Digging to America

692 Words2 Pages

Digging to America by Anne Tyler depicts the story of how two vastly different families, the Donaldsons, a suburban American family, and the Yazdans, an Iranian family, come to befriend each other. The two families meet coincidentally at a Baltimore airport, awaiting the arrival of their newly adopted daughters from Korea. The Yazdans adopt Sooki, while the Donaldsons adopt Jin-Ho. “The Donaldsons, out of courtesy, invite the Yazdans to a celebration for the newly adopted infants, leading to the development of friendship amongst them. Throughout the story, the author contrasts the different views on modern culture and traditions in America. The Donaldsons keep Jin-Ho's Korean name and try to preserve her Korean heritage by dressing her in Korean clothes, whereas the Yazdans Americanize Sooki's name to Susan, but eventually call her Susie-june. The two families keep in touch after the Arrival Party and treat each other as family. Years pass and Jin-Ho changes as she grows up and asks to be called Jo instead. Susie-june learns how to speak Farsi, the Persian language. This is discovered when she overhears her father complaining about Bitsy Donaldson's personality. She asks, “Is Bitsy bad?”(102), with Sami responding “No Susie-june. Never mind, I guess I'm just feeling irritable” (102). As he was pondering for the word “irritable”, he realized that they were both speaking Farsi. The story consists of many characters, but it does not have a lone main character. Every character's background is explored quite thoroughly, giving you an idea of their personality as well. For instance, Maryam is a religious, independent Iranian woman who treasures her country's customs and values, despite living in the US for decades. She values her cultu... ... middle of paper ... ...private boundaries of others. The Yazdans tend to keep their family life private, while the Donaldsons prefer to share important events with others. An example of this is when the Donaldsons invite many people to the arrival of Jin-Ho, recording the whole event as well. On the other hand, the Yazdans have only a small group of people and do not record the event. After the arrival, the Donaldsons invite the Yazdans to an arrival party for the babies, an event the Yazdans would have kept private. In conclusion, Digging to America is not an exciting read. I enjoyed the first part of the book because it was about cute babies. However, in my opinion, the story didn't progress well. I really wish that something exciting happened in the middle of the story, as I felt that there wasn't a climax. I do not recommend this book to people who like action or adventure novels.

Show More
Related

  • The Wolves Of Mercy Falls Trilogy Summary

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    The diverse alternation of point of views also provides the story an effective way to reach out to readers and be felt. The characterisation is effectively done and applied as Sam, Grace, and the other supporting characters play individual, crucial roles in the course of the story. All the elements of a typical young adult novel, consisting of a gap-filled relationship between children and parents, emotion-driven teenagers, and a unique conflict that makes the book distinct from fellow novels, combined with the dangerous consequences of the challenges the couple encounter, make the book different from all other of the same genre. The plot unfolds slowly giving readers enough time to adjust and anticipate the heavy conflict when it arises. It has gotten us so hooked but the only thing we could possibly dislike about it was the slow pace of plot. The anticipation was too much to handle and we were practically buzzing and bouncing to know how the story turns out as we read. It builds the anticipation, excitement, thrill, sadness, grief, loss, and longing in such an effective way to entice and hook readers further into the world of Sam and

    Read More

  • Medicine River

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    I found the book to be easy, exciting reading because the story line was very realistic and easily relatable. This book flowed for me to a point when, at times, it was difficult to put down. Several scenes pleasantly caught me off guard and some were extremely hilarious, namely, the visit to Martha Oldcrow. I found myself really fond of the char...

    Read More

  • The Westing Game Review

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over this entire novel, it is a good novel for children. It train children how to think logically, and notes people we should cherish our family, and people around us, very educate. Children can learn true is always been hide.

    Read More

  • Commentary On The Book 'Counting By Sevens' By Holly Goldberg Sloan

    342 Words  | 1 Pages

    I would recommend this book to people who love realistic stories. Personally for me it is hard to find books that interest me and this one felt like if I was watching someone else's life while I read it. It has so many interesting points. When you think something might happen

    Read More

  • Summary Of Mixed Me ! By Taye Diggs

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    This book talk about the physical apperience of race. I like the fact that it was openly hounest about how society look at interracial couples. I also find it to be inerresting to introduce the fact that people are different to kids while they are young. This book gave the impression that mix children have wild sandy red color looking hair. When a child read this book it will teach them the difference but also open their mind to understand that everyone is different but they are still people. We are all unique in our own way.

