Fresh Off The Boat Analysis

Enstad mentions words such as “invisible” (57, 58), “unanticipated” (61), and “threaten” (60). These words indicate the unknown which stirs a sense of terror among her readers. The unknown remains a mystery, and there is no way to predict its movements. By doing so, she underscores the direness of the spread of this toxicity by pushing against this fear. Enstad even blatantly acknowledges the emotions she’s evoking by jeering that after reading her essay, readers might want to “sanitize one’s own environment” (63). As an author, she empathizes with her audience’s thoughts on her essay which allows her to relate to her audience thus, igniting a need to take charge and further analyze this toxicity that plagues Americans. It is common for a community of people to begin scrambling for solutions to an issue when the danger is imminent compared to a future problem. On the other hand, Kim’s article not only brings together a community for a common cause like Enstad’s but, she appeals to a different emotion through her use of a history strand. Kim’s history strand consists of phrases such as “imperialism” (3), “political turmoil” (4), and “immigrant” (4). She motivates her Asian American audience to unite due to the shared histories of the community. The cultural roots of Asian Americans are not often portrayed in American media and is not commonly discussed. Kim

Through the personal stories of his hair, love life, and behavior, Liu is able to show the effects of his assimilation. The second section deals with Liu’s struggles to conform to white stereotypes as an Asian American. With his personal anecdotes, he establishes himself as a more credible source to speak on the subject of assimilation. The second section uses narration to provide evidence about Liu’s definition of assimilation.

What this novel does not touch on is the harsh levels of discrimination that some Asian-American families faced during the 20th centuries, some people telling at them to go back to Vietnam, Korea, or wherever they came from, some refusing service, perhaps throwing them out for being different, similarly to how African-Americans were treated during that time, and similar to how some Muslims are being treated today. However, more insidious than moments of outright hostility, and maybe more powerful, are the constant weak reminders that you’re different, that you’re not one of them. The “sign at the Peking Express” (Ng 193), the “little boys on the playground, stretching their eyes to slits with their fingers” (Ng 193), you even “saw it when waitresses and policemen and bus drivers spoke slowly to you, in simple words, as if you might not understand” (Ng 193). All these tiny things, these little reminders that you’re not the same as everyone else around you, may have more impact on the people being discriminated against than blatant in-your-face

Many new arrivals still struggle to survive and often Chinese Americans still encounter suspicion and hostility. Chinese Americans have achieved great success and now, like so many others, they are stitching together a new American identity. As Michelle Ling, a young Chinese American, tells Bill Moyers in Program 3, “I get to compose my life one piece at a time, however I feel like it. Not to say that it’s not difficult and that there isn’t challenge all the time, but more than material wealth, you get to choose what you are, who you are.” (www.pbs.org)

The Asian American experience primarily narrates a story of hardship in assimilation into the American society. However, these stories are heavily nuanced depending on the generational perspective. The Asian American experience from the first generation emphasizes the practical concerns in surviving economically in a foreign land. On the other hand, the second generation recounts social and personal conflicts that primarily deal with questioning their identity. Given these differing Asian American narratives, these immigrant families are oftentimes confronted not only with clashing cultural values, but also mismatched perspectives on life. Asian American scholar, Erin Khue Nihn, examines these intergenerational conflicts using a socio-economic perspective in her novel, Ingratitude. Her argument builds on the economically driven mindset of the parental generation and concludes the following: “Asian American intimate relations reveal themselves to be profoundly ordered by capitalist logic and ethos" (Nihn 6). Employing Nihn 's interpretation, the parents enforce a strong adherence to their ethnic heritage, whereby these cultural reminders serve as a means of economic survival to provide stability within the nuclear family. Attempting to internalize these ethnic values while assimilating into society, the second generation becomes conflicted in resolving their Asian American identity. Essentially, the Asian

The United States is the "land of the free, and the home of the brave" according to the song, but there is a dichotomy that exists between those who have called the United States their home for a long period of time, and those who are immigrating to the US. Asian Americans are a group that very few think of as having difficulties because the stereotype is of a group that is intelligent and is actually doing better than the average American. While this may seem to be true, better grades in a school setting does not mean that people who come from other countries are not experiencing racism (both overt and subtle), stereotyping and alienation in this country. Although there has been some difficulty, many groups are experiencing newfound hope because of the actions that they are taking. The plight, and the hope of the Asian cultures are being documented by artists of different stripes who are eager to depict what has happened to Asians as they try to build their own America, and assimilate into the one that was built before they came. In this paper, the Asian American cultures will be examined through the art that has been produced over the many years that Asian people have striven to make their way as new Americans.

