I believe that race, gender, and sex is not important to a person's sense of self identity. My reason for saying this, is because a person can achieve or contribute to society no matter what ethnic background or race they may be.

        The solution David Bernstien gives for eliminating racial strife in America is interracial marriage. Interracial marriage is the union between a couple of different backgrounds or race. I agree with this solution because I believe that if society sees more interracial couples, they will be less inclined to worry about being stared at, and looked at negatively,  and more inclined to accept it.

    In chapter 3, when jake reprensents himself in many diffrent  nationalities, i think he is trying to state that he is an outcast because of the way people stare at him, and how he presents himself to people. The evidence that supports this claim is when he says "I'm one who knows. I'm a stranger in a strange land." People usually stare at people from other backgrounds because they are not familiar with them.                                                      

    I believe Singer and Spiros are real friends  because of the way Singer always came to help his friend. When Spiros got sick, Singer was there to take care of his friend and made sure he felt better. Also, when Spiros got into trouble, Singer was there to bail him out several times.In my opinion, this represents good friendship because not everyone would come to their friends rescue like Singer has done plenty of times.

    I have a friend who i know i can count on when I am faced with hard times. I was once driving on the highway, and my car broke down. At the time, I didn't have a AAA membership and didn't know what to do. I called my best friend and he came to help me immediately. He then waited with me for a tow truck to come, and took me to work every morning until my car was repaired.