Christine's Portfolio

Letter to my Classmates

            As an introduction, I’d like to begin by saying that I had a pleasurable and gratifying time with you all. Honestly, I felt as if it was the only class where I could manifest my feelings and thoughts without being criticized. My attitude towards English has prominently changed since the start of the school year and prior years, as I had tolerated many dreadful English classes. The fact that I could contribute to the class and that my opinions actually mattered engulfed me in a sense of happiness. I looked forward to going to English class, as well as seeing each one of my classmates in it, which really surprised me, due to how much I hated English class before my freshman year started.

            The first assignment, which I selected to be revised within my portfolio, is my research paper on how aspects of the Vietnamese culture have changed since migrating to America. Out of all of the papers I have written this year, I chose my research paper now acquiring the opportunity to tweak and revise areas in it. Even though I had some time to write it when it had been first assigned in February, I felt overexerted at that point, with many assignments strained upon me. I also had feelings of anxiety, worried that I would not be able to write an entire treatise in the amount of time that I had. I thought the final grade of my research paper would be terrifying. However, the outcome of it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I felt as if the paper could have an improved structure of organization as well as more ideas to thicken up areas where details were missing. The two traits of writing, which I focused on particularly, were ideas and the organization of the writing. I fixed all of my awkward phrases, which had been pointed out on turnitin.com. I also took out the segment in the beginning, explaining the journey that Vietnamese refugees took to come to America. I changed up the sequence of the paragraphs at the end, so that they would make more sense, and I added more ideas to how the Vietnamese culture has changed since moving to America. Overall, revising the essay was not as I had expected. I think the outcome of my final revised paper has improved in contrast from the original one.

The next project that I generated comes from my literary analysis, where I changed it into a different style of writing. Knowing that almost everyone in English class detested reading and writing literary analyses during the first semester, I transformed my literary analysis into an editorial of a magazine, where I give my opinion on an unrelenting issue. Although it is written and formatted in the way of an editorial, the thesis of the paper, as well as my main arguments are kept the same throughout it. I chose to change it to this specific type of writing in order that reading my literary analysis would be appealing and entertaining. Also, the language of literary analyses is very difficult to understand, for the most part, and transforming it into an editorial would make it unchallenging and humorous to read. The belief that satisfaction leads to more desire was established in the original short story and was the focal point of my literary analysis. This is the backbone and the main concept of my transformed writing. Obtaining what a person wants, and finally having that substance, will provoke another desire. The constant cycle of desire and satisfaction included in my transformed writing explains to the women reading it to understand that men follow this rule as well. A man’s desires will drive him to do anything that he can to attain a woman, and once he has her in his control, he will lust for someone else. Of course, this is just my opinion, and this does not apply to all men. However, this is a witty editorial, like the editorials that most girls enjoy to read, including myself.

The final composition of my portfolio is my list of “Hits and Misses.” This list consists of the works throughout the course of the year which I consider to be my best as well as my most awful ones. I try to put as much effort as I can into each of my pieces, however, the outcomes of each product are not identical. Some are substantial, and others are terrible. Some of my own pieces from the whole year that I regard as my best work comes from my blogs. It is really hard for me to decide which of my works that I like, but I guess my blogs are what I find to comprise of some of my best writing. I know for a fact that I am a much better writer of my own personal views and opinions about a specific topic. One of my favorite blogs is where I correspond to if Nervous Conditions should be incorporated in the ninth grade syllabus. It is not a very long post, but I think I made my point very clear and utilized precise words to express myself. Other blog posts which I enjoyed to read and write are: “In Defense of Culture: An Asian Girl’s Manifesto,” where I convey my thoughts about my culture’s potential to vanish, and “Starving for Perfection,” discussing a part of my life which has a profound impact on me. All of these projects within

I can’t list too many of the pieces that I find to be tragic, but my worst is definitely my literary analysis, “Desire and Satisfaction in The Kugelmass Episode.” Honestly, my hatred for it is unable to be described. The writing process was not at all structured and reading the outcome of it was confusing and horrifying. Another one that I consider to be poor is the paper on Nation, the very first written assignment of the year. I think these two pieces were my worst due to how I had not yet grown into the writer that I currently now am. If these assignments had been given to me later during the year, I believe I would have better outcomes of these two pieces.

