Author: Raysi Perez

Raysi Perez – Optional Post

This semester started off good, I was excited about all my classes and was looking forward to dissecting a sheep’s brain. When I found out that we were going to have classes online, I was excited at first. I didn’t need to wake up extremely early to get ready for school and then take a train for an hour. I also like staying at home and hanging out with my family so I thought that I was going to be fine for this semester. But I was wrong, towards the end of the semester I started being lazy and feel extremely unmotivated to do any of my work. I can’t think correctly and I’m having trouble doing my work and sleeping. All I want to do was stay in my room with the lights off and watch tv but I know that I can’t do that. So I forced my self to do the things that I would normally do. This quarantine has messed me up physically and mentally. I hope that this quarantine ends soon so that I can try to go back to having a healthy mindset and being more active.

Essay 3 Draft

Raysi Perez

Essay 3 Draft

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

May 17, 2020

 

A Good Fall

 

In Ha Jin’s “A Good Fall,” the central characters are Ganchin, Master Zong, Cindy, and Fanku. In this story, a Monk named Ganchin who worked as a kung fu teacher got fired from his job by Master Zong. Master Zong wouldn’t give Ganchin the money that he owed him and he took his passport away so Ganchin had no money and had nowhere to go. Cindy tried to help Ganchin by letting him stay at her house but Ganchin decided to live with Fanku. While living with Fanku, Master Zong Kidnaps Ganchin and takes him to the airport so that he can go back to China but Ganchin escapes. The ethics shown by Master Zong is utilitarian ethics and Cindy and Fanku are virtue ethics. 

Holly E. Martin’s article “Falling Into America: The Downside of Transnational Identities in Ha Jin’s A God Fall” explores the lives of immigrants living in flushing Chinatown. In another article “Kant’s Contribution to moral education: the relevance of catechists by Chris W. Surprenant, Surprenant speaks about virtue ethics. While one article speaks about the short story “A Good Fall” and the other article talks about virtue ethics, both articles will be able to help understand the ethics of all four characters. In order to show this, I will first talk about Ganchin getting fired, Second, I will talk about how Cindy and Fanku try to help Ganchin, Lastly, I will talk about how Master Zong kidnapped Ganchin.

In the short story “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin, Ganchin is a kung fu teacher who got fired from his job at the Gaolin Temple. He asked Master Zong for the money that he owed him but Master Zong refused to give him his money. “We don’t owe you any money” (336) Ganchin would continue speaking to Master Zong telling him that he needs his money and that he deserves it “Master Zong, I worked for you for more than two years and never made any trouble. Now that you fire me, you should give me at least my salary so I can go back and clear the debt I owe” (337) but Master Zong still refuses to give him his money. “We’ve provided lodging and board for you. This is New York, where everything’s expensive. As a matter of fact, we paid you a lot more than fifteen hundred a month” (337). After Ganchin tried to get his money, Master Zong took his passport and inserted it into his robe. “I can’t let you have your papers if you stay on illegally. From now on you’re on your own, and you must move out tomorrow. I don’t care where you go. Your visa has expired and you’re an illegal alien, a lawbreaker” (337). From this scene, you can tell how Ganchin felt betrayed by Master Zong after working for him for over 2 years. “Life in Flushing does not bring the material wealth or the freedom from obligations in China some immigrants are expecting” (Martin). Master Zong shows utilitarian ethics. He is very selfish and doesn’t care about Ganchin. He just used Ganchin to get money for himself. 

