Feng: M. Butterfly

The story starts around a French diplomat, Gallimard and a Chinese Peking opera singer, Song.  In the beginning, they work together for an opera, Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini. Song acts Cho-Cho-San, the tragic oriental young lady who is known as “butterfly” in this classical opera. In fact, as a lot of other singers for female characters in Peking opera, Song is a man. He acts and sings as a female when he shows in the Peking operas. However, in his real life, he also pretends to be an oriental young lady. He tries to be a perfect woman for Gallimard to love with, because he works for Chinese government and plans to get political information from Gallimard.

As an oriental beautiful lady, Song and Cho-Cho-San are kind of like. Both of them are growing under the similar oriental culture. Not only the oriental society puts them and all other women down than man; but also they follow the traditional training and innocently grow to be slaves for man. Both of them are weak oriental women who need to be protected. Within the background of the opera, Song’s well done of the acting and singing brings out the spirit of the character who known as “Butterfly”. Meanwhile, the characters of Cho-Cho-San add Song the oriental weak and tragic beauty. Through Song’s acting, Gallimard feels more the spirits of Cho-Cho-San. Moreover, he finds himself more form Song, because he thinks that he had found his perfect woman who he can love and who he can protect as he can protect the butterfly from the classical tragical opera.  

Because of the background of the opera, Madame Butterfly; because of Song’s well acting on Cho-Cho-San; because of Song’s good pretending, finally Gallimard falls in love with Song, and he trusts his own love. He lives with Song and he even believes that Song has bore a boy for him. After their separating in China and back together in Paris, for his perfect woman and his loving son, he spies for China. However, how he could image that his perfect woman, who he has loving for 20 years, is a man? At the end, he is arrested and is sent to a court where he just gets to know that Song is a man. After the court, when he is arrested with Song in a same jail, he does not have any courage to face Song’s body. He does not want to realize that his love one, his butterfly is a man. For so many years he lives with his own imagination.

At the beginning, Gallimard believes that Song is his butterfly who is weak and tragic oriental woman; Song is a perfect woman to him; Song needs his love and protection; Song needs to be saved. Nevertheless, 20 years later he finds that he only loves and lives with his own imagination for so many years. He finally finds that he is the real tragic role in his real life. He never finds his love, and he is utilized. He is the real tragic one, the tragic butterfly.

As the story goes to the end, Gallimard finds he is the real tragic butterfly, but how about Song? Does Song still proud with his pretending? (He was ever proud with his successful acting. After he getting Gallimard’s trust and let him to believe that he has pregnant for Gallimard, he said the reason for why for the oriental opera always male acts being female is because male know female will how to react with male.) In so many years, does Song even feel love with Gallimard? When he is arrested back to China, what is from his eyes when he sits in the plane and knows that at that time Gallimard was faced the punishments for his spying? At that moment what will be in his mind or what he would think about his life? Is “Life is like a drama, and drama is like life.” the only sentence he could think about in his mind?

Zena: Woman Warrior, "White Tigers"

Important terms and characters:

• Ideograph - a symbol that represents an idea
• Drinking gourd - a dried and then hollowed-out melon or squash, often oddly shaped, that can be used as a drinking vessel
• Baron - socially and economically, the most important group of landowners—next to a country’s ruler—during feudal times.
• Brave Orchid – Maxine Hong Kingston’s Mother
• Fa Mu Lan – A character in the Chinese Folk story derived from “The Ballad of Mu-lan”. This woman warrior fights in place of her father when he is drafted into the emperor’s army and returns home to her family and resumes her normal life after battle.

 

   The “White Tigers” chapter opens up with Kingston saying that she was taught that she could be more than a wife or slave. She remembers how her mother, Brave Orchid, would talk story about the woman warrior Fa Mu Lan. Kingston then fantasizes about being Fa Mu Lan.

      She follows a bird up a mountain until she reaches a hut. There, an old couple tells her that if she stays with them for fifteen years they will train her to become a woman warrior. She would then return to her village and avenge her village against the baron and robbers. She agrees to stay and for fifteen years she undergoes intensive training, both physically and mentally. She spent years trying to survive the forest of the white tigers.

      While she is away, Kingston watches her family from a water gourd that the old man gave her. She sees her wedding ceremony and later her brother and husband being conscripted into the army by the baron. She wants to go help them but she can’t leave until she is 22 and ready.

      When the old couple tells her she is ready to leave, they give her powerful beads. She returns to her parents with the vow to go and fight the baron's army. Early in the morning, her parents take her and carve oaths and names on her back as a sign of revenge if she got killed. When she recovers from the pain, a white horse appears and she puts on a man's armor, clothing and ties up her hair. She prepares to leave and the villagers volunteer the sons that had hidden during the last conscription to go and fight with her.

