differently and that cultural beliefs are not the only factors that influence differences in opinion. The community‚ environment‚ and even one’s friends can also contribute to the way a person interprets things. One example is‚ “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down‚” a book about the struggles faced by the Lee family after emigrating from Laos to America. Foua delivered her 14th child‚ only this
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1. In her critique of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down‚ Janelle Taylor argues that Anne Fadiman’s portrayal of Hmong culture is problematic. Please explain how Fadiman’s story is problematic. In your discussion‚ be sure to consider: • How is the story set up as a tragedy? That is‚ if both the parents and the doctors are uncompromising in their quest for Lia’s well-being‚ how do they wind up colliding so tragically? • How are Hmong culture and Western medicine used as explanations for
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The spirit catches you and you fall down Introduction: “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down’’ by Anne Fadiman represents true story of the epileptic Hmong girl and her family displaced from China to the USA. She suffers severe grand mal seizures and eventually becomes vegetative for the rest of her life. Lia Lee’s story was a poignant example that emphasizes the cultural barriers between modern and traditional cultures through their approaches to the life‚ which results in complete destruction
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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Cultural Clash This book focuses on the “clash” of cultures that occurs between the Lee family‚ immigrants to the US from Laos‚ and the doctors that treat their daughter‚ Lia‚ who has been diagnosed with epilepsy. Lia’s parents‚ Foua and Nao Kao believe that Lia has fallen ill because she has “lost her soul”. This clash of ideas highlights one of the problems that the Lee’s faced when dealing with the medical community in the US – the Lee’s believed
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While reading‚ “When The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down” you easily see how well this book relates to this class. You see people of different backgrounds coming together with the same goal. You see people with good intentions making mistakes due to lack of cultural competency. There isn’t a time in this book that doesn’t involve the confliction of people with different backgrounds. These conflicts such as different languages‚ different beliefs‚ and unknown information about medicine and technology
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have been prevented a lot. The Lee’s thought the reason why Lia was sick was because her sister slammed the door too loud and it caused her soul to leave her body and become lost. However‚ the Doctors said she had epilepsy. Both of them had different views of what was going on with Lia‚ spiritual problem and mental problem. The American doctors should have had a few translators early in treatment that was familiar with the Hmong people that could explain to them and Doctors the cultural difference of
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country you know little about except for the fact that it’s safer than yours. You and your three children have successfully escaped persecution and are subsisting off of government aid. However‚ you don’t understand the Native language and you differ tremendously when it comes to cultural beliefs. You do know that when anyone is ill‚ it is because their soul is out of balance with their body‚ but the Natives in this country constantly resort to temples for intimate examinations that you consider
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Last semester I read the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman for one of my social work classes. This book is closely related to the chapter we covered this week on immigrants and refugees. This topic definitely piqued my interest. The book provided me with a descriptive overview of the life of a refugee from their perspective‚ while our textbook provided me with the knowledge base that is needed to assist this population. From a local perspective‚ I could never grasp the
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Immigrants Need to Know English If you turn over a permission slip or handout from a public school in Southern California on the backside you will find the same English words translated into Spanish. The act of translating the paper for the “child’s” wellbeing only provides a false illusion to the parent’s that the need to learn English is trivial. In reality it actually hinders the immigrants’ chances of success by denying the full language immersion in English that is needed to thrive in America
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Counseling The Culturally Diverse THE SPIRIT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN By: Yvette Bradley Professor: Dr. K. Doka The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by: Anne Fadiman In the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down starts with the traditional nurturing of the Hmong people. The most significant tradition is the burying of the placenta. The Hmong people believe that the placenta must be purposefully buried in a particular spot under the dwelling of the Hmong’s between
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