Introduction: In Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," the characters navigate a world where foresight and fear intertwine, shaping their destinies in profound ways. One character, in particular, Jen Yu, epitomizes this complex relationship between foresight and fear. Through Jen's journey, the film explores how these two forces can both propel us forward and hold us back. This essay will delve into Jen's story, examining how her actions are influenced by her foresight and fear, and how this dynamic plays out in her quest for freedom and independence. Body Paragraph 1: Jen Yu is introduced to us as a young woman with extraordinary martial arts skills, but her life is constrained by the societal expectations placed upon her. Foresight …show more content…
Her foresight tells her that this is her chance to carve out her own destiny, to become the person she has always dreamed of being. However, her fear of failure and the consequences of her actions hold her back. She knows that stealing the sword is a risky move, one that could have serious repercussions for herself and those around her. Ultimately, her fear wins out, leading to a series of events that shape the course of her life. Jen's story is a powerful example of how foresight and fear can both drive us forward and hold us back, shaping our destiny in ways we may not expect. Body Paragraph 2: Jen's struggle with foresight and fear resonates with me on a personal level. Like Jen, I have often found myself torn between the desire for adventure and the comfort of the familiar. There have been times in my life when I have been faced with important decisions, and I have felt the pull of both foresight and fear. On the one hand, I have been able to envision the life I want for myself, full of excitement and possibility. But on the other hand, I have been held back by the fear of failure, of making the wrong choice and ending up worse off than I
The film that we screened in class was titled the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and was directed by Ang Lee. The beginning of the film, Bai returns from meditating and decides to give up his sword. Once the sword is transported to Sir Te's, it is stolen by a masked character in all black, who is revealed as Jen later on in the film. Mu Bai, Shu Lien and Tsai go out searching for the sword and encounter Jade Fox, which is then followed by a battle; however, the masked character helps Fox escape. During that night Lo, a former lover of Jen, comes back to return her comb and then there is a flashback on how they met. After their encounter, Lo leaves Jen; however, comes back and tries to thwart Jen from getting married. In the end, Fox dies
The film, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, showcases Wu Xia and the imbalance of Yin and Yang. She tells him to make a wish and this connects the story of the young man leaping from the mountain to save his parents (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). Jen feels by leaping she is granting Lo’s wish (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). This makes Jen the tragic hero as she is finally free from the imprisonment of her duties as a governor’s daughter as well as her past with the Jade Fox (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon).
Surroundings greatly influence and affect the way An-Mei’s personality is shaped. Her stern upbringing from her grandmother teaches her a silent obedience that she will continue to struggle with as a result of her fear of this woman. An-Mei states, “All my life, Popo scared me.” (33). Popo continued to solidify An-Mei's obedience through stories, like one of a girl saying ‘no’, shaking her head until her brain was liquefied and poured out from her ears. However, once these surroundings changed, new and more individual traits appear. She “learned to shout” (272) and learns to stand up for herself; she “showed Second Wife the fake pearl necklace she had given [her] and crushed it under [her] foot.” (272). The act of destroying the gift Second Wife had given her shows just how powerful An-Mei can be. An-Mei's surroundings and the change of these surround...
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 ...
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.
“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.
Both novel and short story collection reflect the fear of a past being unexplored and left behind. They express deep concern about a lost generation of Chinese-Americans and look desperately for the ignored, shut out past as a result.
...ear and listen. That’s why most of the Chinese youth were inspired to join the army due to the books that were sold and the song that was written just for the Red Guards army. The book’s name is “Little Red Book.” The song’s name is “Red Guard Song.” For the members, the “Red Guard Song” reminds them of their purpose of why they joined the Red Guards. To add on, two young women had wrote their own memoirs to explain what their life was when the Cultural Revolution was happening and how their life was changed when they joined the Red Guards and started to rebel against their parents and their own teachers. As they grew older, they soon realized that everything that they’ve been doing the whole entire time was wrong and regret joining the Red Guards. They realize that all these time, they were killing innocent people that clearly was doing nothing to harm the country.