      She becomes a great warrior and has many victories. When she meets her husband they stay together for a little and eventually have a child. They tie the umbilical cord to a flagpole out like her mother used to do so it dries out. When the baby is one month old, she sends her husband and baby away. She again becomes the slim young man she was before but she is lonely, becomes careless, and is almost defeated. She eventually leads her people to overthrow the corrupt emperor and replace him with a peasant who understands the people. When she returns to her village, she confronts the baron alone and beheads him because he drafted the village boys and terrorized village so while he enjoyed the rich life. Afterwards, she returns to her husband’s parents to fulfill her filial duties by doing farm work, housework, and bearing more sons.

      As a conclusion, Kinston says that she and the woman warrior are not so different. “What we have in common are the words at our backs. The idioms forrevenge are ‘report a crime’ and ‘report to five families.’ The reporting is the vengeance—not the beheading, not the gutting, but the words. And I have so many words—‘chink’ words and ‘gook’ words too—that they do not fit on my skin.” (Kingston 53). Using her talent with words and talk story, Kingston will be a woman warrior and fight against prejudices against women and races that threaten the welfare of the people. 

      How Does Maxine Hong Kingston’s Fa Mu Lan differ from the traditional Fa Mu Lan? How are they the same?

Jamilah: Woman Warrior, White Tigers

In the second chapter, White Tigers, Kingston relates herself to Fau Mu Lan. She believes she is this great female warrior taking revenge on everyone. At the age of seven she wonders around and comes across an old couple and they ask her to stay for fifteen years of training to become a great warrior, and she does. She learns the dragon, she traines on the mountain of the white tigers and fended for herself, etc. Kingston lerned that her brother, and husband were drafted into war and she wanted to defend them. She returns home and learns of her faher going to battle. Se has decided to take his place and her parents tattoo her back "we are going to carve revenge on your back...we'll write out oaths and names. wherever you will go, whatever happens to you, people will know our sacrifice...she meant that evenif I got killed, people could use my dead body for a weapon(34)".  In this journey she seemed to immortalize herself. She was trained to be a warrior, which was unrealstic. She became a man (dressing in mens armor/taking her fathers place in war disguised by jst tieing her hair up), which is unrealistic. She gav herself such a presence and aora that the rabbit simply threw itself into the fire b/c it knew that's what she wanted it to do(demanding and powerful w/o saying a word), which is unrealstic. "The rabbit and i studied each other...it turned its face towards me and jumped into the fire...I ate it, knowing the rabbit had sacrificeditself for me. It had made me a gift of meat(26)". Kingston goes on to say that as she was about to leave for war a man joined her, then she mounted her horse and a rider from miles away came to join her, then entire village joined(and she was picky in who she chose), which again is unrealistic. "When I opened my mouth, the songs poured out and were loud enough for the whole encampment to hear; my army streched out for a mile(37)". She prides herself on being a fierce leader and wining battles and taking her revenge. Later in the chapter she finds herself losing her "manlyness" and becoming a woman again. This is where she gets captured in the woods and gets defeated. "It was during this lonely time. when any high cry made the milk spill from my breasts, that I got careless...springing off rom behind the branches came the enemy...they pinned me to the earth...(41)". If she was such a great warrior and trained for fifteen years then her sudden defeat is unrealistic. She says " I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so there is no room for paradoxes(29)". Women were trained to be a wife or a slave. Here she is defying that and thinking outside the box, which is thinking like a man or a woman who does not want to be married.

Towards the end of Kingstons story, the narrative becomes cartoon-like:
"who are you? What do you want?"
"I want your life in payment.."
"I haven't done anything to you..."
"I am a female avenger. Regret what you have done before i kill you."
"I don't know what you're talking about"
Then she shows him her breasts and since he is amazed by it, this is when she gets a chance to kill him.
Question: Why does Kigston end the story this way and what does it mean? Is this the end of her story? Is she poking fun at herself?

Maggie: Woman Warrior, "No Name Woman"

1. Identify and briefly define important words, terms, concepts, or characters.

The mother: is the one that that tells the daughter these family stories to scare her and make her aware of things that can happen but shouldn't.

The no name aunt: her "aunt" is the character in the first story she tells, the one not to be mentioned anymore because she was disowned for the reason that she brought disgrace and shame to the family and it's name

Family well: is a well that each household has that contains their water

Villagers: the ones that raided their home back in china when her "aunt" was pregnant

Family hall: it's a place sacred in the home where all the ancestorial posts are up and wit's where the family goes to pay respect to the ancestors or to pray when they want the past ancestors to do them a favor like watching over them or bringing luck when there are special events

Wings: headquarters are usually divided among each family (ex. parents in one wing, son and family in another, another son and his family in another, etc.)

