This book is the White Umbrella, by Gish Jen. This story is a realistic fiction book about a girl who is Chinese American, and whose mom started working. The narrator tried to keep it private, but her sister didn’t care. They went to a piano lesson, and afterwards the sisters sat outside in the rain, and waited for mom. The sister came inside, but the narrator wouldn't, so the piano teacher gave her a white umbrella. Then, on the car ride home she hid it in her clothes, but her sister felt it and asked the narrator what was in her skirt. This distracted her mother and they then hit the car behind them at a crosswalk. The narrator thought her mom had died, and this caused her to sob, but thankfully, her mom didn't die. After the narrator got …show more content…
One of them is being overly worried. First, on page 7, she shows she’d rather stay in the rain than reveal her mom was working. She was worried people would feel bad for them or judge their family for it. Another trait she has is jealousy. On the 4th page, she wishes she had what she thought was Eugenie’s umbrella, and that she was like the other girls at her school. The narrator wanted the umbrella so much that when Eugenie left the umbrella behind, she considered asking to bring it home and giving it back to Eugenie just so she could have it for one day. This shows that rather than being thankful for what she had, she wanted more. Finally, the main character cares a lot about how others think about her. On page 2, she said she had a convertible, and on page 5 she said her mom was a concert pianist, neither of which are true. Also on page 5, she thinks “I looked at the keyboard, wishing I had still a third, even more difficult piece to play for her. I wanted to tell her that I was the school spelling bee champion, that I wasn't ticklish, that I could do karate.” This tells me she wants people to think she had more than she did, and lied just so people would think more of her. I think all of these traits describe the main character of this
The narrator throws the umbrella into the sewer because it was the cause of the accident.She did not want to be haunted by the regretful moment that the white umbrella would remind her of. When Mona says "there is something under her skirt", the narrator's mother rolls the car slowly to a stop. Which caused them to block "the whole damn crosswalk". So they back up which causes them to hit the car behind them. On page 10 it states " We wouldn't have hit the car behind us that hard if he hadn't been moving too, but as it was our car bucked violently."
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston presents the story of a girl trapped between the cultures of her surrounding environment and that which her mother and family have forced upon her. Knowing only the Chinese way of life, this girl’s mother attempts to familiarize her daughter, whom is also the narrator, with the history of their family. The mother shares this heritage through the use of stories in hopes the narrator will be prepared for her ultimate return to China, which is a life completely foreign to her own. Through these stories and the strong influence of the surrounding American culture, the narrator’s life and imagination spin off in a new direction. She is confronted by
her ability to be high strung, which were likely to come from a background in which her father’s alcoholism affected her greatly.
The appearance of the main character plays probably the most crucial role in the foundation of her personality. From the description given by the author, it is seen that she is a good-looking young girl with long blond hair. She liked spending time in front of the mirror, examining herself from head to toes. She knew that she was beautiful and this knowledge also provided her with a sense of superiority over her
She realizes that maybe that was not the best choice. Right after Holling was talking to Mr.Hoodhood they all got in the car to drive away. “My mother blew me a kiss-really-and then she got in, too. And my sister got in last of all. She was smiling” (261).
In the article,” Why Chinese Mothers are Superior," author Amy Chua describes how parenting is approached in Chinese culture as compared to "Western parents." She compares Western and Chinese parents on how they approach their children’s' upbringings. She gives examples from her experiences raising her own daughters. Chua's daughters were not allowed to attend sleepovers and could not score grades any lower than an "A" in school classes. Chua also forced her kids in learning a piece for the piano. In separate story, author Amy Tan discusses the mother-daughter relationship in Chinese-American culture in "Two Kinds." This story is told from the viewpoint of an American-born Chinese girl named Jing-mei. Her immigrant mother, Mrs. Woo, believes that being in America is freedom and wants her daughter to take advantage of that freedom. Her mother has her try several activities in an attempt to
"I look at my homely sketch. It doesn't need anything. Even through the river in my eyes I can see that. It isn't perfect and that makes it just right" (198). This relates to her character traits because it shows her big emotions/expressions and that those emotions change her personality and reputation and that all gives her encouragement to finally finish and like her
The short story, “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, portrays a conflict between a Chinese mother and daughter. Jing-Mei mother, Suyuan, comes to America after losing everything in China. When she came to America, this is where all her hoped lays. She believes that anything is possible and that America is the land of opportunity. Because of this, she has high hopes for Jing-Mei becoming a successful child prodigy. So, Suyuan tries everything she can to find Mei’s talent. First, she tries to make her daughter into a Chinese Shirley Temple, but doesn’t work. Then she tries intellectual tests that were from known magazines, but that doesn’t work either. Finally, Suyuan decides that Mei would be a pianist. Suyuan gathered up her money to buy Mei a piano and
The novel is primarily about a woman who struggles in her search for self while trying to reconcile her beliefs with those imposed on her by society and the men in her life. Important symbols in the novel include, the horizon, hurricane, Porch, Janie’s hair, gates, the pear tree, Land ownership and wealth, Janie’s overalls. All of the symbols provide the reader with clues as to how and why Janie’s grows and developments into the person she becomes by the end of the novel. Horizon symbolises Janie’s life long search for happiness. Pear tree indicates that Janie is maturing sexually and mentally and her interest towards love and romance is increasing.
I have this theory that the general population sees their past selves as the underdog; the one who never fit it in during high school. Statistically most of them are correct. She played right into that. Her middle and high school story woes were told probably as a way to connect the universal underdogs. Her last line about a peer telling her that she knows that the author based the main character, the insecure underdog, on her helps prove that this strategy works and is successful.
Immigration is a big subject that is talked about a lot today. Many authors us immigration as a subject in their text to us different techniques. Many articles and novels use different ways to portray immigration. The red umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and “A band-aid for 800 children” by eli saslow, they both portray immigration in many similar and different ways.
For example she started crying in front of the whole class. The text says, “I’m crying like I’m three in front of the whole class,” this shows that she will give in easily and she will also break down and fall apart fast and show her emotions. Additionally, She didn’t fight back at Sylvia she just let it happen. She won’t stand up for herself when someone is making fun of her. Finally, she let Mrs. Price make her do something she didn’t want to do.
She was so upset, but would not say why she was so distressed. The boys figured out that she forgot the anniversary of her mother’s death and forgot to visit her grave. She took off drunk and angry to go visit her mother’s grave. On the way there, the boys believe, that she made an impulsive decision to end her life. She drove straight and fast into a jackknifed truck.
She then told her that she had visitors, and her aunt and uncle came through the door. They interrupted her thoughts, because their faces were red, most likely from crying. They brought her flowers, and set them next to her bed. None of them knew what was going to happen next.
the story two kinds from the joy luck club by amy tan is about that in the year 1949 the communist party took control over china. major number of the chinese fled to the united states of america. they hoped their children born here would have a bright future in this new country. the daughter of this chinese american citizen is forced by her mother to become a prodigy in everything. the mother makes her daughter to take piano lessons but the family cannot afford a piano teacher and a piano.