Belonging In The Latehomecomer

This source provided by Coffee House Press has included an interview with Annie Choi and Kao Kalia Yang. Choi has asked about Yang memoir of her well-known book, The Latehomecomer, has started. During the secret war, her Hmong family went through difficult times. Coming to America, Yang had to learn English and it became a challenge. However, she was able to learn it and grew a passion to write more on papers. When writing her book, she ties in how love and Hmong family relationships are like others making it a universal theme. She hopes that the readers would get an understanding of the Hmong culture and state that it will strengthen America as unique. This is important because we get an insight of Kao Kalia Yang inspiration when writing a book of the Hmong culture and tying it together of being an American.

Belonging in some instances can not be beneficial for ones wellbeing. Negative consequences may arise from the way in which one develops belonging. Barriers to belonging can be imposed or voluntarily constructed, and allowing one to distort the barriers can affect the way one belongs to people, places, groups or the larger world.

He realized that he had feelings for Miss Kinnian, his teacher. For instance, “I think from the beginning I had the feeling that she was an unreachable genius-and very, very old. Now, every time I see her she grows younger and more lovely.” (Keyes 37). Before the operation, Charlie did not realize how beautiful Miss Kinnian was. After the operation, Charlie realized this. His hope for a better life increased. On the other hand, his newfound intelligence divided him from his friends. In the text it states, “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved.” (Keyes 39). Charlie’s friends kept teasing and making fun of him. He felt very lonely. As well as affecting his social life, the operation also affected Charlie emotionally. A few months after the operation, Charlie’s emotions changed negatively. He became touchy and irritable. In short, Charlie’s emotions were negatively affected after a little while, however, he got to know what love felt like and he got to know his true

When Charlie Gordon took the operation he started to feel and show emotions. First came anger when he saw people treated the boy working in the dinner with no respect. Next came love and happiness when he fell in love with Miss Kinnian and felt full of joy. Finally came sadness when Algernon died he felt sad because Algernon was a friend to him. In the story it said “P.P.S please if you get a chance put some flowers in Algernon’s grave in the backyard” (p.341). Charlie still feels sad that his friend Algernon is dead so he wants to show that he will always remember Algernon as a friend. If it wasn’t for the surgery Charlie would have never felt these

The Journey for Yang begins in Phanat Nikhom a transitioning camp to America, the word she uses to describe her memories is uncomfortable because this was the first time she was away from Ban Vinai, the camp where she was born in. Her grandmother shared the same disposition, in Ban Vinai her herbal remedies were used by everyone while in America she was limited to the cards around her neck and the chair that took the place of her legs. Through imagery Yang illustrates the shortcomings of American society by limiting the capacity of elderly immigrants. “She stopped being a woman and became a child…where if you are old you do not have a car, you are like a man or a woman in a wheelchair with weak arms. You wait for others to push or pull. A child who does not have a face of youth” (102). This shows that the older an immigrant is, the more they are considered a responsibility

Yes, It IS an essential human need, but…. then…. What happens when an individual doesn’t feel like they belong. What if… this same “essential” sense of belonging, the same “need” to belong, is what barricades and imprisons us? What effects can not belong have on individuals?

In the short story of Flowers for Algernon, Charlie’s personality changes throughout the book. Although Charlie’s personality changes from the beginning to the end are small a lot has happened to allow those changes. Well, just like in real life, certain events can change you and things about you in many ways just like how events in Charlie’s life changed him and his Personality. In the short story of FFA there are many quotes that explains how Charlie changes from beginning to end. At the beginning of the novel Charlie had trouble spelling, using punctuation, and hearing others clearly.

After the operation, in only a couple of months, Charlie starts showing signs of new intelligence. His grammar, improved, and he is able to reflect on what his does in the past something he wasn’t able to do before. He had finally gotten something use had always desired. Then, everything and everyone turned on him. In “PROGRESS REPORT 12” April 30th (pg. 60) Charlie writes: “now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding. What in the name of god do they want of me? They’ve driven me out of the factory. Now I more alone than ever before…” Charlie got what he always wanted, and now he lost everything he had. It was a sacrifice it sounded like he didn’t want to make. I can tell just be the tone of his writing. This shows that we should embrace everything that we have. Charlie didn’t embrace everything, although he appreciated most of the thing he never became happy not being able to just enjoy life as it is.

Another word that is closely related to the need to belong is a term called conformity. Conformity is when you change your behaviors or attitudes to match the

Eventually,

Belonging consists of a struggle with opposing pressures. A desire to belong also consists of emotional conflicts and struggles between being acknowledged while also remaining as an individual and retaining personal ideals which may ultimately result in a connection. This is explored in Emily Dickinson’s selected poetry I died for beauty, but was scarce and I had been hungry all the years , as well as Scott Westerfeld’s novel Uglies. These texts all depict a struggle between being recognised and accepted in society and the desire to remain true to one’s self, exploring the paradoxical nature of belonging which, on one hand, provides fulfilment, but also removes a sense of personal identity.

In “American Born Chinese” there is three character different characters that have one simple goal is to “fit in”. Jin Wang wants to be an All-American boy, he loves an American girl, his best friend is Wei Chen. In the end, Jin realizes much about his perceptions of life and identity and sets off on his own path of redemption. Danny is an American boy, good at basketball and popular. But he has to transfer school every year because of his cousin Chin-Kee annual visit that ruins Danny life in schools. The Monkey lived for thousands of years and master of the arts of kung

As an Asian American, I have never felt that I had change the way I act or look to fit into the Caucasian American culture to feel like I belong in my community; I was always proud of my heritage and who I am. I noticed that many people, such as Kenneth Lee, did not like who they were, so they changed to try to fit into the white culture. I have never understood why one would have to feel ashamed of who they are, neglect their own heritage, and change to be someone they are not to fit in with the majority of the people in the United States. When Kenneth Lee states, “For years I ignored my own heritage, trying to blend into the white world that surrounded me”, it surprised me (Garrod 68). Ignoring one’s own heritage was such a weird concept to me since everyone that I grew up with in Texas had never seem to feel that way.

Wong feels that she needs to fit into the dominant culture from an early age. The reason for this is because society stresses the dominate culture, promotes the dominate culture and pressures immigrant children to fit in. Wong uses herself as an example of the tremendous pressure children of immigrants are under to fit in, which is a burden placed on them by society. The pressure is so great that many are embarrassed by their roots and their heritage. Wong experiences this burden, and this is what drives her to want to become the stereotypical All-American girl. She learns to hate her culture so much that she does not want anything to do with it and she wants a divorce from her ethnic roots, “Wong’s adolescent embarrassment of her ethnic

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” - Harriet Tubman. Charlie Gordon is a very welcoming, playful, and genuine man. He attends Beekman College for Retarded Adults and has a strong motivation to learn and to improve his intelligence. He dreams of being popular, and making friends. Throughout the novel Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon changed in many ways. Prior to his life changing operation, he was not able to grasp that the people at Donner’s Bakery were not his friends, they only spoke to him to make fun of him. Charlie acknowledged their harsh actions, and started retaliating. Charlie is a very open