Ideas and Prompts for Week One: Strangers from a Different Shore

Don't forget, your 500-word "S/he's a Character" post is due Friday by 3:00 pm. I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of this week's characters! :)

If you're stuck on what to write about, consider the following prompts:

1. Maxine Hong Kingston's "Grandfather of the Sierra Nevada Mountains," Ah Goong, is considered "crazy" by his coworkers and is called "Fleaman" by his family. His wife, Kingston's grandmother, is so ashamed of him she will not even let him be included in the family portrait. Likewise, as the reader, you might find him weird or off-putting at times (such as when he masturbates in the basket).
   
   But what does the narrator find in Ah Goong that is strong, beautiful, and life-affirming? What does she value in his story? How can we understand his "weird" behavior as something other than simply "crazy?" Are there metaphorical meanings we can glean from his antics?
   
   
2. In American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang tells the story of three interrelated characters: The Monkey King, Jin Wang, and Danny. What do each of these characters share in common?
   
   
   
   
3. Chin-Kee, Danny's "embarrassing" cousin in American Born Chinese, is an interesting character because he seems to be a negative stereotype. The way he talks, the way he dresses, the way he acts--even his name echoes the American racial slur, "Chinky chinky Chinaman." What do you make of this? Why do you think Yang created a character who seems to reaffirm negative Chinese stereotypes?
   
   
4. In Strangers from a Different Shore, historian Ronald Takaki argues that Asian American history is integral to American history. How do we see this argument taken up by Maxine Hong Kingston in "The Grandfather of the Sierra Nevada Mountains?" Is there a way in which Ah Goong can be understood as larger than a single grandfather, a single China Man?

Let me know if you have questions!
Dr. Kulbaga