The Heart of the Matter Lesson Plan

Why don't you need to dress for dinner at a Syrian's house? What are the differences between Yusef and Tallit?

The key topic of the first question here is the "middle" (gray area) power of the Syrians in the town and country. Syrians are not worthy of dinner dress because...? The easiest answer is racism. The more difficult answer could involve the colonizer's need for superiority over people different than themselves who still hold a certain amount of economic and social power.

Students should know that Yusef is Muslim and Tallit is Christian. Therefore, people like Wilson will automatically trust Tallit over Yusef. Why? Simple racism or religious bigotry? Or, based on...