Essay Questions

Why does Dina believe that it was her father who ultimately killed her mother?

According to Dina, the doctors concluded that her mother died from kidney failure. Dina does not believe this conclusion, however; though she accepts that kidney failure may have been the reason her body physically failed, she knows that her mother died emotionally and mentally long ago. From Dina’s perspective, her father’s emotional abuse killed her mother through his abuse and lack of love. Years of this abuse took its toll, and ultimately claimed her mother’s life; her body physically could not take the toll of living under the same roof with Dina’s father.

How does Dina believe that “pretending” is what saved her in life?

Though Dina’s doctor perceives her tendency to pretend as an indicator of weak mental health, Dina wishes her doctor would understand that it is her ability to pretend that has preserved her sanity and sense of self-preservation. Were it not for Dina’s ability to pretend and block out the world around her, she likely would not have survived her childhood and young adulthood. She wishes so desperately that her doctor could understand her perspective and could understand why she had to turn to fantasy as a coping mechanism. She believes that her ability to cope through fantasy and pretending is what ultimately preserved her sense of sanity into adulthood.

Why does the author make the point of referring to societal racial discrimination as a patriarchal system?

Packer suggests that the systematic discrimination against persons of color is fundamentally grounded in the patriarchy. She suggests that, historically, the conventions and social norms of our modern societies are all fundamentally grounded in patriarchal views, given that it was men who were making the majority of decisions throughout history. In the great expanse of recorded time, a very small fraction of influential decisions have been made by women—much less women of color. By design, therefore, Packer concludes that our modern notions of systematic racism and abuse of people of color has been fundamentally influenced and shaped by patriarchal views and norms. Not only have our modern understandings of race, class, and culture been established predominantly by men, but white men, who have further established a sense of white superiority. Packer wants to ensure that her readers understand why systematic racism and discrimination is grounded in white supremacy and the patriarchy.