connection to Elizabeth and Rabia, the two people she considers her best friends. When Elizabeth first shows Sara her room, Sara realizes: “We all hide some part of ourselves, crowding them into our bedrooms, where only our best friends can see” (178). Elizabeth will soon see Sara’s room, which adds depth to Sara’s statement. The bedrooms become symbolic of one’s inner life, and of sharing that life. Sara and Elizabeth see into each other’s rooms, forging a connection.
Sara’s quest for belonging is also a quest for sharing her heritage with others, whether the individual relates or not. In contrast, Elizabeth finds belonging through shared experience. She frequently laments her attendance at a summer theater camp. Though there are other campers, their experience is not the same—the other campers pursue leading roles while Elizabeth wants to go home. She joins the cooking club to spend time with Maddy, and it bothers her that Maddy chooses to spend time with Stephanie instead. Within her family, Elizabeth wants her mother to pursue citizenship so they can share the American experience, fearing her mother will leave because she prefers England.
Mrs. Hameed and Mrs. Shainmark find their sense of belonging in each other as they discuss their shared experience of emigrating. Mrs. Shainmark observes that “everything about America is too bright. Sometimes I wake up wondering how I’ll get through another day of Type-A personalities and firm handshakes” (122). Mrs. Hameed concurs, adding, “These kids think everything is perfect here. What do they know about emigrating from your home and trying to manage in a new country” (123). This interaction and their shared avoidance of the citizenship test sparks a friendship that encourages them to study for the exam and earn citizenship. Before meeting each other, they felt lonely, surrounded by people who believed the US to be an easy place for everyone to live. By uniting, they find companionship and belonging with someone who sympathizes with their plight, making it easier to take steps to find permanent legal belonging in the US.
The Unifying Power of Food
The novel’s title, A Place at the Table, immediately draws attention to the significance and impact of food in bringing people together. Faruqi and Shovan continue to draw attention to food’s unifying effect by highlighting how characters understand each other’s cultures through food, and by using food to celebrate diversity. For example, Sara and Elizabeth bond as they plan their International Festival dish, and Maddy stands up to her father and tells him his views about non-white people are wrong.
Sara and Elizabeth struggle to create a dish that adequately reflects them. They rapidly agree with Sara’s suggestion that they make “a recipe that combines our culture […] Like a mash-up” (126). Rather than lament that their initial dish failed, Sara and Elizabeth end up “laughing so hard, neither of [them] car[ing] that [they]’ll have to come up with a new idea for the competition” (183). The girls find unity in experimentation and discovering how to celebrate their cultures while combining them to make something great. Their success manifests in the symbolic dish, the Halwa Cuppa Tea Ice Cream, which reflects prominent elements of each of their cultures while bringing their families together. The Halwa Cuppa Tea’s unifying effect works because, as Elizabeth observes, “[My] whole family helped me and Sara today, all of us together.” (296). Like the citizenship test, food brings the Hameeds and the Shainmarks close.
They are not the only ones impacted by food. Maddy Montgomery is influenced by her family’s racism when it comes to forming opinions about people of color. Maddy admits: “Since moving up from elementary school, my parents have been nagging me to make new friends. They say Steph is more like us” (281). However, Maddy ultimately forms individual opinions about Sara, Mrs. Hameed, and people who do not look like her. Elizabeth reflects: “I think back over the last couple of classes and realize Maddy’s been complaining a lot less” (282).
Maddy did not behave better, because she did not know better. Her character growth culminates in her statement: “We shouldn’t judge food until we try it. Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s less delicious. Same goes for people” (308). The authors use Maddy’s character as a vehicle to show how one can transform, the power and importance of acceptance, and how food can bring people together, creating a place to discuss similarities and differences.
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