After getting fired from his job, Ganchin went out to meet up with his friend Cindy. They spoke about Ganchin getting fired and his living situation. Cindy told Ganchin that she could stay at her place “You know, you can always use my place. I’m on trips most of the time anyway” (338) but he refused and told her that he would stay at his friend’s house “Thanks. I may be able to stay with my friend for the time being” (338). Ganchin was worrying about his situation and Cindy tried to help him figure out what to do. “You shouldn’t worry so much, sweetie. If worse comes to worst, you should consider marrying a woman, a U.S. citizen” (338). Ganchin responded, “I’m a monk and can’t think of anything like that” (338). He then started speaking about how he wished he was an illegal coolie so that he can restart his life but he’s never worked outside the temple and doesn’t have any skills. Cindy tried to help him by telling him that he can do something with the skill that he does have “Come on – you can teach Martial arts” (339). From this scene, you can tell how much Cindy cares for Ganchin and wants him to be good. She wants to make sure that Ganchin tries to find something so that he doesn’t struggle. “she continues to encourage Ganchin to change”(Martin). When Ganchin moved into Fanku’s house, Fanku was very kind and helped Ganchin out by giving him a place to sleep. “Here, you can sleep on this” (339) He also provided food and money for him. “Fanku let his guest use whatever for he had in the studio for free, while he himself ate at work.” “He lent Ganchin sixty dollars” “Fanku often brought back food for Ganchin, a box of rice mixed with pork roast, or a bag of fish croquettes, or a bunch of egg rolls and spareribs.” (340). Cindy and Fanku both show Virtue. Cindy tries to help Ganchin and stays thinking positively about the situation that he is in. Fanku helps out Ganchin by giving him a place to live, food, and money. “virtue requires an individual to develop ‘a frame of mind that is both valiant and cheerful in fulfilling its duties” (Surprenant).

Fanku told Ganchin to wait in the house for the superintendent but Master Zong showed up instead. Master Zong went to Ganchin so that he can send him back to china “We won’t hurt you. We’re just helping you go home, to keep you from deterioration into a bum” (344). Ganchin asked him where they were taking him and master Zong replied, “To the airport.” Ganchin was too weak to fight so he obeyed them. Zong told Ganchin that he bought a plane ticket for Ganchin to go home “Don’t be upset. I bought the plane ticket for you and will give you some cash for our travel expenses. When you check in at the counter, I’ll let you have your passport.” (344). Ganchin started telling him that he kidnapped him and Zong laughed at him. On the way to the airport, ganchin was thinking of a way to escape. They parked in a garage and took him to the airport. Master Zong continued to tell Ganchin that he’s just doing this for his reputation. “They just didn’t want to sully chinas image by letting an ocher-robed monk roam the streets of New York. That would tarnish the temple’s reputation as well.” (344). Ganchin was trying to think of a way to escape and then a passenger cart with three rows of seats was passing by and he got on it. He finally escaped. Master Zong is again showing utilitarian ethics by being selfish. “The story “A Good Fall” does demonize Master Zong” (Martin). He kidnapped Ganchin and took him to the airport so that Ganchin being homeless doesn’t tarnish his temple. 

Both Articles helped better understand the ethics being shown in this short story. Martin’s article spoke about Ganchin, Cindy, and Master Zong. He spoke about the short story and how immigrant’s lives are in flushing Chinatown. Surprenant’s article spoke about virtue ethics. It helped show how Cindy and Fanku use Virtue ethics when helping out Ganchin.

First Page – Raysi Perez

Raysi Perez

Essay 3 First Page

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

May 10, 2020

 

In Ha Jin’s “A Good Fall,” the main characters are Ganchin, Master Zong, Cindy, and Fanku. In this story, a Monk named Ganchin got fired from his job by Master Zong, he asked Master Zong for his money but he wouldn’t give it to him. He had no money and no place to live so Cindy told Ganchin to stay at her place but he refused. He ended up staying at Fanku’s house since he had no money but then Fanku lied and betrayed Ganchin by telling Master Zong where he was staying. Master Zong took Ganchin to the airport so that he could go back to China but Ganchin escaped. After escaping, Ganchin decided that he wanted to kill himself so he jumped off a building but luckily for him he only injured himself. The article, “The myth of “Chinese” literature: Ha Jin and the globalization of “national” literary writing” by Lo Kwai-Cheung, talks about Ha Jin’s literary writing. On the other hand, Holly E. Martin’s article “Falling Into America: The Downside of Transnational Identities in Ha Jin’s A Good Fall,” Talks about Immigrants and what they go through living in flushing Chinatown. While Kwai-Cheung’s article talks about Ha Jin’s literary writing, I think Martin’s article would be a better article to write about because it focuses on the short story “A Good Fall” and it goes into detail. In order to prove this, I will talk about how Ganchin, Master Zong, Fanku, and Cindy were affected as immigrants in the U.S. 

