Book 1, Post 2 - American Like Me by America Ferrera
I have really enjoyed reading 'American Like Me' and connecting with the different stories. It is a very well-rounded display of how many cultures and experiences are living in this one country. I forget sometimes how big and varied America really is and reading the book definitely reminded me of this.
I particularly liked the perspective that Joy Cho shared in her excerpt. Firstly, I found her story moving, about how her whole childhood she was 'parenting' her parents to be American by switching out her school lunch or giving American halloween candy. But then she realises that her culture is what makes her different and something she comes to enjoy celebrating with time. Growing up between two countries, I have definitely felt a similar way. In England I was considered the American one who always had the American snacks and did not celebrate traditional English things like a roast lunch every Sunday. However, in America people consider me very English and I do not assimilate with a lot of the cultural traditions here either, like Thanksgiving or 4th July. Similar to Joy Cho, this is something I have come to appreciate and know I am lucky to have two different cultural experiences.
Something I also liked about her excerpt is the creative freedom she took to change up the format and add in little symbols and images to display what she was talking about. This highlighted to me the creative freedoms that America Ferrera gave everybody in the book. Some people have short stories, some people have longer chapters. I can imagine her saying to the people chosen for the book - do anything you want to convey your message. From this, I particularly the angle that Joy Cho and Laurie Hernandez both had adding in creative symbols and wish that more people took their pieces in a creative direction.
Hi Florence – I also enjoyed the creative freedom of each story, it made the book fun to read. It's also interesting to learn about your personal experience of being split between two similar but different cultures.
ReplyDeleteHi Florence - definitely feel the same way about being lucky to have two separate cultural experiences. I was always the Asian one around my White friends and the White one around my Asian friends. Think it gives a broad perspective on the world that makes it all worth it though.
ReplyDeleteHey Florence, your post was a great read. I think this book is a great reminder of how culturally different America is. I love that you felt you could relate to some of the stories. It is really cool to read that the author took a more creative writing style to share these stories.
ReplyDeleteHi Florence! I really enjoyed reading your observation on the creative freedoms that America Ferrera gave to the other authors in this book. It make every chapter interesting reading the different styles and formats of each person.
ReplyDeleteHi Florence, great read! I also sometimes forget how big and encompassing America is, and I think a good analogy for this would be the salad bowl example that Liza Koshy talks about, where everyone is together but stands out in their own way. I also have experienced two cultures on Thanksgiving and the fourth of July, so I relate to this as well!
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