...immigrants facing removal proceedings are frequently hamstrung by language and cultural barriers. Both Kingston’s Woman Warrior and Suki Kim’s The Interpreter illustrate languagelessness of Chinese and Korean immigrants across American states, which are rejection by failing assimilation into American mainstream, loneliness and isolation from other people, and sense of identity crisis. Rejection by failing assimilation into American mainstream For the first generation born in America, it is especially difficult to reconcile the heavy-handed and often restrictive traditions of the emigrants with the relative freedom of life in America. In Women Warrior, Kingston draws a sharp contrast between her fantasy about Fa Mu Lan, the Chinese traditional woman warrior, and the defining moments of her real "American life." Fa Mu Lan had her village's grievances tattooed on her back; Kingston has Chinese stories practically drilled into her brain and is labeled with racial epithets. Her personal struggle and vengeance lie in making sense of the stories through writing, in depicting through words the struggles of growing up Chinese-American. There is an important difference, though, Fa Mu Lan could achieve her vengeance and then return home, but Kingston's vengeance seems to be a never-ending struggle. She has so many words to deal with that "they do not fit on my skin." The Woman Warrior is just the beginning of Kingston's attempt to articulate her experience, and her journey as a writer...
Words: 1232 - Pages: 5
...Therefore,she manipulates food as a critical medium for acculturation to represent a “hyphenated American identity that is informed by ancestral roots in Asia and complicated by American national loyalities”(Ann Ho, 3). Like many Ethnic American protagonists whose “relationship to food represent their struggle to embrace an American identity, forcing them to acknowledge their bi-or multi-cultural status as hyphenated peoples in a country that historically has dealt with race in black and white terms”(Ann Ho, 3), Jade Snow expresses her strong interest in food as her acceptance ticket into the American society and to represent the ambivalence that she is struggling with to balance her Chinese and American-born Chinese identities. She concentrates on the connotation of Chinese food and meals. Consumption of food, as well as the creation of recipes, become a critical means for Jade Snow to create a pristine dual identity or what W.E.B. DuBois's calls“double consciousness”(20). S.Qiao explains that “foodways provide people, such as...
Words: 599 - Pages: 3
...Club by Amy Tan, a American born daughter of Chinese immigrants, a variety of collisions within Chinese-American cultures is explained. Most significantly the characters of Jing-Mei, representing the Americanized new generation of Chinese culture, and Suyuan, representing the Old Chinese generation, exemplify this throughout the novel. For instance, when Jing-Mei Woo or “June”, the daughter of Suyuan Woo, who founded the Joy Luck Club, is introduced, she represents the Americanized new generation of the Chinese daughters in the story, which can already be inferred because of the Americanization of her name from Jing-Mei to “June”. She struggles with accepting her heritage and -like the other daughters in the novel- is a conformist to American culture and society, trying to abandon Chinese customs and values. While her mother, Suyuan Woo, represents the mothers in the story who are the older Chinese generation with laid back values and expectations trying to ensure an opulent life for their children....
Words: 596 - Pages: 3
...actually happen to women in China in the time, I think now when I view the movie, I’ve missed the whole point of the movie, it was really describing the relationship between mother and daughter in different time zone and culture background. “As cultural institutions, mass media often reflect some aspects of the society in which they operate. The critically acclaimed film The Joy Luck Club (1993) reflects diaspora experiences of Chinese immigrant women and depicts intergenerational tensions between Chinese mothers and their American-born Chinese daughters. It also reflects the struggles, dilemmas, and conflicts in the search for identity and self-development among Chinese and Chinese American women.” (Yea-Wen, C. (2007). The storyline is centered upon Jing-Mei Woo also referred as June, who struggles to deal with the recent death of her mother Suyuan Woo, throughout the movie. The movie takes place at a reception held on June’s behalf before her trip to China to meet her twin half-sisters who were abandoned by their mother many years ago. June struggles with her mother’s past which she never fully understood. Though Suyuan dies before the movie begins, it is revealed that Suyuan was forced to abandon her daughters after contracting severe dysentery on her journey to escape the Japanese invasion during the Second World War. Believing she would die on the journey, Suyuan leaves them in hopes they would be rescued and returned to their father. Suyuan ultimately survives the trip but...
