The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - Summary and Reading Log Chapter 1 - Birth Chapter 1 goes through the traditional birthing methods and traditions of the Hmong people. One of the most significant traditions is burying the placenta. The placenta has to be strategically buried in a specific spot under the homes dirt floor or when the person dies its soul has to travel back to the placenta. This chapter also introduces the characters Nao Kao and Foua Lee. Nao is husband and father of 13
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Music in “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” In the story‚ repetition and strands of music take on a role of a character for Connie‚ offering a safe haven for a troubled girl. Throughout the story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have you Been?”‚ Oates uses the element of strands and repetition of music to create a safe haven for Connie in which she can escape. The theme from a 1950’s song “It’s all Over Now‚ Baby Blue.” By Bob Dylan connects to the theme of escaping from “Where Are You Going? Where
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In “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” the author uses clothes as a symbol to reveal our protagonist and antagonist individualities. Connie who is our protagonist is a fifteen-year-old girl who has the habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors. Connie wears a pullover jersey blouse that looked one way when she is home and another way when she is away‚ in where she wears shorts. In the text‚ it states that “They must have been familiar sights walking around the shopping plaza in their
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physical ailment. According to Fadiman (1997)‚ “…the noise of the door had been so profoundly frightening that her soul had fled her body and become lost. They recognized the resulting symptoms as qaug dab peg‚ which means ‘the spirit catches you and you fall down’”(p.20). To the Lee family‚ Lia’s condition was as revered as it was frightening. While a person with qaug dab peg was traditionally held in high esteem in the Hmong culture‚ it was also terrifying enough that the Lee’s rushed Lia to the
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There are many notorious characters in literature‚ all with their own menacing qualities and depraved actions. None‚ however‚ have struck such a devastatingly creepy chord as Arnold Friend of Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" Seducer of young girls and embodiment of Lucifer‚ Arnold Friend is anything but a friend. Arnold Friend is presented through both actions and appearances‚ and these combine to diminish his likeability‚ while adding to his devilish persona. Although
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different. She gave birth inside her home‚ with completely no help. She also cut and tied the umbilical cord with a string. Afterwards they buried the placentas as a tradition to their beliefs. Now‚ with Lia’s birth she was in a public hospital where she was attended by doctors and given medicine. It was also sanitary there‚ unlike her house. Instead of burying Lia’s placenta‚ it was incinerated. All in all‚ the difference between Hmong birth practices and practices here in the united stated
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feminist were viewed as strange and were quickly overlooked. Go to a concert today‚ you see woman‚ even a teen‚ dressed in skin tight clothing‚ hanging out with the guys‚ drinking beer‚ and shooting the bull. Take our outlook on feminist criticism today‚ such as; gender roles‚ French feminism‚ multicultural feminism‚ and gender studies. Now‚ apply these thoughts to a text like‚ ‘Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?’ written in 1970s. The insights and goals of the women’s movement have been transformed
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Change You Wish to See in the World Gandhi said‚ “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” You have the power within you to create the life you want to live. You have the power to shape the world around you just by who you are being‚ and how you are communicating. The law of attraction‚ one of the fundamental aspects to living a life by design‚ explains that everything that is created in the outside world is the result of what takes place internally. Being the change you wish to see in the
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December 11‚ 2012 Section 1: Who is the one to delineate fault for a miscommunication and misunderstanding between two cultures? In Anne Fadiman’s novel‚ The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down‚ she begins the novel as an attempt to allocate responsibility for the mistreatment and exacerbation of Lia Lee’s epilepsy. The tension between the Hmong and United States medical culture exemplified the strain in America between a foreign culture dependent on rituals and society’s norm. As the novel progress
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“Where are you going‚ where have you been” by Joyce Carol Oates In the short story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been‚” author Joyce Carol Oates depicts the main character as a fifteen year old daydreamer. Her name is Connie‚ and she is obsessed with her appearance. Connie’s mother constantly teases her about looking in the mirror and always obsessing over her looks. Connie believes her mother does this because her own looks have faded. Connie has an older sister‚ June. June is constantly
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