Han – a period of time in China in which the country was merge together (Dictionary)
The theme of “voiceless woman” throughout the book “the woman warrior” is of great importance. Maxine Kingston narrates several stories in which gives clear examples on how woman in her family are diminished and silenced by Chinese culture. The author not only provides a voice for herself but also for other women in her family and in her community that did not had the opportunity to speak out and tell their stories.
... amazing ability to be able to plan a future and when that future is altered we want to hold on to it. I have seen it tear people down and make people stronger. I have seen it make people bitter and I chose for it to make me grateful. We construct fantasy and Quindlen ask if “the fantasy has within it a nugget of fact” (Quindlen 32) and the torture seems to be never knowing. Anna Quindlen let me and all of her readers into a very personal experience in her life and through it I was vividly reminded of a time in my own life. These experiences change people, it changed Quindlen and it changed me. I try and stay present with the people I have right now. I know what I have and I know that some people never get to have it. When you lose people in your life you lose the ability to be naive and complacent, you lose the ability to take relationships for granted.
Throughout the story there are several aspects of the Protagonist’s character that play a major role in the shaping of her future. During her childhood she often demonstrates a sense of fear when she is sent to her bedroom. “We were afraid of the inside, the room were we slept (pg. 549).” She is intimidated by her personal space because she does not have control over it. Later, she gains control by adding lace to her side of the room; symbolically adding personality to herself and slipping into womanhood. When she felt uncomfortable she exercised her imagination, to psychologically regain control over the confusion in her life. Her subconscious effort to control confusing times were carried on to her later years as she was constantly put in difficult situations, which helped her to adjust quickly to change during adulthood. The dreams she created changed when she began to place emphasis on her appearance-that which she could control, other than past dreams of heroism that seemed so distant from reality. The Protagonist filled her childhood with much pride and maintained a consistent focused upon the activities that filled her childhood. She relished working at the side of her father, taking immense pride in every aspect of her assigned duties. She proclaimed, “I worked willingly under his eyes, and with a feeling of pride (pg. 551)” Once after her father introduced her to a feed sales man as “my new hired man (pg. 551),” the Protagonist was flooded with pride as she “turned away and raked furiously, red in the face with pleasure (pg. 551).” In her later years her pride helped her to assemble strong self-confidence she used in her years of growing. Passion and depth were characteristics that impacted her future as a woman. Her passion and depth was revealed early on in the story ...
Rawnsley, Gary. “Hero: Rewriting the Chinese Martial Arts Film Genre.” Global Chinese Cinema: The Culture and Politics of Hero. Eds. Gary D. Rawnsley and Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley. New York: Routledge, 2010. 13-26. Print.
Lee’s legend lives on through the documentary, Be Water, made by Bao Nguyen. It is a moving depiction of Lee's life and philosophical outlook on identity. It unravels his profound impact on martial arts, cinema, and cultural representation in the Asian American community. Through a series of archival footage and insightful interviews with Lee’s loved ones, the film scrupulously outlines Lee's growth from his shaped years in Hong Kong to his rise to fame in Hollywood as a cherished actor. One important instance highlighted in Be Water is Lee's struggle against the dominant racial stereotypes in the film industry against Asian Americans.
A remake of a classic 1980's film, The Karate Kid (2010), is a modern interpretation of a boy desperately in need of a father figure. The movie centers around 12-year-old Dre Parker and his experiences after he and his mother move to Beijing, China due to Ms. Parker's job. Upon his arrival to this new and strange land, Dre meets a young violinist named Mei Ying and quickly develops feelings for the girl, which are mutually reciprocated. The local school bully, “a kung fu prodigy” named Cheng, disapproves of this, however, “and attempts to keep them apart by beating Dre, and later harassing and humiliating him in and around school.” (“Synopsis of The Karate Kid”, 2010)