Reader's Background example essay topic

Reading literature that explores another culture serves as a vast and positive learning experience. By providing material that not necessarily relates to the reader's background, a multicultural curriculum opens up the opportunity for a reader to absorb the material as is, without the interference of previously gained information or prejudices. Such materials have a tendency to immediately interest and captivate the reader, and therefore can easily integrate in the book cultural and historical facts that will be remembered. The Kitchen God's Wife by Amytal is a perfect example of a fictional novel in the American Literature curriculum that expands the students' knowledge of Chinese culture.

The novel contributes to the reader's understanding of pre-World War II Chinese customs and exposes to the reader information about political and social events in China during the World War II time period. While providing a wealth of information, the novel still manages to retain a f! ic tional plot that keeps the reader entertained and interests him or her in continuing the reading. The Kitchen God's Wife opens up as a simple modern day narrative about a family to which a modern day reader can relate. The story leads into a flashback, which almost immediately begins to shower the reader with examples of Chinese culture and intricate explanations of Chinese customs. This overwhelming amount of cultural information is closely woven into the plot, which combined allows the reader to, without realizing it, understand and remember facts about Chinese ways. Immediately the reader is wrapped up in a world where polygamy and polytheism are commonly accepted practices, and where all customs are believed to be practical.

As the story unwinds, the reader is bombarded with all these multicultural facts, and virtually without realizing it, her she is exposed to a wealth of information. Not only cultural but also political and social events are presented throughout the book. The war between China and Japan is constantly mentioned, remaining in the background during most of the book. References to Japanese and Chinese tactics, meetings, bombings, and American help are constant. All the time battles are mentioned as well asa chronology of the events of the war. Important facts such as city takeovers are noted and in some cases details are given.

For example, counts of casualties were presented during a discussion of Japanese destruction of a Chinese capital city - the information goes almost unnoticed by the reader, yet it remains the back of one's mind and serves as a fact which in widens the reader's scope of knowledge. Amy Tan's book is filled with historical notes. Such things associa l conflict in China and the morals of people of that era are constantly mentioned and whole sub plots in the book are dedicated to accounts dealing with social conditions and relations. A whole portion, for example, is devoted to Winnie's, the main character's, father. The father goes from being a powerful and rich to a poor and ruined man. The full tale of why and how the father got to be that way is included in the book, providing the reader with insights about the time period, events, and social politics.

Reading literature that explores another culture is very important to today's teens, so it is very beneficial to include books such as The Kitchen God's Wife in American Literature curriculums. Today's teens are raised on mostly American backgrounds with American heritage and American customs. Because of the vast size of this country and the diversity of its people, the teens do not get an adequate exposure to history and culture of other countries. It is very important to broaden and diversifyteenagers' minds, and placing books with as much information in them asT he Kitchen God's Wife into American Literature curriculums is an efficient way to get teenagers to broaden their horizons..