Summary Of Son By Yiyun Li

Throughout Jing-mei’s life, though she does not realize it, the people she interacts with and the trials she goes through all help her discover who she is, and help her find her own path in life. Not only does she learn who she is, but she also learns more about her mother; which helps her understand why her mother says and acts the way that she does. This knowledge of her mother helps Jing-mei realize that she needs to compromise with her mother sometimes, and she becomes more willing to embrace her

In the book Half Brother, by Kenneth Oppel, Ben Tomlin is a very thoughtful person because he is considerate, caring, friendly, and kindhearted. Ben Tomlin, the main character in the book, lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada with his mom, dad, and a chimpanzee, Zan. Some things about Ben is that he has curly hair, he likes to play Risk and pinball, and he does cross-country and photography. First of all, Ben is a thoughtful person because he is considerate of others, especially his friends and family. An example that proves this is can be found in Half Brother, by Kenneth Oppel on page 371, said by Ben. “I paused, because this part was hard to admit. ‘I didn’t love you at first, Zan. I thought you were weird, and I guess I was jealous, and sometimes I didn’t want you at all. But that didn’t last long. You were my little brother. I really felt that. That was never fake.’” This quote explains that even though Zan is a chimpanzee, Ben still loves him because he cares for him and wants what’s best for Zan, which is a family. Another time where Ben shows his thoughtfulness by being considerate of others is when he understands why Zan is being crazy. Even though Zan is fooling around and he can’t stop him, he is not mad at Zan because he knows that Zan is an animal after all, even though his family is raising him like a human. He knows that Zan is only having his temper tantrum and he knows that he can’t stop him because he is an animal, not a human. In Half Brother, by

In the novel A Daughter of Han by Ida Pruitt, the readers are taken through a journey of one woman through her life’s highs and lows. Through the eyes of Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai, readers can truly understand the life of a working woman during this time period. Although life may not have been easy at times, Ning Lao shows the determination and passion she had for her family and for their lives to be better. The life of a working woman is never an easy life but adding in the social rules and opium addiction that effected each part of Ning Lao’s life made it much more difficult.

While someone may seem one way in what they say and what they show on the outside, what they think and feel for just themselves to know is almost always different. In the 1900s, blacks were constantly treated sub-humanly by whites. In his memoir Black Boy, Richard Wright writes of the struggles of growing up a black boy in the south during that time and the mental strain it causes. Wright uses his narration to express the difference between what someone says and and what they think or feel and how the lack of ability to fully express himself was a prime cause of alienation.

Jing-Mei's mother became a crucial influence towards Jing-Mei's development and culture. Jing-Mei's mother believes her daughter has a musical prodigy, but Jing-Mei refuses to think so. However, Jing-Mei becomes obedient and tries to please her mother's dreams of raising a childhood prodigy. Jing-Mei states, "I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect. My Mother and Father would adore me" (Tan, 1997, p.19).

The flaws of filial piety are exposed when the characters see they are not being treated equally and their previous beliefs do not hold weight in their new society. The hope of the mothers is for their daughters to have the best of both worlds, the Chinese mothers berate their daughters to succeed in the American society but also to follow the values of their Chinese heritage. The daughters are against the ideas their mothers have taught them and abandon these traditions to adopt new American ideas. After the daughters go against their parents' teachings, they eventually remember the significances of family and follow their mothers' will. After Jin-Mei Woo goes to China she sees the significance of her mother's dream of having the best life for her and at that moment Jin realizes her true ethnic identity (Tan 307-308). In a sense the daughter create their own system of filial piety that involves a new modern approach to family ties and morals that still hold the values of traditional Chinese

The daughter's inability to comprehend her wants and mother’s intentions leads her to have a self-destructive revolt but in the end, apprehension of reality. Before the mother-daughter relationship started to crumble, Jingmei was quite avid to collaborate

Jing-Mei is angered at her mother when she whispers, “For unlike my mother, I did not believe I could do anything I wanted to be. I could only be me.” (Tan) Her and her mother fought a lot because of their different expectations in life. Jing-Mei’s mother believed one could do anything they wanted to do in America, but Jing-Mei just wanted to let life lead her where she is supposed to go. It is understandable how her mother is upset at Jing-Mei’s negligence because a mother wants what is best for her child.

