SUMMARY – GROWING UP ASIAN IN AUSTRALIA
BE GOOD, LITTLE
MIGRANT (225)
Brief
summary
Main
character
Quotes
EXOTIC RISSOLE (96)
WEI-LEI AND ME (75)
TOWARDS
MANHOOD (195)
Migrants have to give up their customs, culture and
values to fit in to Australia and are regarded as inferior
until they completely blend in
Uyen Loewald
Just display your gratitude
But don’t be heard, don’t be seen . . .
….in time, you’ll reach excellence
Just waste a few generations
Pointed and scathing in its criticism of Australian
attitudes to migrants; they will never fit in until they give
up everything
Relate to
context
of
Identity
and
Belonging
Brief
Tanveer is embarrassed about his family’s Indian food
summary and customs and envies Lynchy his Australian food and
seemingly easier lifestyle
Main
Tanveer Ahmed and Lynchy (Daryl)
character
He spoke of how all his family ate were rissoles, steak
Quotes
and baked potatoes. I looked at him with envy . . .
After gentle urging on my part, my mother taught
herself how to make rissoles . . .
Relate to Food and the cultures it represents becomes the symbol
context
of Tanveer’s sense of not belonging. In time, he learns
of
more about Lynchy and compromises are made
Identity
and
Belonging
Brief
Young Indian girl and Asian boy combine to outwit
summary Barry, the school bully. Ironically, Barry’s family move to
Jakarta. Eventually, as older students, both realise they
have become Australian and feel they belong
Main
Aditi Gouvernel, Barry and Wei-Lei
character
My parents met Australia when they started work and I
Quotes
met Australia in the school playground
We had become what we thought we would never be :
Australian
Relate to The difficulties migrant children faced in the playground
context
because of their appearance and background; friendship
of
formed through adversity; eventually belonging to a
Identity
group
and
Belonging
Brief
Ben grew up feeling very different from his siblings and
summary school friends; he struggled to belong because of his
small size and his sexuality.
Main
character
Quotes
Relate to
context
of
Identity
and
Belonging
Ben, Andrew (brother), mother
. . . this Asian hybrid man-child thing
“Okay. Well, what’s wrong with that?” Mum asked.
“There’s nothing wrong with being gay.”
Being gay and looking different can cause feelings of
alienation and discrimination
Young Malaysian girl growing up in Australia feels
alienated because of her sexuality and her race; when
she finally achieves acceptance all of her different
identities come together
Lian Low
MY FIRST KISS (216)
None of the white kids really took an interest in me
Writing and performing have . . . . let me be myself,
express myself
and explore my multiple identities : Asian, woman,
queer, migrant, Chinese-Malaysian-Australian
FIVE WAYS TO
DISAPPOINT YOUR
VIETNAMESE
329)MOTHER (287)
Brief
summary
Main
character
Quotes
Relate to
context
of
Identity
and
Belonging
Illustrates the links between belonging to a group and
developing a sense of identity
Vietnamese girl rejects many of the values and
expectations of her mother as she grows up and looks
back cynically on her alienation
Diana Nguyen
All my life I’ve had this mixed idea of who I am and what
my role is
My lack of interest in learning her language created a
lasting communication barrier between me and my
mother
The vastly different cultural and religious expectations
of Australian and Vietnamese societies can cause
alienation and a lack of a sense of identity
CHINESE DANCING,
BENDIGO STYLE (246)
Three Asian-Australian siblings do not belong to either
cultural group and feel isolated until they join the
Chinese Australian Association in Bendigo
Joo-Inn Chew
We didn’t seem to belong anywhere
We were half-half, and for a long time we didn’t belong
anywhere
…. Part-Chinese but mostly Australian, same and
different, just a little bit special
Appearance and a mixed-race heritage can make it very
difficult, growing up, to build a sense of identity and
belonging
The water buffalo is a metaphor for the difficult,
turbulent life of an Asian father; his daughter strives to
understand his life through a painting as her father dies
Thao Nguyen, father
THE WATER BUFFALO
(32)
She never did belong, here, there or anywhere. She was
a stranger in a familiar land. She was fatherless
Somewhere between this reality and her father’s dream
world was where she now existed, a place of truth
BAKED BEANS AND
BURNT TOAST (329)
Brief
summary
Main
character
Quotes
STICKS AND STONES
AND SUCHLIKE (9)
Relate to
context
of
Identity
and
Belonging
Brief
summary
Main
Lack of knowledge and understanding of background
and culture can breed misunderstanding, distrust and a
lack of identity and belonging
Young Chinese woman takes her father’s ashes back to
Hong Kong and reflects on her lack of a sense of identity.
She encounters a waiter who brings back memories of
her childhood
Jacqui Larkin; Peter
Home to a land that I’ve never even visited until now
No matter where I am it seems as though I will always
be caught in the middle
Developing a sense of identity and belonging is difficult
when food, appearance and cultural values are very
different
Indian boy tries to change his name to Neil, to fit in; his
mother helps him by explaining the meaning of his
Indian name. Years later, he finds out what it really
means
Sunil Badami
character
Quotes
Relate to
context
of
Identity
and
Belonging
But the one thing that always got under my skin was my
own name. Sunil.
If I couldn’t be less black, surely I could get a name that
made me feel less black
No matter how people said it, I didn’t wince : I knew
what it meant
The role that names play in developing a sense of
identity and belonging