From Christina Dao:
"When they reached the compound, they noticed the wire fence, as tall as two men standing on each other's shoulders. They were told to get out of the bus and enter the gates. My family hesitated before the entrance; they had escaped from one country and had not expected to be captives in the next. My father's feet stilled. A Thai soldier punched him and he fell to the ground. The man kicked him. My father got up as fast as he could. Not to hit the man back, but because he did not want my mother and grandmother to see him on the ground. My father looked at the man and did nothing." (44)
Why did he punch him?
From Christen Kinsman:
"On March 5, 1979, in the early morning hours, my mother gave birth to my sister Dawb, the Hmong word for white. To have pale skin in a life lived outside was a valuable quality then, a sign of beauty in a culture dominated by sun-tarnished skin. An aunt said that Dawb would be a good name for a little girl who was born beautiful in an enemy camp. It did not cross any of their minds that dawb was also the color of surrender. If anyone had remembered that white was the color of the flag that had danced in my grandmother's hands, maybe my sister would have received a name that she would have liked better. When Dawb was born, my mother did not receive the friend she had wanted, but someone who needed her love desperately." (30)
What does this passage say about what colors mean?
From Joshua Bendanillo:
"An expression on one man's face is the memory my mother and father both carry, even twenty-five years after the fact: it was only a look, but it said that we were not human, too poor to walk on the earth. It was in that image of that Thai man with his red-and-white turban wrapped around his head, looking at them making their way into his country, that my mother and father learned what it meant to be poor, to be without a home or clothing to hide in." (43)
What was the significance of that glance at that moment that they realized they were poor? The power behind a look or glance?
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ReplyDeleteI think the glance remained imprinted in her parents' memories because of the fact that the man was Thai. His nationality must have emphasized to them that they and their people were truly homeless. Not only had the Hmong been shunned from their native China and Laos, they were now made painfully aware that Thailand (symbolized by this soldier) was not a land open to them and that they would have to travel even further to find a place to call their own, if such a place could ever truly exist.
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ReplyDeletei believe the man punched him, because of the situation they were in. He was a soldier and her father was a refugee. He was considered the enemy, and i believe the soldier had a honest hatred for him. Remember that the Hmong people were being hunted and captured for their involvement with the war. So the punch to me symbolized nothing more then the hatred for an "enemy".
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in this passage, the meaning of white plays the role of two meanings. The first of beauty and the second of surrender. I believe the author was trying to show the irony of the situation they were in. Captured people who had no choice but to surrender or die. And dawb was born during their time at the camp, so although she might have been a baby of beauty and pale skin, she was also a baby that was born during a harsh time for the Hmong people.
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I believe with the glance, her parents realized how much these people, the Thai's, really hated them. They saw that in their eyes, they were not equal beings. And with this, i believe that they realized themselves being "poorer" then them. Because to me, the term "poor" in this passage doesn't refer to without money or wealth, but poor in the sense of personal value. The Hmong people lived their lives without a country, moving from place to place. And they used the mountains as a place of refuge and escape. So now out in the open, taken captured, her parents possibly saw the reality of their situation. Captured citizens, No home, no clothes, and hatred all around. They were truly poor.
You don't know what you are talking about! The Hmong were not being being hunted for being involved in the war! REMEMBER THAT THEY WERE BEING KILLED OFF BY THE VIETNAMESE! That is also why the had joined with the americans because they wanted to ensure their ethnicity and I also see why you would say something like that regarding your race.
DeleteQuote 1: I think that the Thai soldier punched him because the father stayed still. When his "feet stilled" while the rest of the family and passengers on the bus moved forward, the father held up the line, messed up the orders given and the order of the line. I think the Thai soldier's punch was meant to keep the father moving so that his hesitating family would move, too. The punch was also a brutal reminder and a kind of wake up call as well as another exercise of power of the Thai over the Hmong. Another thing that's important about the passage is that the father got up immediately, not just to save face in front of everyone, but in a way that I imagined was out of defeat. "Doing nothing" says a lot about powerlessness and the reality of defeat.
ReplyDeleteQuote 2: I think that Dawb as a character and as a color represents hope. Dawb being "born beautiful in an enemy camp" illustrated the possibility of goodness in their lives that were completely altered by war and trauma. In her writing, Yang reiterates her family's sense of needing, wanting and wishing when they knew they had nothing but each other. The family members were searching, waiting for and walking for each other. A family member, it seems, was everything to all of them. It was all they each needed and fought for. Dawb's birth was a testament to beauty despite their situation and it was a renewed hope for the family. And although white is the color of surrender, it's the act of sacrificing one's self while surrendering that gives birth to the hope that something new will happen.
Quote 3: I think that, at this particular point in the story, the farmer's look was the first time in a long time that they had come into contact with someone who wasn't Hmong. This look meant that they did not belong there, that they were not worth anything. This look alone was powerful enough to remind the Yang family about what they didn't have and what would have made them human - a home.
