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American perspectives

“Letter to Ma” by Merle Woo (1941- ) Asian-American writer and university lecturer

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“Letter to Ma” - written in 1980

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personal, autobiographical letter

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The Asian-American experience:

“model immigrants”? Asian american was the best at Harvard, Yale. Top score top grade. A lot of 9, racism. More to the story than that. 1st , 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants 

The female immigrant experience

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Ma’s story

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The daughter’s story (= the narrator, “I”)

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Emily and Paul’s stories

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MA was only ten years old when she arrived in the US. From Korea. Arrived in a boat, lived in the orphanage, she had to work hard. She escaped the oprhanage and a abusive husband. The mother is someone who has not integrated to the american society. Asian culture- keep silence. Dont speak angrily at others.

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What is the daughters story. The mother gave her a education, the physical things. 15 years of alcohol abusive, she has not have an easy life. She is an asian american. Feel connction to her heritage and the culture background. On one hand be asian and American. The divided heart- You are not 100% part of the main culture and the other part altså. Emily and Pauls story, 3rd generation. They feel totaly home, feel proud of being Asian. Totaly at home and ease. The grandma and the mother, felt inferior. The third generation felt at ease. The typical immigrant story.

Generation gap 

Summarize the difference between being a first, second and third-generation Asian American as portrayed in this letter.

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Describe the conflicting feelings the daughter has about “Ma”. (Compare the introduction to the conclusion).

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The author gives us a very visual image of the “two worlds” the two women represent. Which?

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Generation. Survive Genaration. Dont feel at home Generation. Feel at home. She is proud of mother. They dont communicate that well, because of chasms.

Physical security vs. emotional legacy For Ma, survival was the main concern, and in many ways she exemplifies the cost of immigration in human happiness. What is the daughter’s main goal?  How does the daughter define her role as a “Yellow Feminist”?  What will she fight against?

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She represent the costs of immigration. How though it is. Her daugher struggelig in the first years, lector at Burkley. Very talented. She wanted to fight equality in all ways. Yellow Feminist. It is important to her. She grew up feeling inferior, asian was laughed at. Chinese exclusion act. Meril experienced it. She wanted to be a community activists. Made sure that women with asian background would have the same rest as white women in the society. She fight against who silence us, she fight those who try to silence them. Fight racism, fight treatment that is not equal.

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Lack of communication A major theme in immigrant literature generally is lack of communication. Why is the generation gap particularly painful for many 1st and 2nd generation immigrants? What is it that the narrator feels she still needs from her mother? How do Ma’s grandchildren provide hope for the future? What is “the larger framework” in which the daughter sees their story? The pain of not feeling that the children dont understand you, and the children do not understand you. It is hard to understand one another. The language aspect. Mother- brought in a culture that you do not cause conflict. The daughter is outspoken, tells everyone everything. The mother does not understand that. The daugher was a lesbian, difficult for the mother to understand that. She felt that her mother had a totally different world. The daughter wants the understanding of her mother, bitter, outspoken. Daughter- no matter your etnicity we are equal. What is the hope? Proud of their backgroud. They are confident and feel safe in the society. Do not feel that they have to prove that they are good enough. Liberation of heart, mind and spirit.

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Difficult to communicating because of the different backgrounds, also respect because the mother came alone trying to start a new life in the US. Merril respect the mothers hard work, peserverance and etc. Barack Obama: Keynote Address, Democratic Convention 2004 (Senator from Illinois)

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Important speeches in US history The role of the President as a unifying symbol What is a keynote address? Who was Barack Obama then? Government of the people, by the people for the people. Dont ask what the country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. Campaign 2008, c-Spain. American ideals and values Which typical American ideals and values does Mr. Obama refer to in his speech? Unity, hard work, equal oppotunities, land of opportunities. Obamas father was a cook for the British. If you work hard you can make it, you should have dreams. Comparing people in the rural areas and in the city, Talk about equality. Get rid of the slander. A black boy reading a book acting white. American ideals and values Equality, diversity Hope, liberty, freedom Opportunity, choice Faith, tolerance Individualism, hard work, perseverance Legacy (donasjon), dream Pride, duty Individivualism- we have to work together to make sure that the society is going to thrive. Dreaming, hoping and achieving.

