The Girl Who Wouldn't Sing by Kit Yuen Quan In the memoir "The Girl Who Wouldn't Sing", Kit Yuen Quan describes her life experiences growing up as a Chinese girl in America. In her attempt to try and find her place in society, Quan intermingles with several groups of people. Her interactions with a feminist group, two young Cambodian girls, and finally her own father allow her to explore her Chinese background and how that affects her interactions with people. In order to find her own "voice" in a society that is not really hers, Kit Yuen Quan explored relationships with people of different lifestyles. She does so in order to be able to recognize how she wants to express herself, and through which culture, American or Chinese, if not both, she wants to do so. When she ran away from home, Quan "sought refuge in the women's community working part-time at a feminist bookstore"(Quan 214). Yet, because of her Chinese background and difficulty in understanding language, Kit found she wasn't as accepted as she had hoped she would be. The fact that she could not understand many of the issues discussed by the feminists she was surrounded by was very frustrating for Kit. This frustration acted as a vehicle for her to gain a desire to be more proficient in the "feminist rhetoric"(Quan 214). Although her desire to be part of the community was strong, she continuously encountered problems because of her age, nationality, and lack of a "formal American education". The frustration that Kit encountered made her feel even more misunderstood, and she sought her voice through other communities and experiences. Kit's first failed attempt to become a part of a community was because of her inability to "properly" expr... ... middle of paper ... ...nguage in a way that probably would not have happened if she hadn't left home. The fact that Kit had the experiences she did, with the Cambodian girls, the feminists, and her father, has allowed her to see life in a new light. Through her language and culture Kit not only finds her voice, but finds her inner self as well. She states in the last line if the memoir, "As long as there are bakeries in Chinatown and as long as I have 85 cents, I know I have a way back to myself"(Quan 220). Through her culture, language, and reunion with her family, Kit has found her ability to communicate, as well as the comfort that she has searched for all her life. Bibliography: Quan, Kit Yuen. Making Face, Making Soul; Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color: "The Girl who Wouldn't Sing". San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books. 1990.
THESIS: In Kaffir Boy, gender roles are constructed through tribal norms, and are reinforced constantly by the society. Therefore, because of gender construction, both men and women experience pain and discrimination when they do not have to.
Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang is an inspiring true story about a young girl who is forced to make an agonizing decision of country versus family. In her story of joy, sorrow, lament, resentment, and countless other perplexing experiences, she must decide whether she is her family's child or Chairman Mao's. In Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li is faced with the heart-breaking decision of her future, and finally after years of confounding peer and family pressure, she resolves to love her family. Throughout the book she is a zealous supporter of Mao, though is constantly running into contradicting encounters in the beginning, middle, and end.
The fundamental characteristic of magical realism is its duality, which enables the reader to experience both the character’s past and the present. In the novel, Monkey Beach, Eden Robinson uses this literary device to address the the trauma and mistreatment of the Haisla community in Canada by unveiling the intimate memories of the protagonist, Lisamarie, and the resulting consequences of this oppression. Monkey Beach illustrates how abuse in the past leads to another form of self-medication in the future - a neverending, vicious cycle for the members of the Haisla community. Many characters in Monkey Beach are scarred from childhood sexual abuse and family neglect, and resort to drug and alcohol abuse as a coping mechanism. These appalling memories are an account of the impact of colonization on the Haisla territory which continues to haunt the Aboriginal community throughout generations.
The main character of this book is Susan Caraway, but everyone knows her as Stargirl. Stargirl is about 16 years old. She is in 10th grade. Her hair is the color of sand and falls to her shoulders. A “sprinkle” of freckles crosses her nose. Mostly, she looked like a hundred other girls in school, except for two things. She didn’t wear makeup and her eyes were bigger than anyone else’s in the school. Also, she wore outrageous clothes. Normal for her was a long floor-brushing pioneer dress or skirt. Stargirl is definitely different. She’s a fun loving, free-spirited girl who no one had ever met before. She was the friendliest person in school. She loves all people, even people who don’t play for her school’s team. She doesn’t care what others think about her clothes or how she acts. The lesson that Stargirl learned was that you can’t change who you are. If you change for someone else, you will only make yourself miserable. She also learned that the people who really care about you will like you for who you are. The people who truly love you won’t ask you to change who you are.