Over a period of just one school year, I must say that I have definitely progressed as a writer. Somehow, words and phrases emanate from my mind much more effortlessly than how words processed in the beginning of the year. Initially, I was accustomed to planning out exactly what I would encompass in my writing. I clearly acknowledged exactly what I would include in a paper, the exact words and phrases as well. Although this is an effective strategy for most, it inhibited me from thinking outside of what I planned to say and considering other potential and purposeful ideas that would strengthen my writing. Now, I write and I create and convey my ideas as I type. Even though I do envision a practical outline entailing a summary of how my paper will be structured, my process now, as a writer, mainly consists of just writing as I go. Despite that this usually is not encouraged by teachers, as they assign their students to create highly detailed outlines before writing, I have learned that I feel most comfortable with having not such a specific blueprint of an assignment that will prevent me from coming up with many other ideas that I could employ.

            After encountering many challenges through writing, I have a much different point of view about myself as a writer. In the beginning of my freshman year, my selection of word choice was very unsophisticated and much too dull. I was not able to generate bold or powerful ideas from interpreting points in literature. But after a few weeks of English class, I learned that the class would be what I make of it. I developed an interest to many of the pieces we’ve read together in class, in fact, I can’t think of any aspect that I disliked. Before I started this year, I was apprehensive to write; I abhorred writing completely. How I am as a writer now? Obviously, I am not the same writer as I was before freshman year. In contrast to how I was before, I actually have a fascination in writing, and I find writing to be intriguing. I also think that I am strong at selecting words to clearly express myself. Having gone through countless trials and errors through the essays that I have written this year, one specific trait, which has been clearly improved, is my usage of word choice. I will continue to grow each year as a writer and build further strengths on top of my existing ones.

            Although there aren’t many, I believe that I do have strengths as a writer. I really admire how I am able to carry out something, whether it is an essay or just a writing assignment. I always strive to complete my assignments and make them inspirational, somehow. My strengths come from my determination to finish what I initiated. This will sound irresponsible, but I like to start writing a paper a day or two before the due date. This isn’t because I am lazy, but I like to begin and complete a paper on the same day. My brain processes ideas much more efficiently when I am in the pursuit of my objective in completing and finalizing my assignment. Another one of my strengths, which did not exist before this year, is my word choice, as I have specified earlier. Also, I am now capable of thinking beyond literal meanings - and in return, use them to formulate claims and conclusions to be established in my writing.

            Areas in which I need to work on and improve are composing highly developed and meaningful conclusions. I am not the best at devising conclusions within an essay. Therefore, I will take more time to write my conclusion paragraphs in any of my future papers, as opposed to how I have been writing, where I have the urge to precipitately rush through and finish the whole entire paper at once. Also, I feel as if I am not taking full advantage of all of the opportunities I have to take note of feedback and criticism. An aspect about myself that I dislike is how I tend to be fraught and uncomfortable when peers read my work. I want to be able to be open to criticism and opinions about my work, in order that I might further improve it. How I will achieve this is by visiting the Writing Center more frequently and asking my peers to provide his or her honest opinions on my pieces.

            Overall, Dr. deGravelles’ block one class is one where I will always commemorate as a genuinely lovely class. I loved bonding with you all, especially how everyone in this class respected and were amicable to each other. I am optimistic that English will be just as enjoyable next year. This English class has truly changed my perspective on the subject of English wholeheartedly, and hopefully, it will never change throughout the rest of my high school career.

Wedding ceremony of my parents.

