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In Have You Seen Us?, the Star of David—a six-pointed star that has come to represent Jewish identity, culture, and religion—ironically symbolizes the antisemitic stereotypes that Henry Parsons wants to exorcize from his subconscious. The Star of David first appears in the play when Henry is explaining to sandwich-shop waitress Adela Venegas how he encountered antisemitic graffiti carved into someone’s parking space while taking a morning walk through his neighborhood. The graffiti consisted of a Star of David and the words “Fuck You Jew.” To show Adela what he means, Henry draws the Star of David and writes the antisemitic words on the sandwich shop’s chalkboard menu. Along with his admission to Adela that he felt “recognition” rather than “disgust” when he saw the antisemitic graffiti, Henry’s reproduction of the Star of David and the graffiti illustrates how he carries antisemitism within himself and recreates it. Yet immediately after Henry scrawls the Star of David and the graffiti on the chalkboard menu, Adela wipes it off. Adela’s effacement of the antisemitic graffiti Henry has reproduced foreshadows how Henry’s relationships with Adela as well as with Jewish immigrants Solly and Rachel will help him overcome the antisemitic stereotypes and prejudices he recognizes within himself.
Star of David Quotes in Have You Seen Us?
The Have You Seen Us? quotes below all refer to the symbol of Star of David. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Have You Seen Us? Quotes
Henry: . . . There . . . gouged out in the tarmac in front of one of the parking bays, and obviously intended for the car and its occupants that had been parked there, was the Star of David . . . Do you know what that is, Adela?
(He goes to the chalkboard menu, wipes away what was written, then takes a piece of chalk and draws the Star of David.)
The Jewish Star of David . . . the one Hitler pinned on the clothes of little boys and girls, marking them down for the grand “Final Solution.”
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Henry is describing to Adela the antisemitic graffiti he encountered in a parking lot near his apartment on his morning walk. Two elements of his description are notable. First, although the Star of David has represented Jewish heritage, culture, and religion generally for centuries, Henry defines the Star of David specifically according to its use in the Holocaust, describing it as “the one Hitler pinned on the clothes of little boys and girls, marking them down for the grand ‘Final Solution.’” Henry is referring to the World War II-era (1939–1945) Nazi legal requirement that Jewish people in Nazi-occupied territories wear Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis.
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Star of David Symbol Timeline in Have You Seen Us?
The timeline below shows where the symbol Star of David appears in Have You Seen Us?. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Have You Seen Us?
...three months. But on his way home, he crossed a parking lot and saw a Star of David — “the one Hitler pinned on the clothes of little boys and girls”—with the words...
(full context)
...monstrosity, he insists on it, confessing to her that when he looked down at the Star of David and “those three words,” they echoed inside him. Moreover, rather than efface the graffiti or...
(full context)
