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Section A:
Many of the students at CSIA have the experience of studying abroad, outside of their mother country. It must have been a great experience for them to learn new culture and society, however, the problem is that people are losing their original and unique tradition or heritage. Dee, in Everyday Use, experiences a turning point of her life through experiencing other cultures, excluding her family heritage. This took a huge role in building her personality. The family heritage of each individual could affect them personally and universally at the same time.
The grandfather, from A Celebration of Grandfathers, says, ��They don��t make men like that anymore,�� which has a deeper meaning of today��s society. It has developed and changed in such a short time that people are forgetting their old tradition and culture. Our society is no longer ��fruitful�� without the tradition of each individual. This will also affect our future with a weak and unstable infrastructure; the building will one day collapse. If the tradition and the heritage keep fading out, our future would end up with a devastation and collision.
Since I spent my teenage years in the states, I feel more comfortable with the western culture than Korean traditions. I feel sad about the fact I lost some parts of my own culture, however, I have learned to become confident and open-minded at all times. Since my parents studied abroad as well, my family tradition is more westernized than most other Korean families. The experience outside of my country has greatly affected me personally and universally, as well.
Section B:
Most of the 6 million Jews who were killed during World War�� died in concentration camps. They were put to death in gas chambers, were shot by firing squads, or even starved to death. The memoir, From Night, gives vivid descriptions of the loathsome condition of the concentration camps. So many innocent people were killed just because they were weak, and the ones who survived were forced to work without enough food and care. The concentration camps during World War�� could be considered one of the best examples of cruelty.
War, in any occasions or situations, is no different than concentration camps. In Cranes, Tokchae says, ��They made me vice-chairman of the league because I was a hardworking farmer and one of the poorest.�� In the text, Tokchae is a poor, innocent farmer who did not intentionally join the army. However, he gets caught by the police and is told that he will be shot. Thousands of people got killed not only the ones involved in the government, or the war itself, but also the blameless ones.
Although most people stay back if the situation is actually before their eyes, they should stand up for what they think is wrong. Each individual might not have enough power to change the world however if they gather up and protest for it, they ��will�� make a change.
Section C:
The two mothers in the stories, Getting a Job, by Maya Angelou, and Everyday Use, by Alice Walker, both have strong characteristics however they are so much different from each other. The one in Getting a Job has a strong belief in her daughter. She, herself, is a strong woman and she wants her daughter to be like her as well. She acts as if nothing had happened after her daughter was rejected by the office lady. This illustrates that the mother supports her because she has a fate and belief in her daughter that she would succeed one day.
On the other hand, the characteristics of the mother of two daughters, Dee and Maggie, in Everyday Use are hard to tell. She is not so strong but fully understands her children. Both mothers in the two stories know their children, however, the mother of Dee and Maggie seems more like an ambiguous person. She is definitely not confident, probably because of the poor condition of her family, and has a lot of worries about everything.
Works Cited
Anaya, Rudolf. The Interactive Readers Plus : A Celebration of Grandfathers, Evanston, IL: Mc Dougal Littell Inc., 2006
Angelou, Maya. The Interactive Readers Plus : Getting A Job, Evanston, IL: Mc Dougal Littell Inc., 2006
Walker, Alice. The Interactive Readers Plus : Everyday use, Evanston, IL: Mc Dougal Littell Inc., 2006
Wiesel, Elie. The Interactive Readers Plus : From Night, Evanston, IL: Mc Dougal Littell Inc., 2006
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