The truth, something so highly coveted is somehow something no one really wants to deliver, in fear of offending someone or being disagreed with or for the shame of thinking, feeling, or knowing something that is not agreed upon. In light of this, some only share certain truths, hiding the ugly truths for only themselves, while others share a sugarcoated version. For Jenny Zhang, the truth about her depression is one that is raw, uncensored, and ugly and is presented in her work, “How It Feels”. Through the use of informal language, first person narrative, and a unique style of writing, Zhang’s thoughts, emotions, and stories become more relatable and understandable as she boldly illuminates truths that most people do not dare to speak of. Many shy away from the use of profanity and informal language or slang to avoid sounding a certain way or offending others, which is not one of Zhang’s concerns as her writing is filled with both. Profanity and slang are used repeatedly in “How It Feels” as …show more content…
Zhang’s first person narrative, uncensored and informal diction makes her story and experience relatable and one that touches the reader in ways not many other works are able to. This could be because of the fact that Zhang addresses harder to talk about subjects, but for me it was mainly her ability to deliver her truth in all its raw, real and ugly that is uncommon to find. Zhang’s unique style of writing is bold yet does not alienate readers allowing her to be able to share her story, experiences, and thoughts of depression. Zhang believes that “everyone wants to make something touchable, but most of us don’t out of fear of being laughable (Zhang),” and through “How It Feels”, she has created something that is just that,
For an example, Tan uses word diction like “yanked”, while Chua uses words like “squeeze”. The word squeeze and yank share a similar meaning, but portray a totally different diction. Unlike Tan’s excerpt, Chua uses irony to illustrate a tone: “‘RELAX!’ I screamed”(Tan 47-48). The irony Chua uses creates the innocent tone. The innocence is created by the mother because she is trying to help her daughter relax, but then she screams, making it only more difficult for her daughter to do so. Although Chua’s excerpt illustrates a stressful tone, some diction portrays a good side of their relationship. Amy Chua says her daughter said “Stop it, Mommy. Just stop it”(Chua 47-48); the term “Mommy” is a word that illustrates love and care, showing the reader that there is still a good side to the
Gordon’s voice is sad and stressful but all of this just what she thinks about the history, but Chinese Poetry is different, they has a lot of diversity voice in there, some sad, some depressed, some hopeless, but there are some of them is hopeful and want to have a better life in America. In my opinion, I like the way people who look into the history to learn and improve themselves than just getting angry and sad with something happened long time ago. Reading Chinese Poetry, I can feel the sadness of them Chinese and Vietnamese have similar culture and I could understand why they were so anxious and stressful. China is far away from the America, the Chinese Immigrants have to go really far to get into American with hopefully that they could have a better life for them. In fact, the Chinese immigrants did not be treat as they respected.
By juxtaposing both the English and Mandarin language, Wong is effectively showcasing and questioning the institutional dominance the English language may possesses over both worldwide linguistics as well as individual’s freedom of expression; Stating we may need to break free from the constraining borders English may pose on an individual, and instead write or speak in any way we wish in hopes of effectively getting our point across. The narrator wants herself and others to break free from the strict dominant borders, empowering others to live a life filled with full freedom of expression regardless of one’s style of writing or minority
"When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy." [P.1], says eleven-year-old Ellen. Thus the young narrator begins her life-story, in the process painting an extraordinary self-portrait. “Ellen Foster” is a powerful story of a young girl growing up in a burdensome world. As one reads this work presented by Kaye Gibbons, a chill runs down their back. Ellen, the main character is faced with a hard life dealing with endless losses, with the deaths of both her parents and her grandmother being included. Why would one get a chill you wonder? This individual has thoughts and feelings that many have never experienced and cannot express. Ellen is merely a child no older then the age of ten but if not knowing this fact, readers would think she was an aged woman who has lived their life sufficiently.