Words: 1563 - Pages: 7
...Presentation Outline The Joy Luck Club: Culture Clash and Identities I/ Introduction to The Joy Luck Club * About 4 mother-daughter (Lindo - Waverly, Ying Ying - Lena, An mei - Rose, Suyuan - June) duos living in America * 4 mothers were immigrants from China with tragic past * 4 daughters are American born and raised * A movie with many layers of intercultural and intergenerational communication (miscommunication) between mothers and daughters, as well as the daughters’ struggle with their cultural identities II/ Relevant literature and intercultural communication term * High context/ Low context Cultures * Collectivism / Individualism * Cultural Identity III/ Language barriers Even though the mothers speak understandable English, there are differences between the mothers’ English (alternative version of English with different accents and dialects) and the daughters’ English (American Standard English) Analysis: Analyses scenes where the differences are prominent Ex: [The title of the movie] The word “Joy Luck” does not exist in English. It is a poor, fractures version of English [Clip 01: The opening sequence (family/ friend gatherings)] Even though they are both speaking English, when spoken in groups (of mothers and of daughters), the languages used in each group seem different => Analyze differences in grammars, vocabulary and accents IV/ Communication style * High/Low Context China (high context) vs US (high context) ...
Words: 560 - Pages: 3
...integration and dynamically constructed group identities while integrating. Before uncovering group identities, though, we must define so-called social construction. According to Nancy Foner, social construction refers to “how physical characteristics and/or putative ancestry are interpreted within particular social contexts and are used to define categories of people as inferior and superior” (12). In the U.S., a group of intolerant native-born Americans known as nativists have ranked immigrant groups as inferior and superior based on national origin, physiognomy, economics, religion, and language. From multiple scholarly perspectives,...
Words: 1030 - Pages: 5
...topic? Based on your topic, what are the main issues you will explore? What is the thesis (or the tentative thesis) of your final paper? Who are you interviewing for your paper? Why? What are your other sources? (Remember that there should be at least two sources in addition to your interview.) What do you intend to prove with this paper? What, in your view, is the relevance of your topic? I am going to write about being Asian and more specifically being Chinese in a particular part of the United States in the 21st century. I will explore the perception that some non-Chinese people have of Chinese people in the US and also explore the pros and cons, in terms of public perception, of being Chinese. I chose this topic because this would be a good study of stereotypes, as well as a venue to express the truth about my identity. The ttentative thesis of my final paper is to find the truth about my identity, it includes three parts, the first part is the perception that some non-Chinese people have of Chinese people in the...
Words: 2287 - Pages: 10
...independent. This marker is the first indication of adulthood, and although this separation may be unsettling for some, it is absolutely necessary. And whether it occurs with a parent’s blessing or not is insignificant because eventually every child must grow up to challenge the society in which he/she is born in. In both Amy Tan's "Rules of the Game" and Flannery O'Connor's "Everything that Rises Must Converge," the main protagonists Waverly Jong and Julian Chestny attempt to forge a new identity by rejecting the archaic values of their parents and asserting their independence. Both these characters challenge the status quo and diverge from the...
Words: 1396 - Pages: 6
...immigrants and native born Americans. Research often distinguishes between cultural assimilation, in which ethnic and cultural norms from the previous country become less prevalent, and other factors such as socioeconomic success and educational equity, referred to under the umbrella of structural assimilation. Assimilation, especially cultural assimilation, has been a controversial debate in American policy making, affecting education, health policy, and other areas. Previously, many believed that total assimilation was necessary for the healthy functioning of American society. Today, many embrace multicultural or segmented assimilation theories, which view multiculturalism and distinct ethnic identity as a strength rather than a weakness. Immigration and assimilation is a divisive topic that has been heavily debated in America ever since we became a country. There are two stories that explore the assimilation issue from different viewpoints’; in Mary Pipher’s story; “The Beautiful Laughing Sisters – An Arrival Story”; provides the viewpoint of immigrants leaving a hostile home for America. Elizabeth Wong details her journey to break with her culture and become Americanized in, “The Struggle to be an all American girl.” and (McWhorter, 2010 pp522-529). At debate today is whether immigrants and their families should blend into American culture even if it means breaking with their past. Once cultures intermingle, they are forever changed. American culture was initially...
Words: 1066 - Pages: 5
...Breaking The Mold Don’t forget page numbers and header with last name on each page (Top Right Corner, not bottom) Tulio Barros You need an MLA header: Name Prof name Class description date In immigrant families, family traditions and the struggle for one’s independence re-shape the parent-child relationship. People who grow up in a country that is foreign to them often break family tradition as they grow to have different goals and standards than that of their parents. By breaking tradition and seeking their own goals, people form their own identity. Children who have immigrant parents will always have different goals and traditions than their parents? Maxine Hong Kingston, a Chinese-American, breaks her traditional mold by publishing a story that her mother told Maxine never to speak about to anyone, especially not her father. In No Name Woman quotes not italics Maxine’s mother opens the story by warning her “[y]ou must not tell anyone,” mother said, “what I am about to tell you. In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well. We say your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born” (29). In Maxine’s family, the tradition her mother wants her to follow is that of not speaking about a tragedy that happened on the father’s side of the family. As demented as it is to tell a daughter what she just did, it is more traditionally important to her mother that Maxine not break the silence and speak...
