Picture two completely different people who have absolutely nothing in common with each other, but for some bizarre reason the pair “click”. It is astounding that two completely different people with two divergent personalities, morals, goals or lifestyles can compliment each other. In Loung Ung’s, First They Killed My Father, the dynamic duo, Loung and Chou are so completely different, yet their relationship works. At the start of the novel, Loung is the striking age of five-years-old and Chou is eight-years-old. Loung is very outgoing, loud, and obnoxious, while Chou is reserved, calm, and level headed. Both manage to survive the horrible genocide that struck their country in 1975 when Pol Pot, the Communist leader of the Angker, turned …show more content…
Loung a very rambunctious five-year-old, is not afraid to say what is on her mind. Since the birth of Loung, Pa had known she was going to be passionate and loud. Since the Ung Family is Buddhist, and auras are a Buddhist belief, Pa knew her personality by Loung’s aura or, “color that your body exudes and tells the observer what kind of person you are going to be” (Ung 14). when she was born. Loung’s aura when born was red and is a symbol of passion. Although having drive and passion is a good thing, Loung also had a tendency to get herself into trouble. When the family was engrossed in the evacuation, Loung was disobeying what Ma was telling her to do. Despite Ma telling her to get in the truck she began, “to climb into the Mazda” because she thought it was more comfortable and did not want to ride in the truck (Ung 20-21). This scene, while showing her disobedience, it also shows her innocence. Loung is only five-years-old at the beginning of the novel, and through many of her actions and choices it is evident that she is naive. Loung asks all of the wrong questions at all the wrong times. Throughout the novel, however, she begins to mature as the traumatic events keep unfolding. From Loung’s point of view she feels that, “although Chou is eleven, only three years older than [her], at times [she] feels much older” (Ung 190). If not told from Loung’s point …show more content…
Loung is someone who is very open with the way she feels and is not scared to say and do what she wishes. Chou, however, is the type of person who is shy and keeps the way she feels bottled up. It is astounding that the two completely different people with two diverse personalities, goals or lifestyles can be best friends and family. Although the pair are completely different, they are best friends and do truly complete each other. This is evident from the beginning when they are arguing, to soon make up right after and again towards the end of the novel, when Loung is worried about seeing Chou in five long years. Their relationship shows that the dynamic duo can make it through anything, including a lethal
One day an old man comes to join the family for supper-- he new Poh-Poh from Old China... the man is odd looking and Liang thinks him to be "the Monkey Man" from the ghost stories her grams is always telling. Regardless Liang and this man she comes to call Wong-Suk become great friends. They go to the movies together and get jeered at (I'm not sure if this is beacause 'Beauty and the Beast' or because they are Chinese); he tells her stories; and she dances for him.
China Men - The Brother in Vietnam & nbsp; In her tale, "The Brother in Vietnam," author Maxine Hong Kingston relates the drastic misinterpretation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" on the part of the "brother's" students. It is clear to the reader that their disillusioned thoughts and ideas of the world were instilled in their vulnerable minds by their own parents at young ages, an occurrence that still takes place in our society today. In his account of the situation, the brother first clearly makes a note that these confused and suspicious students comprise not one of his elementary classes, but rather his only non-remedial class. From this he is evidently implying that one would expect a heightened ability to understand and more accurately analyze the power and beauty of great literature on the part of the students. Thus from the beginning, the reader is alerted to the fact that their confusion the students perceive this Shakespearean tragedy as a horror story, the mere thought of it shadowed in their minds by fear. They see the Montagues and Capulets as families driven mad; Verona as a plague-infested country where killing and marriage take place in dark regions alike. They infer from it that young love is dangerous, and by reading of a suicide made possible by a potion that was initially intended to preserve tender love instead of stealing it, their notions that there is evil in everything seem The brother, frustrated and upset, is unable to "shift the emphasis" that the play has left on these youths, and he feels that he is to blame for "spoil[ing] the love story for a generation of students. " The reader looking on from the outside, however, is able to see that the brother could not have prevented this warped learning no matter how hard he tried. For it seems that the fault lies in the parents of these young people, who were continually planting seeds of suspicion and fear in their children's vulnerable minds. In fact, as we look back on the author's former accounts as a child, it seems that these Chinese parents told their children lies more often than the actual truth. told by her mother that their religion was Chinese. She further remembers her parents having claimed upon the birth of her younger brother, which she had secretly witnessed, that the infant had been miraculously discovered "naked under a pine tree" on Christmas Day. Still perhaps the most disturbing of all is the author's recollection of the war through the eyes of her younger self. Her memories are uncannily realistic and vivid; nevertheless, she was, on more than one occasion, told by her mother that what as a young girl. However, to any reader, it is evident that these are not, and can in no way be mere "scary movie flashbacks." As a result, we are left asking ourselves why any parent would teach their children what they know is untrue. In the case of a war, it is somewhat easier to comprehend the desperation of parents to hold their families together from the tearing claws of battle. And if it will prove to be the only glue that will preserve the family structure, such lying seems more acceptable.
