Analysis Of Hunger By Lan Samantha Chang

Parents always have a favorite child even if they don 't admit it. In Lan Samantha Chang 's short story "Hunger" Tian and Min have a favorite child. Tian is a musician who moved from China to start his career in New York. Min is from Taiwan but moved to New York to receive an education. They met up one day and eventually got married and had children. Their first daughter was Anna she was nothing special to either of her parents, but she behaved and cared about her parents culture. Ruth, the second daughter, was the opposite she would talk back to her parents and disobey. Ruth might be considered the "bad" daughter in the story "Hunger" because she took advantage of being the favorite daughter, she was attention seeking, she does not want to …show more content…
Home with her family for Ruth did not feel like home because he did not enjoy the Chinese culture. Ruth grew up in America and wanted to be American. She enjoyed doing American things, such as, spending time with friends after school instead of coming home, watching American television and dressing like an American. She needed her independence and wanted to be an independent American. Min says, "She often spoke of being independent- I need my independence! I 'm American, not Chinese!" (p76, Hunger) She did not like the Chinese culture and didn 't want to be apart of it because she didn 't know enough about it. However, Anna embraced her heritage and got a college degree in the Chinese culture. Min felt responsible for allowing her daughter to be so hung up on being American. Min says, "I let her stay late at school and eat dinner with her friends." (p76, Hunger) Ruth became the "bad" daughter because she never came home and acted out while her sister never went out and was always home for dinner and didn 't talk back to her parents. Another reason Ruth wanted to get out of her house was because her father always referred to her as a child. He wanted Ruth to stay a child forever so she didn 't leave him like he left his family. He knew that was soon as she left she would be gone for good. Tian would say to …show more content…
Ruth 's actions separated their family and made it difficult for them to get along throughout the story. Tian died without getting to see Ruth as a result of how he treated her growing up. Min died years after Tian from cancer and Anna took care of her. Anna finished her college degree and moved back home. Until she sold the home and moved away. Ruth ended up getting married and moving to Oakland Hills only coming back to see her family one time. She always caused arguments and her actions caused her family fall apart. Ruth might be considered the bad daughter because of the way she tore apart her family making it hard for them to get along because needed to be the favorite, the center of attention, disappoint her father, and move away never to