ESSAY #2

UPDATED

Asian American Literature Essay #2
Draft due WEDNESDAY, November 5
Essay due MONDAY, November 10

NO CLASS NOVEMBER 3RD.

Choose one of the following topics and write a well developed and well supported essay of no less than 450 words.

1. Compare Donald Duk to Bone or stories from Mrs. Spring Fragrance; examine the ways characters search for identity. How do characters find cultural identity in each of the texts? Do you think these searches for identity have anything to do with gender?

2. Using an appropriate literary source, define and out-line the ways that Donald satisfies or falls short of what Bildungsroman means.

3. To be considered a hero in literature a character must fulfill certain guidelines and characteristics. Explore what it means to be a hero in literature and decide if Donald can be called a hero.

You must use textual evidence (quotes) to support your responses. When you use quotes to support your essay, you must use parenthetical reference to document your source. If you use more than two sources, please include a Works Cited Page.

Donald Duk's Evolution

We all know that the expression, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" applies to Donald Duk and his father, King Duk when referencing the somewhat racist remarks they say throughout the story. When King Duk does say something that one considers racist, the statement has the same characteristics as when Donald said a racist remark to his friend Arnold. However we can see that Donald is evolving as the story continues. After seeing the Chinese not depicted in the picture of the workers that built the railroad, he was offended and outraged that the Chinese were not included. Thus, exemplifying that Donald Duk may not hate being Chinese as much as he did in the beginning of the book and will stand up for his ancestors when necessary. This and being an allibi for the American Cong veteran who was framed for murder shows an improvement and advancement of maturity on Donald's part.

Donald Duk

The novel of Donald Duk paint a true picture of what an American Asian goes through. Donald Duk at the age of 12 is evolving into a great adult. The life experience he is having is going to mold him in dealing and understanding the life as an American Asian.
The issue of race is only a reality that Donald must learn. I believe Donald Duk bring it out when Donald get arrested. , however it take him to another learning curve when it challenges his dreams.

Thoughts on Today's Class (10/27)

I really enjoyed our talk today on race in movies. It's a catch twenty-two the way some movies have racially stereotypical characters. On one hand, this can amuse people of the same race who find comfort in these roles by not taking them too seriously and realizing that this is what is sometimes believed about their race. On the other hand, some roles are taken so far that they become completely offensive. Hearing the Long Duk Dong interview made me feel bad! Sixteen Candles is one of my favorite movies and he is one of my favorite characters, so to hear the way other Asians felt about his performance didn't sit right with me because I was forced to think, "What if his role was that of a Latino foreign exchange student?"

The book is written by a male author and has a male character. I think this makes a signficant change. Its more about physical work, like Donald's railroad dream. He has to go through physical tasks in order to become an adult, compared with bone where Lei goes to through a range of emotions in order to find peace.

Donald Duk

I think that all the things that are being taught to Donald is related to him through his dreams. Since he seems to not be listening to his parents and uncle, everything they teach him is unconsciously being absorbed and being taught to him in a way that gets through to him. His dreams are like old movies, so since that is what interest him that's the best medium for him to learn how to be a mature adult.

In class we talked about the difference between a male writer and a female writer. So far the differences that I see are that the story does not go very deep into the meaning of any one character's feelings, and as far as very emotional things it mostly lies on the surface. As far as similarities all the books deal with identity whether finding or losing it or accepting it. I think Donald Duk needs to accept his identity. I don't think he can fully become a mature adult until he stops practicing self hatred.

My first impression of Donald Duk
I liked the beginning of the book but now I feel like it is going to be mostly about his dreams. I don't really like how Chin starts the chapter in his dream. I actually thought King Duk took Donald to an herbalist until he started dancing with Fred Astaire. Its a little confusing. I like the fact that its a coming of age story, so hopefully this novel will have a distinct ending. I also like the fact that it shows more of the Chinese culture as far as their practices and all the 108 warriors and traditions. I hope Arnold can teach him to appreciate his culture.

How can Arnold and Donald have the same dreams?

I enjoy when Donald goes into the day dreams dancing with Fred Astaire. It is very classic, its almost as if i'm reading the book like a black and white movie. Through his dreams, I think that is where he learns to mature into an adult. He won't listen to any one else but himself, so its through himself that he learns to grow up.

my thoughts

In the class discussion of Donald duk some things came up that I wanted to talk about.
The word SIFU came up, no one seemed to know what it was. Answer. In Chinaness tradition Sifu is what an elder of an an art or skilled work is called. Its most common use would be when a student refers to a teacher as their Sifu. but any one how is an apprentice under a Master of art or a skilled craft will sometimes refer to their mentor as Sifu.

