Posts
Read any story that we haven't read yet and write a review of the story and explain why it matters. Why should anyone care about the story/read it?
Ginseng Tea and a Pair of Thongs by Haitha Lee
The author presents a stark portrayal of an immigrant family from Vietnam surviving the slums in an attempt to transition into their new lives.
What is most confronting about the story is the raw objective style that the author employs. This description of Em suffering from allergies, a relatively minor difficulty, exemplifies the authors tendency to exaggerate the pain felt in this family. 'Her dull eyes, the white no longer white, the black with yellow...' This is a haunting description of a group of people suffering through their new life. This challenges the cliched version of the immigrant experience that usually include a narrative of hard work and perseverance triumphing.
Continuing with this stark writing style is the brutal honesty the author employs. The description of Youngest Con 'abnormally curious about sex' and possessing a brain hat 'thinks of being a lady' gives access deep into the psyche of the immigrant. This honesty is again confronting. It challenges the cliched representation of immigrants as quiet and reserved inside their new worlds. Here we have a family full of struggle both externally and internally.
The importance of this story is that it removes the veneer of the immigrant experience. It doesn't beg for sympathy or admiration but rather attempts to show the suffering that the immigrant transition often brings. The result is that the reader is left jaw agape wondering how people chose to live and made it through such experiences.
Ginseng Tea and a Pair of Thongs by Haitha Lee
The author presents a stark portrayal of an immigrant family from Vietnam surviving the slums in an attempt to transition into their new lives.
What is most confronting about the story is the raw objective style that the author employs. This description of Em suffering from allergies, a relatively minor difficulty, exemplifies the authors tendency to exaggerate the pain felt in this family. 'Her dull eyes, the white no longer white, the black with yellow...' This is a haunting description of a group of people suffering through their new life. This challenges the cliched version of the immigrant experience that usually include a narrative of hard work and perseverance triumphing.
Continuing with this stark writing style is the brutal honesty the author employs. The description of Youngest Con 'abnormally curious about sex' and possessing a brain hat 'thinks of being a lady' gives access deep into the psyche of the immigrant. This honesty is again confronting. It challenges the cliched representation of immigrants as quiet and reserved inside their new worlds. Here we have a family full of struggle both externally and internally.
The importance of this story is that it removes the veneer of the immigrant experience. It doesn't beg for sympathy or admiration but rather attempts to show the suffering that the immigrant transition often brings. The result is that the reader is left jaw agape wondering how people chose to live and made it through such experiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment