To be honest I don't understand this poem that much at all. I understand the references they make to a Chinatown in the US. I've been to Chinatown in Boston so I under stand some of these references. Although I don't quite understand any of the symbolism in poem. I think what I got in the poem was that parents in Chinatown work very hard to help get there kids better lives, outside of Chinatown.
I disliked this poem because I believed that it was stereotypical towards Chinatown. I also believe it is disrespectful for people who live in Chinatown and makes them seem like unappealing people and it just seemed really hurtful towards oriental people. It also is speaking for all Chinatowns when not all of them are even the same.
I found the poem to be difficult to follow, but what I got from it was that life in Chinatown is full of hardship. It depicted that the living arrangements were not the best. People are constantly working hard to achieve a better life. Like Molly had stated, it was a very stereotypical poem. I have to disagree with the poem about how all Chinatowns are the same. I believe there are similarities, but at the same time there could be countless differences.
The way this poem was written was different than most. The imagery and creativity used to paint Chinatown's picture was inspiring. The speaker stereotyped the city by calling Chinatown a staple in most cities, then went on to describe the dank and undesirable living conditions. I wasn't able to grasp the overall message and purpose of the poem because the ending lost me a bit. I gathered from the last few lines that the culture of Chinatown craps you tightly, until it finally releases you to create your own independent future.
I didn't fully comprehend the Chinatown poem. I felt that in the beginning the imagery was very strong, but I got lost in the middle when it was talking about the chopsticks. I just felt as if the poem was fragmented and choppy. I could tell the author was trying to make it flow, but the way the stanzas were set up made it confusing. I had to read it a few times to really understand the imagery the author was trying to portray. This poem described the stereotypical Chinatown with the close quarters & lack of fresh air. It emphasizes the struggle to escape and move into the real America, but the safety of being in familiar surroundings continues to pull the inhabitants back in.
This poem was way too scattered and random for me to truly understand. I thought that the different descriptions and adjectives that were used really showed what the author wanted but it was all over the place. The only pieces that I truly understood were the different parts of Chinese culture the author was trying to portray but there was no flow in the poem.
Truthfully didn't understand this read, and it was my least favorite of the three. I believe it was just explaining their lifestyles and how crowded and slummy it can be at time, which doesn’t make sense because that’s how all races are. The read was basically just down playing their lifestyle, but I wasn't too sure on the message that was being brought out.
I didn't enjoy this poem very much because I found it hard to follow. I also found it rude and disrespectful towards the people of Chinatown. It does not make Chinatown sound like a nice place and it stereotypes all the people as one, making them seem like they're all the same. It was very negative and I didn't fully understand what the author was getting at.
I did not fully grasp the writers intention of this poem. At first he is stating how there is a chinatown in every major city and it is sort of an icon to the cities. then he goes on and to say that chinatown is almost too unhealthy a place to live. This poem was written very negatively toward the asain culture, and had a much different style than the first two readings.
Unfortunately, this poem is sort of the reason why I hate reading poems so much. I honestly just didn't quite understand the entire meaning. It seems as if the poem is telling a story of stereotypical aspects; Chinatown never changes, it is filled with the same type of people everywhere you look, etc. However, once I got past the first couple stanza's I was a little lost. I'm sure this is not what the poem depicts towards the end, however, the way it was written made it seem as if this old Chinese woman was cooking children to make a soup, which is ridiculous and obviously not right..but that's how much I couldn't understand the actual symbolism of the poem. Definitely my least favorite of the assigned readings. At least I was able to see the connection between all three pieces - the element of stereotypes and discrimination in each.
I couldn't grasp anything from this poems. As soon as I thought I knew what going on in the cities all of sudden grasshoppers start appearing. I really did not enjoy this poem, it was quite random and full of scattered thoughts.
The poem was very abstract and hard to follow. The poem was full of stereotypical thoughts of chinatown's throughout America. Unlike the other poem and short story I did not get much of of this poem because it really degraded and put down Asian culture.
As most of my classmates have already found, the poem was certainly abstract. It jumped a lot from idea to idea. Though the poem was hard to follow, the overall message I got from the poem was that Chinatowns all over the world are not the nicest places to live. Boston's Chinatown almost resembles a ghetto and I think that is what the author was trying to communicate through her poem; the way that all over the world, this race sets up their own camp, creates boundries and lives within those boundries despite the under par living conditions.
I also thought that most of this poem was jumping around and hard to follow all the way through. What I did pick up from the story however was that Chinatown's are mostly broken down and the residents there are try to hide everything they have so it doesn't break or no one steals it. I thought it put people of Asian decent in a harsh light and I thought it was almost unfair.
Sounds like someone has some sour feelings about Chinatowns... My guess is they lived or grew up there. Overall it wasn't very well thought out, let alone written. The only thing I found interesting was the use of Chinese cooking and foods as metaphors.
The writer did a really good job painting a picture in my head as to what Chinatown is really like. I felt like I got a behind the scene look into what people DON'T get to see when they go into a Chinatown. The use of literary devices really gave me a vivid picture of what this place is really like.
