Bich Minh Nguyen has in incredible memory. Her ability to write a memoir that reflects a long period of her life is awesome. I myself could never remember so many details from my past, even though I've only lived 19 years. But I can still relate to her story. I don't think that anyone can say they have never felt like an outcast at some time or another, and while fruit may not have been a luxury for me, I can still remember holding onto baked goods for so long that they'd get moldy. Some good things only last so long.
Her story revolves around self discovery. She belongs to a cohort that doesn't know the pain of the past that her relatives went through, but still doesn't quite feel like she belongs in the world called Grand Rapids that she has always known. Our surroundings really affect how we grow.
This speaks to me.
Bich focuses on her cultural confusion. Her grandmother is set in her ways, her father is confused and awkward, because he is at an age where he can evolve, but it doesn't feel right, and she has friends who are completely American in culture. So comes the dilemma, to steal Buddha's dinner or not to steal Buddha's dinner? But does what surrounds us have to define us?
I don't think it should. I think that her biological mother serves as an excellent metaphor to the moral of this story. Bich's mother has always held a mystery to her. Bich wants to know who she is and she feels like she needs to know her mother, but no one will say anything about her. Bich's mother is absent, so she can't shape how Bich directly thinks about anything, only indirectly. When Bich meets her mother she feels she is just another person. That's what anything in life is; it's just something around you, a fact, until you allow it to define you. Rosa is a part of Bich's life directly. She isn't blood, but it doesn't matter.
What you allow to define you is what defines you. I believe this to be a universal truth. If we choose to define ourselves as being in a special circumstance because we are 20 years old and White in American culture, then that's what defines us. We need to realize that there is more to us than social situations, and what has previously defined us historically. Ignore the boxes that society seems to put you in, and remember that we are all human. We all have the same basic needs and emotions. Empathize with each other, recognize that we all have different life experiences, but NEVER forget that under it all, we are the same.
Her story revolves around self discovery. She belongs to a cohort that doesn't know the pain of the past that her relatives went through, but still doesn't quite feel like she belongs in the world called Grand Rapids that she has always known. Our surroundings really affect how we grow.
This speaks to me.
Bich focuses on her cultural confusion. Her grandmother is set in her ways, her father is confused and awkward, because he is at an age where he can evolve, but it doesn't feel right, and she has friends who are completely American in culture. So comes the dilemma, to steal Buddha's dinner or not to steal Buddha's dinner? But does what surrounds us have to define us?
I don't think it should. I think that her biological mother serves as an excellent metaphor to the moral of this story. Bich's mother has always held a mystery to her. Bich wants to know who she is and she feels like she needs to know her mother, but no one will say anything about her. Bich's mother is absent, so she can't shape how Bich directly thinks about anything, only indirectly. When Bich meets her mother she feels she is just another person. That's what anything in life is; it's just something around you, a fact, until you allow it to define you. Rosa is a part of Bich's life directly. She isn't blood, but it doesn't matter.
What you allow to define you is what defines you. I believe this to be a universal truth. If we choose to define ourselves as being in a special circumstance because we are 20 years old and White in American culture, then that's what defines us. We need to realize that there is more to us than social situations, and what has previously defined us historically. Ignore the boxes that society seems to put you in, and remember that we are all human. We all have the same basic needs and emotions. Empathize with each other, recognize that we all have different life experiences, but NEVER forget that under it all, we are the same.
Do you think that Rosa influences and defines Bich more than her absent mother does? What about Noi? To what degree are our identities shaped by others?
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