Reading No. 8 Poems "Chinese Silence No. 22" and "Chinese Silence No. 30" by Timothy Yu

Timothy Yu
Title: Chinese Silence No. 22


Author: Timothy Yu 


Date: 2016



Setting (time and place):  There is not mention of a specific place, juts vague descriptions of China towns.




Event (conflict, important information, touching passage, question): The main conflict is the way in which Chinese culture co exists with other cultures in a foreign environment. Most of the time they have to remain silence trying to be unnoticed trying not to cause any disturb. 




Characters:

There is not a specific character, but there are descriptions of different cultures

The Italians: Making pasta.

The French: Making French things.

The Chinese: cultivating silence.

The Americans: in their sport utility vehicles.

The Canadian: behaving reasonably.




Memorable quote / favorite part: "Which silence it is hardly seems to matter / though many have a favorite / out of the 100 different kinds— / the Silence of the Well-Adjusted Minority, / the Girlish Silence of Reluctant Acquiescence, / the Silence that by No Means Should Be Mistaken for Bitterness."


How did it make me feel? / can I make any connection to my life?


This poem clearly reflects the point of view of the author about other cultures. most of them are perceived with stereotypes, as the one about the Italians making pasta. It is sad that the silence is a representation of being unable to stand by themselves and defend their believes. the poem makes one thing that the kind of silence they live is one in which they just accept the thing as they come because they don't have any other option.







Timothy Yu


Title: Chinese Silence No. 30


Author: Timothy Yu 



Date: 2016



Setting (time and place):  China towns in America.




Event (conflict, important information, touching passage, question): The main matter in this poem is the way in which the chinese culture has to adapt to the American Culture in order to achieve a good interaction among themselves.





Characters:

The only character is the narrator of the poem who is decribing Chinese culture among and how the American Culture is percieved.




Memorable quote / favorite part: "Nobody really lives here. / As someone involved in translation / I’ve eaten hundreds of meals here. / Nobody speaks Chinese."





How did it make me feel? / can I make any connection to my life?


The poem shows how it feels to live surrounded by a foreign culture. The feeling of not belonging to the place is present. personally, I have never traveled to a different country, so I can't imagine myself feeling this kind of lost since everything that surround me could be taken as different or strange. Though there are people who live like that for long periods of time just trying to adapt to the environment. 


Comentarios

Publicar un comentario

Entradas más populares de este blog

Reading No. 2 Poems: "If I Laid Them End to End" & "Sometimes I Feel Like all Indians"

Imagen
Kimberly Blaeser Title:   "If I Laid Them End to End" Author:  Kimberly Blaeser Date:  2007 Setting (time and place):  Since this poem is composed by three different stories, it has different settings. The first one there is no clear evidence of the time and settings, but it mentions a knife-marred counter in which conversations spills like sunshine. The second story doesn't mention its time either, but it mentions a burned farm, and a Strawberry mountain. The last story mentions two old fishermen that ended up drunk in a canoe; this means that probably they are on a lake or in a sea. Event (Conflict, important information, touching passage, question):  Even though there are three different stories in this poem, there is one specific topic which is starvation. The three stories mention how the characters in one way, or another are trying to survive and find food. For example, in the second stanza in the last line it says: "Sure took the w...
Leer más

Reading No. 5 "Maus" by Art Spiegelman

Imagen
Art Spiegelman Title:  Maus Author:  Art Spiegelman Date:  1991 Setting (time and place):   Since the novel has two sides, there are two main settings. One is in the "present" in Vladek's house were Artie is interviewing his father to know about his past, and the other is around Poland where Vladek live in the past. Event (conflict, important information, touching passage, question):  The main issues are the father-son relationship as well as the history about the holocaust and how the Jewish were chased by the German. It was during the World Warr II.  Characters: Vladek:  He is the main character he seems to be very stubborn and stingy, but by knowing his background it is understandable that he is like that because of his past. He went to the war and then were kept as prisoner then he was taken to a concentration camp. when he was released, it was the beginning of the "dark days" fo...
Leer más