Voyage to America

Ao dai

We are family :)

Moma, Di Thao, Cau Tam, and me

Vinie and me!

A Vanishing Culture

Being an American-born Vietnamese, it is fascinating to think about how I experience components of two prominently different cultures every day. Although I am honored to be able to consider myself an American, preserving my culture means much more to me. My family, having been submerged in a bed of dreams as they struggled for a better life in America, continues to hold onto and value our Vietnamese culture today. From family conversations at the dinner table to observations of the current Vietnamese communities living in America, it is apparent that many aspects within the Vietnamese culture that have been exposed to American influences have disappeared and in turn have been replaced with Western manners. As a result of Vietnamese refugees migrating to America, Western influences have reshaped the original Vietnamese customs and traditions. My parents raised me emphasizing strongly on keeping the Vietnamese culture alive in order that my children and the future Vietnamese generations to come will not abandon their original identities, which would annihilate the Vietnamese culture forever.

One of the factors that triggered the beginning of the modification of the Vietnamese culture is the Vietnam War. According to Scott Gold’s article, “Lessons and Legacies: Vietnam Refugees Finally Find Home,” South Vietnam was captured by communist North Vietnam in 1975. Because of this, South Vietnamese refugees risked their lives to embark on small boats to America to escape their brutal lives in Vietnam. They longed for freedom and a chance to live the American dream, but departing from the country was prohibited. Many were able to have protection and permission from communists to leave, temporarily staying in refugee camps. Others were not as fortunate. The article states that nearly 50,000 refugees died from starvation, illness, and drowning in the ocean, but the most primary causes were persecution from being caught escaping by the government as well as encountering pirates on the voyage.

Dispersed throughout the country, Vietnamese refugees managed to develop into many communities. They adapted to the country by settling in areas similar to their homeland. Regions near the gulf coast reminded them of home as they found jobs in the fishing and boating industry, having been fishermen and farmers back in Vietnam. They also established numerous restaurants and supermarkets. However, despite their successes in the foreign country, immigrants were forced to endure many obstacles that trailed behind them.

The majority of the Vietnamese population was unable to speak English and found themselves enclosed in the midst of a foreign world. Language barriers impeded communication and cooperation between Americans and the Vietnamese. They were profoundly affected by the discrimination towards them coming from Americans during the late 1970’s. As Scott Gold notes in “Lessons and Legacies: Vietnam Refugees Finally Find Home,” prejudice emerged between the two groups, resulting in false accusations of innocent Vietnamese settlers. Two men, Vietnamese brothers, were held accountable for murdering an American fisherman in the city of Seadrift in Texas. But unfortunately, Americans bombed their boats and killed them. Problems like these created hostility between the two ethnic groups, causing the Vietnamese to acquire fear over the safety of their lives.

The perspectives of the Americans about the Vietnamese immigrants could not be altered, either. Some regarded refugees from South Vietnam to be the same communists from North Vietnam that they had recently fought and lost against in the war. One example comes from Buddy Daisy, an American owner of a seafood company in Houma, Louisiana, where a great population of Vietnamese fishermen stayed. In Scott Gold’s “Lessons and Legacies: Vietnam Refugees Finally Find Home,” Daisy comments that the Americans had “fought them and then we bring them over here and we feed them.” He insists that Americans are mothering the people who had originally sought to kill them.

Finding methods to make a living was difficult. Vietnamese immigrants were driven to America for the purpose of financially aiding their relatives back home by sending remittances to them. However, even those who understood English either had little or no education at all. Due to this reason, there was no choice but to select jobs that they at least had some experience in. But positions for these jobs were limited as nearly all of the Vietnamese immigrants were only fishermen and farmers in Vietnam. Pressures to be wealthy and successful were heavily set on the young Vietnamese children who also arrived in America. Unless it was mandatory to work, the younger generation pushed themselves to the furthest extent to become doctors and engineers by endlessly studying. Surrounded by constant prejudice and humiliation, going to school was even more challenging as it was necessary for them to first understand English to attend school. In the article, “American Experience: Daughter From Danang,” Andrew Lam, a Vietnamese-American journalist and radio commentator in California, provides an account of his story growing up in America: “I myself was lucky. My parents found jobs and moved us to the suburbs when I was in high school. I didn't have to make money to send home to someone in Vietnam. There were no big demands on me. But if my parents had been stuck behind in Vietnam and living in the New Economic Zone, I would have been an electrical engineer by

