Writing Assignment 1
Family conflict affects everyone in the family however it’s more harmful to the children. Every family has a different approach in how they deal with the conflict. As a class we have read and discussed Caroline Hwang’s essay “The Good Daughter.” as well as Janna Malamud Smith’s essay “My Son, My Compass.” There is different approach illustrated by Hwang's and Smith's essay as they choose their own lifestyle and confront their parent’s arrogant behavior. Hwang essay explains how immigrant children are living a paradox, forcing her to keep her Korean culture and adapting to the American culture as well. Hwang also describes that her parents chooses her future lifestyle. Hwang decided that living up to her parents
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In other words Hwang’s parents caused her to have a lack of desire because of their pressure of expectations. Not giving your children the choice to choose their future can impact them. Hwang’s expectations had affected her own goals and ambition. The story illustrated that parents have a strong influence on their children whether it’s good or bad. Feeling indebted to your parents can be a problem either causing the child to go astray or become rebellious. Hwang also stated, “My parents expect me to marry someone Korean and give them grandchildren who look like them.” Forcing her to build a wall between the men she dated. Hwang compelled herself to not become emotional attached to anyone other than the Korean.
My son my Compass describes a change in a family that was initiated by the younger family member. Smith son convinced her and her husband to stop eating red meat. Beforehand the family was hesitant about the diet but as the story continued there was a development of acceptance. The decision had to be difficult for the parents to stick to. The parents sacrificed their happiness for their child. Only because they loved their son they were willing to listen, understand, and accept his views. The way Smith essay describes the situation may not always be handled as easy and simple compared to other families. It depends on the family.
People in similar situations may definitely react differently according to responses. I
The emphasis on individualism has provoked a deeper inspection of one’s personal values and beliefs while feminism has opened the door for a new type of traditional family to emerge with new dynamics between parents, children and their roles within the home. These new dynamics merge right along with cultural values as the two merge. In America, life is varied from home to home with different culturally-influenced family values. While throughout other parts of the world, different countries have maintained a balance within a core value system that affects all families alike through religion and a national way of life. There is no doubt that the many varied factors of modern society, ethnic background and religion all play significant roles in forming family values that shape the life of an
In the film “Corner Store” the structural functional approach can be applied to analyse the lives of the immigrant Korean family which stars in the film. The family in the film resembles and differs from many qualities that are found in Canadian families. One resemblance is that the parents in this family just want what is best for their kids much like every other parent wants for their own. They differ in the sense that they expect their kids to live according to their own culture rather than Canadian culture, or they expect their children to marry in to their culture and don’t give them much support in marrying outside of it. In doing this they put the children in an awkward situation as the children don’t want to disappoint their parents
Written by Margaret K. Pai, the Dreams of Two Yi-min narrates the story of her Korean American family with the main focus on the life journeys of her father and mother, Do In Kwon and Hee Kyung Lee. Much like the majority of the pre-World War II immigrants, the author’s family is marked and characterized by the common perception of the “typical” Asian immigrant status in the early 20th century: low class, lack of English speaking ability, lack of transferable education and skills, and lack of knowledge on the host society’s mainstream networks and institutions (Zhou and Gatewood 120, Zhou 224). Despite living in a foreign land with countless barriers and lack of capital, Kwon lead his wife and children to assimilate culturally,
In today’s society, family is often attempted to be organized within a social structure. Within this structure family typically is consisted of mom, dad, daughter, and son. However, many families do not fit into this configuration. These families may include same sex couples, separated or divorced families, extended families, or even blended families. Even though these families may be happy and healthy, to many they are not considered real families. Going along with the topic of imperfect families, both Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Rodriguez try to break down the traditional family structure through their writing. While Kingsolver’s “Stone Soup” and Rodriguez’s “Family Values” explore the ideas of different family structures and traditional American values, “Stone Soup” breaks down what an actual family is like while “Family Values” expresses the value of family in different cultures.
Higher expectations by first-generation immigrant parents also involve as intergenerational conflict in forming the American identity. In the article “Intergenerational
Families, which are basic units of human commit, are constructed from individuals with unique character; these individuals taken as a whole, construct the larger character of the family itself. However, because no individual’s character is perfectly compatible with another’s, there exist inevitable conflict within the family, such as can be expressed as conflict between the self and either another single member or the entire group. Naturally, the rational self will seek to ameliorate such as conflict, perhaps by simply accepting it as a natural part of human life. Other instances, which form the basis of the essay and find roots in essays by Alison Bechdel, Joan Didion, and Richard Rodriguez, occur when such acceptance does not. I strongly suggest that the common response to familial conflict, avoidance, that is, escaping the friction between human characters by refusing on some level to participate in family, introduces a new conflict. While Didion, Bechdel, and Rodriguez, provide textual support to the birth of this second conflict, I shall seek to explain its nature. Born of contrasting characters in family and self, conflict will not be replaced, but bolstered in avoidance. Thus, in acceptance, the self finds resolution.
