Golden Child Analysis

We can see cultural misunderstanding everywhere, and at times it is unintentional done. For example, in “Golden Child” by David Henry Hwang, Siu-Young says, “Funny the difference between Chinese and Occidental people. In China, we leave food at the altar for others. The white devils, they go to the altar and fill themselves with free bread and wine.” (16). In other words, Siu-Young believes Westerners do not respect the dead like they do in China. This is important because culture misunderstanding cultures are observed in every culture. An online article entitled “30 People Reveal Their Embarrassing Moments Because of a Cultural Misunderstanding” reports a story about co-workers. One co-worker, who was married to a woman from Africa, complained

Appalled, the co-worker replied, “Jesus, NO, they don’t fucking EAT them man! The dogs are used to protect the village and they are usually pretty vicious so she’s scared of them. Eat them? REALLY’ (thoughtcatalog.com). This example shows what role stereotypes play in our misunderstanding of different cultures and how anyone could fall into this type of ignorance. In American there are many cultures accused of eating man's best friend, however, to accuse some of doing so can be an insult in America. In addition, cultural misunderstanding doesn’t end with thoughts and stereotypes. Hand gestures can cause misunderstandings as well. For example, the gesture ok can mean all’s well in the West, however, in the Finnish Defence Forces the gesture is used to represent the number zero. In parts of Europe, the gesture is considered offensive, implying that the person receiving the jester is a zero. Even when it’s not intended, cultural misunderstanding occurs globally. Perhaps we should all be more aware of other cultures so not to offend

However, LGBT discrimination doesn’t stop in America. Many other countries partake in discriminating against the LGBT community. For example, in “The Children’s Hour” by Lillian Hellman, Martha says, “No, of course you didn’t. But who says I didn’t? I never felt that way about anybody but you. I’ve never loved a man- (stops. Softly) I never knew why before. Maybe it’s that.” (66). In other words, Martha suddenly realizes that she's never been attracted to men. She then realizes the reason is because she is a lesbian. This is important because being homosexual in 1934 was a huge sinful taboo that could even get you killed. Today, coming out as homosexual is more accepted and tolerated by many. However, intolerance is present all over the world. Some countries have outlawed homosexuality. For example, as of 2015, 34 Africa countries have outlawed homosexuality. Those who are found to be homosexuality are often raped and murdered. On the plus side, South Africa and French colonized countries have not only illegalized homosexuality, as well as placed bans on homosexual discrimination. Another example felt globally in the LGBT community, was when Martha continued to say, “It’s funny. It’s all mixed up. There’s something in you and you don’t do anything about it because you don’t know it’s there. Suddenly a little girl gets bored and tells a lie- and there, that night, you see it for the first time,