Having fled so far from Vietnam, I can no longer imagine what to say, or how I should address my prayers, or for that matter what promises I could possibly make to the long departed. My mother, on the other hand, lives in America the way she would in Vietnam. Every morning in my parents’ suburban home north of San Jose, with a pool shimmering in the backyard, my mother climbs a chair and piously lights a few joss sticks for the ancestral altar which sits on top of the living room's bookcase. Every morning she talks to ghosts. She mumbles solemn prayers to the spirits of our dead ancestors, and to the all-compassionate Buddha.
She lives a Kinjungo lifestyle that requires her husband to be a hunter and gatherer and he just relies on the earth for food and water. Flora’s husband may leave for months at a time, leaving her to watch their sick kids and the farm while there is no food. After giving up everything for her husband, she feels like she is torturing herself in the kinjungo and feels as if she has lost more than she has gained. She loves her husband but has to make a decision; leave her husband and go back to the city her homeland or
Brayan Burgos Dr. Stryffeler English 102 2/23/13 Short Story Analysis A family is planning a vacation in Florida, but their grandmother points out that there is an escaped murderer loose there and she would not take her family to such a place. She wants to go to east Tennessee. The next morning they head out and she sneaks her cat with them. After driving for a while, the grandmother thinks she remembers a plantation she once visited in this area. She suggests they go and the more she talks about it the more she wants to go.
On the 22nd of April my mother got sick that I had to come home to take care of her I am her care giver I make sure she take her medicine, do her speech exercise, walk we her to the doctor’s appointment and also speak for her when she needs it. I try to explain to my probation officer that but of course he don’t really care. I thought that probation supposed to help you but it seems like he is knocking me down. He trying to put me in jail for trying to take of my family and also probation I have no income coming in
“She said that my life is being subsumed by yours and that it’s as though I’ve joined some sort of eco-cult and you are the cult leader” (Beaven-75). When Colin contacted his family, he received a similar reaction. His plan was “instead of two three-day trips at Thanksgiving and Christmas” they would “take one weeklong trip for one holiday and stay home and relax for the other” (Beaven-82). His mother did not understand because “the train will run whether you are on it or not” (Beaven-82) and that his sister would be devastated that they would be missing his baby shower. I can only imagine what my family would do if I said something to them like Colin and Michelle did to theirs.
Megan’s Island Megan’s Island by Willo Davis Roberts explains the mystery surrounding Megan’s family. First Megan and her brother Sandy have to mysteriously pack up and move to their grandpa’s cabin on a lake very suddenly. Their mom won’t tell them why they have to go so quickly. Also, their mom leaves immediately when they got there, leaving them with their grandpa. Their mom doesn’t tell them where she is going or when she will be back.
In “To Sleep under the Stars,” by Carol Shaw Graham, Cecilia is unable to attend her class fieldtrip to the planetarium, but she learns how important family is. First, Cecilia knows that she cannot go to the first fieldtrip for 7th grade because her uncle and aunt need a break for taking care of her grandmother, so they drive over to grandma’s house. Then, when Cecilia arrives to grandma’s house, her grandma makes Cecilia felt better. Later, her grand takes her into a room. Then, her grandmother talks with her, they laugh and cry.
In rural Georgia, Mrs. Hopewell runs her family farm with the help of tenants Mr. and Mrs. Freeman. Mrs. Hopewell's daughter, Joy, who got her leg shot off in an accident when she was a child, now lives at home with her mother. Thirty three year old Joy has earned a PhD in philosophy, but she does not seem to have much common sense. In an act of rebellion, she has changed her name to Hulga, and she lives in a state of annoyed anger at her mother and Mrs. Freeman. A Bible salesman comes to the door, claiming his name is Manly Pointer (!
The lady got what she wanted, she had her feast with Jesus and he smiled down on her. Now the whole story is about a woman wanting to have a final feast with Jesus Christ, she got a little better, the woman walked along the highway talking to Jesus. Now who knows if she was actually talking to someone or if she was just a crazy old lady? The theme should not only be religion; should focus on racism as well. Whites and blacks have been at it for years; racism started a long time ago and is still an issue today.
I was unable to describe to Mary that her father will no longer into the room and pick her up or even tell her stories at bedtime. I also urged her brother, Edward Jr. to not try to mention it to her, but support and take care of her as best as he can. Mary was growing up and meanwhile this whole time I was telling her stories of her father and everything that happened between him and me inclusive the part with Bertha and how she burned the house down. Edward Jr. looks a younger version of his father, finally happy and married to a wonderful wife who is expecting her first son within this year. Mary enjoys going out with her friends to parties and even brings my cousin’s daughters with her.