Words: 2122 - Pages: 9
...seek freedom from persecution or to seek opportunity that does not exist in their own country of origin. Living in America and being Black, Latino or Chinese may cause a duality of identity that makes a covenant impossible. You are told to speak English, go to college, become educated and be more than your parents were, yet you want to retain the culture of your youth. Your own family is telling you to change; it becomes a battle of soul. Your culture intertwines with the education you receive and it is problematic to distinguish who you are. Three pieces of literature show how difficult it is to deal with this duality: “A Red Sweater” by Fae Myenne Ng, “America” by Claude McKay and “Spanish Roulette” by Ed Vega. Each piece is different, each has its own voice, yet each speak of duality and the frustration it brings trying to unite one world with another, being an American and trying to maintain your cultural identity. What is life as a Latino man in America? Ed Vega writes that it is “Spanish Roulette,” the somewhat futile desire to accept the duality of living two cultures. Spanish roulette is taking the chance to live life differently, to live outside the walls, outside the culture, to make the break, face the pain, and, ultimately to become who you want to be. Sixto reflects on the dichotomy that is his life. “You were born and tagged with a funny-ass Spanish name. Then you were told to speak English, be cool, to imitate the Anglo-Saxon crap because that’s where all the...
Words: 1347 - Pages: 6
...When the Emperor was Divine is a novel written by Julie Otsuka which tells a story of a Japanese American family during the time of World War II. The novel exemplifies the typical life and actions of Japanese Americans of the time period. The novel is told from five different perspectives, the mother, the girl, the boy, the father, the boy and the girl. The chapters are described by the family members and it is expressed from a third person point of view. At first, the father is arrested by the FBI because of the suspicion as a spy from the government. Therefore, the mother has to take care of her two children. Later the family moved to the internment camp in Utah. After three years and five months, the family is released from the internment...
Words: 1509 - Pages: 7
...families are faced with the similar challenges of adaptation, overcoming adversity and forming a positive sense of identity throughout their lives. These challenges are overcome using literature and the consistent,...
Words: 2779 - Pages: 12
...A Glimpse of Amy Tan As one of the first Asian American cultural writers of her time, Amy Tan is also one of the most significant contemporary writers of Literature today. Amy Tan brings to life the struggles of dual cultural identity, generational clashes due to age and cultural gaps minority woman face in society. Many of her stories are based upon real obstacles her, her Mother and Grandmother had in their lives as young woman, facing not only the minority issues but the sexiest stigma’s of their times. Born in Oakland, California in 1952, Amy Tan was born to immigrants that had left lives and family behind in China. As a teenager, Amy was faced with the tragic death of her Father and a few months later her Brother. Shortly after their deaths Daisy, Amy’s mother, decided “to cleanse the evil influence of their "diseased house". (Mote) And moved her family to New York, Washington, Florida and finally to Europe. At first they lived in the Netherlands and eventually settling in Monteux, Switzerland where Tan completed high school. Being considered an outsider by her peers, and the continuous feeling of anger and loss she felt from losing her brother and father, she began hanging out with a crowd of drug-dealing hippies and at sixteen was arrested. Her relationship with her Mother became increasingly strained and after a close encounter of almost eloping with a mental patient, Amy and her family returned to United States where her mother enrolled her in a small Baptist...
Words: 1485 - Pages: 6
...generation) and their children (second generation). In history, during the nineteenth century, Chinese travel to America for financial solutions, with hopes to return to their home with money. As time moves ahead, Chinese immigrants to America searching for a better life, for instance, my parents immigrated to America, who then conceived us as the second generation. With pressure from the parents, children of the second generation were forced to perfect both the American and Chinese culture to their very best. The second generation Chinese Americans were American born, but were still outcasts of the American society because of their skin color. The lives of the children of immigrants who immigrated to America have had stressful impacts from their parents and society because of their parent’s expectations of a perfect child who succeeds in school, and the society’s rejection of their ethnicity. From the old days until now, millions of people around the world have decided to immigrate to the United States in search of a better life. The reason why Chinese people immigrated to America due to the rumors of opportunity to gain higher wages jobs within America which would help support their families who were struggling to survive in China. According to Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1848, the Chinese immigrants came to California for the opportunity to obtain gold from the Gold Rush (32). The Chinese immigrants had not planned to stay in America, but were there only to obtain enough gold to...
Words: 1378 - Pages: 6
