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Post by Emma D on Sept 13, 2024 8:31:53 GMT -8
The Relationship between Mai and her mother is very different and difficult. They both see things from different views based on their past and how they grew up. Mai's mother has memories of her coming from Vietnam to America to escape the war. For Mai growing up in America and doesn't have the same life experiences as her mother once did at her age. Mai's Mom was still worried about the war and how everything was going to end, so they could go back home. While on the other hand all Mai wanted to do was to learn more English from her Aunt and Uncle. Mai was adapting to the American style of things and realized that her mother would soon not recognize her as the cultured girl she once was before. Mai feels very strongly about learning how to speak English especially since she is in America. Cultural displacement is shown in the text from the narrator, which is Mai. Shown from examples said in the text you can see that Mai struggled to become engaged in her culture since she was brought up in America at a young age. Mai grew up liking and thinking that American traditions were her culture since Vietnam culture wasn't introduced to her continuously. When learning English with her Aunt and Uncle she believed America was the "light world" since she had little to none knowledge of Vietnamese culture. The conflict between Mai and her mother was based on how Vietnam culture was taught to her mother, but when Mai was brought to America she grew up wanting to learn American culture. This made getting along with her Mom very hard since they view America in two different ways. Throughout the entire passage the generational conflict and cultural separation caused Mai and her mother to not agree on several ideas. To conclude, the cultural displacement and generational conflict made the relationship between Mai and her mother difficult to come to agreements. Since her Mom didn’t want to let go of the old memories she had in the past, and since Mai was very little when she was brought to America she didn’t share the same experiences and memories her Mom did.
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Post by Hayden Legere on Sept 13, 2024 9:39:43 GMT -8
In "From Monkey Bridge" by Lan Cao, the relationship between Mai and her mother serves as a poignant exploration of cultural displacement and generational conflict. Mai, who is trying to adapt to her new life in America, often finds herself at odds with her mother, who clings to her memories of Vietnam. This generational divide highlights the struggles of immigrants who must navigate the complexities of preserving their cultural heritage while assimilating into a new society. Lan Cao uses their relationship to show how cultural displacement affects both the younger and older generations differently. Mai represents the younger generation that is more willing to embrace new cultural norms, while her mother symbolizes the older generation that holds onto the past as a way to maintain their identity. Memories play a crucial role in shaping their identities. Form Mai's mother, memories of Vietnam are a source of comfort and a way to stay connected to her roots. These memories influence her perception of her role in the new environment as a preserver of their heritage. On the other hand, Mai's memories are a mix of her life in Vietnam and her experiences in America, creating a complex identity that straddles two cultures. Her individual memories influence her perception of her role as someone who must bridge the gap between the old and the new. Shared memories between Mai and her mother also create a bond that is both a source of conflict and understanding. These shared memories remind Mai of her heritage, but also sometimes feel like a burden as she tries to forge her own path. Through their relationship, Lan Cao effectively illustrates the emotional and psychological impact of cultural displacement and generational conflict, showing how memories can both divide and unite individuals in their journey to find a sense of belonging. I agree with what Layla said how Mai finds herself at odds with her mother. I also liked what she said about how “This generational divide highlights the struggles of immigrants who must navigate the complexities of preserving their cultural heritage while assimilating into a new society.” That is a very accurate representation of what was happening within this story and the way that it is complicated to get through that in between of two identities or cultures. It’s placing struggles on the two of them in identity and in learning to understand each other. As well as the different perspectives that they have in doing this. |
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Post by Joseph Yakoo on Sept 13, 2024 10:39:50 GMT -8
I agree that a big influence on how the mother wants to live is that she is used to her old cultural traditions and way of life. She has learned to stay at home and be more of a house wife while that's now how the USA primarily is. Also back home she was able to speak her native language with everybody and go to stores and do everything. In America she is restricted from that ability because of her English not being very well. On the other hand Mia is capable of communicating with everybody and she is involved in American culture. The biggest factor being her English. This creates a barrier between the mother and the daughter because now they have different goals and lifestyles. They don't do the same things like they did is Vietnam. The memories they have are conflicting and different after they moved to America. This is why their relationship altered after moving to America. |
