We Should Never Meet Paper
The U.S is seen as a safe haven for many refugees and immigrants around the world and that those who have made it are the “lucky ones” however, Author Aimee Phan discusses this common misconception in her novel We Should Never Meet. We Should Never Meet is a collection of short stories about how the Vietnamese War has effected its citizens still living in Vietnam or who fled to the United States in search of a safer home. In one short story, Emancipation, Phan gives readers a look into the life of Mai, a Vietnamese girl who was smuggled to America at the age of five. While the story is told by Mai in first person she is used more as median to show the differences in lives between her four friends Tiffany and Haun,
…show more content…
Both children had been fully adopted by their families and, while Mai was provided with everything she needed growing up Tiffany and Haun had been supplied with so much more. Tiffany and Haun had met each other first, at their private elementary school, and later met Mai in high school. While all three children are equally intellectual Mai explains the first level of separation between them in her inner dialogue, “Haun and Tiffany didn’t even bother filling out the FASA forms or applying for scholarships” (Phan 155) which, in short, states that their parents are of the wealthier class. Tiffany’s parents co-owned a seafood restaurant in Newport Beach, where they went all share plates of lobster, shrimp, and mahi-mahi and drink ginger ale out of champagne glasses and, while there isn’t much told of Haun’s parents, it is assumed he is of the same social class because, “His fraternity sponsors a ski trip wo Vermont every year [where] they rent out a block of condos for the long weekend” and because of this wealth gap Tiffany and Haun are unable to see difficulties Mai’s faces for college and the rest of her life following her eighteenth birthday. This is shown through their discussion of Mai’s application to Wellesley, a college Tiffany had already been accepted to. Mai is told numerous things along the lines of Tiffany got in Mai will most definitely be accepted and that the Reynolds will help her pay …show more content…
While Mai feels unlucky that the Reynolds never chose to fully adopt her, she is considered to be lucky by Kim and Vinh because, they never received actual parent like figures. In fact in Kim’s case, she had been adopted and seen the potential of having a family however, she was returned to social services because her adoptive parents had not realized, “how difficult would be to raise a foreign child” (Phan 150). Since then Kim had stayed in the foster care system with Vinh until their eighteenth birthday. Because of the instability of their childhood Kim and Vinh couldn’t sympathies with the insecurities and difficulties Mai was facing with her emancipation, Kim even threw Mai a party to celebrate her leaving her foster family behind, she says to Mai, “It’s your birthday. No, it’s more than that it’s your emancipation day. Freedom from this damn state. No more visits or lectures from the social worker. You could even move out!” (Phan 163) because, in her world, it was a day to celebrate. Kim and Vinh differ greatly from Mai, tiffany, and Haun for reasons other than they family situation. Kim and Vinh have had to support themselves their entire life, Kim working day and night at a restaurant and Vinh joining a gang, while the others fad a family that took
The award-winning author, Luis Alberto Urrea, creator of The Hummingbird's Daughter, Into the Beautiful North, and The Devil's Highway, describes The Devil’s Highway which occurred in May of 2001, one of many that impacted the desert on undocumented immigrants. which is a desert located beyond Sonora, Mexico. It is a desert which few turn to in able to cross over. A group of illegal Mexican were left for dead after attempting to cross; they were left stranded after traveling for days in the wrong direction, through mountains, desert and only a small amount of water along with a few personal items. The Devil’s Highway name was set out to one’s belief “bad medicine” (5). Even though the desert is an obstacle itself, there are still other physical
The first story is Gentleman, Your Verdict and the second story is the firing squad.
Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.
A Lesson Before Dying A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines tells the story of a black man, Jefferson, with unequal rights, being accused of killing a white man. Although, the accusation was far from being right, he is a black man, and blacks were treated unfairly. Throughout the journey of the trial, Jefferson and Grant became very close, and they both learned a lot from each other and the trial. Grant learns the lesson of being a man, because he develops feelings, and becomes humble.
Alicia Camp, research assistant to the Immigration Policy Center, created a website article titled “From Refugees to Americans.” Alicia Camp is a Caucasian women reporting for the Immigration Daily. This source is valuable as it provides statistics and accounts of Vietnamese American immigrants, which help give insight of what refugee camps were like during the war. This source is limited in perspective and focuses on the Vietnamese community and how they were by the immigration from the Vietnam War, which does not give a broad enough perspective on the war.
In the early 1980’s, a group of young siblings living in poverty tell an important story of the immigrant experience. Reyna Grande’s, The Distance Between Us, is a memoir written with the recurring appeal to the reader’s pathos. Grande uses the rhetorical strategy to keep the reader’s interest and to help them make more connections to the story. Grande’s use of pathos helps to show not only the importance of understanding the immigrant experience, but the importance of following your dreams.
