The first article was entitled "Fish Cheeks", by Amy Tan. The author details her struggles growing up as a first generation American being raised by very traditional Chinese parents. As a young girl, her desire to fit in with her peers tugged against her love and respect for her family. The short essay describes her family's Christmas dinner, at which the minister and his family are in attendance. The story continues as her mother serves a traditional Chinese menu, and the house is full of her traditional Chinese relatives. She is mortified that they are so different than their guests, and she can sense their discomfort with the situation as well. During her reflection, she realizes, many years later, that her mother had created the evening with all her favorite foods, in an attempt to teach her the following lesson: "...You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame". (Tan 111)
The second article, written by Sherman Alexie, is called "Superman and Me". This essay describes the author's childhood growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He is different from a lot of his classmates in that he loves to learn and to read, and is seen as incredibly intelligent. He sees his world in terms of words, and paragraphs, and his family as an essay. He goes on to describe that how he sees the world, exiles him from the other members of his community. Because Indian children were "expected to be stupid" (Alexie 584), and despite the fact that his classmates played the part in class, outside of school, in their community events and so on, they were smart too. He aspired to be more than what the world told him he was supposed to be, however. He now goes back to the reservation schools and tries to instill the same love of reading and writing that he has in the children there. To show them they can be as much as they want to be. His essay ends with the telling quote: "I am trying to save our lives". (Alexie 586)
I have chosen to do my analysis essay on "Superman and Me". I chose this essay because I feel as though I can relate more to this author's upbringing, as well as the situation he grew up in. I think his frame of mind is quite interesting in that the words in the books were all he had, and the hope for his future rested on those words.
Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. "Superman and Me." 1998. The Bedford Reader. By X.J. Kennedy et al. 12th ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 582-86. Print.
Tan, Amy. "Fish Cheeks." 1987. The Bedford Reader. By X.J. Kennedy et al. 12th ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 110-11. Print.
Commented on:
Susan
Kim
I also chose this essay. I feel as though when you are reading a book then the rest of the world doesn't bother you. Whenever I read a book it seems that whenever I immerse myself in the world of text, then whatever the situation in the real world is, just melts away.
ReplyDeleteAs I said in another comment, I chose the same one for the same reasoning :) I feel like the Superman and Me story is going to be picked by far, cause a lot of us seemed to love reading compared to kids nowadays. I don't really find many readers!
ReplyDeleteI love your last sentence "Words in books were all he had, and the hope in his future rested in those words." That was his escape from the tumultuous upbringing on a reservation and not getting fair enough treatment, especially when it comes to education. He's truly a fascinating author that I would recommend reading further. He's humorous, but real.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you described in your summary, Fish Cheeks how you must be proud that you are different and your shame is to only have shame. Great job on the details of your writting!
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