Introduction by Alice Pung
1. What were Asian-Australians referred to as when the author was growing up? Power points referring to power sockets being their faces.
2. How does she interpret this title? She interprets this title as positive because she thought it referred to the Asian people as being so smart and having electrifying brain power.
3. What did this title actually refer to? Did the author find this demeaning? Why/why not? The title actually referred to the way a power socket represented the facial features of an Asian person. The author didn't really find this offensive becuase she thought of the power socket as a sort of cute face similar to the ones she was reading in her books.
4. ‘All that untapped potential! All that electrifying brain power!’ What techniques are being employed by the author? How does they highlight he misunderstanding? The author has used personification to use the title that the kids at school have given to the Asian's and turned it into a complement on how smart Asian people are. This highlights misunderstanding becuase she has analyzed and personified a title given by kids further proving how smart she is rather than just realizing that it was an insult.
5. What did the teen author take away from teen fiction? What did she feel that she needed to do? Why? The teen fiction that she was reading gave her the idea that she needed extensive plastic surgery. Instead she stopped reading those books becuase she felt she needed a more extensive view about what it is like to experience 'firsts' in life. What does this say is essential to fitting in to a culture? It gives us the sense that an understanding a mixture of people's different experiences is essential to trying to fit into a culture
6. Who are the authors that she turns to? Why? She turned to authors John Marsden and Robert Cormier who wrote with honesty and feeling about coming of age. She decided a view that was written from personal experiences rather than an observer would be better to understanding how to fit into a culture.
7. In the third paragraph how does the author use repetition. How does it highlight the focus of this book? The author uses repetition in the word 'first' this highlights the focus of the book is the moment people have doing something for the first time.
8. What metaphor does the author use to highlight the writers and the writing style in the third paragraph? "distant observers, plucking the most garnish fruit from the lowest hanging branches of an exotic cultural tree"
9. Why does the author use a quote in the 4th paragraph? What does it say about her reaction to the stories in the book? "Change only the name and this story is also about you" This implies that all the stories from all the different people the author can relate to from her own experiences.
10. On page 2 the author talks about the themes that she loosely choose for the collection. What are they and why is it ironic that they show up in this book? The themes such as helping family life, striving for a career and growing up are some of the themes explored in the book. What is ironic about these themes that they are all traits that have been worthy of collective national pride so this shows us the Asian people beyond the stereotype.
11. At the bottom of pg 3 on to page 4 the author says that sociologists have described Asians as the ‘model minority’. What is meant by this? What difficulties arise out of this label for young Asian-Australians? The term 'model minority' mean a people that are dominant and who are the model for all people to strive for. This label puts immense pressure on the young Asian-Australians who are judged weather they are successful or not.
12. What are the editor’s hopes for the collection of stories? The editors hope of this book is to answer the key questions about identity and for people through the collection of stories to understand a sense of belonging
Pigs from Home by Hop Dac
1. How does the author start this story which is in direct contrast to the title of the story? What effect does this have on the reader and their expectations of the story? The author starts this story by giving us a sense that he or she isn't writing about a story about living in Australia but is more giving us an experience which is represented by the use of animals. This effect gives the reader the idea that the story has a deeper meaning.
2. What core Vietnamese value is instilled in the author? A self sustaining family
3. What is humorous about the mother’s ‘flair for natural medicine’ in regards to her personality? We get the idea that mother's interest in herbs is funny becuase she doesn't exactly use many of them herself it is more for her friends so it is humorous she is like the herb supplier for all her friends.
4. How does the description of the killing of pigeons continue the style utilised in the introduction of the story? The description of killing pigeons was very harsh this continues the style utilized at the introduction of the story when the author concludes that pigs aren't actually very pleasant animals when talking about its shit.
5. What is the author’s opinion of pigs? Give two quotes to support your conclusion. The author really doesn't like pigs. "No pig has ever been a friend of mine" "repugnant beast, the pig"
6. In the paragraph on pgs 53-54, give two examples of alliteration employed by the author. 'Feeding frenzy' 'blowing raspberries on the bellies of babies'
7. On pg 54 what simile is used to describe pigs? How does this simile work for the situation it is used? "A pig is the like the ocean, don't turn your back on it" This simile works for the situation becuase the simile exactly describes how a pig moods fluctuate and how quickly the duck was attack like a wave in the ocean.
8. What simile does the author use to describe her mother sunning herself? How does this relate to the core focus of the story? The author describes her mother as a chicken on a spit roast getting cooked. This relates to the core theme being animals and food.
9. What does the author describe as ‘the divide between the old world and the new’? What do you think is meant by this statement? What is meant by this statement how different the author is to mother how she runs outside kills an animal and makes it into a dish just like that was normal.
10. What is the author’s reaction to the slaughter of the pig at night? What statement does the author make about the neighbours which displays the way he feels about the whole experience? What is important about including this statement? The authors reaction to the slaughter was quite nerve racking, the author was quite shocked and frozen by the whole experience. When the author talks about the girls next door this is important as we understand the Author cares about how they perceive him.
11. Why don’t the parents have pigs anymore? How does this relate to the description of the burial of the last pig they owned? The parents don't have pigs anymore becuase of their friends who are pig farmers and they throw pork at them whenever they go over to visit.
12. How would you characterise the description of the mother’s treatment of the pig’s blood? Is it appetising? I would characterize the treatment of the pigs blood as very old fashion, we can infer that the recipe of pigs blood has some health benefit so it has been passed down through the family. It is sliced and put on other dishes.
13. What is ironic about the way the author has a popular Vietnamese dish? What is it about the way the author describes the experience of having pigs that makes it ironic? What is ironic how the author was acting so frozen around the slaughtering of the pig but eats the blood on the dishes normally. What is ironic is the author throughout the story tells us that he hates pigs but without a worry he eats it an a popular dish.
14. How does this story relate to the title Pigs from Home? The story relates how in Australia the family are still carrying on with their traditions with pork and blood in the dishes.
15. Why do you think this story is in the Battlers section of the book? I think the section battler can relate to the struggle the pig had for survival when it was being slaughtered by the men.
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