    Read More

  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    My overall opinion of this book is good I really liked it and recommend it to anyone. It is a good book to read and it keep you interested throughout the whole book.

    Read More

  • The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...inds love along the way. She makes rash decisions in bad situations, faces the truth that she has been avoiding, and finds her place in the world. While her journey takes some unexpected twists, Lily learns to make the best of what she has, and go for what she wants. She learns to move on from the past, and make a brighter future. But most importantly, Lily learns to accept that life is unpredictable and that by doing her best Lily is living life the way she wants to.

    Read More

  • The Three Novels Of Gary Faulsen And Hatchet By Gary Paulsen

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    I would most definitely recommend this novel to those who like adventure. This novel is non-stop adventure filled novel staring a young boy against Mother Nature herself.

    Read More

  • Myth- Aliki, The Gods And Goddesses Of Olympics

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    the book , I also wondered if it was a little too confusing to a young child ,

    Read More

  • Hopelessness In Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    This story had no fluff. It had no happy ending. It was in no way uplifting. It was a book about hopelessness, and how tragic life can be. None of the characters find happiness. No one is rescued from their misery. What makes this book powerful is that sometimes that is the way life is. Sometimes there is no happy ending, and sometimes there is no hope. It would be nice if that were not true, but it is. And this book shows the gritty side of life, the sad reality. Sometimes things do not work out the way we would like them to, and sometimes there is nothing we can do about it. As depressing as this may be as a theme, it is important to realize that it is true. While optimism is usually admirable, too much may be ignorant. Hopelessness exists. It can certainly be seen in real life, and it can certainly be seen in this book.

    Read More

  • The Handmaid's Tale: Offred Chapters 1 to 4

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    At this point there seems to be one main character (setting the scene, and the past scene as this is important to the story) but she mentions others as well, which will be involved later on, the first chapter seems to represent the foundation to what is going to happen later on.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    8.Recommendation: I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone to read because it’s quite boring and very confusing in some parts of the story. Well it’s confusing to me and it’s like the most weirdest book I have ever read. Someone who likes to read novels or read in general would like this book because or if they like this genre they would like this

    Read More

  • Mozart's The Magic Flute

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is a large cast of characters including the priest Sarastro (a very serious, proselytizing basso), the Queen of the Night (a mean, angry, scheming coloratura), and her daughter, the beautiful and courageous Pamina. There is the handsome hero, Tamino, on the quintessential road trip, and his cohort in misadventure, the bird seller, Papageno. Papageno ultimately finds his Papagena (who starts out disguised as a crone), Tamino ultimately wins Pamina, Sarastro presumably wins a passle of converts, and everyone goes home humming the catchy Mozart melodies. It is all presented in a plot complicated by a dragon, a threesome of warbling ladies in service to the Queen of the Night, another threesome of boy-angels, even a bully - Monostatos, guard for the Queen. It is lightened by such elements as locked lips, charmed animals, and, of course, a magic flute.

    Read More

  • Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main character described in the novel is Amir. Amir is the narrator and the protagonist in the story. Although an impressionable and intelligent son of a well-to-do businessman, he grows up with a sense of entitlement. Hassan is Amir’s half-brother, best friend, and a servant of Baba’s. Although considered an inferior in Afghan society, Hassan repeatedly proves himself to be a loyal friend to Amir. Baba is the wealthy, well- respected father of Amir and Hassan. He is willing to risk his life for what he believes in, but is ashamed of having a child with a Hazara woman, leading him to hide the fact that Hassan is his son. Ali is another modest man, who is a fatherly figure to Hassan and a servant to Baba.

    Read More

  • Digging

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    The "Digging".. “Digging” by Seamus Heaney is the first poem in the first full volume of Heaney’s poem, “Death of a Naturalist”. The “Death of a Naturalist” is about the transition into adulthood and the loss of innocence. The poem shows how Heaney looked up to his father and grandfather, especially for their hard work. Even though Heaney did not follow in his footsteps and become a farm laborer, he respects the work they do, especially their skill at digging. This poem is a free verse poem.

    Read More

More about Digging to America

Open Document