Question

Essay Writing Assignment: Rice for Thanksgiving

Answer 1

Answer:  

Jocelyn Fong’s essay is about her life as a mixed race individual. She uses the dish of rice and gravy to symbolize who she is: a mixture of two different and unexpected entities. Although this is the case, the unusual mixture ends up being something that her family bonds over during the holiday and is apparently also quite delicious. Fong describes some conflicts in her identity that arose due to its ambiguity. She also recounts the rough history that many Asian Americans lived through. There was a large amount of discrimination towards Asians and relationships between Asians and whites were even illegal for a period of time. For Fong, her race is a symbol of triumph over these past grievances. It shows progress towards a more unified and accepting future.

What really struck me about this essay was the correlation that it had to my own life. I, too, am half Asian and half white-American. I went through similar situations in which I questioned my identity and where I fit in. I also understand the fusion of cultures and how, although they are so completely different, they seem to fit together in the end. I suppose one difference would be that I experienced much more Asian culture that Fong since my mother moved here from Korea when she was 25 and still has a hard time with her English. Either way, I found it inspiring and comforting to read this essay.

I was incredibly surprised, however, by Fong’s descriptions of discrimination that Asians faced in the past. American history tends to focus very little on the Asian race and its backround in this country. I knew that there was some racism from learning about the Chinese Exclusion Act, but I had no idea that there was segregation in cities separating Chinese and Americans. A lot has been overcome since then. I guess this made me a little more proud of my heritage, too.

Answer 2

Answer:

Explanation:

The short essay, “Rice for Thanksgiving,” describes how someone from a mixed cultural background celebrates not only Thanksgiving, but life in the United States. The author uses the term “rice and gravy” to describe herself, meaning that even though she is white and Asian, she is still an American. She even describes how she is proud of her family background, especially since it survived a period in America when Asian culture was discriminated against. Her grandmother actually tried to hide the fact that she was Chinese. Overall, the author shows us that all cultures blend together in the United States and every family makes each holiday and tradition unique.

Even though I come from a family that has been in the United States for a long time and celebrates all of the holidays in a traditional manner, my friend is similar to Jocelyn Fong in that she is half white and half Asian. Her mom comes from Okinawa, Japan, and actually loves to celebrate Thanksgiving. She likes to cook a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner that doesn’t include any Japanese food whatsoever. I think she likes this particular holiday because it is celebrated in a very “Japanese” way, with a big feast that includes more food than anyone can eat. It is a way of honoring people with abundance, two things that are very important in Japan. So even though we don’t eat rice and gravy for Thanksgiving, we still observe two cultures blending together like Jocelyn Fong’s family.