Analysis Of The Third Dumpster By Gish Jen

In 2012 a short story “The Third Dumpster,” Gish Jen expresses a fictional but all too real situation of a decision that separates two cultures and two generations. A Chinese American family, ever-aging parents, and two grown sons, Goodwin and Morehouse, face a significant decision of accommodating their parents with their living situation. The title has many connotations: it implies that by the time the “third” generation comes; the culture will be tossed away (dumped) and be uprooted forever. What will be lost? First, the culture will be depleting, then their values and morals, and finally, the culture will terminate. In her story, Jen demonstrates a culture diminishing by displays of the purposeful word choice “dump” with symbolic meanings.

The connotations of the word “dump” are figure of speech felt in, not letting go of the culture, the inevitable blend of two different backgrounds, and finally, the loss of the origins. The parents’ refusal to move into the house their sons built because of their fear of losing their tight-knit culture; however, their sons, who have embraced the American self-sufficient mode, now are trying to force them to live independently.
Jen expresses that cultural roots run so deep roots doesn’t need direction to grow, nor is there only one root. Practices in cultural traditions should already be embedded and absorbed into one by fault. When the sons take their parents to an assisted living facility and persuading their parents that it wasn’t so dire, the parents’ response was, “Lamb chops! Salads! (85).” Lamb chops are ribs that are cooked and served in individual pieces. [This individualism is a significant custom that the Chinese do not abide by.] needs to be revised without the word is (Chinese people do not abide to individualism, they are not accustomed to it) The salad implies the bareness of a vegetable. In Chinese dishes the vegetables are usually stir-fried with many layers of ingredients that stick together. Independent tradition in American culture does not fulfill the extended family system the parents are seeking. Living together with the second or even third generations in one household exist however unsolicited. Having a tight-knit family transpires to be highly evoked. Having the support and care from the sons suggests a favor in return, just as how the parents once raised them. Consequently, the parents responded with a simple metaphor: if you eat it, you become it. We all have heard the saying, “You are what you eat”. To insinuate the parents eating lamb chops and salad this means that they will abandon their heritages. Though “their Chineseness was inalienable,” the sons continue to build a home for them. When born into a certain culture, one cannot just dismiss that heritage. While renovating, one of the sons said to the other, “The house, however, was a challenge. See these walls?” (86). Traditions [are] not easy to diminish or break down, because origins [are] w/o are absolute. [There will always be dissimilarity in each and every culture.] rephase [Though, cultural roots are strong and have been established for centuries.] fragment? w/o are Ultimately, the parents came to visit their new home and the mother [integrate quote in], “clutched her leather-trim pocketbook as if to ward off attackers” (90). This metaphoric action displays the mothers’ fear of being robbed of her traditions, so she holding them tight. She holds her “Chineseness” close and dear she’s afraid to let go. The parents’ refusal to move represents the strong bond they have with their heritage. [Separation is not the type of solace they are looking for.] rephrase w/o is The parents treasure their culture and traditions assuming the sons felt the same; but, the sons have acclimated and [didn’t see eye to eye.] cliché - replace
The author has created an implication about unification between two opposite cultures.

[America is a big ol’ melting pot.] cliché - replace According to the census, America is integrated with many subcultures that make America the land of opportunity in multi-cultural blend. Multi-cultural mingling [is] rephrase w/o is when two or more cultures harmoniously merge together. Being multi-cultural suggests adapting to new and different arrangements. [The act of blending achieved according to the text, “the drink looked like a blended lawn” (86).] fragment? Needs to flow in better Jen’s propose in this quotations suggest that the sons [are] rephrase w/o are a blend of Chinese and American. Since the sons are born and raised in America from Chinese descendent parents denotes that they [are] nonetheless Chinese - Americans. Cultural integrations occur to some without their knowledge especially if they have been in America for fifty years; that’s because America is based on multi-culture lifestyle. Embracing the multi-cultural lifestyle one must live it. Accepting this lifestyle one might suggest it begins in their diet. [Americans of a certain class are more aware of their health and tends to monitor it compared to Asians whom think eating right is good enough.] rephrase w/o are The parents’ acceptance to monitoring their health shows progress in acquiescing to the American culture. [“Now, though, setting their children straight had at last given way to keeping

their medications straight. They also had their sodium levels to think of. One might not think the maintenance of a low-salt diet could be a contribution to intergenerational peace” (86).] integrate the quote in. perhaps brake up the quote and analyze separately? The parents have exhausted to preserve their strong traditions and now have their health to think about. Subsequently, the parents have to put their Chinese tradition to the side so they can take care of their health first. [It is unfortunate that the health priority overrides the Chinese traditions and astonishingly mends the generation gap.] rephrase w/o judegement The differences between Chinese and American culture should not divide, but find a balance. Morehouse, an American, didn’t forget where his cultural roots are from; [“flashing a Taoist ba gua tattoo” (86). Ba gua, a religious and traditional Chinese yin yang symbols.] integrate quote effectively and frag? The yin and yang represents the young and the old. The author specifically chose this symbol because she wanted to exhibit the old traditions and the new tradition together in wholeness. The unities in two different cultures are possible and happening regardless.
The parents will not desert their traditions; however, the sons’ traditions are not only Chinese, but also perhaps more American.

Both the sons are renovating the house for their parents there is many debris they must “dump”. [“And that’s not even the end of the asbestos, said Morehouse” (88).] floating quote Asbestos is stringy fibrous building materials. The string represents the thin rope holding on the culture the sons are tried to; and now they are dumping it. When Goodwin arrived at the third dumpsters he noticed a bowling-alley with bowling-pins scattered all over the ground. [ “It looked as if the pin had been knocked down for eternity and would never be reset” (87).] integrate quotation The use of the quote represents the culture being pushed away and will never come back. As Goodwin proceeds to dump the asbestos, “he did think he saw, though, a bit of white smoke rise from the dumpster as he drove away” (89). The smoke metaphorically denotes the transition of the culture’s departure. In the Chinese culture, they burn incenses for the death of their beloved ones and ancestors. Goodwin just witnessed the loss and death of his culture. Also, Jen chose another dumpster site as the Masonic Temple: the Masonic Temple is where people go to pray; this metaphor means Goodwin needed to pray for his abandonment of his culture. Losing a culture due to accustoming to another is destined. Chinese culture will be distanced as long as they remain in

America.
American cultural adoption must be accepted and behave toward one culture or subculture to another. It generally is applied when the subject culture [is] rephrase w/o is a minority culture or somehow subordinate in social, political, or economic, to the appropriating culture. This “appropriation” often occurs without any real understanding of why the original culture took part in these activities or the meanings behind these activities, often converting culturally significant artifacts, practices, and beliefs into “meaningless” pop-culture or giving them a significance completely different and less nuanced than they would originally have had.
Sorry there’s so many of the same mistakes, I just can’t think of how to integrate my quotes or not use the words is and are. Thank you for helping me.