Joy Harjo

Meela Kopp Mr. Morris Adv. Algebra 2 R3 12 November 2017 Math Like Me Hu Hesheng is a famous female mathematician from China. She was born on June 20, 1928, in Shanghai, China. Her family was very artistic. Both her grandfather and father were painters. Later, she would, like them, be interested in painting, along with photography and singing. When she was a child, the Japanese army invaded where she lived. Her family eventually escaped and had to live in foreign concessions. These…

Amy Tan uses the precious jewelry that loses value when the Chinese mothers pass it down to their American grown children to demonstrate that the mother’s hope and wisdom also possess no value for the child because it was molded by a different culture that does not fit in with their way of life. In an effort to help their children, the mothers only place a heavier burden on them to carry their Chinese culture while balancing it with their American lifestyle. Topic Sentence 1: The Chinese…

In Gish Jen’s “Who's Irish” short story the author tells the conflict of a Chinese grandmother and her struggle to accept other cultures different from her own. In this short story, the character that stood out the most is the grandmother. Her character was built based on how she was raised back in China. The short story “Who’s Irish” reminds me of my father who’s just like the grandmother, he wants me to be raised in African culture. In his mind I should know how to cook African food in order…

A mother’s dream is to have their children become the best possible version of themselves that they can be and Amy Tan’s mother is no exception to this. Being a Chinese immigrant, Mrs. Tan is a strong believer in the idea of the American Dream, where anyone can become anything they want to be in the land full of opportunities. Accepting the truth that her chance at the American Dream for herself is unlikely for her, she enforces the idea in the mind of her daughter Amy from a young age. Even…

The foot-binding tradition for Chinese women has existed for centuries. Although no one is quite sure how it began, it is certain that foot-binding has affected the Chinese culture negatively and restricts Chinese women throughout history up until this point in time currently. To begin with, the novel The Three-Inch Golden Lotus takes the readers through the journey of a young girl named Fragrant Lotus and her unwinding into the restrictive culture that promotes footbinding. At a young age she…

There are stereotypes about individuals whose primary language is not English. Many like to judge those individuals harshly and unfairly. Society has played a huge part in the lives of individuals who have ‘limited’ English. Even though, there are many that do not talk or understand English properly yet they should still be treated fairly. Amy Tan and her mother relate to this stigma. People should not judge a book by its cover because you never know if that individual with ‘limited’ English can…

趙瑞婷, 婷婷, Zhao Rui Ting , and Tina Zhao are all different name variations for my mother. She was born Guangzhou, a city in China and immigrated to the United States after marriage. Unlike many other immigrants, 婷婷 was lucky enough to be a stay at home mother, yet because of this, she faced many problems that involved finance. Living in a foreign country without an income, 婷婷’s life represents those who are burdened by financial and language barriers. Her birth name “趙瑞婷” is pronounced “ziu seoi…

There are many different understandings of how a children is grown to learn and have the knowledge to succeed academically. Several people portrait a different image of their children’s potential and ability to achieve success. In Amy Chua’s essay “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” she writes a memoir of how she raised her two daughters following the Chinese culture. She describes what she did to help her daughters to achieve success academically even though her method was harsh. She did what…

In her article "Feng Shui, astrology, and the five elements : Traditional Chinese belief in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club" Patricia L. Hamilton comments on the usage of language, Chinese culture, Chinese beliefs, and the important moments within Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club". The article helps connect smaller details into bigger ideas that could have possibly been missed. In the writing Hamilton connects the involvement with metal in Lindo's story The Red Candle with the birth of her daughter…

states, all culturally different. Although all the millions of people who live in the United States are all interrelated due to the fact that we all live in the same country, but we all differ in the language we speak and our culture. Text such as The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, “Studying Islam” by Peter Berkowitz and Michael McFaul, and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, explore the idea that language and culture shape and give individuals their identity. No two…