To be honest I don't understand this poem that much at all. I understand the references they make to a Chinatown in the US. I've been to Chinatown in Boston so I under stand some of these references. Although I don't quite understand any of the symbolism in poem. I think what I got in the poem was that parents in Chinatown work very hard to help get there kids better lives, outside of Chinatown.
ReplyDeleteI disliked this poem because I believed that it was stereotypical towards Chinatown. I also believe it is disrespectful for people who live in Chinatown and makes them seem like unappealing people and it just seemed really hurtful towards oriental people. It also is speaking for all Chinatowns when not all of them are even the same.
ReplyDeleteI found the poem to be difficult to follow, but what I got from it was that life in Chinatown is full of hardship. It depicted that the living arrangements were not the best. People are constantly working hard to achieve a better life. Like Molly had stated, it was a very stereotypical poem. I have to disagree with the poem about how all Chinatowns are the same. I believe there are similarities, but at the same time there could be countless differences.
ReplyDeleteThe way this poem was written was different than most. The imagery and creativity used to paint Chinatown's picture was inspiring. The speaker stereotyped the city by calling Chinatown a staple in most cities, then went on to describe the dank and undesirable living conditions. I wasn't able to grasp the overall message and purpose of the poem because the ending lost me a bit. I gathered from the last few lines that the culture of Chinatown craps you tightly, until it finally releases you to create your own independent future.
ReplyDeleteI didn't fully comprehend the Chinatown poem. I felt that in the beginning the imagery was very strong, but I got lost in the middle when it was talking about the chopsticks. I just felt as if the poem was fragmented and choppy. I could tell the author was trying to make it flow, but the way the stanzas were set up made it confusing. I had to read it a few times to really understand the imagery the author was trying to portray. This poem described the stereotypical Chinatown with the close quarters & lack of fresh air. It emphasizes the struggle to escape and move into the real America, but the safety of being in familiar surroundings continues to pull the inhabitants back in.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was way too scattered and random for me to truly understand. I thought that the different descriptions and adjectives that were used really showed what the author wanted but it was all over the place. The only pieces that I truly understood were the different parts of Chinese culture the author was trying to portray but there was no flow in the poem.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully didn't understand this read, and it was my least favorite of the three. I believe it was just explaining their lifestyles and how crowded and slummy it can be at time, which doesn’t make sense because that’s how all races are. The read was basically just down playing their lifestyle, but I wasn't too sure on the message that was being brought out.
ReplyDeleteI didn't enjoy this poem very much because I found it hard to follow. I also found it rude and disrespectful towards the people of Chinatown. It does not make Chinatown sound like a nice place and it stereotypes all the people as one, making them seem like they're all the same. It was very negative and I didn't fully understand what the author was getting at.
ReplyDeleteI did not fully grasp the writers intention of this poem. At first he is stating how there is a chinatown in every major city and it is sort of an icon to the cities. then he goes on and to say that chinatown is almost too unhealthy a place to live. This poem was written very negatively toward the asain culture, and had a much different style than the first two readings.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this poem is sort of the reason why I hate reading poems so much. I honestly just didn't quite understand the entire meaning. It seems as if the poem is telling a story of stereotypical aspects; Chinatown never changes, it is filled with the same type of people everywhere you look, etc. However, once I got past the first couple stanza's I was a little lost. I'm sure this is not what the poem depicts towards the end, however, the way it was written made it seem as if this old Chinese woman was cooking children to make a soup, which is ridiculous and obviously not right..but that's how much I couldn't understand the actual symbolism of the poem. Definitely my least favorite of the assigned readings. At least I was able to see the connection between all three pieces - the element of stereotypes and discrimination in each.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't grasp anything from this poems. As soon as I thought I knew what going on in the cities all of sudden grasshoppers start appearing. I really did not enjoy this poem, it was quite random and full of scattered thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThe poem was very abstract and hard to follow. The poem was full of stereotypical thoughts of chinatown's throughout America. Unlike the other poem and short story I did not get much of of this poem because it really degraded and put down Asian culture.
ReplyDeleteAs most of my classmates have already found, the poem was certainly abstract. It jumped a lot from idea to idea. Though the poem was hard to follow, the overall message I got from the poem was that Chinatowns all over the world are not the nicest places to live. Boston's Chinatown almost resembles a ghetto and I think that is what the author was trying to communicate through her poem; the way that all over the world, this race sets up their own camp, creates boundries and lives within those boundries despite the under par living conditions.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that most of this poem was jumping around and hard to follow all the way through. What I did pick up from the story however was that Chinatown's are mostly broken down and the residents there are try to hide everything they have so it doesn't break or no one steals it. I thought it put people of Asian decent in a harsh light and I thought it was almost unfair.
ReplyDeleteSounds like someone has some sour feelings about Chinatowns... My guess is they lived or grew up there. Overall it wasn't very well thought out, let alone written. The only thing I found interesting was the use of Chinese cooking and foods as metaphors.
ReplyDeleteThe writer did a really good job painting a picture in my head as to what Chinatown is really like. I felt like I got a behind the scene look into what people DON'T get to see when they go into a Chinatown. The use of literary devices really gave me a vivid picture of what this place is really like.
ReplyDelete