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Racism in literature
Racism in american literature
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In the Land of the Free; Lae Choo’s Theme of the Love of a Mother to Her Child Lae Choo is a mother who is communicating the story of prejudiced Asian Americans through her broken heart. Lae Choo is a demonstration of the type of bond (a rather tight one) that exists between a mother and her child. She gains a voice and speaks about the severance of her son being away from her. “You do not know […] to miss the feel of the little fingers and the little toes and the soft round limbs of your little one (166).” “Day was breaking. Lae Choo, who had been awake all night, dressed herself, then awoke her husband. ‘Tis the morn,’ she cried; ‘Go, bring our son.” (166). She had the news that there was a chance her son could be brought home and Lae Choo was anxious and excited to an extent she had a sleepless night. Hom Hing tries to ease her mind and he is not successful. “Ah, how could I close my eyes with my arms empty of the little body that has filled them every …show more content…
At the very beginning when Lae Choo is speaking to her little one, “see Little One… the morning sun (170).” The sun is not referenced to anywhere else in the story until when Lae Choo is reunited with her son. This is an indication that without the Little One, Lae Choo’s world was bleak. There is a great distinction between the appearances of Lae Choo when she has her Little One and when she has been away from her Little One for long, at one instance, “had it not in her heart to rejoice with other parents (170).” When her Little One is forced away from her, her desolation is clear when it eats her away “she appeared, listless, wan, and hollow-eyed (175).’ This description shows the darkness that engulfs Lae Choo at the absence of her Little One. This is a contrast between the moments when Lae Choo can hold her Little One in her arms where she is “electrified” with “color flushed to her cheeks.”
Judy Fong Bates’ Midnight at the Dragon Café and Robert Kroetsch’s “Elegy for Wong Toy” use the representation of the Café to place focus on the hardships of immigration. Kroetsch’s “Elegy for Wong Toy” “is a thank you poem” (Kroetsch 321), which focuses not only on the life events the narrator is thankful for experiencing in Charlie’s café, but also the isolation and alienation Charlie experienced in that “prairie town” (Kroetsch 321). Much like Charlie in Kroetsch’s “Elegy for Wong Toy,” the Chens, specifically Su-Jen’s parents and Lee-Kung, also experience alienation and isolation in the town of Irvine. Bates’ Midnight at the Dragon Café and Kroetsch’s “Elegy for Wong Toy” are both works that use their respective cafés in order to represent the struggles of identity, the discovery of self, and the hardships and sacrifices of immigration.
Thru-out the centuries, regardless of race or age, there has been dilemmas that identify a family’s thru union. In “Hangzhou” (1925), author Lang Samantha Chang illustrates the story of a Japanese family whose mother is trapped in her believes. While Alice Walker in her story of “Everyday Use” (1944) presents the readers with an African American family whose dilemma is mainly rotating around Dee’s ego, the narrator’s daughter. Although differing ethnicity, both families commonly share the attachment of a legacy, a tradition and the adaptation to a new generation. In desperation of surviving as a united family there are changes that they must submit to.
Throughout Asian American literature there is a struggle between Asian women and their Asian American daughters. This is the case in The Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tan and also in the short story "Waiting for Mr. Kim," written by Carol Roh-Spaulding. These two stories are very different, however they are similar in that they portray Asian women trying to get their American daughters to respect their Asian heritage. There are certain behaviors that Asian women are expected to have, and the mothers feel that their daughters should use these behaviors.
The poet Li-young Lee, Asian American, depicts the struggle of accepting the cycle of life and expressing the challenges for the love of his culture and how Asian American see their place with earthly things and adjusting to the American society. His past life endured discrimination, and acceptance, in which he describes beautifully, mystical and spiritually with to the words in his writing (Bradley, 2014).
America was not everything the mothers had expected for their daughters. The mothers always wanted to give their daughters the feather to tell of their hardships, but they never could. They wanted to wait until the day that they could speak perfect American English. However, they never learned to speak their language, which prevented them from communicating with their daughters. All the mothers in The Joy Luck Club had so much hope for their daughters in America, but instead their lives ended up mirroring their mother’s life in China. All the relationships had many hardships because of miscommunication from their different cultures. As they grew older the children realized that their ...
She bore in her arms a child, a baby of some three months old, who winked and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day; because its experience, heretofore, had brought it acquainted only with the gray twilight of a dungeon, or other darksome apartment of the prison (49).
