The Spirit And You Fall Down Sparknotes

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Critical Book Review

Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down looks that the culture clash between the Hmong parents of an epileptic girl and the American doctors at Merced Community Medical Center(MCMC). The novel begins with the predicament of where to assign responsibility for the maltreatment of Lia Lee’s epilepsy. Fadiman uses the tension between the parents of epileptic Lia Lee and the doctors of MCMC as a way to show that the Western culture can be insensitive to other cultures. As the novel progresses, it becomes evident that this battle is rooted to differing cultural/religious beliefs and that neither the American doctors nor Lia’s Hmong parents are to blame. All of which could

Nao Kao had great appreciation for Jeanine’s actions towards being understanding of the Hmong culture however he believed that he was not required to reciprocate the action. He never really made an effort to be part of a society that was antagonizing to his beliefs. Fadiman writes “It was typically Hmong for patients to appear passively obedient – thus protecting their own dignity by concealing their ignorance and their doctor’s dignity by acting deferential – and then, as soon as they left the hospital, to ignore everything to which they had supposedly assented” (Fadiman, 68). The fact that Nao Kao agreed that he would administer Lia’s medicine instead of attempting to explain that he does not understand how to administer the medications or that it is against his religious beliefs, he gives the doctors a false impression that Lia will be safe at home. Even though the medical professionals viewed Lia’s grand-mal seizures as an illness, The Lee’s considered Lia as being blessed. According to Hmong culture, it is believed that people who are born with epilepsy are believed to be blessed and bound to have powers of divination and healing, like a shaman. The Hmong called this “qaug dab peg,” or “the spirit catches you and you fall down.” The Hmong believed in the relationship between epilepsy and the concept of spirits however the medical professionals failed to do so. Despite the fact that the Hmong people viewed epilepsy as being a blessing, hated the American medical culture, and were unable to communicate effectively, they also understood the danger of the disease and some of the unintentional outcomes. The French missionary, Francois Marie Savina, stated “attributed their ethnic durability to six factors: religion; love of liberty; traditional customs; refusal to marry outside their race; life in