a “Jew boy” (Ross, 3). On the other hand, Oreo’s
brother, Moishe (Jimmie C), has his own secret
musical language, “cha-key-key-wah... a radical
second language” (42). Jimmie C’s language and
character represents Ross’s reconfiguration of lan-
guage and reality. According to Mullen, “Ross aims
her satire at the commercialization of culture that
tends to produce reductive and often degrading
caricature, while it deprives many Americans of a
richer, livelier linguistic heritage” (xxiv).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Klinkowitz, Jerome. The Life of Fiction. Urbana: Uni-
versity of Illinois Press, 1977.
Ross, Fran. Oreo. Introduction by Harryette Mullen.
Boston: Northwestern University Press, 2000.
Wilfred D. SamuelsRoss, Frances Delores 441