Black Boy by Richard Wright is a well written novel that talks about him growing up in the Jim Crow south. By the title you know he is African American and living in the Jim crow south he soon found out that white folks were about to do more and were better than blacks. The two races were not equal and blacks were often discriminated, hated, and punished for the most simple things. Many were punished for simple things such as looking the wrong way at a white women, things that in todays society would be completely acceptable. Richard did not know why things were how they were in life, but he soon figured out. A huge theme for this book is hunger, the actual physical aspect of it and metaphorically he was hungry.

The differences between Jing-Mei and my life lie in the motherly relationship. Jing-Mei’s mother brings tests and obstacles to her everyday life, yet Jing-Mei “hated the tests” by “raised hopes and failed expectations” (717). Unlike her mother, my mother is never disappointed and does not expect much from me. Jing-Mei’s mother does not care about the way her daughter feels; when Jing-Mei asks her mother about why she does not like the way she is, her mother’s first response is a slap (719). On the other hand, my mother is easygoing with who I want to be. Jing-Mei

In today’s world, education is the key to our success as a society. With education we are able to do anything we set our minds to. The more educated we are, the more opportunities there are in the real world, but for some people that have less education they are stuck in a world in which they may not understand. In the book Native Son by Richard Wright our main character Bigger Thomas is a young black adult who lives in the south side of Chicago with his mother and siblings. Bigger has an education no greater than the eighth grade. And due to that, some of choices he makes come with consequences. One major consequence of Bigger not having a greater education is that he has a fear of the white people that live in the same city as him. The reason of that fear is that all his life he 's lived in the poor side of the city, and that he’s never learned to see these white people as equal human beings. We as a society should help people like Bigger who don 't have the resources that 'll help them become a better person and that help them have a brighter future.

From this book, we can learn that we can control our destiny. One important quote is, “And I am sitting at my mother’s place at the mah jong table, on the East, where things begin,” (Tan 41). It is important because it shows that Jing-Mei is ready to meet her half-sisters. Another one is, “[The candle] fluttered a little […] but still both ends burned strong. [I…] blew out my husband’s end of the candle,” (Tan 60). This is important because it shows that Lindo Jong wants to change her destiny. Another important quote is, “’In America I will have a daughter just like me. But over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch,’” (Tan 17). This is important because it shows that the woman wanted to change the destiny of her and her daughter. Overall, in the book, I enjoyed learning about Chinese culture with the mah jong and the candle being burned to see if a marriage will last. However, I could not fully understand the stories because I was not familiar with things like mah jong and the elements inside

Sw verse: It is a corresponding concept, merely emphasized by the fact that Han needed to protect himself since day one. Instead of having been raised with people around ( or at least, live in an

Interestingly, the narrator's mother does not apply this believe to herself. This demonstrates that she is attached to Chinese tradition culture that her opportunity in life was gone. She could not envision herself moving ahead. The narrator and her mother have similar history; however they went through a difficult time because they did not believe in the same culture. Furthermore, the narrator and her mother did not get along because they were raised

Sylvia Plath’s poetry is well known for its deeply personal and emotional subject matter. Much of Plath’s poetry is confessional and divulges the most intimate parts of her psyche whether through metaphor or openly, without creating a persona through which to project her feelings, and through the use of intense imagery. Plath’s attempt to purge herself of the oppressive male figures in her life is one such deeply personal and fundamental theme in her poetry. In her poem, “Daddy”, which declares her hatred for her father and husband, this attempt is expressed through language, structure, and tone. (Perkins, 591)