Characteristic About Hiromi Goto's Book, Term Paper

Total Length: 1023 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 3

Muriel, the third and youngest generation only speaks English; she didn't grow up with a Japanese mentality because her parents did their best to leave their cultural heritage behind and assimilate the new culture.

Through Naoe's eyes, immigration is viewed as a curse, a much unwelcome event that has forced her to estrange from Japan. Not only that doesn't she like the new country, she would make no effort to integrate herself within the community. Despite the fact that she herself admits she can understand and speak English, she stubbornly refuses to communicate in other language than Japanese. "I speak my words, speak my words, and I say them all out loud. I yell and sing and mutter and weep from my seat of power. I could speak the other [English] [...], but my lips refuse and my tongue swells in revolt."

The eighty-year-old woman is more upset since her daughter does not engage in conversations with her in their native language, nor does she seem interested in preserving her Japanese roots. Naoe does not understand Keiko's behaviour and she even calls her daughter "a child from my heart, a child from my body, but not from my mouth.

Stuck Writing Your "Characteristic About Hiromi Goto's Book," Term Paper?

" The mouth is here a very important object since it is used both for communicating and eating.

Keiko and her mother have a rather cold relationship, and this might be one of the reasons why daughter refuses to speak Japanese to Naoe. But aside from this, Keiko is determined to increase her efforts and integrate her family within the Canadian community.

Muriel is the last generation of immigrants; she has willingly accepted her Japanese-Canadian nationality and has successfully integrated in the community. Granddaughter preserves limited knowledge about her roots and her name does not reveal her cultural heritage.

The three women represent immigration in the sense of the transition from one's homeland to a new country. They all symbolize the necessary steps towards integration within a new community: Naoe's behavior stands for the initial reticence towards the new country; Keiko's approach stands for the need to still preserve some connection with the roots, but also to make the necessary steps towards learning the new language and customs; and Muriel, she represents the last step of integration, the phase where one has left all recollections of his past country behind and has embraced the culture of the new.....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Characteristic About Hiromi Goto's Book " (2007, October 12) Retrieved June 13, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/characteristic-hiromi-goto-book-35219

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Characteristic About Hiromi Goto's Book " 12 October 2007. Web.13 June. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/characteristic-hiromi-goto-book-35219>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Characteristic About Hiromi Goto's Book ", 12 October 2007, Accessed.13 June. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/characteristic-hiromi-goto-book-35219