Mulan is a popular movie about a girl from China. Many people enjoy the movie without thinking about its true meaning. The storyline describes how the protagonist, Mulan, goes to war in her father's place to protect her family, and to prove herself. This is because throughout the whole movie, her family asks her to bring “honor to the family” and how she needs to “look like a perfect bride”. Her family wants her to be someone that she is not. Similar to Mulan, Squeaky, the protagonist of the short story, “Raymond's Run” by Toni Cade Bambara is a character who has to be a different person for her mother and wear “baby-doll shoes”. However, like Mulan, Squeaky uncovers her true self and keeps being herself. The themes incorporated through both
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To please Squeaky’s mother, Squeaky has to be someone she is not. This is similar to Mulan, who sings, “Now I see, that if I were truly myself, I would break my family’s heart.” This is similar to Squeaky’s thinking in “Raymond’s Run”:
I’ll highprance down 34th Street like a rodeo pony to keep my knees strong even if it does get my mother uptight so that she walks ahead like she’s not with me, don’t know me, is all by herself on a shopping trip, and I am somebody else’s crazy child. (p. 28, lines 71-76)
The only difference between Mulan and Squeaky is that Mulan is afraid of her parents reaction if she shows her true self, and Squeaky does not let anything, not even her mother, stop her from running. These quotes are both connected to the themes of “being yourself” and “believing in your actions” because both characters have someone in their everyday lives trying to shape them into someone they are not. This is seen at the beginning of Mulan: The Bather tells Mulan, “We’ll have you washed and dried, primped and polished till you grow with pride. Trust my recipe for instant bride. You’ll bring honor to us all.” This is similar to Squeaky’s mother’s …show more content…
Both the characters Mulan and Squeaky are fighting the stereotype of girls, since they have someone in their daily lives who is disappointed in who they are and is trying to make them someone they are not. For example, in the movie, Mulan’s parents want Mulan to “look like a bride” and “bring honor to the family” while Squeaky’s mother wants Squeaky to “act like a girl” and wear a “white organdy dress with a big satin sash”. Both Mulan and Squeaky learn the power of confidence during their respective journeys. Mulan learns to show her true self in front of her family, no matter what they think, and Squeaky learns to slow down a little and enjoy life more. Though both of their lives may not be perfect, they both realize that being true to yourself earns respect in
To please Squeaky’s mother, Squeaky has to be someone she is not. This is similar to Mulan, who sings, “Now I see, that if I were truly myself, I would break my family’s heart.” This is similar to Squeaky’s thinking in “Raymond’s Run”:
I’ll highprance down 34th Street like a rodeo pony to keep my knees strong even if it does get my mother uptight so that she walks ahead like she’s not with me, don’t know me, is all by herself on a shopping trip, and I am somebody else’s crazy child. (p. 28, lines 71-76)
The only difference between Mulan and Squeaky is that Mulan is afraid of her parents reaction if she shows her true self, and Squeaky does not let anything, not even her mother, stop her from running. These quotes are both connected to the themes of “being yourself” and “believing in your actions” because both characters have someone in their everyday lives trying to shape them into someone they are not. This is seen at the beginning of Mulan: The Bather tells Mulan, “We’ll have you washed and dried, primped and polished till you grow with pride. Trust my recipe for instant bride. You’ll bring honor to us all.” This is similar to Squeaky’s mother’s …show more content…
Both the characters Mulan and Squeaky are fighting the stereotype of girls, since they have someone in their daily lives who is disappointed in who they are and is trying to make them someone they are not. For example, in the movie, Mulan’s parents want Mulan to “look like a bride” and “bring honor to the family” while Squeaky’s mother wants Squeaky to “act like a girl” and wear a “white organdy dress with a big satin sash”. Both Mulan and Squeaky learn the power of confidence during their respective journeys. Mulan learns to show her true self in front of her family, no matter what they think, and Squeaky learns to slow down a little and enjoy life more. Though both of their lives may not be perfect, they both realize that being true to yourself earns respect in