Growing Up Asian in Australia: Intro + Pigs Questions

Introduction by Alice Pung

1. What were Asian-Australians referred to as when the author was growing up?

2. How does she interpret this title?

3. What did this title actually refer to? Did the author find this demeaning? Why/why not?

4. ‘All that untapped potential! All that electrifying brain power!’ What techniques are being employed by the author? How does they highlight he misunderstanding?

5. What did the teen author take away from teen fiction? What did she feel that she needed to do? Why? What does this say is essential to fitting in to a culture?

6. Who are the authors that she turns to? Why?

7. In the third paragraph how does the author use repetition. How does it highlight the focus of this book?

8. What metaphor does the author use to highlight the writers and the writing style in the third paragraph?

9. Why does the author use a quote in the 4^th paragraph? What does it say about her reaction to the stories in the book?

10. On page 2 the author talks about the themes that she loosely choose for the collection. What are they and why is it ironic that they show up in this book?

11. At the bottom of pg 3 on to page 4 the author says that sociologists have described Asians as the ‘model minority’. What is meant by this? What difficulties arise out of this label for young Asian-Australians?

12. What are the editor’s hopes for the collection of stories?

Pigs from Home by Hop Dac

1. How does the author start this story which is in direct contrast to the title of the story? What effect does this have on the reader and their expectations of the story?

2. What core Vietnamese value is instilled in the author?

3. What is humorous about the mother’s ‘flair for natural medicine’ in regards to her personality?

4. How does the description of the killing of pigeons continue the style utilised in the introduction of the story?

5. What is the author’s opinion of pigs? Give two quotes to support your conclusion.

6. In the paragraph on pgs 53-54, give two examples of alliteration employed by the author.

7. On pg 54 what simile is used to describe pigs? How does this simile work for the situation it is used?

8. What simile does the author use to describe her mother sunning herself? How does this relate to the core focus of the story?

9. What does the author describe as ‘the divide between the old world and the new’? What do you think is meant by this statement?

10. What is the author’s reaction to the slaughter of the pig at night? What statement does the author make about the neighbours which displays the way he feels about the whole experience? What is important about including this statement?

11. Why don’t the parents have pigs anymore? How does this relate to the description of the burial of the last pig they owned?

12. How would you characterise the description of the mother’s treatment of the pig’s blood? Is it appetising?

13. What is ironic about the way the author has a popular Vietnamese dish? What is it about the way the author describes the experience of having pigs that makes it ironic?

14. How does this story relate to the title Pigs from Home?

15. Why do you think this story is in the Battlers section of the book?