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Feminist readings of fairy tales
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An analysis of Bao Chu’s nurturing positive anima, Huiang Niang , underlines his maturation into an honorable warrior. Indeed, after Bao Chu volunteers to complete his father’s mission, he tells his mother that “no matter how long I am away, do not let your heart grieve for me” (22). Bao Chu remains in touch with his feminine side by appealing to his mother’s emotions and by telling her to stay strong, instead of adhering to a strict warrior persona. Moreover, after the demons attempt to con Hui Niang into thinking Bao had died so that “her tears would weaken Bao Chu”, she thinks of her sons parting words instead choosing to remain hopeful (23). Thus, Hui Niang’s faithful nature is responsible for her son’s inevitable success. Finally, when
Even with the familiarity of the two Chinese families with each other, the narrator is always “struck speechless” and feels “diminished and insignificant” in the presence of Sam Sing. When the brothers came
Family became an important aspect in Mah’s life. In the Chinese culture family is typically a vital part of the way of life. Mah may have been ashamed the way her first marriage ended and did not want the same with this man she met named Leon. Leon is a Chinese immigrant and family is his priority. Mah and Leon marry and have two girls, Ona and Nina. They form a family like connection more than ever before. Leon was a fairly stable man and loved his family. Mah and Leon were b...
The family's personal encounters with the destructive nature of the traditional family have forced them to think in modern ways so they will not follow the same destructive path that they've seen so many before they get lost. In this new age struggle for happiness within the Kao family, a cultural barrier is constructed between the modern youth and the traditional adults, with Chueh-hsin teeter tottering on the edge, lost between them both. While the traditional family seems to be cracking and falling apart much like an iceberg in warm ocean waters, the bond between Chueh-min, Chueh-hui, Chin and their friends becomes as strong as the ocean itself. While traditional Confucianism plays a large role in the problems faced by the Kao family, it is the combination of both Confucianism and modernization that brings the family to its knees. Chueh-hsin is a huge factor in the novel for many reasons.
In analyzing these two stories, it is first notable to mention how differing their experiences truly are. Sammy is a late adolescent store clerk who, in his first job, is discontent with the normal workings of society and the bureaucratic nature of the store at which he works. He feels oppressed by the very fabric and nature of aging, out-of date rules, and, at the end of this story, climaxes with exposing his true feelings and quits his jobs in a display of nonconformity and rebellion. Jing-Mei, on the other hand, is a younger Asian American whose life and every waking moment is guided by the pressures of her mother, whose idealistic word-view aids in trying to mold her into something decent by both the double standards Asian society and their newly acquired American culture. In contrasting these two perspectives, we see that while ...
Growing up in California, Tan continued to embrace the typical values of Americans. She had taken on American values as her own identity, completely ignoring most of her Chinese heritage. In fact, young Amy Tan would answer her mother’s Chinese questions in English (Miller 1162). Teenage Amy Tan lost both her father and sixteen-year-old brother to brain tumors. Soon after that, she learned that she had two half-sisters in China from her mother’s first marriage (“Amy Tan Biography”). In 1987, Tan made a trip to China to meet those very same ...
“Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on. She tested our strengths to establish realities”(5). In the book “The Woman Warrior,” Maxine Kingston is most interested in finding out about Chinese culture and history and relating them to her emerging American sense of self. One of the main ways she does so is listening to her mother’s talk-stories about the family’s Chinese past and applying them to her life.
Our mothers have played very valuable roles in making us who a we are and what we have become of ourselves. They have been the shoulder we can lean on when there was no one else to turn to. They have been the ones we can count on when there was no one else. They have been the ones who love of us for who we are and forgive us when no one else wouldn’t. In Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds,” the character Jing-mei experiences being raised by a mother who has overwhelming expectations for her daughter, causes Jing-mei to struggle with who she wants to be. “Only two kind of daughters,” “Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!”(476). When a mother pushes her daughter to hard the daughter rebels, but realizes in the end that their mothers only wanted the best for them and had their best interest at heart.
The concept of youxia was first introduced by Sima Qian, in Shiji (around 100 BC), as someone “honest in words, effective in action, faithful in keeping promises and fearless in offering his life to free the righteous from bondage” (Guo 35). According to Sima Qian’s record, these brave individuals, most of whom lived at the eve of the Warring States Period, often resorted to violence to single-handedly ensure personal justice regardless of the consequences of their actions. As this image of youxia transcended through time, the individualistic personality, the anarchistic attitude, and the high moral standard have become the predominant features of knight-errant (Li...
...ith Jing Mei and her mother, it is compounded by the fact that there are dual nationalities involved as well. Not only did the mother’s good intentions bring about failure and disappointment from Jing Mei, but rooted in her mother’s culture was the belief that children are to be obedient and give respect to their elders. "Only two kinds of daughters.....those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!" (Tan1) is the comment made by her mother when Jing Mei refuses to continue with piano lessons. In the end, this story shows that not only is the mother-daughter relationship intricately complex but is made even more so with cultural and generational differences added to the mix.
A second failure on behalf of the mothers that is highlighted in Tan’s novel, is the failure at times to maintain the respect of their daughters. Due to the lack of cultural understanding the gap between mother and daughter causes defiance and mistrust from the younger generation “I didn’t have to do what my mother said anymore. I wasn’t her slave. This wasn’t China. I had listened to her before and look what happened. She was the stupid one.” (Tan 152) the anger within the second generation of daughters again comes from a place of misunderstanding of their own cultural traditions. This misinterpreta...
Seeing how Anh Nguyen chose and broadened the relationships and behavior of Beto to others around him, we can imagine our faces at this age. Beto is a little black and naughty dog while Bino, his best friend, is a little white and nice dog. They are different, but their friendship is a strange harmony. It is naive, sincere, unselfish and "clear" like black and white. Reading “I am Beto”, you will recognize a nasty Beto like slippers, clothes… or Beto with naïve thinking. Then you will laugh when imagining Beto’s cool face when he and Bino sneak down to hear the rain falling on the rooftop.
In this explication of this movie RAN several items will be discussed. Culturally the movie will be critiqued on how the Japanese culture is shown throughout the movie, and the structure of how the characters progress throughout the movie. The conflict between characters will also be discussed in reference to the obstacles they face and how they deal with them. This movie deals mainly with loyalty and tradition (bushido), and how a traditional Japanese family handles not only their personal problems, but also relating to their society and surroundings.
Mirikitani, Janice. "Spoils of War." Asian American Literature. Ed. Shawn Wong. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1996. 186-201.
It is said that the most delicate, crucial time in one’s life is their childhood. In a span of four years, a child is taught to walk, talk and interact with one another. Around this time, they also begin to learn a sense of right and wrong. A child who is raised in a nurturing environment knows to be kind and caring towards others, whereas a child that is brought up in violent and demoralizing conditions displays more hostility towards others. The protagonists in Loung Ung’s First They Killed My Father and Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone are prime examples of children who commit demoralizing acts as a result of their violent surroundings. Therefore, as child soldiers, both Ishmael and Loung are corrupted by their experiences, however Loung is more severely impacted by the atrocities of war.
In Han Kang’s, Human Acts there are several highly graphic and shocking descriptions of the human body that beg the readers to problematize and question what it means to be humanized. Throughout her novel there are several instances where humans are being referred to as bloodied, convulsing, animal like sacks being thrown around without purpose and such descriptions may be interpreted by some readers as clearly dehumanizing. However, even though such wording may elicit such a response, the text is in fact humanizing the characters being killed and tossed by so accurately describing the human condition and all of the things the body does strictly because following trauma, living as ghosts because humans feel and react.