Quote 1 : In theis scene, Yang's father (or his family)represents the people who don't have a nation and power. Even, the Thai solider who hit Yang's father didn't need to treat the people like that, he did because he wanted show his authority to the Hmong. The solider would had thoght that "I have a nation which protect me and you don't have it. I am stronger than you and you should obey to me, may nation, and ourboundary." It seems to show deep sorrow whose people don't have home, nation.
ReplyDeleteQuote 2. Usually, white means pure, blank, and angel's something. On the other hand, it means surrender or submission. Why did the Hmong live in the hidden mountain, and against the North Vietnamese and Latino soliders? The Hmong had resistanced what they didn't want but they, finally, raised up the "white" flag. In this scene, white means powerless, surrender, and giving up their "faith".
Quote 3. This is same as quote 1. Maybe the Thai man felt sorry and pitty about the family who just escaped from death, but also, he looked down the Hmong family who didn't have anything at all and could gave them disadvantages. Yang's parents knew that that wasn't only about the poor but it was how important to have strong nation which protect its people.
Quote 1. I believed that the Thai soldier punched the father because that he was shocked or surprised, and he did not want to believe that he was going to be captives of the new country, so for a moment he just briefly froze. Maybe the soldier wanted to remind him about the reality of his world as he knows it right now. And maybe he wanted to abuse his powers as a Thai soldier. Dawg can represent love, because even though the family were held captives, their love for her was so strong that it helped them to stay motivated to get out of there.
ReplyDeleteQuote 3. I think that glance just reminded them of who they used to be, and it brought back memories and experiences of their past. It reminded them of how poor they used to be, and they know how other people went through.
Quote 2. I think that this passage really gives a big message to the reader. Dawb is the color white in the Hmong language. White is a symbol of purity, elegance, and peace. On the other hand, white can also mean peace, but in a sense of surrender. So you really have no color once you put up that flag, you are now captives. I think that Dawg represented love and hope. Because in a harsh time like this, being captives in an enemy camp, Dawg kept them strong, and something to look forward to. Dawg can represent also love, because even though the family were held captives, their love for her was so strong that it helped them to stay motivated to get out of there.
ReplyDeleteQuote 1: I believe that the father only stayed still because he was not expecting to be a "prisoner" when they reached Thailand. The soldier punched him to show that he was not welcome here but he was ordered to let them inside their country.
ReplyDeleteQuote 2: I think that Dawb's birth represents hope for their family. The color white usually represents a clean slate or a fresh start. The author is trying to foreshadow that the Yang family is going to get a fresh start which they will when they move to the United States.
Quote 3: Her parents felt poor because their people had no country and they had to live in another's land. They felt ashamed and embarrassed as they realized this fact. The glance represents how the Thai felt towards the Hmong saying that it is their land and they are not welcome.
Quote 1: In my Opinion the soldier punched him showing a authority figure and letting them know his place in their country.
ReplyDeleteQuote 2: Dawb is definitely a symbol of hope, naming her after a color white giving her hope that one day she might get that fresh start they couldn't get themselves.
Quote: I knew that if I had not loved your father in a real way when I married him, in the six months since I had been with him, I loved your father so much that I wanted him to be free from death, even if it meant freedom from me. (p.25)
ReplyDeleteQuote 1: The Thai soldier punched her father because he knows he can do whatever he wanted to the refugees and they won't get in trouble. If the father was to fight the Thai soldier, he would probably get into a lot of trouble or even shot to death which of course her Father didn't want his family or the kids to see.
ReplyDeleteQuote 2: The passage gives the two meanings of white. One meaning the color, in this case the color of skin. Having pale/white skin when born was a valuable quality and Yang's sister had it. White also mean surrender in the story.
Quote 1: The man punched him because he knew the power he had. The camp was the family's only refuge and had no other choices. He punched him because he knew he could without consequence.
ReplyDeleteQuote 2: Although there are 2 different meanings presented, both apply despite the contrasting symbolism. It shows that beauty can exist even in he depths of violence. Surrendering doesn't have to mean that one gives up, but in situations can mean it is the path with the least amount of blood.
Quote 3: The man giving the glance is a person who is originally from the country that the Hmong are taking refuge in. While in a more comfortable surrounding, wealth may not have been in the family's mind. It is similar to how people may dress comfortably in raggedy apparel in their own home, but if dressed in the same manner as a guest in someone elses' home, the person becomes self-conscious. Stepping foot in an unfamiliar country with nothing but rags for clothes and with little or no possessions, the family's status will become more apparent.
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ReplyDeleteI think he was punched because he wasn't moving, he stood still, and for that moment he wasn't obedient. Her father wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing, which was walking into the compound. The father noticed that this wasn't a place where he wanted to be, so if he stood still he might have ran away, so for his thoughts of leaving and disobedience he was punched.