Sojourners: people who visit temporarily, to live in one place for a short time 
 

2. Summarize the main idea, theme, action, or event of the reading.  Be sure to include quotations that best captures the overall feeling or mood of the reading.

      The No Name Woman is basically about her mother telling her about her father's sister that they don't mention anymore.  She isn't considered part of the family because she brought disgrace to the family and it's name.  Her mother tells her about the "sin" that her aunt had done which was get pregnant by a man which wasn't her husband.  Her mother tells her this horrible story because "Now that you have started to menstruate, what happened to her could happen to you.  Don't humiliate us.  You wouldn'y like to be forgotten as if you never have been born.  The villagers are watchful." she is on the verge of puberty and the mother is warning her that things like this might happen and she has to be aware not to let that happen to her other wise she will also be a "no name woman" that no one in her family will claim her as one of their own.(5)   
 

3. Formulate a question for discussion.  The question should be relatively substantial, based upon a specified passage or scene from the text, and capable of sustaining a thoughtful discussion.

Do you think it was necessary for the whole village to raid their home just because her aunt was baring someone elses baby other than with her husband, to the extent that they destroyed everything that the family owned?                                       

"Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on.(5) By this quote her mother told her plenty of stories so what was her purpose in telling us this story of her aunt instead of another story that she was told?

Angelique: No-No Boy

Ichiro- He is a No-No Boy. He is constantly regretting the fact that he didn’t go to war and that he lets others influence and get to him. He also constantly speaks of his mother negatively. She is a burden to him and with her in the way he is not able to decide for things on his own.

No-No Boy- anyone who answered no twice when being questioned to go to WWII.

Mrs. Yamada- a very stubborn and controlling woman. She meant no harm to anyone, and always wanted what was best for them. She became a burden for both her husband and her son and there was no remedy to it.

Mr. Yamada- a weak man, both physically and emotionally. He was easily swayed by his wife and just went where the wind blew him. He didn’t agree with Mrs. Yamada when she believed Japan had won the war but never said a word and never said much to Ichiro either. He was also someone Ichiro resented very much.

In chapter seven Mrs. Yamada commits suicide. Ever since Ichiro came home she’s been trying to convince him that it was a good thing he didn’t go to war and that everyone back in Japan is ok and that they really did win the war. Nothing nor anyone can seem to convince her otherwise and Ichiro constantly gets frustrated with her. When she first receives the letter from her sister she refuses to read it and so Mr. Yamada does it for her. After he reads a portion of it all she says is, “ “Not true. I won’t listen.” She did not, however, move. Nervously, she rubbed her palms against her lap.”(p.109) This makes her feel uneasy and nervous. Deep down inside she truly believes that Japan is the best place in the world and more powerful than anything else. She believes that her son made the right decision in not going, and that Japan won the war. This is her first big wake up call and after this her beliefs are still strong but the downfall begins.

“ “Oh, they are so clever,” she suddenly said very clearly in a voice slightly nasal, “even to the secret which I had long forgotten. How they must have tortured her to maker her reveal it. Poor, poor sister.” ” Both quotations show her great disbelief in the letter from her sister and it shows the intensity of the denial that she is in. If anyone were to change anyone’s mind you would believe it to be a close relative, especially since she was told a secret only the two of them knew. But Mrs. Yamada’s case is a severe one, which in the end takes her to her death. She can’t take any longer all that has been going on. She sees no improvement and she is the only one who still believes strongly in something that no longer is true. The scene where she drowns herself in the tub is a significant one. At this point Mr. Yamada has lost hope and has turned to drinking to soothe him and Mrs. Yamada has entered a depressive state where she has no desire to do anything for herself. Mr. Yamada doesn’t react much when he doesn’t hear the water from the faucet turn off quickly and when he heard gurgling coming from the bathroom. When Ichiro gets home is nervous at first that the bathroom has overflowed and the door is locked but once he realizes she is dead, he insults her as he speaks to himself. He is relieved that she is dead, and even mentioned that to him she has been dead a long time.

This is the breaking point where both Ichiro and Mr. Yamada, are free. They no longer have someone overbearing them and controlling what they do and what they believe in. This is the point where both begin to live more freely and happily. The changes in both are pretty abrupt but they are for the better.

If you were in Ichiro’s shoes would you have reacted the same way? If so why, and how was it that the fact it was your mother died didn’t change your feelings one bit?

