China Coin Identity

In the second section it represents the women fighting for their freedom. The movements are a lot more circular in this section. It uses more contractions, releasing & vibratory movements. In the first two sections, the dancer shows the struggle being not only physical but emotional also. She does this by the powerful expressions she uses on her face. She even imitates a couple of screams that play in the song ‘Been On A Train’. This gives the audience a clear understanding of the how she is feeling.

Similarly, in 'The China Coin" in the beginning Leah reflects, "before the coin, the Chinese were them" but as a result of her self - conscious attitude and desire to fit in she thinks "She looks like me, The same size as me, the same smile as me. I could be her''. The use of self-reflection and sibilance creates emphasis that Leah independently concluded that she has an inextricable bond to China and the two halves of her heritage. These texts depict through the acceptance of one's identity an individual can achieve a sense of

In the 1999 novel “Chinese Cinderella”, author Adeline Yen Mah explores the theme of acceptance and belonging throughout the novel, as a result of her tragic childhood. The autobiography reveals the experiences of a young Chinese girl called Adeline, and her sense of isolation. The young girl is neglected by her family because she is being held liable for the death of her mother, who died during childbirth and leaving the family in poverty. As a result of this his heart-wrenching story, the author challenges the idea of belonging in an unkind family, to ultimately depict a sense of loneliness

Amy Tan’s ,“Mother Tongue” and Maxine Kingston’s essay, “No Name Woman” represent a balance in cultures when obtaining an identity in American culture.  As first generation Chinese-Americans both Tan and Kingston faced many obstacles. Obstacles in language and appearance while balancing two cultures. Overcoming these obstacles that were faced and preserving heritage both women gained an identity as a successful American.

As a child, Waverly didn’t enjoy following her mother’s rules and Chinese tradition. At that age she would’ve loved to get rid of her Chinese features. But as an adult, Waverly seemed concerned that she would fit in with the locals during her trip to China, and upset when her mother told her that the people would know that she was a foreigner. Instead of trying to reject her culture as before, Waverly seems to want “the best of both worlds”, a way to embrace both her American lifestyle and Chinese culture. However, her mother, Lindo Jong, deemed the attempt at balance “too late” and describes her daughter as “American-made”.

* They learn that the protests are not just in one place, but all over China. Joan is worried about their safety and about being trapped in China.

The tale “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luch Wang depicts the story of three characters, Monkey, Jin, and Danny. They all have the problem of fitting into their new environments. Jin Wang has to deal with Asian stereotypes. Danny has to deal with embarrassment of his cousin. Lastly, Monkey has to deal with the fact that there is no position for him in the heavenly ranks. However, over time, these characters have to come together to fit in. Yet the question remains: what exactly about fitting in is the problem? Although Jin Wang takes the form of Danny to reject his Chinese roots, the embarrassment of Chin-Knee shows he cannot hide behind a false American identity, thereby delineating that race is the source of his problem.

Known for her notable achievements in memoirs and fiction, Maxine Hong Kingston published China Men: a literature composed of stories about Chinese men in her family. One story distinguishes the heroic journey of grandfather Ah Goong. Ah Goong worked to build the railroad, but was driven out when it was completed in 1869; he then became a homeless wanderer in San Francisco. Upon hearing this fact, Kingston’s family called him Fleaman as “they did not understand his accomplishments as an American ancestor, a holding, homing ancestor of this place” (Kingston 151). What Kingston actually meant by Ah Goong being “an American ancestor” was that he had many accomplishments, but those achievements weren’t communicated to Kingston’s family. To support this claim, I will talk about how Ah Goong’s accomplishments were silenced by photography and by unfortunate circumstances.

Waverly is struggling with her cultural identity during her coming of age as a Chinese

Cultural conflict is something that we will experience, sooner or later in our everyday lives. Both LFA and GUAIA depict characters that find their cultural backgrounds hard to cope with, but they each draw attention to different reasons for these difficulties. In the novel, “Looking For Alibrandi”, written by Melina Machetta and the anthology, Growing Up Asian in Australia edited by Alice Pung, we perceive similar reasons why the characters find their heritage subjugating within the broader Australian context. The protagonist of ‘Looking for Alibrandi’, Josie discovers her true identity and breaks free from her mother and grandmothers cultural boundaries, guidelines and strict expectations. The collection of short stories in ‘Growing up Asian in Australia’ depict characters that are facing cultural conflict due to having an ethnicity that diverges from the majority. Both of these iconic texts

Jack’s predicament with finding himself being stuck between his original lifestyle and new desire to fit in was cleverly established in the story, drawing my sympathy, as I have also personally experienced this struggle. In the middle of the story when Jack began to realize that his Chinese life was different from others’, he narrated, “Mom learned to cook American style. I played video games and studied French” (4). These succinct sentences stood out, as the surrounding

We have all been in a situation where we have immigrated to a new country for different reasons regarding, better future, or education. In the book Jade of Peony, Wayson Choy describes a struggle of a Chinese immigrant family as they settle in Canada, through the perspective of three young children; Liang, Jung, and Sekky. Each child describes his or her struggle, while settling in a new country. The family struggles to keep their children tied to their Chinese customs and traditions as they fit in this new country. The Chinese culture needs to be more open minded as it limits the future generation’s potential. Chinese culture limitations are seen through the relationship expectations, education, gender roles and jobs.

June May is a 36-year-old woman of Chinese decent. She grew up in San Francisco, California and has never known what it is to be Chinese. She has denied any sympathy to the culture and it has a lot to do with the relationship she had with her now gone mother. Her mother believed that “Once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese.” She also told June May, “Someday you will see, it’s in your blood waiting to be let go.” June May simply did not understand what her mother meant when she said, “I saw myself transforming like a werewolf, a mutant tag of DNA suddenly triggered, replicating itself insidiously into a syndrome, a cluster of telltale Chinese behaviors, all those things my mother did to embarrass me-haggling with store owners, pecking her mouth with a toothpick in public, being color-blind to the fact that lemon yellow and pale pink are not good combinations for winter.” This shows that June May’s perception on what it is to be Chinese is greatly isolated to the things she saw her mother do. She has never been submerged in the Chinese culture and does not understand how she could become Chinese. More importantly, she does not understand the true desire of her mother’s heart in reuniting

“Billy initiates the music in his life. He has the potential to triumph over his environment. The lyrics of the soundtrack are also noteworthy, as they imply that Billy is a born dancer.” (Lancioni, 2006, 718)

In the personal essay “My Mothers Tongue” (1990), Amy Tan, widely known author explains her insights on language and culture identity using details and memories from her own life experiences. Tan conceals that the language in which her mother used with her “was the language that helped shape the way [she] saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world” (1208) and in the process it made her who she is today as an author. Tan illuminates the euro centricity of the Master Narrative by retelling stories of her mother being treated poorly because of her “broken” or “limited” English. She recalls many past experiences where her mother suffered from bad service and treatment from restaurants, stockbrokers, and even hospitals. Using examples from her personal life Tan gets her point across about language and culture characteristics in order to show how Chinese culture is affected by the master narrative and also encourages others to include a variety of cultures in order to overcome bias opinions. Tan’s apparent audience can be ranged from the child of an immigrant to a doctor and offers an authentic and rich portrayal of Chinese history through her conflicting experience of her Chinese and American cultures.