The Girl Who Wouldn't Sing by Kit Yuen Quan In the memoir "The Girl Who Wouldn't Sing", Kit Yuen Quan describes her life experiences growing up as a Chinese girl in America. In her attempt to try and find her place in society, Quan intermingles with several groups of people. Her interactions with a feminist group, two young Cambodian girls, and finally her own father allow her to explore her Chinese background and how that affects her interactions with people. In order to find her own "voice" in a society that is not really hers, Kit Yuen Quan explored relationships with people of different lifestyles. She does so in order to be able to recognize how she wants to express herself, and through which culture, American or Chinese, if not both, she wants to do so. When she ran away from home, Quan "sought refuge in the women's community working part-time at a feminist bookstore"(Quan 214). Yet, because of her Chinese background and difficulty in understanding language, Kit found she wasn't as accepted as she had hoped she would be. The fact that she could not understand many of the issues discussed by the feminists she was surrounded by was very frustrating for Kit. This frustration acted as a vehicle for her to gain a desire to be more proficient in the "feminist rhetoric"(Quan 214). Although her desire to be part of the community was strong, she continuously encountered problems because of her age, nationality, and lack of a "formal American education". The frustration that Kit encountered made her feel even more misunderstood, and she sought her voice through other communities and experiences. Kit's first failed attempt to become a part of a community was because of her inability to "properly" expr... ... middle of paper ... ...nguage in a way that probably would not have happened if she hadn't left home. The fact that Kit had the experiences she did, with the Cambodian girls, the feminists, and her father, has allowed her to see life in a new light. Through her language and culture Kit not only finds her voice, but finds her inner self as well. She states in the last line if the memoir, "As long as there are bakeries in Chinatown and as long as I have 85 cents, I know I have a way back to myself"(Quan 220). Through her culture, language, and reunion with her family, Kit has found her ability to communicate, as well as the comfort that she has searched for all her life. Bibliography: Quan, Kit Yuen. Making Face, Making Soul; Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color: "The Girl who Wouldn't Sing". San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books. 1990.
The main character of this book is Susan Caraway, but everyone knows her as Stargirl. Stargirl is about 16 years old. She is in 10th grade. Her hair is the color of sand and falls to her shoulders. A “sprinkle” of freckles crosses her nose. Mostly, she looked like a hundred other girls in school, except for two things. She didn’t wear makeup and her eyes were bigger than anyone else’s in the school. Also, she wore outrageous clothes. Normal for her was a long floor-brushing pioneer dress or skirt. Stargirl is definitely different. She’s a fun loving, free-spirited girl who no one had ever met before. She was the friendliest person in school. She loves all people, even people who don’t play for her school’s team. She doesn’t care what others think about her clothes or how she acts. The lesson that Stargirl learned was that you can’t change who you are. If you change for someone else, you will only make yourself miserable. She also learned that the people who really care about you will like you for who you are. The people who truly love you won’t ask you to change who you are.
mother used to come home late at night and used to get beaten by her
Duong Thu Huong’s novel, ‘Paradise of the Blind’ creates a reflective, often bittersweet atmosphere through the narrator Hang’s expressive descriptions of the landscapes she remembers through her life. Huong’s protagonist emphasises the emotional effects these landscapes have on her, acknowledging, “many landscapes have left their mark on me.”
his goal is to bring back proof of the wolves decimating effect on the northern
Little Girl Lost is an autobiography written by actress Drew Barrymore. When this book was written Drew was around the age fourteen. Drew Barrymore is the grand-daughter of actor John Barrymore. Most people know Drew from the hit movie E.T where she captured the hearts of thousands of people. Sadly, during this time, all of the fame got to her, she began partying which led to drinking. Drinking led to doing drugs like marijuana, and eventually cocaine; she was only twelve years old (Barrymore 1). Drew’s parents separated when she was young, her father left and she stayed with her mother. Drew and her mother were not very close, her mother was always working trying to provide for them, and so she was stuck either with a nanny or by herself. When Drew Barrymore began to spiral down into drugs and alcohol her mother did not even notice. Her mother finally realized what was happening when the tabloids reported stories and pictures of her partying and getting out of control. Her mother decided it would be best for Drew if she went to rehab. The first time Drew Barrymore went to rehab she ended up relapsing fairly quickly and her drug addiction became worse. This happened a few times. By the end of the biography Drew had just gotten out of rehab and was doing well. She states, “I think about that every day. All addicts do. You are never without the fear of returning to your old ways and losing everything that you’ve gained. When you’re sober, you don’t forget what it was like to use. It’s hard, really hard, and you take it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. That’s the way it’s going to be for as long as I’m alive. But at least I’m alive” (Barrymore 260).