Ruzanna: "Rice Husband"

In the reading “The Rice Husband”, by Amy Tan there are a few important characters that have a great impact on the story.  One of those characters is the mother who lives in San Francisco. The mother has a strange ability to foretell bad events that will occur to or within her family. This is called Cunwang chikan, which means that one thing, will lead to another. When Lena was a child the mother saw that Lena’s future husband will not be a good one. This thought had convinced Lena that her marriage may not be as great as she thought it would be.  The mother also has a tendency to always complain about everything. An example of her complaining was when she was criticizing Lena’s home. She seems very unsatisfied with the decorating decisions that were made in the house.

      Another important character is Harold who is Lena’s husband.  Harold is a very educated man and has a prestigious occupation. He actually made his own firm with some convincing from his wife.  He makes a higher income then Lena. Therefore his decisions and opinions are considered more than Lenas.  He doesn’t like cats especially their cat Mirugal. His favorite desert is Lena’s worst favored desert, ice cream.

      The most significant character is Lena. Lena is a very insecure individual.  She is easily convinced not only by her mother and her husband but also by her friends. For example Rose. Rose goes to therapy because of her failed marriage. When Lena had doubts about her marriage, she talked to Rose about her feelings.  Rose explains that her feeling are common for women, that her relationship in her marriage is fine and that she should not dwell into her thoughts, which will make matters worse. Lena is then comforted by their conversation and thinks that her marriage is fine when in reality it is not.  She often tends to keep her feelings inside. Like the situation with the ice cream. She’s hates ice cream ever since a child, yet she didn’t have the courage to tell her husband about it for years. Yes she loves and cares for her husband but she is not open with her feelings and that is where problems occur.  She expects him to understand everything that goes on in her head and when he doesn’t she get s upset.  This is what makes her a very emotional character.

      The reading has a few important key points.  One that constantly gets mentioned in the reading is Lena’s insecurity with herself.  This insecurity greatly affects her marriage with Harold. Lena quotes “All I can remember is how awfully lucky I felt, and consequently how worried I was that all this undeserved good fortune would someday slip away.  When I fantasized about moving in with him, I also dredged up my deepest fears: that he would tell me I smelled bad: that I had terrible bathroom habits………….I worried that Harold would someday get a new prescription for his glasses and he’d put them on one morning, look me up and down, and say, “Why, gosh, you aren’t the girl I thought you were, are you?””

      Due to her insecurity with herself, Lena doubts her marriage.  She is never satisfied with how things are going.  She quotes, “And he looked in the rearview mirror, backing up the car, and said, “I love you too.  Did you lock the door?” And just like that, I started to think, it’s just not enough.”  She believes that her marriage is based all on equality. They divided the bill when they got married, or whenever they go out to dinner the bill gets split in half, regardless of how much or what each person ate.  They also try to split the grocery as well as appliances expenses. Afterwards, they show their bills by labeling everything they bought.  Furthermore, when one spends more than the other, the other one owes them.  “Harolds already spent over a hundred dollars more, so I’ll owe him around fifty from my checking account”

      Now is this a healthy marriage? Yes the concept may seem promising but in truth this marriage is not based on equality. Harold quotes on this thought of equality, “So we can eliminate false dependencies….be equals….love without obligation…” On the other hand Lena’s contradictory quote states: “Since Harold pays more, he had the deciding vote on how much the house should be.” This is a contradiction to her mentality that the relationship is equal between both of them.  If they were truly equals then the income should not matter. Plus, important decisions such as those to deal with the house should be discussed between the both of them not by only the one who has the higher salary.  However, since Harold makes more money he is automatically the superior one in the relationship. Thus this concept of equality between the both of them is false.

      It is not doubted the love and care that Lena and Harold both have for each other, but how well do they know about one another. Plus how honest are they with themselves and the other.  For example, Lena does not address her doubts or concerns about the marriage to Harold, she just keeps it bottled in. Are these concerns considered normal as Rose claims?  Or are these concerns unhealthy for the marriage and to what extent is it unhealthy?

Kathy: "Rice Husband"

 In the story “Rice Husband,” (from the book The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan), the main character is a woman named Lena St. Clair; her mother was Chinese and her father was English-Irish American.  Her mother had a Chinese saying, “Chunwang Chihan,” which meant, “if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold,” (which means that one thing is the result of another). 

      Lena’s mother had the ability to foresee unfortunate events before they occurred.  One time she looked at their new apartment and said that it “sat too steeply on the hill,” and that her baby would fall dead from her womb and it did.  When Lena’s mother came to stay with her and her husband, Harold, she was able to find flaws in their new home.  One of the symbolic flaws she found was a table made of unevenly cut marble with a vase on the top.  When Lena’s mother puts her bag on top, the vase almost falls off because the table is not sturdy enough. 