Research Prospectus

Raysi Perez

Research Prospectus

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

May 2, 2020

The short story “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin. I like this story because Ganchin has gone through a lot while living in New York, he even attempted to kill himself but at the end, he ended getting something good from everything that he went through. I also like how this story can show the readers that even though someone might go through a lot, something good could come out of it at the end. 

This short story is about a Man named Ganchin who wanted to get money to pay his debt but could because Master Zong fired him and didn’t give him any money. Without money, he couldn’t afford anything so he had to stay at his friend’s house. Days go by and Master Zong tries to take him to the airport to go back to his hometown. He escapes and decides that he doesn’t want to live anymore so he attempts to kill himself but only ended up injuring himself badly. People heard about his attempt suicide and the bad things that Master Zong did to him and received help from his friend and other people.

Ganchin is a monk and a kung fu teacher at Gaolin Temple. He didn’t have money so he decided to stay at Fanku’s house. When Master Zong took Ganchin to the airport, Ganchin decided to run away. He decided that he wanted to commit suicide because of everything that was going on in his life. The Ethics that Ganchin seems to follow are virtues, deontology, and global. Master Zong is in charge of the Gaolin Temple. He was very selfish and only did things for himself. He decided to not give Ganchin the money that he owed him and he kept it for himself. He decided to take Ganchin to the airport because if people found out that Ganchin (a monk) was homeless then it would look bad for his Temple. The Ethics that Master Zong seems to follow is utilitarian. Cindy is a flight attendant and Ganchin’s friend. She gave Ganchin the advice to marry her so that he can stay in New York. She decided to offer Ganchin a place to stay when he lost his job so that he wouldn’t be homeless. The Ethics that Cindy seems to follow are utilitarian and virtue. Fanku is a person that Ganchin met at a celebration. Fanku decided to let Ganchin stay with him when he got fired. Fanku gave Ganchin food and money. Fanku lied to Ganchin about who was going to the house. Fanku got in contact with Master Zong. The Ethics that Fanku seems to follow are utilitarian and deontology.

Learning Outlet

Raysi Perez

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

May 2, 2020

One learning outlet that I have recently discovered that has helped me during this time is painting. Since I don’t really have a lot to do during this quarantine, my sisters and I have decided to start painting or at least try to paint. We’ve already tried painting before in my Junior year of high school, and it came out okay. After that, I never painted again. I don’t really know how to paint. Usually, when I draw, I draw stick figures. I was surprised with how my drawing came out, I thought it was going to come out bad.

We already ordered our equipment, and they came a few weeks ago. We searched for many different things that we could try to paint. For our first painting, My older sister decided to paint a waterfall, my twin sister decided to paint a forest, and I decided to paint a bird. It took a very long time for us to paint and we messed up a lot, but the drawings came out decent. For our second painting, we decided to switch and try to paint what the other person painted and our second paintings came out better than our first paintings. Drawing has been entertaining and relaxing. I’m excited to continue painting.