Lisa Genova, the author of Still Alice, a heartbreaking book about a 50-year-old woman's sudden diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She is a member of the Dementia Advocacy, Support Network International and Dementia USA and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer's Association. Genova's work with Alzheimer's patients has given her an understanding of the disorder and its affect not only on the patient, but on their friends and family as well (Simon and Schuster, n.d.).
The fundamental characteristic of magical realism is its duality, which enables the reader to experience both the character’s past and the present. In the novel, Monkey Beach, Eden Robinson uses this literary device to address the the trauma and mistreatment of the Haisla community in Canada by unveiling the intimate memories of the protagonist, Lisamarie, and the resulting consequences of this oppression. Monkey Beach illustrates how abuse in the past leads to another form of self-medication in the future - a neverending, vicious cycle for the members of the Haisla community. Many characters in Monkey Beach are scarred from childhood sexual abuse and family neglect, and resort to drug and alcohol abuse as a coping mechanism. These appalling memories are an account of the impact of colonization on the Haisla territory which continues to haunt the Aboriginal community throughout generations.
What is a refuge? As of 2014, there were 14.4 million refugees that suffered the pain of restarting their lives. Refugees go through many challenges that test their fortitude and their will to live. In “Inside Out and Back Again” by Thanhha Lai-Ha, an eight year old girl and her family face the challenges that 14.4 million refugees faced as they flee their home to restart their lives in the U.S. Refugees have to leave their home behind with belongings and loved ones, go through a tough trek to a refugee camp, and go to a country that they know nothing about to restart their lives.
Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang is an inspiring true story about a young girl who is forced to make an agonizing decision of country versus family. In her story of joy, sorrow, lament, resentment, and countless other perplexing experiences, she must decide whether she is her family's child or Chairman Mao's. In Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li is faced with the heart-breaking decision of her future, and finally after years of confounding peer and family pressure, she resolves to love her family. Throughout the book she is a zealous supporter of Mao, though is constantly running into contradicting encounters in the beginning, middle, and end.
While reading “Need” by Joelle Charbonneau a sentence that jumped out at me was when the main character was really confused and said “I don’t understand” because there is a site that her friend Nate is currently on getting free things by just inviting people onto the site. The sites name is called Need. When her friend Nate wants something he just has to type in what he would like and the site Need would give him a task type thing for him to do in order for him to get what he wants. One of the “tasks” that Nate had to do was invite 5 friends to their site. This made me think if you type in something that you want well how would it get to you or how will they know if you did the task or not. Would you have to videotape it if it’s a dare? This
The novel, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other (2011) written by Sherry Turkle, presents many controversial views, and demonstrating numerous examples of how technology is replacing complex pieces and relationships in our life. The book is slightly divided into two parts with the first focused on social robots and their relationships with people. The second half is much different, focusing on the online world and it’s presence in society. Overall, Turkle makes many personally agreeable and disagreeable points in the book that bring it together as a whole.
...e could explore her own intuitions and be her own self, and like most women, it was a dream she had longed for since birth.
...her to feel despair. Her misery resulted in her doing unthinkable things such us the unexplainable bond with the woman in the wallpaper.
What does it take for someone to earn the title of leader? In other words, what essential ingredients make up a leader? All leaders are different, and not all leaders go through the same path to earn their title. However, there is one crucial element that a leader requires in order to even be considered for the position and have other follow him or her. In the song “Fight Song” by Rachel Patten, Patten exclaims to listeners how the song they are listening to is her way of changing her life around and being a different person. She also sings about how she will not let her past demons take over her life anymore. Comparatively, the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou uses a lot of similes and metaphors to compare the author’s ascension from the
...get and she would stop at nothing to get it. No matter how uncouth or incredulous people were, she was determined to reach her goal. Following Anastasia afresh, I carried myself in a new air. I worried little about the judgment of others, I refuse to let the minute things inconvenience me, and I loved myself. Anastasia, once more, took root in my heart as my solitary, proper role model.