 Major historic events  Which important historic events does he mention?  Why does he use history in this way, do you think?  Historic events- he refers to pearl harbour.  Declaration of independence. Pearl Harbour Major historic events

 Immigration  The Declaration of Independence  Abraham Lincoln

 The liberation of the slaves  The Depression  World War II  The postwar years Why does he mention these events? Presentation techniques

 What are some of the presentation techniques and rhetorical devices that Mr. Obama uses?     

He uses pauses Uses Logos, Pathos and Ethos. Varies his voice. Connecting to the audiences. Waving

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Repetition of words and phrases Short and simple words Direct address Informal language - jokes Visualization Emotion Storytelling Concrete details Comparing and contrasting

Delivery and structure  How would you evaluate the delivery of his speech? Give some examples.  What about the structure of his speech?  Delivery:  How does Mr. Obama deliver his message:  Eye contact?  Gestures?  Voice?  Pace?  Pauses?  The structure of his speech?  Tom Wolfe:  A Man in Full: «The Saddlebags»  American author and journalist (1931-2018) Context  New Journalism  Realism, satire, humour

 Study of a specific context Here: Atlanta in the 1990s. The world of politics and business «The Saddlebags»  Setting? It is primarily set in Atlanta in 1990s.  Topic? Manliness.  A man is considered a man in full when he possess: Athletic skills (it is shown in physical stature) , sexual prowess,  Main characters? - Charlie Croker: Charlie" Croker, a real estate mogul and member of Atlanta's high society who is suddenly facing bankruptcy. He has he characteristic of a great man: 1. He is a good athlete. 2. He can reproduce, 3. He is successful financially. He his athletival built. It is seen in his physical stature. And earlier in his life he was a football stat.

- Mr. Peepgass: Raymond Peepgass (I'm not making this up) is a staff officer at PlanersBanc: the bank that holds the paper on a lot of Croker's loans. Admire Charlie Crocker. He has not the risk taker. He is not prominent socially. Ray peepgass is a nobody. He is not just a cowardedly version of Charlie Croker. His wife seems to dominate him.

- Harry Zale: arry Zale comes to collect the debts Charlie Croker owes to PlannersBanc.

- Mr. Croker’s staff and the bank staff American business culture  How would you characterize the main participants at the meeting?  Briefly summarize the result of the meeting.  Why, then, does Mr. Peepgass stand there, «stunned, «speechless» at the end of the meeting?  What is the impression you get of American business culture in this excerpt?   

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Charlie Croker- a plantation owner. Everybody knew about him and thought that he was fantastics. Rags to riches. He started with empty hands and has done extremely well. Harry Zale. Has a lot of debt and cannot make the requirements. He owes the bank a lot of money. They dont have the credibilty anymore. What is the purpose of the meeting. He has maybe been too greedy. MR. Croker's staff- see that he is humiliated. Going to make him sweat. Follow how he is doing with the sweating Saddlebags.

American business culture

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Individualism - a «rags to riches» story Competitive attitude: winners and losers The measure of success? Confrontational style Willingness to take risks Informality/ formality? «Macho» business environment Hunting, military and sports references

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Succes- lost his cars and beautiful women. Used informality/formality Macho business

Questions for Discussion: Educated

1. What does it mean that this book is a “memoir”? a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge. It is her memories, her personal story. auto biography- takes the whole life span. Memoir, subjective story. Tyler and Tony have also expected it. Memoir is a literature genre. This is a scholar who has written it. Reflecting, analyzing, sense that there is a person a well educated author, PDH in history.

2. What is the setting of the book? (When? Where?) Give a brief (5-sentence) summary of the plot. In the mountain, In Idaho. Borders on Washington state, rural Midwest. She was born I 1986, starts when she is 7 years old, 1993. Close to the recent history. Summary of the plot.

