The stories that I read this week each produced something different within me as I was reading. "Samuel" by Grace Paley made me think of what I did as a child that may have evoked some feelings from others that they wished to call me. The writer used vivid language to describe the children that were playing and the adults that were concerned and irritated with them. One could imagine themselves being right there with them. "The boys are jiggling on the swaying platform" and "Two men watched the boys jumping and jiggling on the platform..." are two examples that make the reader feel like they are right there. With the various ways that each person around the boys responds to their horseplay, it also shows how people respond in the manner that they do. Some choose to respond and others simply glare at them hoping they would cease their behavior.
The Oriental Contingent made me think of all of the stereotypes that we as people partake in whether known or not. Connie meets Lisa at a party for the very first time. All of the other guests believe that they know each other because they are both Asian. Lisa also tells Connie her full name and Connie feels (and expresses) that she is more Chinese, or rather more Asian, than Lisa. I never though that anyone could be more of an ethnicity than someone else. But in further reading, it is an indication that the
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In reading this short story, the reader definitely digresses back to their childhood and teenage years and wonder what their parents worried about for them. I didn't like the ending too much as the daughter did not worry as much about her parents as they did for her. The author is very honest and upfront about issues such as the mother being concerned when they have children about the various diseases there are and how the father was more concerned about the environment in which they lived with the assortment of problems that could possibly
The author clearly shows how his childhood effected his adulthood, making in a living example of what he is writing about allowing the audience to more easily trust what he is writing about. Instead of using factually evidence from other dysfunctional family incidences, the author decides to make it more personal, by using his own life and comparing family ideas of the past to the present.
Amy Tan loved her Chinese culture. Her mom made her favorite meal every Christmas Eve dinner. She has grown up in America where it is considered a melting pot, the place of variety cultures. She liked the manners Americans had and the American look so much, that she had a crush on the Ministers’ son, Robert. Those would represent the positive vibes of multiculturalism. The negative part would be the feeling of being accepted by her peers or the shame she had of her culture during this special event. Amy was afraid of what the American’s would think of a Chinese Christmas Eve dinner. Also she wanted it to be more like an American Dinner because she thought that the Chinese food will be disappointing because the Minister’s family would be hoping for an American meal, like turkey and mashed potatoes. She knew her family’s manners were horrendous, so she was embarrassed about that as well. “Dinner threw me deeper into despair. My relatives licked the end of their chopsticks and reached across the table, dipping them into dozen or so plates of food” (Tan 185). This really shows a great struggling image of multiculturalism for Amy Tan had during her
Another theme that was repeated quite a bit was when people try to guess another person’s personality. I remember many Asian interviewees wished that people would just ask what nationality they are as opposed to trying to guess. I can relate to this because I do not really look just one nationality. I do not believe people do this to try and be rude. Sometimes, people may not realize that what they are doing is offensive. Everyone has been guilty of this at some point in their lifetime. It was just good to be reminded that it is much nicer to ask a person their ethnicity as opposed to trying to guess.
In Neil Bissoondath’s essay, we see an example with the mover complaining about a Chinese driver he encountered. He said, “I’m not racist, but the Chinese are the worst drivers on the road.” (Bissoondath 271) The accusation that the mover made was a stereotype which exists about the Chinese, in general, because of the shape of their eyes because of their ethnicity. Their eye sight is not impaired in any way because of the shape of their eyes, but because they are different and people are afraid of them, they are made fun of because they are different.
Amy Tan’s ,“Mother Tongue” and Maxine Kingston’s essay, “No Name Woman” represent a balance in cultures when obtaining an identity in American culture. As first generation Chinese-Americans both Tan and Kingston faced many obstacles. Obstacles in language and appearance while balancing two cultures. Overcoming these obstacles that were faced and preserving heritage both women gained an identity as a successful American.
