In the essay “A Letter to My Sister,” written by Lisa Park, she argues that no matter how much Americans take pride in acknowledging diversity, there will always be underlying racism. The Whites have set standards in which they believe is normal to fit into society which drove the narrator’s own sister to commit suicide. She is absolutely disgusted at the fact that her sister so desperately tried to assimilate into the American culture that she would go as far as to reconstruct her face to not look like their own mother.
A quote supporting this argument is when Park mentions “we knew we could never become ‘popular’, in other words, accepted. It had something to do with our ‘almond-shaped’ eyes.” (p.68) Not only does the narrator have to change her physical appearance to be accepted into the dominant society, but she also has to let go of any cultural practices and shy away from having a voice in the recognition of a wrongdoing. Even through all the changes Asian Americans make, it will never be good enough to be at the top of the social pyramid.
A keyword in this essay is “Orientalism”. Its meaning is defined as “a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.” (Chong 182) It has a negative connotation and is now considered politically incorrect. The purpose of the word is to emphasize that Asians will always and forever be foreign in the United States. Park used it in her essay by mentioning how the narrator “did not believe in the possibility of surviving as an Oriental in an American society. Oriental/American. Our only choices.” (p.69) What the narrator meant is that Asian Americans will never be fully accepted into the dominant society. There will always be a sort of alienation and nothing was going to change that fact.
In the article “Assimilation” by Lisa Sun-Hee Park, she addresses that Asian Americans are known as the “model minority” meaning they are the closest minority group to assimilate into the American standards. Asian Americans are “enjoying high educational achievement, good (white) neighborhoods, and interracial marriages to whites.” (Park 16) The narrator’s sister in “A Letter to My Sister” is the perfect example of assimilating into the American culture. She was getting plastic surgery, perming her hair, and buying trendy clothes to resemble an American.
References:
Chong, Sylvia Shin Huey. “Orientalism.” Keywords: Orientalism, keywords.nyupress.org/asian-american-studies/essay/orientalism/.
Park, Lisa Sun-Hee. “Assimilation.” Keywords, keywords.nyupress.org/asian-american-studies/essay/assimilation/.