A Mormon family growing up in the mountain, with a strong opiniated father. Fundamentalist and survivalist family in rural Idaho.

brigham young university. First impression; very skeptical, is open up for everything that she doesn’t know. Sense that she has a Mormon uprbringing in her mind. Follow her journey breaking out, trough help and education. The fact that she takes an education is a jumpstart. She learned out bipolar disorder and tried to relate that to her father. In the start she accept the fathers view, she reject her fathers conspiraspiratal theory (the government will take us, we are all manipulated), she rejects her mothers view about natural healing and medical transfer/ her mothers beliefs.

Then she goes to Cambridge At the end she goes to Harvard, Massachusetts. Gets a masters degree and a PHD. Especially gifted, talented. Her brother is violent and abusive. Did her parents know?? What does she realize in the end, in order to survive and be the person that she wants to be she decides to breaks with er parent. Because she feels that it is the only way she can live a free life.

3. How would you explain the Author’s Note? Author's notes are most often at the end of a book. When she finished the book, tyler, tony and another brother read it and approved it.

What does she say about moromorsism. This is about mormorism. Her family is special not all Mormons are not like them. momorism is not the reason for the action that is done in the book. It is about mormorism, there is good people and not so good people, her family happened to be Mormon. She describes that her family is different from the Mormon, her family was not the regular ones even if the church. Her father said that they could not eat ice cream.

4. How is the book structured? What is the effect of the chapter titles?

Told chronological in a way, divided in three groups, 1. When tara grew up. 2. When she went to brimigham 3. She went to Cambridge and Harvard. Mid wife- educated. Chapter titles is from the bible or the Mormon. Four long arms whirling- parents want her to go home him them. she says no, but she is whirling, she is spinning, she is left her, she goes into a depression. Another title- gambling for redemption. You are forgiven. A year after the parents visits her at Harvard. She goes home one more time. She is trying to achieve to one more last chance to get a redemption with er family. Her mother writes to her sibling and shawn ex to tell that Tara is possessed and that the devil is there. The topic is complex and difficult. She cant get out of this relationship even if they are treating her bad. Especially shown, with the knife.

5. What are the major points of the Prologue? To set the scene for the reader, and not to jump in. Set the stage. The tone in a way, what this story is going to be about. We don’t go to school, no birth certificate etc. when she thinks about the hometown, Buck peaks, the mountain. It is big, windy and cold, scary at times. Price- name of the mountain. SafeThere is a plan when the world ends. This is where she belongs. Scary, risks, dark secret, sense of belonging and identity in the prologue.

6. How would you characterize Tara? Strengths? Weaknesses? 7. Smart, loyal, reflective, curious, strong, courageous/ brave, she is interested in music- kind of helped her. Strategic. Good in crisis. Ability to change her view, perservance- loyal- she keeps working at it, thoughness (the way she works in the juckyard), 100 in the algebra test (that is the intellectual capacity), extremely hard working. When she decided to break up with her parents then she sticks with it. Weaknesses: struggles with asking for help, almost to the point of destroying herself. She blames herself from the abuse from Shawn. It is hard to accept that someone that she loves can treat her like that. Typical aspects of victims of abuse.

Diffultity of receiving praise. She is modest.

A lot of self doubt and self contempt. She has problems with emotional closeness. Her brother calls her a whore, bc she wears a short skirt,

Disregard her own work. Interview with bill gates- she is more confident in that video.

8. How does Tara develop during the book? Psychologically, is her development convincing? (Do you know how victims of abuse generally react?). Gains self confidence, knowledge and understanding, her developments is convincing.

9. How did you react to some of Tara’s actions? Were you upset with her at some points? When she had her dinner, brother dragging her to toilet, laughing. Why did she conceal what was going on. She was so embarrassed, she wanted to made it look like joke. She could not accept that. Tried for the longest to make the two worlds coexist. Toward the end able to accept help. Her self doubt and her conflicting feelings. Gradually she understands that this is wrong. She always, I can fix this, a lot of going back and forth because her self doubt. She keeps hoping that everything will be fine.

