Dislocation, Trauma, and Ambivalence in "The Bees, Part 1" Anonymous 11th Grade

"For what it's worth: It's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants come to the United States. They all search for different things. Some come for refuge against civil and political unrest, while others come for a chance at a better life. Each immigrant has their own story. Each story is different because they all come from varying backgrounds and cultures. In Aleksandar Hemon’s short story, “The Bees, Part 1,” he represents his family’s experience of immigration and exile. His story presents the reality of his life - dislocation, trauma, and ambivalence.

In Hemon’s short story, the theme of dislocation is conveyed throughout the entire text, but is mostly focused on in the last chapter, “The Well.” He talks about his father writing another true book, The Well: a story about a well near the father’s childhood home, people from the village and their cattle, and their intersecting destinies. “[His father] remembers, that somebody’s mule escaped and came to the well, sensing water. But its head was tied to its leg - that’s how people forced...