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Post by Emma D on Sept 13, 2024 10:42:13 GMT -8
In "From Monkey Bridge" by Lan Cao, the relationship between Mai and her mother serves as a poignant exploration of cultural displacement and generational conflict. Mai, who is trying to adapt to her new life in America, often finds herself at odds with her mother, who clings to her memories of Vietnam. This generational divide highlights the struggles of immigrants who must navigate the complexities of preserving their cultural heritage while assimilating into a new society. Lan Cao uses their relationship to show how cultural displacement affects both the younger and older generations differently. Mai represents the younger generation that is more willing to embrace new cultural norms, while her mother symbolizes the older generation that holds onto the past as a way to maintain their identity. Memories play a crucial role in shaping their identities. Form Mai's mother, memories of Vietnam are a source of comfort and a way to stay connected to her roots. These memories influence her perception of her role in the new environment as a preserver of their heritage. On the other hand, Mai's memories are a mix of her life in Vietnam and her experiences in America, creating a complex identity that straddles two cultures. Her individual memories influence her perception of her role as someone who must bridge the gap between the old and the new. Shared memories between Mai and her mother also create a bond that is both a source of conflict and understanding. These shared memories remind Mai of her heritage, but also sometimes feel like a burden as she tries to forge her own path. Through their relationship, Lan Cao effectively illustrates the emotional and psychological impact of cultural displacement and generational conflict, showing how memories can both divide and unite individuals in their journey to find a sense of belonging. I agree with Layla when she explained the struggles of immigrants who have to navigate the complexities of preserving their cultural heritage. Throughout the passage heritage was shown for two different perspectives. With Mai's perspective being American and her Mom's being Vietnamese. I also like the idea that Layla said about how Mai's Mom wanted to stay to her source of comfort and stick to her roots. It could be uncomfortable to switch over to the new "lifestyle" that was brought abruptly. Even though Mai was brought up in American culture, her Mom was raised in Vietnamese culture. Lastly, I see the point that Layla was trying to get across when she explained how the passage effectively illustrated the emotional and psychological impact of cultural displacement and generational conflict. Since even though Mai and her Mom grew up differently they are both affected by differences in culture and generational challenges. |
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Post by Emma D on Sept 13, 2024 12:50:14 GMT -8
The relationship with Mai and her mother is sort of conflicting. Since they both have different memories opposite from each other, it is hard for the two to get along as much. For example, Mai's mother's memories are mostly from Vietnam and escaping the war and coming to America. However, Mai does not share these memories of the past with her mother and cannot understand or comprehend what her mother wants or likes. For example, the text states how the mother spends her day thinking about what will happen in the war in Vietnam and when they could go back. On the other hand, Mai is only focused on learning English from her aunt and uncle. In the text, the narrator states, "Inside my new tongue, my real tongue, was an astonishing new power. For my mother and her Vietnamese neighbors, I became the keeper of the word, the only one with access to the light world." In these sentences, the narrator is describing how she feels after learning English. She feels that knowing English makes her a very important person and that since they are in America, she consideres it the "light world" sort of wants to be able to know everything that is going in the the world around her. In the text, "From Monkey Bridge," a major issue is cultural displacement. In this text specifically, cultural displacement is showns through the narrator, Mai. Since Mai had to move to America from Vietnam at a young age, she was unable to learn or find interest in the traditions of Vietnam. Instead, she grew up liking and thinking that American traditions was her culture. A big example of this is the interest Mai shows in learning English. Since she does not have many memories in Vietnam, she cannot comprehend what life is like in Vietnam, forcing her to think that America is the "light world." The generational conflict occurs between the mother and daughter since even though Mai is Vietnamese, she is unable to uphold the traditions and values of a Vietnamese person in America, making it hard for her heavily cultured Vietnamese mother to get along with her daughter. This influences their roles in their new environment since in Vietnam, the mothers of the household were usually stay-at-home moms and would do all of the chores and make food. However, in America, their roles are affected since both men and women work jobs and there are few stay-at-home moms. Since the mother is older and has more memories in Vietnam, it is harder for her to adapt to the new lifestyle she has been given in America. On the other hand, it is much easier for Mai to accept these new roles in America since she has very few memories in Vietnam, making it easy for her to adapt to the new culture. Another reason is that it is harder to change the mind of someone older who