mother used to come home late at night and used to get beaten by her
While reading “Need” by Joelle Charbonneau a sentence that jumped out at me was when the main character was really confused and said “I don’t understand” because there is a site that her friend Nate is currently on getting free things by just inviting people onto the site. The sites name is called Need. When her friend Nate wants something he just has to type in what he would like and the site Need would give him a task type thing for him to do in order for him to get what he wants. One of the “tasks” that Nate had to do was invite 5 friends to their site. This made me think if you type in something that you want well how would it get to you or how will they know if you did the task or not. Would you have to videotape it if it’s a dare? This
his goal is to bring back proof of the wolves decimating effect on the northern
This is How You Lose Her is a book written by Junot Diaz consisting of short stories, told by the protagonist, Yunior. Yunior’s character is described as the Dominican guy who struggles with infidelity and unable to love others full-heartedly. Diaz also shows how in Dominican culture; men carry the reputation of being womanizers and usually is pass from one generation to the next. Throughout the book, he tells us stories pertaining to the relationships he had with the women he had in his life, and his family. From the stories one can assume that Yunior, caught up in a vicious cycle was destined to follow into patriarchy; a father who cheated on his mother, and an oldest brother who followed
...her to feel despair. Her misery resulted in her doing unthinkable things such us the unexplainable bond with the woman in the wallpaper.
The autobiography I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai begins with the scene of young pakistani education and women’s rights activist Malala being shot in the head. Her school bus had been stopped by the Taliban who, after asking which of the girls was Malala, put a bullet into her head. Malala ends the powerful prologue with the words “Who is Malala? I am Malala and this is my story” (9). Malala then rewinds to the story of her birth and how in Pakistan, no one congratulated her parents when she was born because she was a girl. Pakistani culture pushes for the birth of a boy as an islamic majority country. However, her father saw the potential in his daughter as a great leaser and named her after one of the great female leaders in Pakistan- Malalai of Maiwand who inspired the Afghan people, who were losing hope, to spur the army to victory against the British/Indian forces. Malala describes life in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan. She outlines the Indian- Pakistan revolution and the shift of the Pashtun people into the Swat Valley. Malala’s father grew up in Shahpur but struggled to get his education in the town where he met Malala’s mother. They married and his dream of building a school, Khushal Public School, became reality when they moved into Mingora.
The novel, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other (2011) written by Sherry Turkle, presents many controversial views, and demonstrating numerous examples of how technology is replacing complex pieces and relationships in our life. The book is slightly divided into two parts with the first focused on social robots and their relationships with people. The second half is much different, focusing on the online world and it’s presence in society. Overall, Turkle makes many personally agreeable and disagreeable points in the book that bring it together as a whole.
What is a refuge? As of 2014, there were 14.4 million refugees that suffered the pain of restarting their lives. Refugees go through many challenges that test their fortitude and their will to live. In “Inside Out and Back Again” by Thanhha Lai-Ha, an eight year old girl and her family face the challenges that 14.4 million refugees faced as they flee their home to restart their lives in the U.S. Refugees have to leave their home behind with belongings and loved ones, go through a tough trek to a refugee camp, and go to a country that they know nothing about to restart their lives.
...e could explore her own intuitions and be her own self, and like most women, it was a dream she had longed for since birth.
...get and she would stop at nothing to get it. No matter how uncouth or incredulous people were, she was determined to reach her goal. Following Anastasia afresh, I carried myself in a new air. I worried little about the judgment of others, I refuse to let the minute things inconvenience me, and I loved myself. Anastasia, once more, took root in my heart as my solitary, proper role model.
What does it take for someone to earn the title of leader? In other words, what essential ingredients make up a leader? All leaders are different, and not all leaders go through the same path to earn their title. However, there is one crucial element that a leader requires in order to even be considered for the position and have other follow him or her. In the song “Fight Song” by Rachel Patten, Patten exclaims to listeners how the song they are listening to is her way of changing her life around and being a different person. She also sings about how she will not let her past demons take over her life anymore. Comparatively, the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou uses a lot of similes and metaphors to compare the author’s ascension from the