now,” Lam reveals. This validates the role of the younger Vietnamese generation and how much pressure was strained on them.

Adapting to the country and absorbing certain aspects of the American way of life continues to alter the Vietnamese culture in America today. One of the changes deals with the modern Vietnamese fashion. From “Vietnamese Traditions,” traditional clothing in Vietnam consisted of ao dai, an elegant and modest type of dress that both men and women wore. Contemporary styles of the ao dai feature many particular qualities of modern Western attire. They were worn daily to work and school, but now are only worn during special occasions due to the Vietnamese leaving behind the old way of dress and adopting the common American attire. 

In addition, traditional Vietnamese customs are continuing to disappear, and the Vietnamese are abandoning old etiquettes. My father, Binh Phan, says the Vietnamese etiquette demands that “the person who invites others to meet at a location such as a restaurant must pay for everybody there, strangers included.” He believes this has become less commonly practiced in America today, as the Vietnamese has taken up the Western practice of everyone paying separately for his or her own bill. Gestures of respect have also been modified and are now rarely seen in America. Bowing down to elders and greeting them first was conducted automatically with no reminders for the younger person, but in present-day America, parents must prompt their children to show respect to older Vietnamese people.

In “Vietnamese Traditions,” Pamela LaBordes explains how marriages were organized in Vietnam, as the parents of each household decided if marrying another household would be beneficial or not. The arranged marriage did not require consent from the son or daughter about to marry. During the engagement, contact and communication between the bride and the groom before marriage was forbidden. Also, males were able to have multiple wives. Females were wed and already having children beginning at the age of fifteen years old. As of today in America, marriages are based on true fondness and love in contrast to the arranged marriages in the past. Obviously, intercourse and communication between two soon-to-be marriage partners are not deemed inappropriate today as it had previously been. The Vietnamese, accustomed to not express or show signs of affection as people in America are known for doing, are now able to convey and fully demonstrate the passion that they feel for their partner physically.

The division of labor between both genders is no longer present within America. The woman’s role in the household was to wake up early in the morning to start cooking, clean the entire home, and tend her children. She did all of the housekeeping duties, as well as going to the marketplaces to purchase ingredients to cook and other necessities. The man’s responsibility in a household was to work in order that he might provide food to eat, money for living expenses, and shelter for his whole family. The man was the backbone of the family and every member in the household depended on him for them to get by. Now, in America, both Vietnamese men and the women work. The men, having been so highly respected as they once were in Vietnam, are now not as highly viewed as before, now that women are able to provide the vital necessities that they depended men to work for.

Another custom of the Vietnamese stresses “the importance holding onto their purity as a virgin for unwed girls,” Phan asserts. He explains how unmarried girls, having been engaged in sexual acts, were seen as pariahs and were not able to marry. Marrying a type of woman would submit shame to the husband’s family. Despite the fact that virginity is a prodigious topic and is heavily valued today by the Vietnamese, the consequences of being devirginized as an unwed female today are not as harsh as they were due to influences from, respectfully, non-virgin Americans.

