Rootlessness In Choosing Burden

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What is rootlessness? Why should we consider the rootless as well as the those that are homeless?
We normally use the word rootless to describe a state of not having what most people would associate as having a home. To most people, a home apart from being a physical place, is also a place where one is relieved of both emotional and physical needs. If these needs are not met we would then refer to such a person as rootless. The term is used since it expresses a feeling of not having a place to call home or a place to belong. This state is propagated by lack of serious and meaningful relationships which cause both physical and emotional isolation.
Phil Choi, the author of "Choosing Burden", best explains the narrative associate with emotional rootlessness. He explains the past events that led to his existence. His mother tells him of tales that explains where they descended from. They dated some generations ago, during the Lee dynasty which was a royal family."On the mother 's side were the kings, and on the father 's side the gold baron, the richest men of all Korea". As she tells them this, she has to pause to make sure her children are …show more content…

The author at first had a very discouraging view of arranged marriage as he states, " The most un-American thing I could think of being was the child of an arranged marriage". It is known that the basic building block of society is the family. In the Western world, which is where the author has his perspective of, many couples meet, find themselves attracted to each other, decide to date each other exclusively and decide to form a permanent relationship. Whereas, in the Korean tradition, "marriage in Korea was more an act of family piety than of love." The author also is able to let us know what he wants to see love as, "love is supposed to be tragic, and thrilling, full of sweepings-off-the-feet and being lost in each other 's

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