      Before Lena knows it, she starts a fight with Harold that is bigger than the cat’s fleas or about the ice cream; it is an argument that has been building up inside her for many years.  At that point the table falls over and the vase shatters into pieces. Lena’s mother simply says it fell down, and when Lena responds, “I knew it would happen,” her mother asks “then why didn’t you stop it?”  It was a simple question and at the same time Lena could not answer because it did not know the answer.

      What do you think the question was referring to and why do you think Lena did not stop “it”?  What do you think Lena’s marriage was really based on?

Yaffa: No-No Boy

1) Identify and briefly define important words, terms, concepts, or characters. 

      Ichiro- Ichiro is the main character in the novel No-no boy, by John Okada. Ichiro had been in prison for two years because he refused to fight in the war and fight for America. He has returned to Seattle only to find that his mother still believes that Japan won the war. He is also scolded by many of his peers, for not fighting in the war because they felt that Ichiro cheated his way out of it.  

Mrs. Yamada- Mrs. Yamada is Ichiro’s mother who still believes that Japan was victorious in the war. She has hopes of returning to Japan and continue to live a good life there. She feels no regret for refusing to let her son, Ichiro, to go into the army and fight for America. She feels that one should stick up for one’s country and act as a true Japanese.  

Mr. Yamada- Mr. Yamada is Ichiro’s father who somewhat tries to understand Ichiro. He’s supportive of Ichiro and tells him that in time, things will get better. Unlike his wife, Mr. Yamada knows and believes that Japan is in turmoil and many of his family members are suffering. He wants to send them food, but he has to much respect for his wife, to go behind her back and send it. Mrs. Yamada refuses to believe the suffering of her family in Japan, even with evidence of letters form her aunts and sister. She believes that it is all a scam and disregards the letters.   

Kenji- Kenji is Ichiro’s friend who fought in the war. He had to have his leg amputated because of complications that occurred in the war. Kenji connects with Ichiro in that they both feel like outsiders that don’t belong. Kenji says that he doesn’t have much time to live because every couple of weeks he has to go to the hospital and amputate additional inches of his leg. In a way, Kenji is Ichiro’s guide that leads Ichiro out of his regret and anguish.  

Taro- Taro is Ichiro’s younger brother who feels embarrassed that his brother refused to fight in the war. Taro is angry at Ichiro and traps Ichiro into getting beat up by his friends. Taro’s friends beat up Ichiro while he was drunk. Taro feels that he has to finish the job that his older brother had not. He signs up to serve in the army even though his mom would become very upset. Taro wants to prove that he is an American and thus, does not care too much for his family’s feelings.  

Emi- Emi is Kenji’s friend. Her husband Ralph went to fight in the war without telling Emi. Kenji and Ralph met while they were serving in the army, and Ralph told Kenji to send Emi a message that Ralph won’t be coming back for a while. Ralph’s brother, who lived in America for many years, was treated unfairly during the war; he moved back to Japan, and now, Ralph is ashamed of his brother, and is ashamed to come back to Emi.  Kenji introduced Ichiro to Emi, and Emi tried to soothe Ichiro’s feelings, telling him that he’s just as good as any other Japanese American. Emi is, and feels alone just like Ichiro except their situations are a bit different.  
 

2) Summarize the main idea, theme, action, or event of the reading.  Be sure to include quotation that best captures the overall feeling or mood of the reading. 

      In comparison, the views of the first and second Japanese generations are different from each other most of the time; conflict and differences arise because the younger generation grew up in America and obviously became influenced by the American way. The older generation, on the other hand, still keep the Japanese lifestyle of living. After living in America for so many years, Ichiro’s parents still do not speak and understand English all that well. The older generation came to America in hopes of making money and moving back to Japan, but their plans did not work out according to plan. Ichiro says to himself while laying down his mother on the bed that

Another theme this book is marked by is it’s obsession with disloyalty, insecurity, surveillance, and confession. The Japanese youths that served on the war want to prove their loyalty to America. They feel that people like Ichiro who haven’t served in the war are not loyal to America and have no right to act freely. Many Japanese, like Gary and Ichiro, who have not gone to war, feel deeply insecure. Ichiro even tells Mr. Carrick that he isn’t a veteran. Ichiro feels that he shouldn’t receive fair treatment form anyone just because he didn’t go to the war.