Journal 6

Raysi Perez

Journal 6

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

April 26, 2020

“A Good Fall” by Ha Jin

The short story that I chose is “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin. The Narrator talks in the third person about a man named Ganchin who lived in New York and lost his job as a kung fu teacher because his visa couldn’t get renewed. He asked Master Zong if he could give him his salary, but Zong said that he doesn’t owe him anything. He had no money so he had to stay at his friend’s Fanku’s house since he didn’t have a place to stay at. Another one of her friends offered her place but he decided not to take it. One-day Fanku lied to Ganchin saying that the superintendent was going to the house but it was actually Master Zong taking him to the airport since he was an immigrant. While they were at the airport Ganchin managed to escape and went to a restaurant. He spoke to a man who he called Uncle about him wanting to end his life. Uncle gave him food and tried to convince him not to kill himself. After finishing his food, Ganchin went to the top of a building and decided to jump. He landed on his feet and injured himself badly. After the incident, everyone heard about his story. They heard how Zong didn’t give him his money so Ganchin got a good lawyer to sue the temple. He was also trying to find a way to not get deported. The characters in this short story are Ganchin, Master Zong, Cindy, Fanku, Uncle, Amy, and Jon. (Amy and Jon are the two lawyers). I approve of Cindy who tried to help ganchin with his living situation and Uncle for trying to convince ganchin to not kill himself. I do not approve of Fanku for lying and betraying him and master Zong for not giving him his money and trying to force him to leave. The theme of this story is good and evil. Ganchin was good and Master Zong was bad.

 

(Word Count: 332)

Raysi’s Problem

A problem that has recently occurred is being very tired and lazy. I’ve been sleeping for over 12 hours and I am not very motivated to do any work. I try to do my work and be active during this quarantine but I always end up on my bed watching shows and movies. I have also been having a lot of pain in my back, shoulders, and neck. Before this quarantine, I was going to physical therapy because of my back pain, but now that I can’t go, my back has gotten worse and it hurts to stand up for a very long time. I’m usually the one to wash dishes, do laundry, and clean the bathroom in my family, doing all those things have been difficult because of my back. 

“Immigrant Mother(lovely to me)” Explication Essay – Raysi Perez

Raysi Perez

Poetry Explication

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

April 19, 2020

Explication of “Immigrant Mother (lovely to me)”

The poem “Immigrant Mother (lovely to me),” by Taiyo Na is a very long formal verse poem and it is also a song that Na wrote. In the poem, Na is thanking his mother for everything she has done for her children. How she went through a lot to make sure that her kids had food and a good education. How she started dating horrible men because she felt like she had nobody. How she worked all the time and barely had any time for herself. While trying to take care of her kids she had to communicate with people and since she didn’t know much English, she struggled to speak to many people. The two lines in the first stanza of the poem “It takes a whole lot to leave your homeland / And raise a few children with your own hands,” show how the mother went through a lot to take care of her children. The poetry terms that these two lines show are denotation, connotation, assonance, consonance, and enjambment. 

In the first line, “It takes a whole lot to leave your homeland,” Na shows the readers how his mother had to leave her homeland. The tone in this line is sad. Na is showing the readers how it was very difficult for her to leave, especially when it is her homeland, a place where she most likely had friends and family who loved her and who she loved. The word “leave” means to go away, and it can be a good or a bad thing, but in this line, “leave” connotes a bad time. A sad and hard time where she had to leave a lot of things behind and start a new life somewhere else. The word “homeland” is someone’s native land. In this line, “homeland” connotes love. A place where she was happy and loved. Assonance and consonance are being used in this line. Assonance is found in the words “whole” and “homeland,” repeating the sound “oh.” Consonance is found in the letter “L,” using the words “whole,” “lot,” “leave,” and “homeland.” 

In the second line, “And raise a few children with your own hands,” Na shows the readers how his mother had to take care of her children all by herself. The tone in this line is lonely. Na is showing the readers that she was all alone while taking care of her children and how she didn’t have anyone to help her. The word “raise” means to take care of. In this line, “raise” connotes challenge. it must be very difficult to take care of children alone. The word “children” means someone’s daughter or son. In this line, “children” connotes challenge. It’s very hard to take care of children all alone. Assonance and consonance are being used in this line. Assonance is found in the words “takes” and “raise,” repeating the sound “a.” Consonance is found in the letter “s,” using the words “raise” and “hands.”

