Summary and Responce Essay
Summery and Response to “The Chinatown Idea” “The Chinatown Idea” is a chapter out of The Accidental Asian (1998) written by Eric Liu.
Eric describes a visit to Chinatown with his family. Eric's observations make him realize how close and far away he is from his culture. The Liu family were spending the day in the city of New York. They made several stops at different attractions of the city throughout the day. In the evening, they arrived in Chinatown. Eric feels like he is no longer in New York. There are shops and shoppers crowding the streets. He feels the need to be alert due to the amount of people and their seemingly characters. The streets are wet, dirty, and littered with trash. The family enters a bookstore inside an old building. Eric can not read any of the books. The family then ventures to a grocery full of people. Eric felt better about this shop. It was filled with Chinese foods and home goods. His mother filled a cart with supplies they could not find at home. Their order was cashed out with an abacus. The family came to Chinatown “to dip into a pool of undiluted Chineseness.” (Liu 81). Even though the family is Chinese, they feel that they do not belong here for long. Eric begins to see the differences between his family and the residents of Chinatown. Their fluent language and hard faces. The family happens upon Eric's grandmother. She is upset about them not visiting her. Eric realizes that his grandmothers everyday activities are his attractions. They leave his grandmother and head home. Eric falls asleep on the way. He feels comforted by being home. He showers and goes to bed. Eric saw Chinatown as a distant place that was completely different from his everyday life. He felt out of place at times. He saw it as dirty, dangerous, and fascinating. Chinatown was the past. A place just for visiting. The family had moved forward, leaving the old ways behind. The family is Westernized. American.
Liu, Eric. “The Chinatown
Eric describes a visit to Chinatown with his family. Eric's observations make him realize how close and far away he is from his culture. The Liu family were spending the day in the city of New York. They made several stops at different attractions of the city throughout the day. In the evening, they arrived in Chinatown. Eric feels like he is no longer in New York. There are shops and shoppers crowding the streets. He feels the need to be alert due to the amount of people and their seemingly characters. The streets are wet, dirty, and littered with trash. The family enters a bookstore inside an old building. Eric can not read any of the books. The family then ventures to a grocery full of people. Eric felt better about this shop. It was filled with Chinese foods and home goods. His mother filled a cart with supplies they could not find at home. Their order was cashed out with an abacus. The family came to Chinatown “to dip into a pool of undiluted Chineseness.” (Liu 81). Even though the family is Chinese, they feel that they do not belong here for long. Eric begins to see the differences between his family and the residents of Chinatown. Their fluent language and hard faces. The family happens upon Eric's grandmother. She is upset about them not visiting her. Eric realizes that his grandmothers everyday activities are his attractions. They leave his grandmother and head home. Eric falls asleep on the way. He feels comforted by being home. He showers and goes to bed. Eric saw Chinatown as a distant place that was completely different from his everyday life. He felt out of place at times. He saw it as dirty, dangerous, and fascinating. Chinatown was the past. A place just for visiting. The family had moved forward, leaving the old ways behind. The family is Westernized. American.
Liu, Eric. “The Chinatown