      In the end, Ichiro overcomes his battle, obstacle, and sorrow. He beats up Bull, who represents his barrier that wouldn’t let Ichiro move on. Ichiro was able to break that hurdle and come to recognize that he is not to blame himself and feel lonesome because in fact, it is the Japanese that went to the war who feel lonesome. They are just picking on vulnerable people like Ichiro to make themselves feel better. In the last chapter, Bull begins to cry and shows that he too is lonesome in despair; he was just disguising it all this time. Bull represents the majority of the Japanese population. Many of the Japanese tried to prove their loyalty in joining the war so that they could be accepted in America. Brave Japanese like Freddie and Ichiro were scolded and were made fun of because they refused to go to the war. In the end, every one of them (Japanese) had emptiness deep down inside them;  
 

3) Formulate a question for discussion. The question should be relatively substantial, based upon a specified passage or scene from the text, and capable of sustaining a thoughtful discussion.  

Was Ichiro able to fully find his identity?

What exactly led Ichiro to fight Bull? And who or what was Ichiro’s burden all this time?

Rhandy: No-No Boy

In the book No No Boy there are two very important characters, Ichiro Yamada who is a twenty-five year-old Japanese man recently released from prison camp and jail for refusing to join the U. S. Army. No-No Boy is what they called the people who did not want to join the U.S. Army and where not fighting for the Japanese either. He is in the middle of both cultures. He doesn’t know how to function as an American because he does not want to go to war against the Japanese (his own culture) and does not want to go to war against the Americans. That is a very important factor in this book because he does know which side to be on. Ms. Yamada is also a very important character because although she is small and wiry she has powerful words for Ichiro and tries to change the way he thinks by telling him what to do.

During WW2 all Japanese descending people were put into “relocating camps” under suspicious activity. The number by which the people were put into these camps was large. Many of the people were put into these camps just because of the way they looked and everyone put into these “relocating camps” had to take all the belonging they could carry with them. The big issue is this “relocating camp”. People are supposed to be relocated into a camp during emergencies but only the Japanese people were put in. The main idea of the readings so far is that Ichiro Yamada does not understand why the Japanese people are being treated in this manner and wants to do something for his rights as a persons and his rights as a Japanese American. He shows us his emotions in this peace “Why is it then that I am unable to convince myself that I am no different from any other American? (John Okada 82). This sentence shows his struggles with society in America during the WW2 period.

Question

If you were in Ichiro’s shoes but in a reverse view (being in Japan because you like the life there, fighting against America) would you fight against America and your family?

Michelle: No-No Boy

Ichiro has just returned home after two years in prison because he resisted the draft and decided not to fight for America. He feels he does not know who he is because be blames his mother for the decision she made because she is Japanese and is very loyal to her country and has taught Ichiro that he must be too and not fight against his own people. His anger for her grows with every moment he sees her because she does not accept and believe the fact that America won the war and Japan lost. Two years in prison has created a war within Ichiro because he does not know whether he is American because he refused to fight for America, or whether he is Japanese because he did not fight and is not loyal to a country in which he has never been in. Although his mother is very proud of him because he has brought no shame to the family unlike many other Japanese boys his age who have come back in their army suits or who died in the war and whose families are grieving their death, he does not know if he did the right thing since it seemed so wrong in society to be a no-no boy. He is a product of his parents and as a result he is nothing and nobody. “It was to please her, he said to himself with teeth clamped together to imprison the wild, meaningless, despairing cry which was forever straining inside of him”(pg 12). Ichiro is not happy to be back and does not like being reminded of what he did. He shows no affection toward his parents and no respect towards his father. His brother Taro is not surprised or not even relieved that his brother is home. Ichiro soon learns that Taro wants to join the army because he wants to fix the wrong that Ichiro has made, the wrong that Taro now feels he must carry on his shoulders and that it is up to him to set right. With no help or comfort to the way he is feeling, his mother decides to take him to their family friends to show them her pride for her son. They went to Kumasaka’s and Ashida’s. Ashida-san and his mother are on the same page believing that Japan has won the war and they agree that Japanese Americans should not have fought against their own country. Their conversation consisted of talking about Mr. Watanabe’s son and how it is a disgrace to be associated with them now, as “Ichiro’s mother looked at him with a look which said I am Japanese and you are my son and have conducted yourself as a Japanese and I know no shame such as other parents do because their sons were not really their sons or they would not have fought against their own people”(pg 23). At the Kumasaka’s the Yamada’s learn that Bobbie Kumasaka did not make it home from the war. Jun, a friend of Bobbie’s explained how Bobbie was killed and how Japan lost, meanwhile Ichiro’s mother stubbornly walked out of the house without a word because the Kumasaka’s believe that America has won the war and because their son had joined the army. Ichiro does not know what was the right thing to do, was it to join the army and be American? Don’t attack his own people and be Japanese? Whatever side he took, he could not win. All he knows now is that his decision seemed to have cost him who he is and that things won’t be like they were before, “it was the way he felt, stripped of dignity, respect, purpose, honor, all the things which added up to schooling and marriage and family and work and happiness”(pg 12).

