Asian American

Question 1

What is the name for US used by chinese americans?

Answer 1

Gold Mountain (california gold rush)

Question 2

What is angel island?

Answer 2

Immigration in San Francisco bay for chinese immigrants
Detention centres where chinese immigrants were held whilst being processed or if they didn’t have means to get home
Wrote poetry on walls - usually in cantonese and featuring chinese legends/style etc but violating rules since many of them were illiterate

Question 3

Why did Chinese immigrants suffer worse treatment than european immigrants?

Answer 3

The chinese exclusion act (1882) led them to be mistreated and discriminated against.

Question 4

Themes of Angel Island poetry

Answer 4

Loneliness, denouncing treatment of US, Impressions of US and their voyage, longing for family/home, Anger/frustration
Despair, hope
Self pity

Question 5

No name woman

Answer 5

Written by Maxine Hong Kingston as part of non fiction novel Women Warrior - part non fiction, part fiction, part memory & part imagination - retelling legends etc
Set in 40s-60s

Themes:
Memory
Sexism, taboo sexuality
Beauty standards
Assimilation & identity
Second generation immigrants
Cultural/generational conflict

Question 6

General themes of Asian American Literature

Answer 6

-Loss of homeland
-Alienation in new country
-Gender roles
- Cultural conflict
-Identity
-Memory & longing
- Class differences
- Family
-History

Question 7

Japanese Americans

Answer 7

First immigrants arrived towards end of 19th century (first gen - Issei)
During WW2, more than 110,000 japanese americans ‘raised questions’ of national loyalty and identity
Internment literature - written about life in internment camps- often reflects ambivalence towards treatment by US

Question 8

Lawson Fusao Inada (b.1938)

Answer 8

Influenced by racism, war & internment
Jazz filled verse - reflects political sensibilities of 60s & 70s

Question 9

“Instructions to all persons”

Answer 9

Inspired by Japanese Internment poster 1942

Techniques:
- Repetition by public, call & response (inspired by african american tradition and shows solidarity)
-Jazz poetics of repetition & improv
-Citation & reiteration

Themes/Message:
- Revealing racist practices at cost of freedom of racial other
- Calling out assumption of racial treachery
- Aim of rewriting history, putting Japanese americans in rightful place
-transforming punitive racial action into occasion for racial community building

Question 10

Who preserved the testimonies on Angel Island detention centre?

Answer 10

Alexander Weiss