Another thing that struck me as important were the dream secqueces. Dreams are very symbolic. Many in psychology believe they are expressions of our concuss worries or our unconsus thoughts. In Donald duk's case i think his dreams express the side of himself that actually wants to know more about his family's past and heritage. Because he spends every waking moment rejecting his Chinese heritage, his mind spends his sleeping hours reaching out to it to try to reach a fuller self understanding that his own consciousness has yet to grasp.
the

The last thing that came up was the idea of the Mandate of Heaven philosophy. That was the Chinese philosophy that stated that Heaven blessed the ruler so long as he was a good ruler but if he failed in his duty's the Mandate would then pass to another more suitable ruler because in his failure he would loss the blessings of the heavens. but the ruler had to usually be of Nobel birth, that was also a condition. I found it curious that the author put this next to a line about European kings given the god given right to rule by way of blood because in base they are exactly the same but they were made out to be different.

Identity.. Again!!

I must agree with one of other students that Donold Duk is very interesting, relatable, and written very nicely. The common theme that links all our reading together is Identity. Donald Duk struggles with his identity becuase he basically doesnt want to be like his "chinesse" Family. I hope the author doesnt leave us with out any explanation as to why Donald dislikes his culture and why Arnold is so interested in it... Lets read on and see!

First Impression of Donald Duk

I've read the first 50 pages of Donald Duk and I am very interested to see how this book will pan out. I'm very happy that we've moved away from Sui Sin Far's flowery writing and I pray that Chin doesn't leave me with the same dissatisfied feeling that Ng did. I'm interested because, while we've always been reading about family, it's mostly been about married adults or very young children trying to assimilate several years ago. For once, we're reading something relatable in that Donald is young, the writing is contemporary, and some of us might've had someone like Donald in our school (or maybe we felt/feel like we were/are Donald now!).
On another note, I'm curious to see how his friendship with Arnold will develop. Perhaps Arnold's respect and curiosity for the Chinese culture will spark Donald's?
Also, will that man on the roof reappear? I'm still trying to figure out his purpose.

I hope Donald Duk is as interesting as it began!

Orientalism

The writing on orientation discusses the many difference of oOrientalism and orient at different period of time and as well how other my have view it. The writing point out the how the orient define the west because of the contribution it had provide to the west.

Ona's Suicide

Una Leong suicide is symbolic the trumatic and the repression of an transform of individuality. Una's suicide continue to hunt the novel, because the reason for Una's suicide is never found out. This leaves the reader with a strong desire to find out what was the caused of Una's suicide.

Bone Symbolic

The novel Bone by Fae Myenne Ng, real symbolizes the need to have an identity. It also portrays the lives of chinese immigrants in America, their hardship and difficulty in adapting to the American lifestyle and culture. The fact that that similar stories are told in this bone, is symbolic of the fact that there are people from the chinese culture who comes to America and are still trying to find an identity. When people moves from one place to the other is affects their identity. Most persons from other cultures, in particular the chineses struggles to find an identity. Many of them are strong influence to change their identity. Many become lost in the cloud of trying to find an identity. Trying hard to fix in with the American culture causes them to become depressed and block off in their minds because their chinese indentity is being question all the time which makes them feel that they have to find a new identity.

Secret! Secret! Secret!

All the characters in "Bone" have a secret, the secret that was passed down to the children from the parents. The "don't let the neighbors know" what we doing. We don't know why or what led to Ona's death, she went to the grave with that secret. Leila also kept the secret she knew about Ona to herself, Leon is still bottled up with the secret of his real identity, who he really is and who belongs to. It is not surprising the way it ended because they live in a world of secrets.

Character Traits

If I may generalize Asians' personal traits, the author draws all of the characters very mysteriously and secretively in a way to describe the introverted and non-confrontational nature the Asians are(were). There are mentions of specific characters being kept to themselves like Ona how she had secrets. But it's not just Ona who is mysterious. All the characters in Bone keep to themselves withholding their emotions and thoughts. Especially the loud mouth (when he wants to be) Leon. --- In class, there were alot of critiques on how disatisfying the story was and how it ended with a lot of loose ends. Personally, I see it fits. Growing up in Asian culture, I've learned to deal with that not everything is transparent. If there are some gray areas, you don't always question but just accept. Not everything is said and explained. In western, people ask why out loud, but in Asisn culture, people ask why inside. ----While Leila narates throughtout the book I could feel the sense of pauses she makes as if to takein all the unsaid gray areas she was revealed to. And she asks herself why.

ANNOUNCEMENT: No class Wednesday

For Monday, read "Orientalism" and the first fifty pages of Donald Duk. If you need a copy of "Orientalism" I can email you one.

