Bila Lee
English 48B
January 29, 2009
Journal #7 Abraham Cahan
Quote
“But what was to be done with father’s opposition? Asriel Stroon had never been the man to yield, and now that he grew more devout every day, her case seemed hopeless. But then Flora was her father’s daughter, and when she took a resolve she could not imagine herself otherwise than carrying it out, sooner or later” (Cahan 765).
Summary
The quote was found in the renowned story, “The Imported Bridegroom.” It was narrated by Flora the protagonist to express the limitation to realize her Americanized dream. She was raised in an affluent yet traditional family. Her father desired a “God-fearing business man and no fellow deep in Gentile lore and shaving his beard” (Cahan 764) as the groom; however Flora had a burning desire to marry a Jewish doctor. It was absolutely ambivalent for Flora to satisfy her father or to satisfy herself.
Responses
Flora was raised in a wealthy family, which differentiated her from ordinary Jewish girls. For example, she read fictions that were written by some literary giants whereas other girls read some “cheap reprints of popular books” (Cahan 764). Flora’s home was also comparatively luxurious. The setting was skillfully depicted to demonstrate how Flora was different from her peers, and hence left a foreshadowing to her unique Americanized dream. She was special because she wanted to break the norm to marry a doctor; she was indifferent to common customs and desired such an uncommon match. However, her successful father was the biggest obstacle to her rebellion.
Being an only child always has unlimited privileges; but he/she was also always put excessive expectation and pressures by his/her parents. For example, an ideal groom was designated by Arisel and Flora was highly expected to marry the ideal Mr. Right; another example was the anniversary of her grandfather’s death. Flora expressed a sense of impatience to the procedure in English, instead of her native Yiddish. She further persuaded her father not to sing the traditional songs – though the suggestion was out of a health concern, it reflected Flora’s indifference to some deadly traditions. In fact, her preference to speak in English was a sign to indicate she placed an Americanized living style at a higher position. She was like the “Hester Street” video clip we watched that both the characters and Flora behaved in an Americanized way – spoke in an Americanized style, and shouted “Welcome to America” (Youtube) as if they were the representatives of the United States. They behaved in such a way to show they had assimilated to the American mainstream.
As for Flora, it was an opportunity cost issue to choose to be either a special one or an obedient sheep. To be a special one, she would be considered a rebellist but at risk of being exiled by her wealthy father that she had to sacrifice her current materialistic life. In the ancient Chinese history, some emperors also experienced the dilemma to pick either the throne or a beautiful woman – as economics concept suggests that limited resources cannot completely fulfill humans’ unlimited desires.
At last, Flora chose to be a special one simply because she valued the Americanized dream at a higher position.
English 48B
January 29, 2009
Journal #7 Abraham Cahan
Quote
“But what was to be done with father’s opposition? Asriel Stroon had never been the man to yield, and now that he grew more devout every day, her case seemed hopeless. But then Flora was her father’s daughter, and when she took a resolve she could not imagine herself otherwise than carrying it out, sooner or later” (Cahan 765).
Summary
The quote was found in the renowned story, “The Imported Bridegroom.” It was narrated by Flora the protagonist to express the limitation to realize her Americanized dream. She was raised in an affluent yet traditional family. Her father desired a “God-fearing business man and no fellow deep in Gentile lore and shaving his beard” (Cahan 764) as the groom; however Flora had a burning desire to marry a Jewish doctor. It was absolutely ambivalent for Flora to satisfy her father or to satisfy herself.
Responses
Flora was raised in a wealthy family, which differentiated her from ordinary Jewish girls. For example, she read fictions that were written by some literary giants whereas other girls read some “cheap reprints of popular books” (Cahan 764). Flora’s home was also comparatively luxurious. The setting was skillfully depicted to demonstrate how Flora was different from her peers, and hence left a foreshadowing to her unique Americanized dream. She was special because she wanted to break the norm to marry a doctor; she was indifferent to common customs and desired such an uncommon match. However, her successful father was the biggest obstacle to her rebellion.
Being an only child always has unlimited privileges; but he/she was also always put excessive expectation and pressures by his/her parents. For example, an ideal groom was designated by Arisel and Flora was highly expected to marry the ideal Mr. Right; another example was the anniversary of her grandfather’s death. Flora expressed a sense of impatience to the procedure in English, instead of her native Yiddish. She further persuaded her father not to sing the traditional songs – though the suggestion was out of a health concern, it reflected Flora’s indifference to some deadly traditions. In fact, her preference to speak in English was a sign to indicate she placed an Americanized living style at a higher position. She was like the “Hester Street” video clip we watched that both the characters and Flora behaved in an Americanized way – spoke in an Americanized style, and shouted “Welcome to America” (Youtube) as if they were the representatives of the United States. They behaved in such a way to show they had assimilated to the American mainstream.
As for Flora, it was an opportunity cost issue to choose to be either a special one or an obedient sheep. To be a special one, she would be considered a rebellist but at risk of being exiled by her wealthy father that she had to sacrifice her current materialistic life. In the ancient Chinese history, some emperors also experienced the dilemma to pick either the throne or a beautiful woman – as economics concept suggests that limited resources cannot completely fulfill humans’ unlimited desires.At last, Flora chose to be a special one simply because she valued the Americanized dream at a higher position.
20/20 I enjoyed the comparison to Chinese history!
ReplyDelete