Joy luck club 3
Joy luck club 3Since America and Asia are far apart, there are a lot of differences between American and Asian culture. Everybody knows it, but it brings to mind a question, "Why are they different even though we are human-beings who are all same?" I found out why there is a difference when I read the Joy Luck Club. Although I am from South Korea, I did not realize the differences between them before I read Joy Luck Club. I for the most part agreed with what I read. Asians and Americans usually have conflicts with each other because they misunderstand what is being said or done, because the culture is different and they think differently. Therefore I think that some of the problems were cause by the dissimilarities of the two cultures, especially the contrasting dinner etiquette's to explain these differences.
The cultural difference that is the easiest to see is dinner etiquette. I was upset when I first came to Canada about how the people kept taking my food because they were too lazy to go and get some more. After three years, I am taking food from the people in the dining hall, which means I have changed my way of thinking in this respect. The reason that I was upset is that Asian people have a stereotype about food. It is just like this. If I have taken this, this is mine, and nobody can touch this. This may sound barbaric or like animals fighting for their food. This kind of thought was probably brought about because through out history we had war many times this means that only the strong people who have lots of food survived. American people all want to share everything that they have. They think that if I give something this time, I can receive something next time. I think type of thinking should be learned in Asia to promote peace. The other problem that I had during my first year at Ridley is that people joked about my family such as mom and dad. It was the hardest thing to endure. If someone joke about my family in Asia, he or she may be killed. This is a bit exaggerated, but it is just like swearing, and it really hurts the people.
We can find some of the examples about the differences in etiquette in "Four Direction" that Waverly Jong wrote. When Rich, who is Waverly's fianc�e, was invited by her family for dinner, and made many mistakes which started by bringing a bottle of French wine. If I think about it in American way, it is a polite manner to bring something to eat or drink for the people who invited me, and it is the etiquette. But it is not in Asian way. I really don't know why it is rude if we bring something for the people who invited me. Although I guess it is because the...
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