One of the things that makes alien invasion so scary is that they are foreigners. Sure, the laser eyes don't help, but if you think about it, the humans don't even give the Boov or Gorg a chance in The True Meaning of Smekday. And don't even get us started on how the Boov think about the Gorg—suffice it to say they dabble in unfavorable generalizations. There's a lot of mudslinging and assumptions going around town about folks just because they're from somewhere else in this book; at least Tip and J.Lo learn to let their prejudices go and actually get to know each other.
Questions About Foreignness and the Other
- What is the novel's attitude toward different people? Is it the same for the Boov and the Gorg?
- How would the novel be different if it was all people instead of people and alien groups? Is it okay to judge aliens for their foreignness?
- How does Tip approach "the Other" at the beginning of the novel? Does this change over the course of the novel?
Chew on This
The True Meaning of Smekday shows us that even aliens shouldn't be stereotyped or treated like outsiders—just like humans, some are great, and some are mean.
Tip thinks that just because someone is a foreigner, they are automatically bad.