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Cultural Assimilation in a Foreign Country

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The bamboo stick that father uses to beat his son can also be considered a symbol.  As bamboo is native to Malaysia, it can symbolize the Malaysian culture that the father is trying to force upon his son, as his son stubbornly resists.

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The rice cooker given to the protagonist by her father as an adult was tucked away neatly in a cabinet, unused. This could symbolize her unwillingness to bring back unpleasant memories from her past.

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CHARACTERIZATION:  Find a QUOTE from the story that explains what type of person the father is. 

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CHARACTERIZATION:  Find a QUOTE from the story that explains what type of person the father is. 

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"[...] my father would keep eating, pushing the rice into his mouth as if he never expected anything different as if he noticed no difference between what he did so well and I so poorly. He would eat every last mouthful, his chopsticks walking quickly across the plate." (Thien 1)

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CHARACTERIZATION:  Find a QUOTE from the story that shows how our narrator feels about her father (before his big fight with the brother)!

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CHARACTERIZATION:  Find a QUOTE from the story that shows how our narrator feels about her father (before his big fight with the brother)!

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"Sometimes I still dream of my father, his bare feet flat against the floor, standing in the middle of the kitchen. He wears old buttoned shirts and faded sweatpants drawn at the waist. Surrounded by the gloss of the kitchen counters, the sharp angles of the stove, the fridge, the shiny sink, he looks out of place. The memory of him is so strong, sometimes it stuns me, the detail with which I can see it." (Thien 1)

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What is the “coming of age” moment for our narrator, as a child? How does her understanding of her world change? 

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What is the “coming of age” moment for our narrator, as a child? How does her understanding of her world change? 

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The coming of age moment is when the narrator asks herself how to reconcile what she knows of him and still love him. This moment shows the narrator's change in perspective. It shows her loss of innocence, because she sees a different side of her father than the one she cooks with.

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THEMES: Please create a visual representation of the theme(s) of this story. You can upload images from the web, do your own drawing/doodle, etc.

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THEMES: Please create a visual representation of the theme(s) of this story. You can upload images from the web, do your own drawing/doodle, etc.

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Food and culture

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SYMBOLS: Please find visual representations of the SYMBOLS you see in this story - you can upload images from the web, do your own drawing/doodle, etc.

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SYMBOLS: Please find visual representations of the SYMBOLS you see in this story - you can upload images from the web, do your own drawing/doodle, etc.

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The dying fish in the story symbolizes the death/loss of the protagonist's innocence.  As the fish dies, she finally begins to see the reason for the fragile relationship between her father and brother.