American Apparel Notes (Quinn Funtanilla).docx -...

Shoplifting from American Apparel Notes
Gmail Chat
 The conversation is reported with the usual novelistic markers of dialogue, and yet Luis
and Sam are not in the same room; they are not even talking but conversing on "Gmail
chat". A common literary approach is to transcribe such exchanges in a sans-serif font; in
writing them instead as traditional conversations, Lin is arguing that, for his characters,
this constitutes talking to someone just as much as standing in front of them and speaking
aloud.
 By Steven Poole
 (Poole, The Guardian)
 "Shoplifting" focuses on the seductive power of words and the inanity in even the
simplest of human interactions. Throughout, characters ask questions without question
marks. At one point, the protagonist, Sam (a wry, Brooklyn-based, Gchatting,
existentially vague vegan writer with a striking similarity to Lin) chats online about
relationships:"Has Marissa ever threatened to kill you," said Sam."Oscar Wilde said that a
genius is a spectator to their own life, to the point that the real genius is uninteresting,"
said Luis. "No, Marissa has never threatened to kill me."

Racism & Poverty
 Prison Cell
 Wealthy Caucasian, Hispanic, Tall Asian and Sam
*Lower-class: Sam-> Shoplifting from American Apparel
Asian-> Toothpaste and shampoo which weren’t paid for. Was
walking out of Kmart and stopped by security.
 Caucasian says “All right, I am the king of this cell. Everyone sit down. All right,
I am the king of this cell.”
“You don’t want to fuck with a man who is smarter than Einstein,” screamed the
drunk. (Lin, p. 21)
 The drunk Caucasian says “You motherfuckers. I hope you motherfuckers are
really enjoying your jobs. Fingerprinting people like me while fucking national