Essay about Ethnic Differences Across Generations - 979 Words

Ethnic Differences Across Generations nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Gish Jen’s â€Å"Who’s Irish?† explores a Chinese grandmother’s thoughts and beliefs about her ethnically integrated family. The grandmother tells the story as though she is looking back on past events and thinking about how they have affected her present life. As her tale begins, she identifies her granddaughter, Sophie, as a wild three-year-old (161). Perhaps the grandmother associates with Sophie’s strong will, because she reveals her own intense nature when she says, â€Å"I am hard work my whole life, and fierce besides.† (161). Jen provides an immediate glimpse into the grandmother’s true character that remains constant. As the grandmother recounts her time living with her†¦show more content†¦The grandmother is frustrated because she cannot get Sophie to stop taking her clothes off at the park (164). She declares, â€Å"John and my daughter agree Sophie is a problem, but they don’t know what to do.† (164). Subsequently, the grandmother offers the suggestion, â€Å"You spank her, she’ll stop† because she considers it acceptable based on her cultural background (164). However, John and Natalie are against spanking because they believe it gives children low self-esteem, and â€Å"In America, parents not supposed to spank the child.† (165). After many frustrating attempts to get Sophie to keep her clothes on, the grandmother spanks her anyway (165). Following that, Sophie keeps her clothes on in the park, but the grandmother does not reveal to Natalie how she succeeded in gaining Sophie’s compliance (165). This success leads to a short period of harmony between Sophie, the grandmother, and Natalie. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;During this period of concord, the grandmother believes she can â€Å"help her [Sophie’s] Chinese side fight against her wild side.† (166). She does this by teaching Sophie good habits such as not eating food with her hands, not playing with garbage cans, and not hitting anyone (166). The grandmother continues to spank Sophie despite knowing that Natalie disapproves of this method of discipline. Clearly, the sixty-eight-year-old grandmother has been forced to rely on her own ethnic experience, which is that of a Chinese immigrant, to control herShow MoreRelatedHispanics and the Religious Landscape1167 Words   |  5 PagesCharismatic movements are a key attribute of worship for Hispanics in many of the major religious traditions — far more so than among non-Latinos. Moreover, the growth of the Hispanic population is leading to the emergence of Latino-oriented churches across the country . Although the vast majority of religious Hispanics identify as Catholic (Pew, 2007), a significant minority practice various Pentecostal faiths. Many of those are recent converts. 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