This article is a good example of how life would be like for a foreigner in a different country. Because the author talks about the Chinese culture, living space and funeral. The author uses a humorous tone to talk about her living in China. This story has great balance between humor and emotions. “The Old Man Isn’t There Anymore”, by Kellie Schmitt tells a beautiful tale of her experience of life in China.
Jealousy is an innate facet of humanity, an emotion universally felt during childhood. It is through this jealousy that we begin to resent the reality that we are given. In the article “Eat, Memory: Orange Crush,” Yiyun Li recalls how influential the western product “Tang” was during her childhood. Growing up, Li remembers a time where she was resentful of her lack of Tang, desiring the “Tangy” lifestyle which was symbolic of luxury and social status in China. Through the logos of Li’s father, Li’s appeal to pathos through her childhood experiences, and the disillusionment of Li’s utopian view of Tang, Li typifies the struggle a teenager undergoes as they grow up.
During the process of growing up, we are taught to believe that life is relatively colorful and rich; however, if this view is right, how can we explain why literature illustrates the negative and painful feeling of life? Thus, sorrow is inescapable; as it increase one cannot hide it. From the moment we are born into the world, people suffer from different kinds of sorrow. Even though we believe there are so many happy things around us, these things are heartbreaking. The poems “Tips from My Father” by Carol Ann Davis, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith, and “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop convey the sorrow about growing up, about sorrowful pretending, and even about life itself.
Weisel-Barth, J 2014 ‘Review of “The Stories We Tell”’, International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, Vol.9(2), p.162-166, DOI: 10.1080/15551024.2014.884526
Instead of proclaiming her feelings out loud, she suppresses them. The result is a series of recordings, which describes her life, and the things she wishes she could change.
Loss and isolation are easy, yet difficult to write about. They are easy because every human being can empathize with loneliness. If someone denies this, they are lying because loneliness is a common feeling, anyone can relate. It’s hard because we don’t discuss loneliness or loss publicly very often, and when we do, we forget about it quickly. These poems contrast each other by speaking of the different types of loneliness and isolation, distinguishing between the ones of loss, and isolation in a positive perspective.
Emotional discomfort can sometimes be perceived as mental instability. A person may look, act, or feel insane, when in truth they are just very uncomfortable in their own skin. The narrator has a genuinely difficult decision to make which far outside his comfort zone. He is choosing between a woman who has been like a mother to him and much needed job that he feels he may enjoy. This choice is tearing him apart from the inside out. From the ringing noises that interrupt his every thought to the skin he is scraping off. The author uses diction, syntax, and extended metaphors to express the complete and utter discomfort of the narrator, both physically and emotionally.
Firstly, I liked the way in which the author uses his experiences to relate ...
Tan was born to a pair of Chinese immigrants. Her mother understood English extremely well, but the English she spoke was “broken.”(36) Many people not familiar with her way of speaking found it very difficult to understand her. As a result of this, Tan would have to pretend to be her mother, and she called people up to yell at them while her mother stood behind her and prompted her. This caused Tan to be ashamed of her mother throughout her youth, but as she grew, she realized that the language she shares with her mother is a “language of intimacy” (36) that she even uses when speaking with her husband.
Depression is a serious mental illness and can unknowingly appear in any of our lives at any given time. Many people wait a long time before seeking help for depression. But even more so, people refuse to acknowledge that they are suffering from depression and allow it to go untreated. There are many on-line groups and forums depression sufferers’. There are also a large number of government funded programs for those affected by depression. Sufferers’ do not have to fight against depression alone. There is help, sufferers must only be willing to accept it.
Depression affects people all around the world and takes over many lives. It is a detectable disease. Most every case of depression is very personal, and usually has it’s own specifications and circumstance. By speaking with people who have depression in their families and being a sufferer of the disease myself, I’ve realized that it’s not the end of the world and there are ways to get help. Treatment for depression is relativity inexpensive but whatever the cost; it is more than made up for an increased productivity, efficiency, physical health, improved relationships, and enjoyment of life.