The Old Man Isn T There Anymore Summary

Critical Response “The Old Man Isn’t There Anymore” “The old man isn’t there anymore” by Kellie Schmitt tells a story about her ventures trying to befriend her neighbors in an apartment building in Shanghai, China. She attempts to greet her Shanghainese neighbors, only to receive little to no acknowledgement. Her husband Gregg observed the neighbors crying in the hallway and suggested they shouldn’t interfere. Curiosity had gotten the best of her, so she called her cleaning lady whom informed her “The old man isn’t there anymore.” Schmitt reached out to the family and took them flowers to give her condolences. She was invited to the old man’s funeral. Schmitt goes on to explain her foreign experiences and later discovers she does not know who’s funeral she had attended. The authors style was charming the way she walked the audience through her foreign experience. She made the audience aware that she had not a clue what she was doing in her persistent attempts to grasp the culture and

It shows an amusing perspective of her trying to interpret and thrive in a different culture. This story is very relatable because everyone misinterprets something at some point in their lives. She did very well giving details about the culture and helping the reader understand how unfamiliar she was. I think if she had been familiar with the culture her actions may have been perceived as disrespectful. I can relate to this story in numerous ways. There have been plenty of times I have not fully understood my surroundings. I too tried to push through and learn from my experiences. She was merely trying to fit in and be accepted. I don’t think she was knowledgeable of just how culturally unaware she was. She thought she was doing good. Schmitt later figured out some of those things are ok in American culture, but not in Chinese culture. She thought the flowers were suitable and later notices her flowers are the only red one’s in the