has more experience in another place than it is to change the mind of a little girl who has just been introduced somewhere new. All in all, the relationship between the mother and Mai is impacted by cultural displacement and generational conflict since the Mom is unwilling to let go of the past since she has more memories in the past than the present and Mai has very little in the past due to her young age, allowing her to quickly adapt to her new environment. I agree with what Sahaj was saying for how indifferent Mai and her mother are. The point he was getting across was that Mai and her mother grew up completely differently. Even though Mai was introduced to Vietnamese culture when she was young, she was too little to fully understand it. When looking back in the text you can see that Mai's Mom was trying to get Mai interested in her culture, but Mai was too focused on American culture. Even though it is good to learn about the culture of the country you live in, it is also important to know and understand your heritage. I can also agree on what Sahaj was saying about how Mai views American culture. In the text Mai states that America is the "light world". Whereas her Mom views America as foreign and not a home of hers. We can determine this because her Mom is set on the idea of going back to Vietnam after the war ends and raising Mai there. Lastly, Sahaj made a good point of how the different cultures cause separation between Mai and her Mom. Mai has little to no interest to learn about Vietnam culture since she isn't getting raised in Vietnam. Her Mom is set and focused on her memories in the past and how they affected her and how she grew up separately. |
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Post by Emma D on Sept 13, 2024 13:17:01 GMT -8
The relationship between Mai and her Vietnamese heritage is quite unique. Lan Cao uses the relationship between Mai and her Mother to show that the impact of cultural displacement has many different issues. Mai and her Mother are separated by culture, language and community. As a first-generation immigrant, Mai faces the challenge of integrating into American society while maintaining a connection to her Vietnamese roots. Her mother also faces the issue of being a first-generation immigrant however the difference to Mai is that she doesn't want to integrate into American culture. She also is insistent on staying to here original culture. Her mother clinging to memories of Vietnam represents a different facet of cultural displacement—the inability to fully let go of the past. For her mother, Vietnam is not just a place but a repository of cherished memories and a symbol of loss. Her nostalgia for the past and her struggle to adapt to life in America create a generational rift between her and Mai.Her mother's memories of Vietnam are laden with a sense of identity and belonging that she feels is being eroded by their new life in America. This nostalgia often clashes with Mai’s desire to forge a new identity that is not wholly defined by their past.Ultimately Lan Cao uses the mother-daughter relationship to illuminate the impact of cultural displacement and the generational divide. memories run amp double role: they are both amp reference of link to the by and amp prospective roadblock to Adjusting to the show. Mai struggle to balance her Vietnamese heritage with her American life coupled with her mothe's struggle to hold onto the past underscores the tension between preserving cultural identity and embracing a new reality. I agree on the statement that Andrew explained, on how Mai and her Mother are separated by culture, language, and community. When looking back in the passage Mai's Mom was strict about her culture, which being is Vietnamese. Since Mai was brought to America to escape the war, she was more introduced into American culture. Mai was taught English from her Uncle and Aunt, which Mai's Mom wasn't a big fan of. When Mai brought the culture home to her Mom, she didn't understand why the American culture was so much more important than Vietnamese, which created a barrier between their mother daughter relationship. I also agree with what Andrew said about how Lan Cao uses the mother-daughter relationship to illuminate the impact of cultural displacement and the generational divide. It shows how different people grow up and how they are raised at different times. So lastly, I also agree with how Mai struggled to balance two cultures at once. It seemed that she was forced to hold on to the little knowledge she had about Vietnamese culture due to her Mom. When all in all Mai was more interested in American culture, than she would ever be in Vietnamese culture. |
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Post by Joseph yakoo on Sept 13, 2024 19:28:03 GMT -8
I agree with Soloman the generational conflict Between the mother and the daughter is because of moving to America. I think that America shapes that identities and the daughter is welcome to our surroundings more than to the mother while the mother is more wants to be an outcast to the American society. I also think somebody if an author age would be less able to adapt and change their way of living compared to a younger generation because they have experience much and don’t have a way of living yet cause they’re still so young. Why their memories differ from each other because of what they’ve experienced in America compared to experience in Vietnam. The daughter also exemplifies this when she sees herself as superior to her mother because she speaks better English than her and she puts herself on a pedestal. This also creates more of a barrier between the mother and a daughter.
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