The Harmful Myth of Asia Superiority Ronald Takaki 報告:吳珈慶、王蘊蓉

The Writer’s Ideas

1. Why have Asian Americans been viewed as a “model minority”? They are described as “excessively, even provocatively” in gaining admission to universities. They have been congratulated, as well as criticized, for their ubiquity and entrepreneurial effectiveness.

2. What’s wrong with such a categorization, according to Takaki? It’s just a part of view toward the Asian American because not all of them are suited to this idea. There are still many examples of Asian American whose lives don’t reach to the average living standard.

3. How has the “celebration of Asian American . . . obscured the reality”? Figures on the high earnings of Asian Americans relative to Caucasians(white people) We shouldn’t just focus on the states like California, Hawaii and New York. Comparing family incomes

4. How does the “model minority” image homogenize Asian Americans? This image hides Asian Americans’ differences. Takaki supported this proposition with the examples of Vietnamese American young people and people in the Chinatowns. (par. 7-8)

5. What is the consequence of the language barrier faced by Chinese immigrants? Chinese immigrants cannot go into the mainstream of American industry. The supporting evidence is the personal experience of a Chinese immigrant. (par. 9)

6. How has the “triumph” of Korean immigrants been “exaggerated”? Takaki supported this proposition with the examples of income and jobs. (par. 12-14)

The Writer’s Techniques

1. What is the writer’s thesis statement? Takaki argues that stereotyping Asian Americans as uniformly successful not only belies the facts but also is a veiled form of racist attack on other American ethnic groups, in particular African American.

2. The writers begins by stating the view he is going to oppose, and asks two questions to probe the opposing view. How does he answer these two questions? What evidence does he use in each case?

He answers the two questions by using a lot of examples to support his idea. The personal experience from Chinese immigrant and his statistics of unemployment rate, salary, and population are strong evidence.

3. Categorize the examples the writer uses to show that the “celebration of Asian Americans has obscured reality” (par. 4). Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean Americans Asian Americans’ family incomes The low-paying jobs in Chinatowns Southeast Asian refugees “Glass ceiling”

4. Much of Takaki’s supporting evidence is in the form of examples 4.Much of Takaki’s supporting evidence is in the form of examples. How does he develop his essay and maintain coherence? two questions → a proposition → evidence → a conclusion

5. What do you think is the writer’s strongest piece of evidence for his point of view? What is the weakest? What is his strongest argument? His weakest? the strongest: Hmong and Mien refugees (par. 10) the weakest: African American resentment toward Asian Americans (par. 3)

6. Takaki saves the word myth for last 6. Takaki saves the word myth for last. Does that decision strengthen his use of the word to sum up his essay? Is the conclusion effective? The decision strengthened Takaki’s essay because of the abundant evidence and the coherence of the essay. The conclusion is not effective because Takaki did not explain the exacerbated relationship between Asian Americans and African Americans.