After war Daru had requested to be transferred to a small town, where the silence of the town echoes in the schoolhouse; and it was hard on him. Now that he has company the same silence still muter the house. He thought about war and how he fought next to other men, whom he got to know and to love. The presence of the Arab imposes on Daru a feeling of brotherhood that he knew very well, and that he didn’t want to share. Men that fought together, or share rooms, or were prisoners or soldiers grow a peculiar alliance. However, Daru tries not to think about it, such feelings aren’t good for him. Daru wishes the Arab runs away because he feels as much of a prisoner as the
They all belong to the category of people who come to American without their partners. Because of the reduction of living expenses and feeling of loneliness, they live together and enjoy couple’s life. However, their relationship is not as easy as just friends with benefits because Panbin fell in love with Lina and Lina likes Panbin, too. There are emotions between them and it makes things complicated. Lina always repeat they will both back to their families finally. So when Lina’s husband comes to America, Lina leaves Panbin’s apartment and lives with his husband. Lina’s mind is restricted by Chinese traditional thoughts which from what she said to Panbin, “married woman with a husband.”(178). She always wants to improve that she is an obedient good girl because she has rigid adherence. Even though she has already fallen in love with Panbin actually, she hides this truth. In China, if you have married with someone, you need to keep the loyalty and responsibilities. Thus, the slave to convention make she feels more helpless. Lina falls into the centripetal circle and she doesn’t have the Third Eye to pursue the freedom. That’s the result that she jumps into self-fulfilling prophecy loop. Unfortunately, Lina’s husband, Zuming, is taking advantage of her to pay tuition for his business school and he treats her not as well as Panbin. Heartless reciprocity, which means need a
Chang portrays the complexity of Henry’s character by showing the conflict that he faces both in his personal and professional life. His confusion towards his own Cultural identity is noticed in his relationships with his co-workers as well as with his family. His personal relationship with his family, especially with his father and his wife exemplifies the clash between the two cultures which seems to tear Henry apart. Leila, Henry’s wife, seems to epitomize the traditional American Culture which Henry tries very hard to be a part of. Her forthright nature along with the independence and individuality contradicts the stereotypical qualities of an Asian wife. However, Henry’s desperation is seen in his forgiving attitude towards Leila’s action and behavior. His deter...
They both are thought to be a freak or crazy, as they do not fit the normality. As Marie-Laure is blind, and Etienne has agoraphobia and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. They both lost someone that was important to them in a world war. Etienne lost his brother during World War I, and Marie-Laure lost her father during World War II. They fell broken because of the one person that understood them and that was there for them was gone and they did not know how to handle it because they when though everything together. As the story goes on you get to see Etienne’s and Marie-Laure’s relationship get strong and they began to mend the damage, and become support systems for each
Mourning occupied the town and it became necessary that every person must cry for one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Ling had little difficulty weeping; she wept for Mrs. Wong, her apartment the Red Guards had demolished, the food she lacked, and above all, her father. Gao did not stop bullying Ling during this time. One afternoon after the teacher had left the room, Gao attacked Ling with scissors, but this time she fought back, "I swung my schoolbag fiercely against Gao's head. Cluck! Cluck! My abacus hit him. His eyes grew wide in surprise and pain." (181) Ling was proud of her actions; however, her mother was not. She was scared Gao's father, a power official, would take matters into his own hands and punish them. Days later, Ling is forced by Comrade Li to publicly apologize to Gao, but she refuses. In a matter of seconds, before Ling is further punished, Li is surrounded by soldiers and arrested. "'We are here for you!' Belly jabbed at Comrade Li's chest with a baton, bearing his broad teeth. ‘You are under arrest for being in Jiang Qing's gang'" (238) Finally amalgamated as a family, Ling, her mother, and her father who was released from prison, vow that one day they will reach true freedom in the United States.
