Monkey Bridge

Can you be accused of grouping all Asian American’s as one group? Who hasn’t wrongfully called someone “Chinese” who is Korean. Most, if not all Caucasian Americans, would group Vietnamese-Americans as Asian-Americans. Strong aspects of culture and heritage is lost when immigrants from Asian countries are not individually recognized. Asian-Americans represent an ethnic group that is recognized by white America; yet, “the demographic includes dozens of ethnic groups, languages, religions, customs and origins from across the globe, stretching from Japan and China to Pakistan and India. Academic observers and community members say the diversity within the group is so rich and disparate, it seems folly to treat it as a single bloc” (Taneeru 1). White America is rightfully accused of grouping many different cultures as one. Maneev Taneeru’s article “Asian-American’s Diverse Voices Share Similar Stories” documents events in which Vietnamese and other immigrants were wrongfully grouped as different culture. For example, Derald Wong Sue, a professor of psychology and education at Columbia, was told her English was very good because of her physical Asian appearance; Wong is a second generation American who doesn’t know one word of Japanese. Similar to the article “Asian-American’s Diverse Voices Share Similar Stories”, Lan Cao’s book Monkey Bridge exposes prejudice towards Asian American’s in her story of a young immigrant assimilating to American society.
Monkey Bridge is an interesting novel because of Cao’s ability to make the reader feel the emotions that the character is feeling. I truly felt the emotions Mia, a teenage Vietnamese immigrant, and experiences during her assimilation into American society. Maybe I’m lacking feelings but all the novels we are reading in class probably evoke emotions that draw pity to a different culture. Don’t get me wrong; I am not a racist or prejudice against immigrants. However, it would be boring to analyze this topic; I decided to follow my Caucasian roots and dissect immigrants as a whole (Get it? I’m grouping all immigrants as one group regardless of their individual cultures) Monkey Bridge is an example of what I believe occurs in many immigrant families. It is very interesting how Mia’s relationship with her mother unfolds. Like Mia, I believe in many immigrant families the children play a more active role in the family than their parents; I believe this occurs because children assimilate easier and pick up the language quicker than their parents. Immigrant children are expected to do more things for their family than the common Caucasian child. As I continue reading this novel, I will dissect the family relationships that develop or break apart.