The association between light and darkness played a major role in the outcome of this story. Desiree the wife of Armand was always associated with things of lightness. After Desiree was recovering from just given birth to their son she laid on the couch in her “soft white muslins and lace” (Valencia Community College). When Desiree confronts her husband about the race of their child Desiree skin pigmentation is whiter than her husbands. Desiree shows Armand the letter from Valmonde, the book says she was resembled a stone image white and motionless. In October when Desiree was abandoned Armand she left still wearing the white thin garment and slippers. Armand and the baby were always associated with darkness throughout the story. Armand skin complexion was darker than his wife’s. The story also describes Armand face as being dark and handsome. The baby association with darkness came when the baby was lying across Desiree mahogany bed. Mahogany is some dark brown colored wood. Another comparison of the chi...
While these essays are similar because they focus on the native languages used in America and the struggles of being a Chinese American in America, they differ in both their attitudes toward their mothers and personal reflections of being Chinese American. An individual’s background is where one comes from and how he or she was raised. Tan is a Chinese American. She has a traditional Chinese mother who speaks “broken” English. Tan states that, “It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than ‘broken’, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed[. . . ]”
The second and third sections are about the daughters' lives, and the vignettes in each section trace their personality growth and development. Through the eyes of the daughters, we can also see the continuation of the mothers' stories, how they learned to cope in America. In these sections, Amy Tan explores the difficulties in growing up as a Chinese-American and the problems assimilating into modern society. The Chinese-American daughters try their best to become "Americanized," at the same time casting off their heritage while their mothers watch on, dismayed. Social pressures to become like everyone else, and not to be different are what motivate the daughters to resent their nationality. This was a greater problem for Chinese-American daughters that grew up in the 50's, when it was not well accepted to be of an "ethnic" background.
In “Desiree’s Baby,” Kate Chopin writes about the life of a young lady and her new family. In this short story, the fond couple lived in Louisiana before the American Civil War. Chopin illustrates the romantic atmosphere between Armand and Desiree. Chopin also describes the emotion of the parents for their new born. When the baby was born, Armand’s heart had softened on behalf of others. One afternoon, Desiree and the baby were relaxing in a room with a young boy fanning them with peacock feathers. As they were relaxing, Desiree had sniffed a threatening scent. Desiree desired Armand’s assistance as she felt faint from the odor that she could not comprehend. Armand had denied the request his wife sent. Therefore, he cried out that she nor the baby were white. Thus, Desiree took the baby and herself and walked into the bayou and they were never seen again. In this short story, Chopin illustrates the psychological abuse Desiree faces from her husband.
For many of us growing up, our mothers have been a part of who we are. They have been there when our world was falling apart, when we fell ill to the flu, and most importantly, the one to love us when we needed it the most. In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, it begins with a brief introduction to one mother’s interpretation of the American Dream. Losing her family in China, she now hopes to recapture part of her loss through her daughter. However, the young girl, Ni Kan, mimics her mother’s dreams and ultimately rebels against them.
Some people say that the love between a mother and her daughter is forever; but what about the understanding? In the case of Waverly Jong and her mother in the story “Rules of the Game,” by Amy Tan, there is much miscommunication and misunderstanding. The story is set in mid-1950’s Chinatown and as the story opens, it is Christmas time. “Rules of the Game” is the telling of how a little girl learns to be more independent but falls into conflict with her mother along the way and becomes a type of trophy. Amy Tan uses elements such as character, symbolism, and setting to portray the themes of struggle between two cultures and independence perfectly in “Rules of the Game.”
“Desiree was happy when she had the baby and Armand was as happy and nice to the slaves then before but after he saw his child growing to be mixed it changed his whole attitude” (Griffin). This shows how the story takes place during slavery time, since the husband was a slave.
“Paper Menagerie,” by Ken Liu, is an emotional story of a selfish son and his interactions with his out-of-place mother, who had immigrated from Asia to be his father’s wife. Jack is a half-Chinese, half-American boy who lives in Connecticut. In the beginning of the story, he is very attached to his mother, but certain incidents with other kids make him want to be as distant as possible from his Chinese mom. He demands that his mom converts to being a “normal” white American mom and that he and his family should give up all Asian customs. This beautiful story shows that selfishly basing your actions on the need to fit in can harm yourself and others.
The Author Li young Lee wanted to speak about the old and new, from when he lived in his old home, to living in America. His Poem “Eating Together” he wrote about this heritage and the traditions of living. Cathy Song was another author who write about the Asian American culture. She had also written through her poems the diversity between the two cultures she had lived in. In the poem “Lost Sister” she explain how a girl looses who she is when she moves and lives in America, this lost sister finds herself feeling alone among people she does not know. Cathy Song is able to write about her past and other peoples experience because of her