The constant changing of technology and social norms makes difficult for different generations to understand one another and fully relate to each other. Diction and slang change as years pass and what is socially acceptable may have been prohibited in the previous generations.
In this story where there is bitter violent enmity lies in between them , where as the story progress with the each gun shot, they get to know each other very closely that they realize various personal information common like they both belongs to gangs, they both like guns,they don't want to dig the guys,they both call their mom as “an old-lady” they both have sense of humour by saying that they can loose weight with this kind game,they both have 'chicks',they both want to join army,they both want to screw the club. By the end in this story they became friend .This looks like they are talking mostly about there selves instead of their gang work .
By any measure, The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong, known as Hanjungnok (Records written in silence), is a remarkable piece of Korean literature and an invaluable historical document, in which a Korean woman narrated an event that can be described as the ultimate male power rivalry surrounding a father-son conflict that culminates in her husband’s death. However, the Memoirs were much more than a political and historical murder mystery; writing this memoir was her way of seeking forgiveness. As Haboush pointed out in her informative Introduction, Lady Hyegyong experienced a conflict herself between the demands imposed by the roles that came with her marriage, each of which included both public and private aspects. We see that Lady Hyegyong justified her decision to live as choosing the most public of her duties, and she decided that for her and other members of her family must to be judged fairly, which required an accurate understanding of the her husband’s death. It was also important to understand that Lady Hyegyong had to endure the
The Vietnam War caused great destruction in Laos, and so the Lee family migrated to America, after spending a short time in refugee camps in Thailand. After settling in America, Foua gives birth to Lia, who unbeknownst to them will suffer from epilepsy soon after she is born. For four years, little Lia is admitted to hospital seventeen times, after suffering both grand and petit mal seizures. Through miscommunication and a failure to understand each other’s cultural differences, both the parents of Lia, and her American doctors, are ultimately at fault for Lia’s tragic fate, when she is left in a vegetative state.
To conclude, with the Lees being Hmong and not wanting to conform to society and abide by the way things works, I feel Lia’s fate was inevitable. The doctors did as much as they could, but in the end, it still wasn’t enough to prevent Lia from going brain dead. Language and communication may have been the one thing that caused Lia to suffer because the doctors couldn’t understand the Hmong and the Hmong couldn’t or refused to understand the doctors.
The result of Lou's actions to re-educate the Little Seamstress to be more sophisticated and cultured, may be viewed by many as ironic as it leads to her leaving the village. The Seamstress's imagination was opened and she planned to discover herself in the large cities of China. By reeducating The Little Seamstress Lou is defying communism and this is shown through a number of symbolic items throughout the book. These defiant acts lead to what Mao Zedong had feared which was an up rise, which Lou had triggered unknowingly, sparking this defiance.
Mitgang tells us that the novel is about the life of two children who live in a small town, where they deal with racism in society. Prejudice surrounds their childhood, and it lurks with them while they are playing, and even while they are in the classroom. Mitgang tells us that on top of all this, racism is conveyed in the children?s language.
In this documentary play, David Henry Hwang places himself center stage, where he comments of the casting of white actors to play Asian roles. Yellow face premiered at center theater group on may 10, 2007, in Los Angeles California, and was honored for its ironic play on culture and identity. Through out the play, Hwang is being critical of society’s views on the importance of race and public figures, and the controversy between these two characters DHH and Marcus Gee. David Henry Hwang and Marcus Gee plays a big role in this documentary play where both have to explains them selves in order to be heard and not be judge for their ancestry. However, this controversy between these two important characters goes beyond their identity to compete