Native Speaker - As A Writer

One decision Chang-Rae Lee makes in the chapters we read is on page 137. Henry talks about how his father would have admired John Kwang, "That kind of admiration between men was either effeminate or disrespectful, and then a little shameful, if the object was a younger man." Here, we see multiple sides to Henry's father. On one hand, we see that the father does have a more "human" side to him. Lee uses the possible admiration of Kwang to emphasis how Henry's father constantly critiqued people. This excerpt also gives the reader a sense of the effect of culture on Henry's father. 

The second decision Lee makes is on page 138. Lee shows finally begins to reveal John Kwang's personality, "This proved what appeared to me to be his great talent: his seeming resistance to dilution." Here, Henry is talking about Kwang's way of making people feel significant and important to him. Finally, the reader is able to see John Kwang as a person rather than just a name of a man who Henry is spying on. This decision also allows the reader to see Henry's interest in John Kwang.

The third decision Lee makes is by letting the reader into Kwang's family life. Henry says that he would like to say that Kwang was a family man, "But then I would be speaking only half of the truth, and the most accessible half at that, the part that had the least to do with him." (146) Lee uses Henry to almost sympathize with Kwang, to try and defend Kwang for not truly being a family man. This emphasizes Henry's growing interest in Kwang and also shows that Henry is possibly relating to Kwang.

The fourth decision Lee makes is to show the reader that Henry feels guilty about spying on Kwang. On page 147, Henry says, "An exposure of a different order, as if I were offering a private fact about my father or mother to a complete stranger..." Here, we see another possible obstacle with Henry and his work. Because the incident with the psychiatrist, the reader is led to believe that Henry's feelings toward spying on Kwang could be problematic later on. 

The final decision Lee makes is during Kwang's speech on page 151. Kwang is speaking at a church and says, "Let us think it is the problem of a self-hate." This particular line lets the reader see a part of Kwang's beliefs. The reader sees that Kwang brings up a lot of issues pertaining to race. However, 

Native Speaker

  The passage I picked is from page 68-69. It is where Lelia cannot accept the fact that Henry doesn’t know his housekeeper’s name. Henry tries to explain that in Korean culture, there’s a different level of the importance of first names. In respect to Henry, this scenario must be very frustrating, “Lelia had great trouble accepting this stunning ignorance of mine.” (68). It seems like Henry doesn’t really blame Lelia for not understanding the Korean way of names, but it also frustrates him that she doesn’t understand. He is able to distinguish the cultural difference between the American culture that stresses importance of a first-name basis and the Korean culture that doesn’t.

            In a way, I kind of understand Henry’s frustration. In respect to race, there have been times where I feel really frustrated that someone can’t understand me. Henry said, “She didn’t understand that there weren’t moments in our language-the rigorous, regimental one of family and servants-when the woman’s name could have naturally come out.” (69). I think what this means is that there weren’t many opportunities for certain things to occur that seem normal and common in American culture. An example of this is living in Hawaii. In my personal experience people have not understood how people take their shoes and slippers off in houses. People from the mainland sometimes find it really odd when they see shoes and slippers on a doormat. When I have tried to explain that this occurs here because of the Asian influence in Hawaii, people still seem dumbfounded. What is frustrating to me is similar to Henry; I don’t blame people for not understanding this culture, however it’s frustrating to try and explain the culture when people continue to not understand and even put it down. 

Who I'd Like To Meet

If I could get to know someone in the world who I don't know, I don't have a specific person in mind, but I would like to get to know a girl my age who lives in a country I've never heard of. This may sound a bit weird but I'd want to do this for many reasons. One is because I think that out of the hundreds of countries there are, there is very little I know about the world relatively. I don't particularly like that I don't know much about the world and the many different countries there are. I think that learning about a country from a first hand account would be a great way to find out most information possible. I also think that by getting to know someone who's my age and also a girl, I would be able to empathize and understand more because we would share at least two traits in common. I'd want to learn specifically what it's like to be an 18 year old girl in a country I've never heard of. I'd want to know what the living conditions are, if it's a safe environment, what types of pressure she faces, and just a general culture of teenage life. 

A lot of the times I have learned about foreign countries, it's been in a history class or it pertains to some kind of political drama going on. I find out a lot about the political side of things actually. But I think by getting to know someone like me, it would open another door so to speak in getting past all the political aspects of a country and learning something really new for a change. 

The Lists

I am over-thinking

jealous

_____'s girl

emotional

realist

optimist (or I try)

non-religious believer

sucker for romance

sucker for boys

strong

usable

token asian

alive

You are gullible 

independent since birth

courageous 

biased

sociable

no one's bitch

forceful

lover

heartbreaker

arrogant

best friend

always the friend

Barack Obama and Hawaii's future

I was looking for articles on Barack Obama today and I came upon today's newspaper. I thought it'd be interesting to look at a local article about Obama because after all, he is from here. 

What's really interesting to me is seeing if and how Hawaii will be different because of the up and coming president. Is Hawaii going to be pressured to appear a certain way soon? Will Obama truly remember where his roots are? Today, there were a couple of students being interviewed at school. This posed another interesting thought. How will Punahou be different or will it be different at all? Are we now going to be put under a microscope and are we going to be pressured to change as well? Maybe not, but I also wonder how many times Obama will be mentioned in our graduation speech. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is yes, this is definitely a historical event on a national level and there are many reasons why. However, on a more personal level it's interesting to see Hawaii finally making somewhat of an appearance in the whole scheme. 

The iPod Culture

Over the past couple of years, the iPod popularity has skyrocketed. Accompanying its popularity, the iPod has trigged different versions, colors, accessories, and even revolutionized Apple. But getting back to the iPod, almost everywhere you turn it seems that at least someone has an iPod, mini, nano, video, phone, touch...You name it, it's probably some sort of iPod. And so it is easy to say that the iPod has become a part of our culture. Whether it be a good or bad culture is open to interpretation.

I guess you could view the iPod "culture" as a good thing. No more toting around a bulky CD player or having an overflowing drawer filled with hundreds of CDs. Now thousands of songs are literally in the palm of your hand. You could also say that it is a good source of entertainment and that it is easier to keep up with new music. But you could also see this iPod culture as a bad thing. Everyone now becoming shut off from the world; communication is replaced with the blast of music and silence that occurs one too many times now. It is also much easier to pirate music off the internet because you can put it straight into your iPod and not worry about burning it to a CD. 

But who knows. All I can say is good or bad, the iPod has inevitably become part of our culture and if not the phenomenon has created its own culture. As everyone sticks the small white headphones into his/her ears, the iPod is pushing music technology further and further.

Identity

Since we were talking about identity in class today, I thought of a poem by Robert Frost.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

I realized when I first thought about this poem that it had to do a lot with choice and not so much about identity. But then I thought about choice a bit more. When I actually thought about choices that I have made, I believed (and believe) that choice is a a significant part of identity, or at least my identity. If I think about certain choices that I have made in my life, I can pick out a lot of what I believe is my identity. For example, when I was three, I chose to become a dancer. From that age until twelve years later I continued dancing and being a dancer was a huge part of who I was. Another example of this is simply the choices I make on a daily basis. I choose to drink coffee in the morning, work hard in school and sports, and be humorous around my friends. These choices almost become unconscious because they are everyday routines. But they still define a big part of who I am and I strongly believe that the choices people make define them. This is not to say there are no other contributing factors to identity, but now that I think about it, my identity is the choices I make.