Please continue to comment on Bone in light of what we read in class and "Orientalism".

Completion in Bone

The idea of completion is one that came up numerous times in Bone, especially in regard to Ona. I think that that was significant because Ona seemed to be the one that completed the family. As she was close to Leon, she felt his happiness and his sadness. As the middle sister, her personality seems to lie somewhere between Leila's and Nina's in that although her life does not revolve around Leon and Mah like Leila's does, she also does not want to escape from home to the extent that Nina does. Although not much is seen about Ona's relationship with Mah, one can see that Ona was vital to the family dynamic. The conclusion of the book left us with many more questions, however, and not very many answers.

Finishing Bone

I've finished Bone and I'm not sure that I'm completely satisfied with how it ended. I'm happy Leila went into further detail on Leon's failed laundromat because I now understand Ona and Osvaldo's situation better. While I don't know if their breakup was Ona's complete and only reason for committing suicide, seeing the way Ona was torn between Leon and her relationship makes her suicide easier to process. I was thankful for Leila recap of her mother and father's quick relationship. Unfortunately, the way he abandoned his wife and child made the story that much more depressing.
I can't say I didn't like the book because the way it was written kept me wanting to know more and more about the characters... but it's conclusion left me feeling unfulfilled. I assumed something major would happen and everyone would be forced onto the right track, but that didn't happen. I assumed we'd learn more about Mah and Tommie, maybe even that Ona was HIS daughter, but Leila came to the random conclusion that Leon was the one Mah wanted. I found this somewhat hard to believe the way she chose him to be her husband, choosing him over others since he's be away at sea a lot.
The way the story was written made me believe every single one of its mysteries would be solved in the end, but I find myself feeling sad for the Leong family.

There are a few themes in the story, but at the end of reading this book, I thought there was one that really stood out. At the end is where Lei finally explains what happened with Ona. It was because the whole family had gotten exploited in the laundry business because of Luc. He was using his chinese friends as cheap labor. This I thought connected to today's world, where China=Factory of the world, or cheap labor. Ona's family was unpaid. Leon had no idea where the money was going, because he was always in the shop. I think Ona loved Leon the best, because of this, I think this is why she killed herself. Leon did not want to have anything to do with her because of Osvaldo and the whole bad business deal. Leon disowned Ona and did not try to make her happy. So it was like she could not have both. It was one or the other but I think she hated to have Leon always criticizing and yelling at her, so she killed herself. She was so close to Leon, it was like her whole life tore apart when Leon threatened to disown her.

Bone

The backward forward writing of bone seem to highlight the importance of Ona life. Ona has touch all the characters in the writing. The deep keep secrets of this family all surround Ona life, even with Tommie this infer that Tommie may truly be Ona father. Mah hiding of Ona ashes when someone enter the store confirm that she is hiding the truth about Ona. This story leave you with a lot to put togaed about Ona life and death only a true imagination can capture it.

Bone-- Counting

Numbers and counting seem to be a very important element in this book.  In the very least, counting was important to Ona.  In fact Leila boldly describes Ona's passion for counting; "Ona was right about the counting.  Remembering the past gives power to the present.  Memories do add up." (88-89).  In addition, it is interesting that Ona jumps from the thirteenth floor because Leila describes 13 as a lucky number in Chinese, but what she fails to relate is that it is a common unlucky number in America.  I ponder whether Ona was trying to relate a message.  Perhaps with her unusual job as a waitress, her boyfriend that was not approved of by Leon, and finally her choice of where to jump from.  It seems like Leila was right, Ona being the middle child, she did not know where to fit in whether it be Chinese or American culture.  Even at the end of the book when Leila describes "the old blue sign, #2-4-6" (193) she is still taking to heart the fact that her sister used counting as a means of memory.  Remembering this, Leila keeps a piece of Ona in her heart when she reads the sign in this way in order to remember "Salmon Alley, Mah and Leon" (194)

 

Are there any more instances of counting or numbers that you found, and feel emphasize this book?

Bones---Who is Ona?

I think Ona is a mixture of Leila and Nina, because she absorbs all of her feelings and puts her family first most of the time, like Leila; and does things that only she wants, without thinking of others, like Nina. In some cases these traits can be good and admirable, as seen in both Leila and Nina. The good part of Leila's personality that I think Ona exhibits is that she puts her family first; that is a great quality until it becomes a burden. The good part of Nina's personality that Ona exhibits is that she puts herself first and does what makes her happy; dating Osvaldo made her happy, although we do not know what exactly happened between them, I think it was a good relationship for her, relieving stress like Mason does for Leila. But maybe the wrong combination of these two personalities and the stress that Ona felt led to her tragic death. Maybe absorbing all the negative feelings of her family makes her extremely depressed, and instead of releasing it through anxiety, like Leila with her chronic back pain, she behaves recklessly without thinking, like Nina moving from New York to China to become a tour guide.

