All I Asking for Is My Body
Reading Response Paper for “All I Asking for is My Body”
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1. “Someday you’ll have your punishment. You’ll have an unfilial son like you,” mother said. “At least I won’t saddle him with a “$6,000 debt,” Tosh said. “And I’ll send him to high school and college. You people are upside down. The parents should owe the children, not the children the parents. Look at the haoles. Obligation is to the children. Traditionally, “filial piety” has been greatly stressed among the Eastern culture for a long period of time. Filial piety basically means to care and support one’s elderly parents; it has been a top priority in part of the children’s upbringing. The novel All I Asking for is My Body focuses on Tosh, Kiyoshi and their parents. Based on the chosen quote above, the book highlights the tension between children owing their parents and parents owing their children. In this situation, Tosh and Kiyoshi should practice filial piety in resolving their family’s situation of facing $6,000 debt primarily because their parents brought them into this world, no one can predict natural disasters to happen, and children generally should honor their parents. We are all considered to be indebted to our parents, as they are the ones who brought us into this world. Without our parents, we would not exist at all. In the novel, Tosh’s mother states that “Every child must repay his parents” (Murayama 30). This is because the younger generation owes their elderly parents the care and attention that was once given to them. As younger generations like Tosh and Kiyoshi instill this mindset into their lives, their sense of social commitment towards their elderly parents will increase. Although Tosh and Kiyoshi came from a poor family, their parents were still able to fulfill their responsibilities of providing for their children’s basic welfare. They may not enjoy certain luxuries like other families had, but their parents did not let their
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1. “Someday you’ll have your punishment. You’ll have an unfilial son like you,” mother said. “At least I won’t saddle him with a “$6,000 debt,” Tosh said. “And I’ll send him to high school and college. You people are upside down. The parents should owe the children, not the children the parents. Look at the haoles. Obligation is to the children. Traditionally, “filial piety” has been greatly stressed among the Eastern culture for a long period of time. Filial piety basically means to care and support one’s elderly parents; it has been a top priority in part of the children’s upbringing. The novel All I Asking for is My Body focuses on Tosh, Kiyoshi and their parents. Based on the chosen quote above, the book highlights the tension between children owing their parents and parents owing their children. In this situation, Tosh and Kiyoshi should practice filial piety in resolving their family’s situation of facing $6,000 debt primarily because their parents brought them into this world, no one can predict natural disasters to happen, and children generally should honor their parents. We are all considered to be indebted to our parents, as they are the ones who brought us into this world. Without our parents, we would not exist at all. In the novel, Tosh’s mother states that “Every child must repay his parents” (Murayama 30). This is because the younger generation owes their elderly parents the care and attention that was once given to them. As younger generations like Tosh and Kiyoshi instill this mindset into their lives, their sense of social commitment towards their elderly parents will increase. Although Tosh and Kiyoshi came from a poor family, their parents were still able to fulfill their responsibilities of providing for their children’s basic welfare. They may not enjoy certain luxuries like other families had, but their parents did not let their
Bibliography: Murayama, Milton. All I asking for is my body . Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1988. Print.