What is the What: African.

“Nigeria.”

“Go back to Africa.”

Those are some of the derogatory remarks that Americans have called Valentino when he came to live in the United States. In fact, these two words came from the two African-American burglars, Tonya and Powder, who mercilessly assaulted Valentino when they came to rob his apartment. Later in the book, Michael, the accomplice of the two burglars, dropped a book on poor Valentino’s head and regarded him as something malignant. Julian, an African-American who works in the hospital, is reluctant to treat Valentino despite his head injury. Why is it that these Americans treat Valentino as a subhuman, another entity entirely, when they are of the same flesh and blood? In a way, I think their treatment mirrors that of the Arabs in Africa and the Sudanese, who continually engage themselves in warfare even though they are united by their physical characteristics.