Do you think that Ichiro hated his mother this much before the war ever occurred? Was it prison that ignited this unforgiving hatred?

Khemrajie: The Fifth Chinese Daughter – Chapters (18-28)

In the Fifth Chinese Daughter, Jade Snow Wong is the fifth daughter of eight children of the Wongs. Wong lived in Chinatown in San Francisco where he brought up his new family. For Jade Snow “it’s a place with haunting memories, wrapped in the atmosphere, customs, and manner of a land across the sea.” The family maintained the traditional Chinese customs even though they lived in America which is miles away from China.

As Jade Snow struggled through life to understand the concept of “individuality” through the terms of her parents, it was time for her to start college. She attended Mills College where she stayed with the Dean after arrangement. The arrangement was that she would do the household chores in return for a place to stay while she attends college.

One day, the Dean thought that Jade Snow was being left out and suggested to her that she should invite some of her friends from campus to dinner. So she did by inviting three of her Chinese friends as well as her Caucasian friend whom seemed very interested in the Chinese traditions (pg 157). That night of the dinner, her friends were delighted to have Chinese foods since they haven’t eaten it in a long period of time. Jade Snow “formulate and constructed delightful aspects of the Chinese culture” to present to her friends since they were eager to know about the Chinese background.

At the end of her junior year, she was recognized for her excellence in school and received a renewal for her scholarship. She had agreed to cook for a party for a quartet which was hosted by the Dean. Surprisingly, for the very first in her life she had her family to support and helped her in preparing the custom Chinese dishes.

After her graduation grew closer her Mama announced that she was going to have another child. Her Mama was unable to attend her graduation but that didn’t stop her father from going. For her it was the moment of “triumph”, she had proved to her parents that “she could balance her own budget and graduate from college” without a penny from them.

Due to the high importance her family placed on education and her own desire to learn, she graduated from Mills College. After her graduation, her younger brother Prosperity from Heaven was born. Finally, she had someone to teach what she didn’t learn from her father, the American culture.

She found a job at the shipyard and worked as a secretary during the War. During the period of her work, she discovered a talent for ceramics.

She finally decided to opened up own business with the blessings from her parents. She began selling her work in a shop named China Bazzar in Chinatown.

As her work progressed, her ceramics became popular in Chinatown.

During the course of her life she was finally content with what she accomplished as being the fifth Chinese daughter of her parents and was able to “wash away the former disgraces the women of the family suffered.”

Did Jade Snow prove to her father that the women in the family can accomplished something?

Was she discriminated by her own people within the community when she started her business? Why So?

Did Jade Snow Wong lose her traditions and values that her father taught her in the course of her life?

Jon Claude: Fifth Chinese Daughter

1. Identify and briefly define important word, terms, concepts, or characters.

The story of Fifth Chinese Daughter is written in the third person despite the fact that it is the story of the author’s childhood. This is done because the word “I” is seen as selfish and proud in Chinese culture, to speak in the third person shows modesty and humility. The author and main character is named Jade Snow Wong.

2. Summarize the main idea, theme, action, or event of the reading. Be sure to include quotation that best captures the overall feeling or mood of the reading.

There really is no main event in the first chapter just the introduction to Jade Snow’s way of life in Chinatown, San Francisco. Aside from this there is a series of small anecdotes that usually have the same repeating theme of respect and order in the Wong family. It is necessary for Jade Snow to have respect for elders (parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, siblings and all) and order in her life. This benefited Jade Snow as it taught her not to lie or steal and instilled strong traditional Chinese values in her. On the other hand she could suffer emotional damage due to the stern attitudes of her parent and the severe punishments she received. Also, the strong Chinese enculturation that Jade Snow experiences in her early childhood has made it difficult and confusing for her to assimilate to the American culture later on in her life.

3. Formulate a question for discussion. The question should be relatively substantial, based upon a specified passage or scene from the text, and capable of sustaining a thoughtful discussion.

What does the “Bok Fon”, the white herb described in chapter one that was placed in the bronze brazier, in the shape of the turkey (which as you recall was Jade Snow’s scare/fear) symbolize or foreshadow?

Tracey: Eat a Bowl of Tea

In Chu's Eat a Bowl of Tea, the story takes place in New York City's Chinatown, in the Money Come club house run by Wang Wah Gay. When the rent collector Chong Loo arrives, he is met with resistance from Wah Gay, as well as a club regular by the name of Ah Song, who both brush Chong Loo off and tell him to come another time for the rent. Loo seems used to this reaction and quickly changes the subject to frivolous matters of gossip about the town. He is hurried out by the playful heckling of Wah Gay and Ah Song, who later discuss their own job histories. Ah Song seems to live a life of leisure, frequenting the race tracks for gambling purposes, while Wah Gay gives off the impression that he has lived a life much different from that of his old friend.