A sweeping concern in Vietnamese communities is affiliated with the Vietnamese culture being absent from the lives of the future Vietnamese-Americans to come. The older Vietnamese generation is able to speak only Vietnamese, while many children of the younger generation are unable to speak any Vietnamese at all. Therefore, this creates a communication barrier within Vietnamese families. Katherine Nguyen and Jim Hinch write in their article, “Vietnamese American Youths Embrace Culture, Look to Future,” about how the present Vietnamese youths have neglected their cultural roots because they are too occupied with living American lifestyles. Nguyen and Hinch believe that too many parents of the youngest Vietnamese generation are not instilling the traditional customs and original traditions in their children, which in turn has led to them completely disregarding their culture. At the moment, problems in acknowledging cultural identity are visible in America for the Vietnamese. “I no longer felt completely “Vietnamese,” yet I didn’t feel “American” either,” says Hoai Huong in her article, “The Americanization of a Reluctant Vietnamese-American: Third of a Series.” Many of the Vietnamese have a cultural identity crisis, owing to the fact that they aren’t sure whether to consider themselves Vietnamese or American. This is another factor contributing to how the Vietnamese have been affected by the evolution of their culture.

            Merged with Western influences, the Vietnamese culture has indeed benefitted from assimilation of American culture. The Vietnamese people in the United Staes are now able to use technology and other opportunities to obtain successful jobs, unlike their parents and grandparents who did not have such opportunities. Maintaining the culture as well as adopting American elements, in my experience, is very advantageous. Having experience in both cultures, I am able to assist my family with complicated matters in English, as well as introduce certain Vietnamese aspects to my American friends. However, if the youngest, most recent Vietnamese generation is careless in preserving their culture, it will be lost forever.  The older generations must be responsible in communicating with their children to educate them about their own culture. By incorporating the Vietnamese language into daily conversations instead of conversing in English, informing generations about the history and traditions of the culture, and understanding the importance of preserving the culture, the existence of the Vietnamese culture will be guaranteed to be kept alive for many more Vietnamese generations to come.

Works Cited

"American Experience: Daughter from Danang." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Ed. PBS Online. PBS Online, 11 Jan. 2002. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.

Gold, Scott, and Mai Tran. "Lessons and Legacies: Vietnam Refugees Finally Find Home." Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA). 24 Apr 2000: A1+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Jan 2013.

Huong, Hoai. "The Americanization of a Reluctant Vietnamese-American: Third of a Series." Dia Critics. N.p., 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.

LaBorde, Pamela. "Vietnamese Traditions." NCSU Student Organizations. NC State University, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2013.

Nguyen, Katherine, and Jim Hinch. "Vietnamese American Youths Embrace Culture,

     Look to Future." Model Minority. N.p., 2 July 2003. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.

Process of Essay Revision

                       The first step in modifying my essay was deciding which essay would be the most suitable to fix. Out of all of the essays I had written this year, I selected my research paper. Even though I had some time to write it, I felt overexerted at that point, with many assignments strained upon me. I also had feelings of anxiety, worried that I would not be able to write an entire treatise in the amount of time that I had. I thought the final grade of my research paper would be terrifying. However, the outcome of it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Now that I had the opportunity to tweak and revise areas in my paper, I improved it by adding more ideas and organizing my paragraphs so that the ideas would proceed smoothly.

                        Prior to this semester, I had never been to the Writing Center. It wasn’t because I didn’t look to it, because I did want to go, but too intimidated. I had heard stories from my friends of their experiences at the Writing Center and the mentors. Even though I wasn’t convinced of these stories, I just didn’t want other people to read a work of mine that would be incomplete and insufficient. I also was convinced that nobody would take time out of his or her limited school day to help my writing at all.  

                       On the day of my appointment, I walked into the Writing Center. Inside was Ms. Spaght, Sara Alice Witcher, Kiddie, and James Munroe. I didn’t know what to do, so I was standing there observing for a few minutes. I guess Kiddie saw the confused look on my face and asked me if I was here for the appointment at one o’clock. I nodded and she handed me a sheet to sign in, as well filling out a paper quickly detailing what I was there for. Then we got down to business. She asked me what I needed her to help me with and I explained the essay revision assignment. I read aloud the whole entire essay, which probably took about eight minutes. She listened carefully. Reading out loud, surprisingly, really helped me as I picked out awkward words and phrases. After I finished, she told me a few points within my paper to take out and thicken up. I was surprised that she was able to guide me and give me many suggestions on how to fix my paper. Kiddie then emailed you, Dr. deGravelles, and I took the Writing Center evaluation survey online.