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The color of pale skin or white is stated in the text as valuable. The lighter your skin is, the more derirable you become. Colors mean something and does to other ethnicities as well. Filipinos see lighter skin as much more desirable, so desirable that, in fact, there are so many commercials promoting whitening soap. This lighter skin, to be whiter, to have this skin shows a lot of value to these people.
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The significance of the glance is a show of unwantedness for the refugees. They were not wanted. They learned what it meant to be poor, to be looked down on, and to be told, without words, that they were unwanted. A slight glance or a slight stare can tell a person's attitude within that second of a stare.
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ReplyDeleteUnlike today's society when a lot of our time is spent indoors and having tan skin is seen as desirable, the Hmong spent most of their time outdoors. If one was to have white skin in the Hmong community, they were seen as higher class as they did not have to spend all day out in the sun working the fields. It is ironic how at that time something that was so important in their culture meant so little.
Quotation 1: What had me confused was that they finally reached the refuge but the father was greeted with a punch rather than hospitality. Now that I have reflected a bit, I guess it was an action driven by control? For now I'm going to believe that it was to exert dominance like what people do at prison where they say to win a fight when you get there so no one walks all over you.
ReplyDeleteQuotation 2: Pale skin in Asia is usually considered elegant and beautiful, and white as a color in itself denotes purity, innocence, or cleanliness. I see her birth to signify salvation with the reference to the surrendering white flag. Soon after they found refuge.
Quotation 3: The Thai man was not Hmong and didn't go through the hardships that they had to undergo. It might have been smug or a look of pity, but when your hungry, and someone munching on 18 burgers stares at you, you're going to feel that hunger multiply.
Quote1: The Thai soldier punched the father symbolizes the weakness and powerlessness of the Hmong people. Additionally, the author wants to show how the Thai government abused their power on innocent people who cannot defend for themselves. However, the father got up as quick as he could because he did not want his wife and mom to see him on the ground. This sentence simply implies that although he could not physically defend for himself against the powerful government, he wanted to maintain the last dignity for Hmong people.
ReplyDeleteQuote2: The white color have two implications.One represents the innocence of Hmong people, and another represents surrender.The author put two meanings together simply wants to show us the ironic situation they had experienced. Innocent people are supposed to be free, but they are captures which means they are not free. They have to live under enemy's control.
Quote3:That glance significantly reveals the level of poorness without speaking out. Even though the Thailand farmer didn't say anything, his expression was enough to tell that the Hmong people are unwanted group. They are poor, wearing only rags. The rags refer that the Hmong people are valueless to this new country, and they are just like a piece of trash to this country.
Quote 1: I believe the soldier punched the father because he is supposed to be an authority figure. By assaulting Yang's father, he is showing his dominance over him and establishing his position as the individual in control. Yang's father is unable to retaliate as it would likely put him in greater risk of danger.
ReplyDeleteQuote 2: Colors appear to be very significant in their culture. Lighter skin is seen as superior and darker tanned skin is seen as inferior. This idea stems from the tradition of lower class individuals having to work in the fields as opposed to higher class individuals who stay indoors.
Quotation #1- I feel like the Thai soldier was able to do that due to two conditions. The first condition being that not only were they in Thailand, the soldier was actually physically stronger metaphorically speaking because he had a gun so therefore Yang's father wasn't able to do anything. Secondly, I feel like Yang's father wasn't able to do anything because he was in the soldiers territory. He was in Thailand and wasn't able to do anything without facing death. His family needed him alive and not dead.
ReplyDeleteQuote 1: Her experience is different from her grandmothers because she is younger and more capable than her grandmother during these tough times, yet the fact of her youth causes her to feel pressure from her family. As they put a lot of hopes in her being able to do well in the American school system.
ReplyDeleteQuote 5: Education is difficult for her because she does not speak much and is very shy; also, her identity is caught between that of a Hmong teenager and that of a US teenager, which may make her feel out of place in school.
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ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily think that poor can be connected to wealth. Kao Kalia Yang's father and mother who always had a certain place in their tribe of Hmongs were suddenly placed in a whole new world where they did not belong. Her parents probably felt poor and in need of not money, but warmth for their family and their home.
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ReplyDeleteWhite color usually represents pure, clean, beauty, and peace. I believe they named her daughter Dawb (meaning white) because of their hope for her daughter’s future as well as Hmong’s people. However in this reading, it included the meaning of color of surrender. It also shows their hopeless regarding their situation as refugees.
I think the Thai Soldier punch Yang's dad to send a message that "your asking us for help by fleeing to our country so your inferior to us." Yang's dad didnt fight back because it'll jeopardize their stay at the camp if he defends his pride.
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