10. Describe the relationship between Tara and her mother. Does it change in the course of the book? If so: How? When? The relationship changes early in the book, she is timid, admiring her for her business on the side, that becomes the main income for the family. The mom cannot break with the family structure. The Cambridge, she felt that her mother would support her. I am sorry for not protecting. Shawn abused Audrey just like she did to you. She was going to talk to her nice. She felt that her mother was strong. She felt that she could not be any closer to her mother. She believed that her mother would be supportive. Her mother had a brain injury from the car accident. Her mother just accepted the fathers view, her father asked for proof. Did not look her in the eye. In the bathroom, mother and Tara was in the bathroom, she was crying, mother said that her father had a mental issue. Adopts the view of the power. She is being subordinate. The mother has been bullied too. She tries to put up a fight, she is not able stand up against the father. She gives in. She has been bullied. Actually can send email to her brothers that Tara and her father.

11. How would you characterize Tara’s father? Describe the development of the relationship between him and Tara. Why does she cut off all contact with him, but not with her mother? Early stage, look up to her father. Work in the scrapyard. Disbelief about her. Father has his kids working in the scapeyard. Doesn’t feel the need to keep the kid from injuries. Crazy. Disillutional, does not see danger a way. The children have the resposibily to take care of themselves in a way. That is what draws her to Shawn. Shawn is the only one that confronts his father. Father bipolar, doesn’t not understand danger. Blames God, everything will happen accord to Gods plan anyway, does not care about danger. Tara: Father: I love you, Tara, I know you do. She was at the airport, on the way to Cambridge, the father thought it was end of the day. Scared that she left the country and he could not save her. He support Shawn, I wonder if I should kill you or hire an assassin. The mother has adopted the views of her father. Her mother. His father is the driving force, not the mother. She shows that she wanted to help her. She has given up on her father. The siblings- is affected by her views. Connection by the bipolar. The mother was bond and trapped in the marriage. The mother could not break with the father because of love and Christianity. The mother broke with her family to be with him.

12. Why do you think it took Tara so long to break with her parents? Do you believe the separation is permanent? (p. 375) People need connection in order to survive. Small moments. Nothing is simple here, that explain why it took so long.

13. Describe the relationship between Tara and her siblings, especially between Tara and Shawn, Audrey, and Tyler. How significant is education in the way the siblings relate to their parents and to Tara, do you think? (p. 374)

Tara and Shawn a special bond between them. Quite a lot similarities, thinking about the family home. Tyler first and then Ricard, they all have all the similarities. Tyler was older and came back. She is closer to Tyler. Shawn- somewhere in the childhood, she felt close to him. Audrey- unemployment. Had to take a job. Shawn and the father has visited them. They have been treaten so severely. Brainwashed so that they accept the belief of the father.

Tyler, with is wife, Stephanie, supported Tara. Ricard supports her.

Significant is education- not dependent on him to get a job Polaration of those has a education and does do not. 3 pdh and 4 without a high school diploma.

14. Discuss some of the main themes of this memoir. (= What is the book really about?) Leaving distorted faith for truth. It is about self-discovery, self-fullfilment- end she is with peace with her self. Education- about the education she get. Story about abuse- physical and emotional abuse from the parents. Sin, love- that is why she cannot break earlier.

Theme- Perspective.

15. How would you interpret the two epigraphs (the quotations at the start of the book)?

16. How is the language of this book? Does it in a way reflect Tara’s education? (What is the effect of this kind of language?) Why did Tara write this memoir? First. Seeing the past is so important for the present. Dealing with the trauma, accepting that is was her fault. Emotion and the past

Second. Try to reconstructure. She has picked two. And one about what education can give you.

17. Does the book have a happy ending? (Why/ why not?) Healthy and good relationship in her life. Can put safety for helself over the family for the first time. She has lost ther fa...