Corona By Razia Mirza Summary

Razia Mirza is a Pakistani woman originally from Corona, New York whom attempts to find herself though the book Corona. For Razia finding herself is complicated she not only has to ‘find herself’ as a young woman living in the 21 century but she also has to situate what it means to be a Muslim woman living in America post 9/11. Readers will follow her on this tumultuous journey through her racial and religious epistemologies.

I. Pioneer Spirit

Razia’s describes her first summer job: working at a Pioneer Spirit in the Summer of 1995. In her job description she was made to dress up in colonial wear and give tours of Salem, Massachusetts. Razia recalls in her first week of work having a group of bikers and an older white couple on a tour.

This is part of the model minority stereotype. While society often puts the pressure on minority students the pressure can be put on from within the family as well. When Razia felt she was not meeting the expectation she went to work at Pioneer Spirit and the reader can see how well that worked out. In the book Desi Land Teen Culture, Class and Success in Silicon Valley by Shalini Shankar the effects of the model minority on the students who are not in the top ten percent of their classes are addressed. Shankar writes “for Asian American students, the model minority stereotype implies that high academic achievement and excellent conduct are foregone conclusions.” By assuming that academic success is a guarantee and not something that needs the be worked hard for in order to achieve, it can be really damaging for either said of the spectrum. Both students who succeed and students who do not. Shankar continues to say “this stereotype not only keeps same Asian American students from being considered “normal” but also leaves others to struggle to accomplish the high standards associated with the term.” When students fail to reach the high standards put upon them by family or society they are cast out, or stop trying, many of the students interviewed in the Shankar piece decided there was no longer to working hard in school because

For Razia and many other South Asians that means facing discrimination based on her skin color and other “ethic qualities.” One instance of racial exclusion that Razia recalls is when she and Ravi were going out for the evening: “Ravi and I were doing what white people did to our desi spaces. We were outsiders trying to get a piece of ethnic European action.” While waiting in line to get into the club the bouncer saw then and “yelled out, “oh no! Pakistanis” Ravi noticeably winced. But the very small man was a co-worker of mine.” They ended up getting into the club, and the story proceeded from there. This vignette, The Bulgarian Disco, is primarily about how the relationship between Razia and Ravi is beginning to fall apart, but the story is begun with this tale of racial or more accurate religious