Chinese-American Students: The Model Minority
The United States is often regarded as a melting pot of culture and race, as the people who reside within the nation’s borders claim many different homelands around the world. Due to this mixture of ethnicities, events of prejudice and stereotype are inevitable. Citizens whose ancestry and heritage can be traced to Southern Asian countries are not excluded from such occurrences. Young people of this origin are often thought to be determined do well in school and to obtain a good education, while adults are regarded as being tough on their children and expect them to have a better life than they have. To understand why many Asian American youths feel this way, people need only to look to the …show more content…
Although many parents are influential in the matters of whom their children are able to spend time with, the parents of students from the urban enclave, whether they attend Columbia or Hunter, seem to take their judgement farther than expected. Many students with this upbringing relate that their parents are insistent about the expectation for their children to “date Chinese, marry Chinese” (Louie 148). However, Mary Soo states that her father warned her saying that “if [she] date anyone other than Chinese, that [she] would be disowned or something of that nature” (Louie 148). Statements such as these seem to be typical within these families, which lead many of their children to become rebellious and hide their relationships behind their parents’ backs, as can be seen with Ivory Miao and her hiding of her engagement to a Puerto Rican man for four years (Louie 149). An opposing view to relationships can be seen in the families whom resided in the suburbs. These parents were not as strict when the topic of their children’s significant others was raised. Becky Wang articulates that she “[does not] really think it matters what race you are” to her parents, as long as the person is ambitious, works hard and treats her well (Louie 153). However, despite this group of people’s openness to the idea of interracial relationships, there is a …show more content…
Because of this, I interviewed my friend, who will be referred to as Annie, who is of mixed race, African-American and white. Annie, alike myself, has parents who are very adamant about her going to college and obtaining a degree. Annie and I grew up in the same town and were exposed to the same circumstances, but our perceptions of them are quite different. Annie feels that she needed to be involved with many extracurricular activities throughout high school because they would look good on college and scholarship applications, whereas, these activities provided me an escape from the ever stressful academic workload. Throughout the interview, Annie drew attention to the pressures her race had on her performance academically, as most people of her ethnic background are considered to be less intellectual, at least this is the perception in our hometown. Despite the racial prejudice Annie has witnessed throughout her life, much alike the parents in Louie’s novel, her parents encouraged her to pursue a career in the medical field, so that she can break free of the
The United States is often regarded as a melting pot of culture and race, as the people who reside within the nation’s borders claim many different homelands around the world. Due to this mixture of ethnicities, events of prejudice and stereotype are inevitable. Citizens whose ancestry and heritage can be traced to Southern Asian countries are not excluded from such occurrences. Young people of this origin are often thought to be determined do well in school and to obtain a good education, while adults are regarded as being tough on their children and expect them to have a better life than they have. To understand why many Asian American youths feel this way, people need only to look to the …show more content…
Although many parents are influential in the matters of whom their children are able to spend time with, the parents of students from the urban enclave, whether they attend Columbia or Hunter, seem to take their judgement farther than expected. Many students with this upbringing relate that their parents are insistent about the expectation for their children to “date Chinese, marry Chinese” (Louie 148). However, Mary Soo states that her father warned her saying that “if [she] date anyone other than Chinese, that [she] would be disowned or something of that nature” (Louie 148). Statements such as these seem to be typical within these families, which lead many of their children to become rebellious and hide their relationships behind their parents’ backs, as can be seen with Ivory Miao and her hiding of her engagement to a Puerto Rican man for four years (Louie 149). An opposing view to relationships can be seen in the families whom resided in the suburbs. These parents were not as strict when the topic of their children’s significant others was raised. Becky Wang articulates that she “[does not] really think it matters what race you are” to her parents, as long as the person is ambitious, works hard and treats her well (Louie 153). However, despite this group of people’s openness to the idea of interracial relationships, there is a …show more content…
Because of this, I interviewed my friend, who will be referred to as Annie, who is of mixed race, African-American and white. Annie, alike myself, has parents who are very adamant about her going to college and obtaining a degree. Annie and I grew up in the same town and were exposed to the same circumstances, but our perceptions of them are quite different. Annie feels that she needed to be involved with many extracurricular activities throughout high school because they would look good on college and scholarship applications, whereas, these activities provided me an escape from the ever stressful academic workload. Throughout the interview, Annie drew attention to the pressures her race had on her performance academically, as most people of her ethnic background are considered to be less intellectual, at least this is the perception in our hometown. Despite the racial prejudice Annie has witnessed throughout her life, much alike the parents in Louie’s novel, her parents encouraged her to pursue a career in the medical field, so that she can break free of the