                       After the Writing Center experience, revising my essay didn’t seem like an obstacle, as I had pictured it to feel like. I fixed all of my awkward phrases, which had been pointed out on turnitin.com and took out some parts in the beginning. I changed up the sequence of the paragraphs at the end, so that they would make more sense and added more ideas to how the Vietnamese culture has changed since moving to America. Overall, revising the essay was not as I had expected. I think the outcome of my final revised paper has improved in contrast from the original one.

Writing Remix: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Byg2umP5uT8KbVNFNG1INGFBNzQ/edit?usp=sharing

Analysis of Rhetorical Situation

                  The original piece of writing, my literary analysis, functions as the foundation for my transformed composition. Knowing how the majority of my classmates loathed the whole literary analysis project during the first semester, and how quite a few were unable to understand my own analysis, I settled on the decision of forming it into an editorial of a magazine. The purpose of this is to transform my “dreary” literary analysis and allowing it to be entertaining to read for my peers, or any person willing to read it. My audiences are young women, and due to my knowledge of their interest in reading editorials on issues about men, my transformed writing discusses the faults of men. This makes my literary analysis appealing and humorous to read for them. The language and voice of my literary analysis is incredibly formal and proper in my original literary analysis, however, my editorial is very witty and improper at most. My target audience in my original piece is for my teacher, whereas my audience in the new piece is for young women.

                  My transformed piece, formatted and written similarly in the way of a magazine editorial, has the same elements of my original composition: the thesis of the paper and my arguments. The purpose of my literary analysis is to explain the focal point of the story, “The Kugelmass Episode.” The belief that satisfaction leads to more desire was established in this short story. It is a constant cycle of desiring something, finally obtaining it, but in return, once satisfied, leads to desiring something else. The role of my transformed editorial is to provide my own opinion about men following this rule. A man’s desires will drive him to do anything possible in order that he might allure a woman. After she is in his control, he will hunt for someone else. Although this is just my opinion, I don’t think this applies to every man. But just like editorials, they are meant for entertainment and amusement.

                  My stance inherent within my literary analysis differs from my transformed writing. In my literary analysis, I believe that all human beings are controlled by the desire and satisfaction cycle. However, in my transformed writing, my communicated stance on this belief is that only men apply to this rule, not women. Due to the fact that my new audience being young women, I do not want them to read about their own faults. This would not entice them to read my editorial.

                  Looking at my editorial, you will note that I use a variety of different fonts and visuals to attract women to read my composition. This differs from my original writing, where it features no pictures at all. I use feminine-like visuals in my editorial to capture the attention of women, such as a flower, chocolate, and my magazine ad on real beauty. Coming from my own experience, I enjoy seeing commercials and advertisements about how media has distorted our whole society’s perception on what beauty truly is. I know for a fact that the media sets an enormous pressure for women to fit the standards of “perfection.” When young women see my advertisement and visuals, I hope that they will lean towards reading my editorial. 

Hits and Misses

      I.         Hits

·      Blog post: Incorporating Nervous Conditions: Yes or No

http://chrisssssyp.blogspot.com/2013/03/incorporating-nervous-conditions-yes-or.html

·      Blog post: In Defense of Culture: An Asian Girl’s Manifesto

http://chrisssssyp.blogspot.com/2012/08/in-defense-of-culture-asian-girls.html

·      Blog post: Starving for Perfection

http://chrisssssyp.blogspot.com/2013/03/starving-for-perfection.html

    II.         Misses

·      Literary Analysis: “Desire and Satisfaction in The Kugelmass Episode”

·      Written assignment on test: Nation essay