A breakaway from tradition also includes a breakaway from family in the case for author Ha Jin’s short story, “Children as Enemies.” The story focuses on immigrant Chinese grandparents from the Xi family who came to America to be with their son and his children, only to be driven away by their grandchildren’s hostility towards everything Chinese that started with their dislike for their traditional names. The children are trying to Americanize themselves as much as they can while the grandparents are trying to keep everything as traditional as they can whereas the son of the grandparents tries to act as a neutral barrier of sorts that ultimately fails when the grandparents move out. The short story takes on the numerous themes but mainly the clash of cultures and how one’s heritage can potentially dwindle from one generation to the next.
Since the first immigrants moved into American neighborhoods, many issues have arisen between Americans and the Korean community. In 1911 and 1913,
women, children, and it also create cross-generational influences unique to every family. In using this example of Asian American families, Brooks (2008) suggested:
In every home, there is a different definition of family and how family should treat each other. Two short stories were read by an author named Flannery O’Connor. “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. It was about a dysfunctional family who encounters a criminal named “The Misfit”. The grandmother which is the main character is very judgmental towards others and sometimes her own family at times. This story starts off with a disagreement on where to go for a family trip, but they decide on going to Florida for the family trip after a while of arguing. On this trip, it showed what type of family they are. They talk about everything with one another as well as bicker and fight but at the end of the day, they are still family and love each other. They come together the most in panicking situations such as the accident and waiting for a car to help them. The point of this paper is the theme of family. Specifically, family is a theme in this short story because it depicts a dysfunctional family; the family you see on a crazy television show and can’t get enough of because they’re funny but also they have serious moments. There 's the two troublesome and annoying kids, the hot-headed dad who tries to maintain control of a situation and fails, the wife busy attending to the baby, and the grandmother, who 's a case all to herself (and also the main character). Though the story starts out seeming like a comedy, it takes a serious turn when the family encounters a criminal, who kills them
Family traditions are passed on from generation to generation, however they are not always static rules. Tradition is like a living organism that adapts to change over time. In order to understand modern North Korea’s family customs, it is important to consider the tradition of the past. Before North Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945, North Korean families operated differently than they do today. Their ideology was founded on Confucius’s principles of family, including “only a country where family life was harmonious could be peaceful and prosperous” (Asia Society). The family is an integral part of society the same way a cell is important to a body (Suzy, 264). The government is even considered “one family” that everyone is a part of (Monday). Every individual in a family has a role and every family has a role in society. The ideal family is modeled from Kim Il Sung’s nuclear family (Suzy, 268). It is clear that family is a fundamental priority in North Korean society.
Because America is such a diverse country, there are many differences between cultures of various immigrant groups. Members of each culture, have their own beliefs and values regarding what they think is right. The cultural diversity allows for each person to have a different view of things. Amy Chua’s essay “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” she describes her way of parenting her two daughters following Chinese values about education. She explains how Western parents are much more lenient than Chinese parents with their children and education. Chua gives examples of how she raised her daughter Lulu and Sophia which lead them to achieve success. She makes comparisons between Western and Chinese parenting styles throughout the essay and concludes that both types of parents want the best for their children, but just approach parenting it in different ways. In the article, “Chinese vs Western Mothers: Q&A with Amy Chua,” Amy Chua is interviewed by Belinda Luscombe where she clarifies how her Chinese method of parenting did not hurt her children the way many readers thought it did. Chua explains that her relationship with her two daughters is very strong and believes there are many effective ways of parenting in addition to the Chinese approach. Chua’s essay shows the Chinese immigrant approach to parenting and gives insight into why so many children of Chinese parents are so successful. Discussing the cultural differences shows the risk of stereotyping groups where feelings
In present-day society, families go through several problems and arguments regarding numerous issues which would have been considered unacceptable in past times. Throughout a variety of different cultures, the level of respect and obedience for one’s parents has diminished while the negotiation of conformity and rebellion has risen. This statement is supported and evidential in two different stories, “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Although these stories represent different cultures, they both exemplify the values and importance of family relations; as well as demonstrate in every culture families face social problems. In both these stories, two major topics stood out which allowed me to compare each one to one
The poem “Mothers and Daughters” is written by Pat Mora. Pat Mora is a contemporary award winning writer, who writes for children, youngsters and adults. She was born in El Paso, TX in the year 1942. She attains a title of a Hispanic writer; however, the most of her poems are in English. In her literary work, one can observe the different aspects of the immigrants’ lives such as language issues, family relationships, immigrants’ experiences and cultural differences (1187).
Ahn’s parents have many strong characterizations that lead to Ahn’s own development. Ahn father hold a strong, proud shoulder of what he believes in either it be his Korean culture or anything other cultures than his own. His father love to trying new ways to explore different culture and food in his spare time. While Ahn mother never grow comfortable in America as his father did she feel content while learning it though her children. Ahn mother had strong belief in upholding tradition culture even though they in America. She mostly speaks native tongue to him and only cook tradition home meal that she believes that it beneficial to him. She a realistic mother who does not try to give her children fall hope of their future. Half of Ahn progression