#evanguan

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears presents the conflictual idea of diaspora and acceptance within an individual and his/her environment as similarities are recognized between the geographical relationship of Sepha Stephanos and Judith McMasterson. After fleeing his home country of Ethiopia due to the heightening war and military coup, Stephanos found himself in Washington D.C. of the United States. From there, he is encountered with another wave of conflicts including financial problems, discrimination as a black individual, and diaspora, as well as countless attempts to fit in the “white” way of life. In addition to his financially failing convenience store, he constantly conflicts with himself, indecisive as to which country he truly belongs to: Ethiopia, United States, or neither. Living in Logan Circle, the conditions are evident that living in this residence is not the best for Stephanos due to the continual conflicts that arise. Similarly, Judith is also hit with a wave of obstacles as a result of moving into a Logan Circle. These conflicts include sexism, racism, discrimination, and vandalism. As a white individual moving into a black neighbourhood, she is greeted with a series of unwelcoming occurrences including lack of influence during community meetings, racism, and vandalism of her property. Relating to Stephanos, Judith also has thoughts revolving around moving back to the homeland she believes she truly belongs to; in this case, Connecticut. Both characters experience diaspora that is amplified by the series of conflicts they experience from moving into Logan Circle. In the end, it is Judith that cannot endure the conflicts any further and moves back to Connecticut after her car was vandalized by projectiles and house burnt down by a recently evicted black family. These similarities between Stephanos and Judith illustrate the sufferings they encounter of diaspora and the search for identity as a result of moving into an environment much different from a place they are accustomed to.

In the novel The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, Stephanos’ life back in Ethiopia is not entirely abandoned as his two close friends Joseph and Kenneth are the reminiscence of his culture and customs back in his home country. Known as Congo Joe and Ken the Kenya by Stephanos, both friends also originated from Ethiopia and fled to the United States where they all met and worked together at a hotel as African immigrants. Joseph currently works as a waiter at an upper-class restaurant and Kenneth maintains a favourable income as an engineer. Although their bond is not as close as it used to be due to being separated and working at different jobs, they still experience nostalgia over the period they were in Ethiopia. As a remembrance in regard to their former lives back in their home country, they play a game in which they name coups of African and attempt to describe some of their details such as year, location, and accomplishments. Joseph verifies the longevity of the game and claims that when the coups stop, so will the game. Aside from the game, they also hold discussions with one another at the end of the day, debating about their life back in Ethiopia and what will become of their future, especially that of Stephanos’ as he is seemingly the most unfortunate of the three. Both Joseph and Kenneth are the only close friends Stephanos possesses and possibly the only friends he will ever have in his lifetime. He is able to maintain such a tightly-bonded friendship because of the similarities of their past lives, as well as the ability to relate with one another. With these discussions and the coup naming game, Stephanos is able to relive the past as an Ethiopian man and briefly forget about the present, living in America with diaspora. For those reasons being, Stephanos’ two close friends Joseph and Kenneth as the evidence that he has not yet completely forsaken his culture and life back in his home country of Ethiopia.

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The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears takes place during a time period not too far from the present-a time where there is a bordering line between the rich and the poor. This modern society of the twenty-first century clearly illustrates the two sides of life: being able to afford all of ones desires and the struggles of keeping up with bills whilst supplying food on the table at the same time. This novel demonstrates that you live either of the two lives and that there is no in between; the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Many characteristics of the environments described in the novel can be found in today’s modern era with ease whether it is describing the higher-class or lower-class areas.

The novel consists mostly of Sepha Stephanos’ collection of thoughts and feeling about his residence in Washington D.C. told from first person. His thoughts are mostly based upon diaspora and the idea that he does not belong in the country or environment he is living his disorganized life in. He believes that he belongs back in his home country of Ethiopia and not in Washington D.C. because of his difficulty of fitting in the “white” way of life. An example of this is his financial problems and his struggle of maintaining a livable income through his convenience store. He also faces his image being devalued as a black person because of the lower-class area he resides in and that white people are more superior in the country of the United States. However, being apart from Ethiopian culture for over 17 years, he raises another issue in his head as to whether or not his life will be the same if he was to move back to his home country again. He acknowledges that he is not the same Ethiopian man he was several years ago which conflicts his decision to move back. In the end, he is stuck between two worlds of Washington D.C. and Ethiopia, indecisive and unknowing of where his heart and mind truly belongs to.

The story takes place entirely in Washington D.C. of the United States. More specifically, Sepha Stephanos resides in a small neighbour called Logan Circle. This local area is flourishing with poverty and is described as ghetto and slum-like. Consisting mostly of black people around the area, Stephanos also happens to be the neighbour of a white mother and daughter who just recently moved in from Connecticut. His home and failing convenience store is just a few blocks away from the much more urban and higher-class area in which he frequently visits with his two friends Kenneth and Joseph. In summary, there is not much interest around the environment in which Stephanos resides in and is not much different than some of the ghetto urban areas found in the modern era we live in presently.

Congregation (p. 196) – The gathering or assembling of people for the purpose of religious worship The church held a congregation on Sunday so that prayers can be conducted at the altar.