Summer is the pinnacle of almost every American’s vacation time. Warm weather, beaches, Fourth of July, and summer parties. This might not be the reality of most American’s summer, but it is for the cast of “Jersey Shore.” Jersey Shore is a reality television show, which was aired by MTV (Music Television) from 2009 to 2012, and showcased a group of six roommates and the time they spend together in the “Shore House” located in New Jersey over summer. These roommates include Nicole (Snooki) Polizzi, Jennifer (JWoww) Farley, Sammi Giancola, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, DJ Pauly D, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Vinny Guadagnino, and Angelina Pivarnick. The specific episode being analyzed is episode 4, season 1 “Fade To Black.” In this episode, the casts is still trying to get to know each other a little better and start showing their true colors. “Jersey Shore” targets an adolescent audience and tries to portray a style of care-free living. However, the cast demonstrates stereotypical gender roles and an unrealistic life of partying to relay this message. It is of popular opinion that Jersey Shore can be a bad influence on their adolescent viewers.

Hmong families, like the Lees in the novel “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” have been immigrating to the United States since the end of the Vietnam War. The majority of the Hmong living in the U.S. are now located in specific cities and regions of California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (Lee and Green 2010). The Lee family moved to the Merced, California in 1980 and has had to adapt to life in a new host country (Fadiman 1997). Acculturation is used to describe how the culture of immigrants changes over time as they adapt to living in a new country (Vang 2013). Fadiman’s depiction of Nao Kao and Foua Lee’s life Merced indicates the couple resisted shedding any aspects of their culture in favor of Western culture, which is typical of first generation Hmong living in the United States. This paper will discuss why Hmong families left Laos, the findings of two acculturation studies of Hmong living in the United States, and a discussion of possible reason(s) why it has been difficult for first generation Hmong like Nao Kao and Foua to adapt to life in the United States.

Making a name for oneself and starting a family is difficult, but it is even more arduous when it is in a completely new country with citizens who judge newcomers based on racial differences. In the face of such adversity, Joseph and Mary Tape swiftly assimilated themselves and their family into American society; in a time of intense political tension for Chinese immigration, they utilized their abilities to survive. By embracing their assimilation and connecting into their ever expanding prestige as middle-class Chinese Americans, the Tapes were able to act as ethnic and cultural brokers between the Chinese and American society. Though the Tapes were “at once powerful and marginal” as brokers, their unique social standing and abilities

“Rules of the Game” written by Amy Tan is a short story that focuses on the conflict in identity that Chinese Americans face when growing up with influences from both the cultures. The physical and social settings of “Rules of the Game” create an atmosphere which helps to bring out the true essence of the story. Amy Tan’s “The

As the immigrant population currently projected to overtake latinxs and hispanics as largest group of residents in the United States of America, Asian Americans have shown their will to survive in a way that many groups have not, and that is by banding together in order to achieve the life they deserve. Taking the overgeneralization of pan-ethnicity and using it as a device for increased numbers and support for the causes of a group of people who otherwise may not have much to do with each other, is a testament to how vulnerable they must have felt as well as how successful they have managed to be many aspects of progress. What I have gained from this course is the understanding that at the root of ethnic studies and the Asian American community is the “for us, by us” sentiment that contributed to the blurred lines between the different part of their communities as social, political and cultural, structures, collectives and groups which came out of an obligation and necessity to protect those immigrants and their future generations from a country which has always pushed European superiority in all aspects of society.

     The focus of our group project is on Chinese Americans. We studied various aspects of their lives and the preservation of their culture in America. The Chinese American population is continually growing. In fact, in 1990, they were the largest group of Asians in the United States (Min 58). But living in America and adjusting to a new way of life is not easy. Many Chinese Americans have faced and continue to face much conflict between their Chinese and American identities. But many times, as they adapt to this new life, they are also able to preserve their Chinese culture and identity through various ways. We studied these things through the viewing of a movie called Joy Luck Club,

The Asian American community undergoes a vicious cycle; Being erroneously presented in media, theatre, and other performance arts, which have thus racialized and stereotyped nearly the entirety of the community. With media and art representation being key to shaping the way that minorities are perceived in the 21st century, many are conditioned into believing false pretenses of the Asian American population after nearly a century of marginalization and racial misrepresentation. They are, at best, viewed as dignitaries. A people who are hard working, intelligent, and referred to as “the model minority.” At worst, they are cutthroat social climbers.

In episodes 14, when Emily Huang was found by the best tennis coach as natural tennis players’s potential, and the Even Huang was selected as the youngest personal checking account owner, the comedy used a different way to illustrate the characteristics of Asian Immigrants’ value. The idea of “Born to be” has been widely spread to all generation of immigrant through all mass media channels. Totes that parents give to kids likewise send a message for what those children belong and how they should follow what they are learning from the TV shows and acting as their

Elizabeth Wong is a Chinese-American playwright who wrote “The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl”. In her essay, she describes her resentment of her Chinese roots and her protest against her parents who want her to learn and appreciate her heritage and culture. Her essay exposes the pressure that society places on immigrant children to fit into the dominant culture. The proposed solutions to fixing this problem is thinking and implementing long term plans. I make the argument that his ethical problem of society placing such a heavy burden on immigrant children to fit into the dominate culture can be solved with the implementation of multicultural classes, language classes, additional counselors and child psychologists in public schools.