Who do you think Ona is based on what little information we have on her?

Reality

Ms. Ng is a very reliable author. What she writes in her story is a reality in many people of Chinese descent. Of course, not including the suicide of a sister, but the culture and the way the Chinese people live is all very true. She portrays a Chinese family very accurately. Nina is very Americanized. Leon is the China man who wanted to make it big but never did. America was said to have streets made of gold and to be the land of opportunities, but to Leon, everything and everyone failed him. Lei tries to be the tie between two different generations. Mah is stuck living in the past, unhappy with the events in her life. The daughters, like most Chinese children, are very obedient to their parents up to a certain point. Like Nina, she wanted to live a life of her own after a while and wanted nothing to do with her Chinese culture or family issues.

Leila & Nina

Just to reiterate what was discussed in class today, I respect Nina and Leila for different reasons... But I probably like Nina more.

I respect Leila because family comes first for her. After Ona committed suicide, she stayed very attached to Mah and Leon, opting to live at home even though it was putting a strain on her relationship with Mason. Whenever either of her parents need help with something she (or Mason) is always there for them. As depressing as it is for her, she stills stays overly committed because as the only child she feels she has no choice. I feel for her though, her stress becomes actual physical pain while she continuously seeks answers for herself and family.

I respect Nina, on the other hand, because I'm a strong believer in doing for yourself and making yourself happy instead of depending on others and apparently so is she. Even though she might come off as selfish to her family for moving to New York, I can't blame her for trying to start a new life. Like I said in class, people deal with sadness differently and she chose to escape it by literally leaving.

I respect them both but I only wish that Leila thought more about herself and that Nina wasn't SO distant.

-Frances

family

In "Bones," there seems to be a lot of separate stories going on at the same time. the reader doesn't know why Ona killed herself, or what was going on in her life. Leon does not speak much. Mason wants to start his own shop. Mah is constantly grieving. Nina has her own life in New York. I think this is a nice way the story is written. It gives me a lot of perspectives because it revolves around everyone's life. And everyone's life is connected by the death of Ona. Her death bought on a lot of suffering to everyone, but its made her family realize what they truly want out of life. Sure the family separated and things aren't as smooth as they used to be but I think everyone went to live the life they always wanted.

Bones---Disrespecting ones parents

In class I brought up that some of the things Leila said were disrespectful of her mother, "What wasn't simple was my guilt about having a better life than Mah. She married my father for a thrill and Leon for convenience." (p.10) I think that feeling guilt is okay as long as you do not undermine all the hard work someone has done for you. She sounds ungrateful and patronizing to me, especially in the second sentence. She has no right to judge any decisions her mother made in her life because she did not have to live through all the things her mother did. It reminds me of the scene in "A Raisin in the sun" when Beneatha gets slapped by her mother for over stepping her boundaries with her opinions. I feel Leila over stepped her boundaries by calling out her mother's failed marriages.

Bone- "Goodwill"

I think that it is interesting that the Goodwill store is mentioned so heavily in chapter one.  For one thing, the family might not be the most well off, but they certainly do not need to shop at a thrift store.  In fact Leila even comments on how she remembers that she used to live in a much smaller space when she is visiting all the parents of her students.  It might just be that Leon, being much older, is used to thrift stores because they bring in an older crowd.  For some reason, however it feels like the stores' name is much more important than the aspect of shopping there.  I think the term good will must have an important meaning as the story progresses.  Perhaps Leila is guiding us along because she wants to show us how tolerant she is of everyone else, even the old men sitting at the square who comment about her so obnoxiously.  Maybe Leila’s quest to show everyone good will, in turn others, such as her family will lighten up to her marriage.  We shall see!

Bones

This book speaks to a family of Asian decent dealing with the bias of there community and the older daughter acting as the care taker for the family. The older daughter also act as a missionary for the community.
This view give a more up to date look of some of the obstacle they face in modern times that are some of the problems in older times. Leon even with his odd ways attempts to keep the family together. Mah seem to be preoccupied with her on grief and very much in trench with the old way of thinking of her country. Is this why they can not come to her and inform her when they the children get married? The book is call bones because people all way have a bone to pick with others.

Bones

What caught my attention as I was reading this new book, was when she said "For a paper son, paper is blood." I also thought this book was a little more in detail like the Joy Luck Club. the Ms. Ng writes is very nice and the way her words flow, I think is smoother than Sui Sin Far. I think her writing is more realistic.