In the novel “Inside Out and Back Again” by Thanha Lai, the universal refugee experience is expressed through the title, and Ha’s individual experience of fleeing and finding home. This essay will show the hardships of turning inside out and how hard it is coming back again. In “Inside Out and Back Again” an independent, determined girl named Ha flees her home in Vietnam because of war and poverty. Ha and her family flee to Alabama to start a better life. In Alabama, Ha faces challenges such as bullying, and racism that make her stronger to come back again.
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines takes place in 1940’s, a time period of segregation. This was a time when blacks were often at fault for a crime they did not commit, such as what transpired in this book. A man named Jefferson was convicted of a crime he did not commit and was insulted during court. Now his family, friends, and even Jefferson himself were trying to prove the white community wrong about their beliefs that a black man is unequal and lacks dignity against Jefferson and the black community. Not only is Jefferson going through a period of suffering on death row, but others, like Grant Wiggins and Miss Emma, are also facing their struggles and they will try to prove others wrong and redeem themselves through knowledge,
I was pleased to have attended a lecture cosponsored by the Ethics Center, the Fresno State office of the president, the Fresno Bee and Valley PBS. The lecture began with Dr. Castro recognizing a few leaders on campus, including a past Fresno State president, Dr. John D. Welty and campus volunteer Mary Castro. Dr. Castro then mentioned a few things about Mr. Brooks stating that he is a columnist for the New York Times and an analyst for the PBS “News Hour” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Dr. Brooks also teaches at Yale University, one the finest university in the country. Dr. Castro continued by saying that he learned that Mr. Brooks office hours are from 9am to 1pm and how “cool” it sounded to him. I was surprised how many people attended the event. I was fortunate to find a seat. David Brooks mentioned how he has some remote roots in the Central Valley because his father grew in Chowchilla, CA but Mr. Brooks grew in New York.
Will-power and determination plays a major role when it comes to people accomplishing goals and performing the tasks they are given. When a person possesses these two qualities they are motivated, focused, will not give up easily, determined along with many other things. The word determination is defined as, “the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.” Will-power is, “the strength or will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans.” In the short story A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, the main character Phoenix carried out the meaning of these two words throughout the whole story. She had experienced many road blocks during her journey, but she did not let them stop her from reaching
America is the land of freedom and opportunity. It is a place where anyone can take refuge from harm and pursue their own dreams. However, the novel, The Refugees, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, portrays another perspective of being a refugee in the United States. The retelling of him becoming accustomed to America practices indicated that he faced an identity crisis. Specifically, he faces a contentious dilemma concerning how he would strike a balance between seeing himself as a person of Vietnamese heredity or of his American lifestyle. He amplifies the significance of this issue through the inquiry of certain practices of the community, his mixed views about fighting Communism, and his interactions with his family.
“Everyone in society should be a role model, not only for their own self-respect, but for respect from others.” ~ Barry Bonds. In this world bad situations occur frequently and it takes a good strong person to handle them in a mature way. Dealing with them this way not only shows that the person has self-control, but also makes them a good role model for people to look up to. In the book The Chosen, Chaim Potok uses Mr. Galanter to express his opinions of a good role model. Acting as a baseball coach and gym teacher, young boys look to him for guidance and motivation every day. Having this kind of position causes stress at times, and requires him to stay calm and level headed. Throughout this book, Mr. Galanter
This example of a family’s interesting dynamics that come about can be seen in a show called, “The Fosters.” In this show, the Foster family lives in San Diego where Stef Foster and Lena Adams (in later seasons being Lena Adams-Foster) parent five children, four of them being foster children and one coming from a previous marriage. The children’s names are Brandon (17yrs old), who is the oldest, Mariana (16) and Jesus (16), who are twins that were adopted after Stef and Lena got together, and Callie (17) and Jude (13) who are siblings that both got adopted. Stef is the birth mother of Brandon, coming from a previous relationship with another charater named Mike.
Authors in many instances use the main elements in the story such as setting and narrative to prove a point in the story. For example, writers often use characters, their actions, and their interaction with other characters to support or prove a theme. In the short story “Our Thirteenth Summer”, Barry Callaghan effectively uses characters to develop the theme that childhood is fragile and easily influenced. One of the ways that Callaghan makes effective use of characters to develop the theme is by describing the tension between Bobbie and his parents. This usage of characters supports the theme because Bobbie’s childhood is no longer free to do what he wishes, but has to bow down to his parents’
How can one little lie affect someone's life in a huge way? In the book Nothing but the Truth by Avi Wortis Philip, the main character, shares one little lie that impacted his life. Everyone lies all the time, but in Nothing but the Truth multiple people share the blame of the impact of this lie.