Being A Chink Summary

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In this emotional essay, “Being a Chink” Christine Leong discusses the meaning and definition of the word chink. She begins by noting the extreme power of language, that it provides us with communication and can be used to define individuals. Leong then recounts the first time she saw the word chink. While completing her weekly chores at her father’s business, she discovered an envelope with the word chink written on it. It did not take long before she concluded that it had been her father who wrote it in the likely scenario that a customer had called him a chink and that he wrote it down to later look up because he was unfamiliar with the definition. Leong felt a wave of anger that someone had tried to degrade her father. Next, she examines how in Naylor’s essay “The Meaning of a Word,” that the meaning of derogatory remarks can vary with context. She explains how within her circle that chink can be used as a term of endearment and that among her Asian friends it loses all power as a disgraceful remark. The essay is concluded with her belief that despite the intention of the term, chink, to degrade, that it had perhaps done the opposite and had brought the Asian community together. …show more content…

The whole point of a hatred label is to put a person down and to degrade them. Yet, while Leong mentions the extreme grief the term brought her in childhood, she notes that her community uses it “without malice or harmful intent” (Leong 525). When we look at how this word has affected Leong, it would not be surprising to find that it had been a great barrier in her life. Instead, we find that it has led to deep reflection and personal growth. Her decision to not let the term, chink, defeat her is admirable and I’m not sure if I’d be strong enough to make the same decision as she

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