Americanized: Rebel without a Green Card

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Americanized''s Style of Humor in Your Writing”

In this activity, students will draw upon their own personal histories and, as Saedi does throughout Americanized, use a humorous tone to depict a difficult, ironic or otherwise challenging past moment in writing.

Despite the often difficult subject matter of Americanized, Saedi’s memoir is infused with humor and levity. From extraordinary events to more mundane ones, humor is a narrative device Saedi often deploys to talk about her life and experiences.

In this creative writing activity, emulate Saedi’s comedic writing style and tone and try your hand at bringing humor and lightness to a personal experience. 

• Review and Reflect. First, identify the sections of Americanized that struck you as most funny. What was the subject? Why do you think it struck a chord with you? What techniques did Saedi use to help make the scene comedic?
• Write and Craft. Next, think of a moment or event in your life that might lend itself to a humorous treatment. Craft a brief essay (1-2 pages) that describes this moment, drawing on the comedic narrative techniques that Saedi uses to make light of difficult situations. 
• Share and Listen. Share with peers what part of Americanized you found to be the funniest, reading excerpts from that section, if time permits. If you are comfortable in doing so, you may also share your creative writing piece with the class for feedback and workshopping.

Teaching Suggestion: Students needn’t write about anything that brings them deep discomfort– the selected event could be tripping in line at the grocery store or not realizing they’ve put their sweater on backward.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who would prefer a less personal activity idea might select a character from literature or film and write about an incident from that character’s point of view. Students who are visual learners or those for whom an artistic activity might be beneficial might opt to convey their chosen event as a comic with captions and dialogue that reflect a humorous tone.

Paired Text Extension:

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris is a memoir collection of 27 essays in which the author reflects on his childhood in North Carolina, his relationship with his family, his time living in France, and other observations about American life. Each chapter of the book features various levels of fantasy, irony, and other narrative comedic techniques to highlight the ordinariness of Sedaris’s everyday experiences.

Teaching Suggestion: Students might read select essays that feature Sedaris’s self-deprecating humor and draw comparisons to Americanized’s tone and style.