During this discussion another friend of Wah Gay enters his club and cools off from the summer heat. When Ah Song abruptly leaves to venture back to the race track, his chair is quickly claimed by the newcomer, Lee Gong, who originally came to America with Wah Gay when they were teenagers. The two discuss the comfortable life of Ah Song and how "Western civilization" is "a very deteriorating influence" on young people in America. Ah Song then returns with two friends and everyone then joins in a game of Mah Jong.

Next we are transported to the apartment of the newlyweds Ben Loy and Mei Oi. It is early in the morning and Ben is on his way to work, leaving his bride in bed with what seems to be a bad case of jetlag from their flight from Hong Kong to New York City just a few days prior. Mei Oi is overwhelmed with feelings of depression and uselessness, for she fears her new husband doesn't love her. She had been forced into marriage by her father, Lee Gong, who had sent Ben Loy to Sunwei village as her intended groom. She and her mother often discussed the type of man that she would marry, both agreeing that a gimshunhock, or farmer, would be the best husband because she would be able to see him in the mornings and nights when he was not tending to his land.

Mei Oi did not marry a gimshunhock, instead she gave into her father's wishes and settled for Ben Loy. After the two of them moved to New York Mei Oi's heart broke and she began to feel worthless. Feeling a bit better after some sleep, Mei Oi decided to wait for her husband to return from work in an attempt to spark some romance between them. Ben Loy comes home at nearly one o'clock in the morning and when Mei Oi tries to be tender with him he brushes her off, claiming he had a long, tiring day at work and the two of them simply head off to bed.

Some good questions that can be derived from this reading are: Is the combination of old world customs and new world freedom a recipe for failure for Asian American immigrants? Essentially, can a family value system be maintained in a country where there is more freedom and less morality? How will young children be raised and how will they be influenced by America and it's citizens? These are questions that perhaps will be discussed in class.

Amanda: Eat a Bowl of Tea by Louis Chu

1. Identify and briefly define important words, terms, concepts, or characters
2. Summarize the main idea theme, action, or event of the reading. Be sure to include quotation that best captures the overall feeling or mood of the reading.
3. Formulate a question for discussion. The question should be relatively substantial, based upon a specified passage or scene from the text, and capable of sustaining a thoughtful discussion.


Setting: 87 Mott Street in New York’s Chinatown, Money Come club house, and Wang Ben Loy/ Mei Oi’s house

Chong Loo- rent collector and gossiper
Ah Song- youthful looking man in his forties, considered lucky, doesn’t explain himself clearly.
Lee Gong- friends with Wang Wah Gay
Wang Wah Gay- present in the club house throughout the reading
*Lee Gong and Wang Wah Gay came from China through Ellis Island together as immigrants.
Mei Oi- Lee Gong’s daughter who just moved to New York from China after marrying Wang Ben Loy
Wang Ben Loy- just married to Mei Oi
Gimshunhock- sojourner
Would you say that Ah Song is a little full of himself through the way his attitude and behavior is portrayed through this reading?

Each of these men is present at one point or another in the Money Come club house.

These men sit to share news of their pasts including how they presently are where they are, what circumstances occurred for the present to be the way it is and the occasional gossip of affairs. For example, Gong worked in various laundries and then ended up starting his own in the Bronx. He sold everything, went to China, got married and left before his daughter, Mei Oi, was born. Also, the topic of women comes up and they discuss that girls born in China are better due to being more courteous.

Do you feel there is a cultural difference from the girls of America when compared to China?

Mei Oi had help from her father, Lee Gong, when she married Wang Ben Loy. Lee Gong lived in America, whereas Mei Oi lived with her mother in China. After she became the wife of Wang Ben Loy, things between them were not on point. They had moved from China to the United States and Mei Oi was thinking about her marriage along with the choice to leave her mother. “A few short weeks ago she was still a girl. Her mother’s daughter. Now she was a woman and a wife. She had looked forward to her marriage with excited anticipation. Like many girls of her own age, she had hoped to marry a gimshunhock and come to America to start a new family” (Chin, Chan, et al., eds. 85). It seems as though this whole marriage ordeal is not what she thought it would be. Just a few short weeks ago, she was still mommy’s little girl and now she was expected to play the role of a wife.

How do you think Mei Oi was feeling about coming to America? Wang Ben Loy?