18 pages • 36 minutes read
Naomi Shihab NyeGate A-4
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Kindness
One of the most important themes of “Gate A4” is the power of kindness. The poem is a meditation on how ordinary acts of kindness can transform a mundane, situation into a life-affirming experience. By crossing a language divide and a sense of cultural isolation, the characters of “Gate A4” perform a series of kindnesses that gradually dissolve the tension inbuilt in a familiar and potentially distressing scenario in which an older woman is marooned at an airport where few speak her language. The woman’s traditional dress, her crying, and her own language are enough to make an “other” of her. On any given day, airline staff could deal with her in an impatient and harried manner, and her fellow travelers could ignore her, choosing to stay away from her predicament. However, on this particular day, a day like any other, the speaker decides to overcome her own hesitation and reach out to the woman. Not only does she mitigate the woman’s immediate distress, she also decides to spend time with her, making phone calls and providing comfort, abandoning her own plans to wander the terminal.
The first kindness the speaker shows the woman exists in the language the speaker uses to communicate with her; the second exists through the gift of time. These acts of kindness set off a chain reaction; the Palestinian woman kindly shares cookies not just with the speaker, but the other passengers as well. The passengers reciprocate with graciousness, as none refuse the gift of the cookies. Thus, the kindness of the speaker and the Palestinian woman breaks down the atmosphere of impatience that is usually associated with a delayed flight as well as the possibility of fear and suspicion that has the potential to arise in a post 9/11 airport setting.
By demonstrating how easy it is to be kind in an everyday situation, the poem highlights the potential of other acts of kindness to transform a fighting, fractured world. The beauty of the events at Gate A4 exist against the anxious suggestion that these acts of generosity are an exception. Yet, the acts themselves are not exceptional, begging the question: Why do people then not show kindness more often to each other in low-stakes situations? The poem’s message suggests that if more people choose to show kindness, then perhaps more dire situations would cease to evolve.
Hope
The importance of holding onto hope is an important motif in Nye’s work. To Nye, it is hope that propels people in a world which often seems impossible to navigate. However, as the events at Gate A4 illustrate, hope can spring up anywhere, forging unexpected connections. The poem contains a clear message to readers: Because the world still has the capacity to surprise even the most jaded of travelers, one must always persist with hope.
The speaker’s attitude toward hope is not sentimental; rather, it is creative and practical. In the poem, hope gives rise to action, and actions transform situations and individuals. Emphasizing the importance of hope, Nye once quoted her father in an interview: “If we’re just going to give up and say, “OK, we crumple. We have no more hope. We’re victims. We’re bitter” — how much fun of a life is that going to be for anyone, for our children? You can’t pass that down.” In “Gate A4” the “shared world” (Line 39) the speaker and the other women create is the world the speaker hopes to live in. That such a world can exist, even for a short while in an airport terminal full of strangers, gives her hope that all is not lost. It is that hope which, to the speaker of the poem, makes life worth living.
Cultural Diversity
The poem highlights the importance of accepting cultural diversity rather than attempting to homogenize culture. From the start of the poem, the Palestinian woman is described with the markers of her culture and tradition, as Lines 6-7 evidence: “An older woman in full traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, just/ like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing.” Later, the speaker describes her adherence to the old country tradition of carrying a plant with her. As well, the cookies she carries are different from Western cookies, but “(t)here is no better cookie” (Line 31), an opinion that reveals the speaker’s own preference for the mamool.
The speaker’s interaction with the Palestinian woman emphasizes the importance of accepting cultural markers that may differ from the dominant culture. At first, the woman’s traditional garb, her inability to communicate in English, and her use of Arabic may make her appear foreign, but that perception can sometimes originate in an unwillingness to engage with what is different. The speaker models a willingness to engage that leads to a positive experience for a bigger group.
The poem encourages readers to engage with the idea that overcoming barriers and assumptions about others is the key to appreciating cultural diversity and to understanding that humans are united in their basic concerns. For instance, the Palestinian woman’s despair at not being understood and missing her medical treatment is relatable. Any person, anywhere, stranded at an airport where most people do not understand their language, may feel such distress.
Though the poet refers to her own Palestinian grandmother in the poem, the use of the word “grandma” evokes the idea that the Palestinian woman is like anybody else’s grandmother in a similar predicament. The Palestinian woman is both her unique cultural self as well as a representation of a universal self, to which the poet alludes by using words and phrases like “grandma” (Line 7) and “my new best friend” (Line 34). The acknowledgment and acceptance of both these selves enables one to partake in the shared world and to discover the delights of that world, which the mamool cookies symbolize. The world is full of unexpected delights, the poem suggests, when individuals can celebrate cultural diversity instead of fearing it.
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By Naomi Shihab Nye