In the story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the main character, Connie, experiences life not having an actively participating mother or father. Most adolescents struggle with the transition from teen-age years to adulthood. For many, this is where the parents step in. Parents are meant to support and help an adolescent when needed, especially during this difficult transition; however, this is not always true. In Connie’s case, her parents allowed her to make the change alone and endure hard times. As a result, she lacked the values needed to survive. Such values are used to equip a young person for the real world and the tragedies that come with it. As seen in “Where are you going, Where have you been?”, Connie was a victim of poor guidance and empty judgment. The dysfunctional family’s behavior was reflected in Connie. Her mother envied her, and her father was not an active figure in her life. Connie 's
Media often exaggerate the characteristics of Asian and Asian Americans. Stereotypes in film maintain common ones like Asians who are masters of martial arts a...
The author uses different points of view to create tension in the story. The mom acts in a way that neglects the daughters interests. This makes them both feel less connected and leaves the daughter feeling hopeless. In paragraph 9, “‘It’s strange actually. I wasn’t expecting it, but then at the last minute the funding came through.’ She folded her arms across her waist. ‘I’m going to Costa Rica to finish my research.” This made the narrator/daughter angry and flustered with her mom’s actions. She has trouble remaining connected with her parent because they both want different things which leaves on character feeling betrayed. “Opportunity? For me? Or for you?” (34). Both of their actions and responses create tension in this story. Their communication lacks and this results in pressure on both
In the end, it is up to Asian-Americans to discredit the positive and negative stereotypes. By assimilating with other race groups, Asian-Americans will gain more understanding from their non-Asian peers. In addition, when Asians are more forth-coming with their struggles, it will unmask the myth of perfection and allow others to see them as an individual.
Boyle, Jenny. "Asian and Asian American Stereotype." 13 Oct. 2000. Online posting. Suite101.com. 6 Apr. 2001.
The Asian American community in the contemporary period face a lot of race relation issues which all interconnect within each other. Asian Americans face the basis of “Model Minority” that purportedly whitens Asians leading to the belief that there are no issues such as racism and poverty within the Asian American community. With that, they face the issue that there is no racial discrimination against Asian Americans due to the racial barrier being contextualized within a “black or white” framework. Another problem they face is mainstream America’s lack of awareness to the diversity of the Asian population, which causes a lot of misperceptions and misdirected racial hatred towards certain ethnicities within the Asian race. This causes the Pan-Asian community to not be supportive, unwilling to support each other, in order to avoid racism by avoiding being associated with that ethnicity just because they look alike. This causes the Asian American community and the ethnic groups within to be invisible to the American community as they lack organization and unification to have their voices heard.
Wong, Paul, Chienping Faith Lai, Richard Nagasawa, and Tieming Lin. 1998. “Asian Americans as a Model Minority: Self-Perceptions and Perceptions by Other Racial Groups.” Sociological Perspectives,41 (1): 95–118.
Parent/Child relationships are very hard to establish among individuals. This particular relationship is very important for the child from birth because it helps the child to be able to understand moral and values of life that should be taught by the parent(s). In the short story “Teenage Wasteland”, Daisy (mother) fails to provide the proper love and care that should be given to her children. Daisy is an unfit parent that allows herself to manipulated by lacking self confidence, communication, and patience.
...able they really are with overtly racist stereotypes; and even with all the “human right”’ movements that spring about there is still the need for long-lasting solution against combating prejudices. By displaying stereotypes jokingly, especially ones that pertained for the Asian population, Yang proves not only do people hold prejudice against other groups with his examples of Asian stereotypes, but that stereotypes are still prevalent in today’s society.
It is as though Asian Americans are succumbing to the thought that America is the only place to be and that they should be grateful to live here. On the other hand, keeping silent due to pressures from the white population means being shunned by the members of the Asian American population. I disagree with Chin’s assertion that “years of apparent silence have made us accomplices” to the makers of stereotypes (Chin 1991, xxxix). I agree with Hongo’s argument that the Chin viewpoint “limits artistic freedom” (Hongo 4). Declaring that those writers who do not argue stereotypes of the good, loyal, and feminine Chinese man or the submissive female, are in any way contributing to or disagreeing with them is ridiculous.