Straw Into Gold Sparknotes

This story tackles themes of moving on change. She had to move on after her father's death and so many changes happened in her life after the passing of her father. Throughout the story, Esperanza is struggling to learn to be grateful for what she has, instead, she is always looking for what she doesn’t have. In the story, “In Mexico, I was a second-class citizen. I stood on the other side of the river” now look (Pg 214).

In The Homeland, Aztlán/El Otro México by Gloria Anzaldúa she writes about “border culture” (41). Using both English and Spanish in her writing and inserting poems, songs and films she talks about the Mexican-American war and the aftermath. She writes about the creation of the borderland as Anzaldúa describes it “a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary. It is in a constant state of transition. The prohibited and the forbidden are its inhabitants” (41).

Home is a gift bestowed unto us--sometimes never found, often misvalued, and always missed. Many individuals experience stages of exploration, disgust, longing, and return for his or her home. As we relive the culture that shaped us, we become conflicted with the ups and downs which come with the joy and distaste of experiencing pride and nostalgia. Gloria Anzaldua explores her passion for the language and region that shaped her yet struggles with the pressure to fit into Anglicized culture. In her essay “How To Tame A Wild Tongue,” Anzaldua explores how speaking Chicano Spanish made her aware of the strength and trouble she bears as she identifies with a mix of cultures.

Living as a Chinese-American, the narrator had to take on American attributes in order to be accepted -- for example, while normal Chinese women spoke with strong and assertive voices, the narrator adopted a whisper in order to appear “American-feminine. ”(1) As a result, however, her shy demeanor caused her to be an unpopular outcast. She saw herself in another Chinese-American girl at her school, as they had certain, negative similarities. “I hated the younger sister, the quiet one.

The mother in “Fish Cheeks” wants her daughter Amy to not wish to be someone she is not. She tells Amy, “You want to be the same as American girls on the outside. But inside you are always Chinese” (Tan, 176). Amy’s mother doesn’t want Amy to have childish desires to be an American girl, and instead embrace her Chinese qualities like an adult. While Amy’s mother encourages adult maturity through pride and self-esteem, Richard’s mother teaches him to grow up with a stern and violent method.

The article is about Jennie Chine Hansen speech that was given for the Chinese American Women Oral History Project. Hansen discusses in her speech about the ways exclusion, participation and empowerment shaped not just her life but the lives of all Chinese people living in America. Hansen during her speech also talks about the brief history of Chinese Exclusion Act of 1892 and how that had a significant impact on the parents and grandparents of Chinese American women. She also talks about how there are two generations, the ones who were born in China and the ones who were born in America. She discusses how there is an alienation from her parents and other Chinese people who never learned to speak English who live in America.

The family’s linchpin Ginny evokes the familial spirit in Elliot and Yaz. Ginny knew exactly how to pass on the Puerto Rican identity to the next generation. The garden, serving as a symbolic place, acts as a powerful trigger, evoking memories, and connections to the Ortiz’s Latin heritage. While it may involve a long travel, the experience of going home will create a lasting definition of home, Puerto Rico (Durham 119). Returning home resonates with the profound impact that reconnecting with one’s place of origin can have on personal identity.

Summary of Mother Tongue by Amy Tan Mother Tongue by Amy Tan is an essay about her and her mothers English, and their Chinese heritage and how it reflects in the way Tans mother speak, and how it affected Amys upbringing and English. The essay begins with Amy writing about the “different englishes” she grew up with, as she describes her mother “broken” English, although you wouldn’t say it’s really broken, it’s just a different way her mother speaks as she comes from China, and that’s how the English translates directly from mandarin grammar. Amy writes about the difficulties it caused her when she was growing up, for example handling her mother’s phone call as the stockbroker wouldn’t take the “broken” English seriously. But would listen

In her book "The Woman Warrior," Maxine Hong Kingston explores the theme of silence to convey the struggles of Chinese-American women to find their voice and place in American society, while also examining the complexities of identity in the context of Chinese culture, where women were often silenced and their voices were not heard. This theme of silence in Asian American societies is shaped by various factors, including cultural values, gender expectations, and family relationships. As Chen notes in her article "Anti-Asian Racism: Breaking through Stereotypes and Silence," silence is a common tactic used to maintain power dynamics and perpetuate discrimination against Asian Americans. Additionally, Chou's dissertation "Silencing the 'Enemy

Character Analysis Joanna “Everyone Talked Loudly in Chinatown” is a story written by Anne Jew in 1997 which is talked about the changes and conflicts of a teenage girl named Lin who lived in Canada. The surrounding social environment has a big influence on her characteristics. In the story, Lin fall in love with a white boy, Todd. The love make Lin become a vainglorious person.

It is a place where you can travel to and experience a unique trip. Year after year, ever since she came from Mexico, she would talk about how vibrant, and colorful San Miguel de Allende was. She would tell her niece, Maria, every summer, to go and take a look because her words were not sufficient to describe the beauty of the city. The way she talked about this city, attracted Maria’s interest and the following summer she went off to visit San Miguel de Allende along with her aunt, Adelaida. It was almost 20 years since Adelaida had not gone back to Guanajuato.

She writes, “My aunts and mom and grandmother would jabber on in Korean, and I would eat and listen, unable to comprehend, bothering my mom every so often, asking her to translate”. This quote showcases how her inability to understand the language her family speaks has led to her feeling like an outsider within her own family. This sense of otherness has caused her to feel disconnected from her Korean heritage, which has led to a social divide between herself and her family. Similarly, the child in “In the Land of the Free” has been assimilated into American culture, causing him to feel disconnected from his Chinese heritage and his family.

Throughout the entire novel, the mothers and daughters face inner struggles, family conflict, and societal collision. The divergence of cultures produces tension and miscommunication, which effectively causes the collision of American morals, beliefs, and priorities with Chinese culture which

Lin talks about how she thinks the women in Chinatown were “short, chubby.. with unmade faces and hair…. [and how] there were also old stopping men with brown spots on their faces.. and old women with straight grey hair pinned back over their ears” (108). What Lin later adds is that she believes that Chinese people are too “loud [and] uncivilized”(108) showing that Lin does not want to be associated with her Chinese heritage any longer. Lin stereotypes all Chinese people into the category of being uncivilized, though not all Chinese people are like that. Her view is limited to what she remembers, which is very narrow minded.

Words such as “dark”, “frail” and “ghetto” have negative connotations (5, 39, 59). These word choices provide emotional insight into how the speaker felt growing up Chinese in white American culture. When the poem speaks of Chinese people