Marina Budhos's Novel "Ask Me

Marina Budhos's novel "Ask Me No Questions" presents an episode in the life of an illegal immigrant Bangladesh family in the U.S. One of the central characters in the story, Aisha, is an ambitious young woman and seems determined to do everything in her power in order to experience success. However, the fact that she feels that all of society has great expectations from her undermines her position and makes her vulnerable in the face of real problems.

Even with the fact that Aisha typically has an answer to every problem that one of her friends comes across, she fails to solve her own problems when she comes across them. Aisha is the stereotypical high-school girl who has almost everything she wants and is appreciated by most people that she interacts with. Her sister, Nadira, is meant to contrast her through the fact that she is physically unattractive and that she is generally shadowed by her bigger sister.

However, Aisha's interest in wanting "to go to Harvard and be a doctor" (Budhos 31) backfires on her as she is perfectly aware that it would be impossible for her to do so considering the condition that she and her family are in. The fact that "she can do sums and calculations so quick, people think she cheats with a calculator" (Budhos 31) further contributes to having readers get a better understanding of how individuals see Aisha.

The community that she lives in fuels her dreams and makes it difficult for her to comprehend that she is actually in a great deal of trouble as a result of her illegal stay in the U.S. Moreover, the girl is unable to understand that it is impossible for her to go to college even with the fact that Nadira tells her that "You're not going to college! You're not going anywhere" (Budhos 52).

In spite of the fact that Aisha seemed to be "too strong, too smart" (Budhos 52), Nadira realized that she was actually more powerful than her sister because she did not live in an imaginary world. Her unattractiveness and her average intellect were actually what made it possible for her to see the bigger picture. Leaving the college is most probably one of the main reasons influencing Aisha to accept her condition.

The girl goes from being strong to being weak in a matter of seconds as her younger sister urges her to do so and as she realizes that all of her dreams were unattainable. It is difficult to determine whether Aisha becomes weaker as the storyline progresses or whether she actually becomes stronger by realizing the limited amount of options she has and by experiencing a rapid maturing process. Her ambition is seriously damaged as a result of the fact that her family is caught.