07 Reflection

When i sat down and reflected on my experiences as a Freshman at Tufts, i realized that i had never before really sat down and thougt about my experiences. It was really refreshing to be able to mull on these thoughts, something that i think should be done pretty often. There were just so many thought swimming through my mind, i wouldn't be able to write them if i wanted. I guess my thoughts slowly moved to my accomplishments this year and how i will be able to do more than i had this year. It ultimately went to thoughts upon freedom and how my views of freedom has changed over the year.
It felt good to really sit down and remember everything that had already happened to me during Freshman year. When i first entered college, i remembered thinking of all the freedoms that i would have. But as the year progressed i found that it wasn't the freedom that i had craved, it was the independence. Freedom was fine, but if i didn't have the ability to manage that freedom, it would be as if i had never had any freedom in the first place.
I guess in the end it came down to me realizing that freedom wasn't exactly what i thought it was, and how freedom comes with a price.

Literary Analysis Paragraph

While most books that attempts to bring light to issues like these tend to use a more serious approach, American Born Chinese tries to bring light to issues such as these in a humorous light. Gene Luen Yang tries to get readers to laugh at these issues. By thrusting these issues in the reader’s face, he forces them to acknowledge these racial stereotypes. This style of writing is amplified by the book being a comic. Expressions become all the easier when using pictures rather than words. There are so many small details that the author includes, especially in the fable text, where he attempts to spin an ancient story towards a more modern audience.

Extra Credit Assignment

I recently attended the CSA culture show and i felt that overall, the show was a success in that it taught the audience a lot about asian culture yet at the same time kept the atmosphere comedic and entertaining. The two emcee's brought comedy into the set yet what they taught the audience rang true even though all the laughter. the tai-chi that was taught to the audience as "make the watermelon, cut the watermelon, this is your half and this is mine" seemed very funny but was real tai chi. And as always, the dancers showed a more tradition style of dance infused with a taste of modern hip hop. The skits were comical and seemed to poke fun at depictions of asian culture in modern media, with parodies of Bruce Lee's "the game of death" and disney's "mulan". Halfway through the performance, we also learned about a program that is seeking to help chinese orphans in China. Tufts China Cares went onstage and showed a brief clip of orphans in china and went though the programs goals and aims. The skits, movies and presentations all combined together to create an experience that was entertaining, yet still carried strong messages.

Questions

1. How is the idea of ghosts incorporated into the story or Woman Warrior, and how does it help the reader understand the concept of "ghosts."
2. How does the Author of American Born Chinese choose to integrate the three substories and what styles does he use in each different substory.
3. How does the book We Are All Suspects Now present the different stories and do you believe that it is more effective the way it is?
4. How does the Author of American Born Chinese appeal to the reader and what messages does it send in regards to the "Asian American Experience."
5. What does the Auther of American Born Chinese attempt to tell us when he reveals that the three main characters are all interconnected?