When both lines are combined, an enjambment is shown in between the words “Homeland” and “And.” It shows how there is a continuation of the first line to the second line. In these two lines, Na shows the readers that his mother had to leave her native land to take care of her children all by herself. The tone in these two lines is sad and lonely. It shows how she had to leave everything and everyone she loved behind. It also shows how much she had to do in order to take care of her children and how difficult and lonely it was for her to do that since she had to do everything all by herself with no one to help. 

(Word Count: 615)

Raysi’s Reflection

At first, it was hard to adjust to everything but once I started to get used to our situation, I’ve been able to do many new activities. In the past few weeks, I started exercising and doing yoga. I started going to the gym before the COVID, so I was mad at the fact that I couldn’t go anymore, but my sisters and I have decided to work out and do yoga every day because we can’t just be lying or sitting down every day. It can also be very depressing and it can mess up someone’s mental health. It’s very important for everyone to be active and since we can’t go out and walk, we decided to do this instead. 

Another activity that I’ve done was spending more time with my family and praying. We’ve been watching movies and playing board games. We’ve watched many comedy movies and my sisters, my mom, and I have watched romantic movies, not my dad, he doesn’t like romantic movies lol. We’ve also played Jenga, dominoes, connect four, monopoly, and bingo. My family and I have started praying in the past few weeks, we’ve prayed for the people who have COVID and for people that don’t have it. We pray that everyone who has it gets better and that the worst doesn’t happen and we pray that the people who don’t have it, don’t get it and if they do get it, that they catch it quickly before it gets severe.

Explication Draft

Raysi Perez

Poetry Explication

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

April 12, 2020

Poetry Explication: “Immigrant Mother (lovely to me)”

The poem “Immigrant Mother (lovely to me),” by Taiyo Na is a very long formal verse poem and it is also a song that Na wrote. In the poem “Immigrant Mother (lovely to me) by Taiyo Na, Na is thanking his mother for everything she has done for her children, he’s also understanding everything that she did when he was young. How she went through a lot to make sure that her kids had food and a good education. How she started dating horrible guys because she felt like she had nobody. It was hard for her to communicate with people since she couldn’t speak English very well. How she worked all the time and barely had any time for herself. The two lines at the beginning of the poem “It takes a whole lot to leave your homeland And raise a few children with your own hands,” show how the mother went through a lot to take care of her children. The poem terms that these two lines show are Enjambment, Assonance, Consonance, Denotation, and Connotation. 

 

In the first line, “It takes a whole lot to leave your homeland,” Na shows the readers how his mother had to leave her native land and how it was very difficult for her to leave. In the second line, “And raise a few children with your own hands,” Na shows the readers how his mother had to take care of her children all by herself without anyone helping her out. When both lines are combined, it shows the readers how Na’s mother had to leave her native land to take care of her children and how it was very hard for her to do that since she had to do everything all by herself. In these two lines, there is an Enjambment between the words “Homeland” and “And.” Assonance and Consonance are being used. Assonance is found in the words “own,” “whole,” and “homeland.” Also in the words “Takes” and “raise.” And “homeland,” “hands,” and “And.” Consonance is found in the letter “L,” he used the words “whole,” “Lot,” “Leave,” “Homeland,” and “Children.” Also the letter “S,” he used the words “takes,” “raise,” and “hands.” And the letter “D” he uses the words “Homeland,” “Hands,” and “And.” 

 

There are many Denotations and Connotations in these two lines. The word Homeland means a person’s Native Home, the country where someone was born. This reminds me of a loving, happy place where all their family and friends are at. The word Children means someone’s son or daughter, a person someone gave birth to. This reminds me of the responsibility that someone would need to have and how joyful and tiring it is. The word raise has many different definitions but in this poem, raise means to take care of.  This reminds me of how hard and challenging it might be to take care of somebody. The word Leave means to go away. This reminds me of how sad, hard, and emotional it can be to leave.