Sallee 1
Casey Sallee
Professor Lawler
English 111
23 September 2014
Comparing Feelings and Views
In the essay “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” by Chua has a lot of similarities and
differences with the poem “Suicide Note” by Janice Mirikitani. In Chua’s essay she explains
why there way of teaching and handling their children is more effective than the Western
parents. They are very strict for an example it states in her essay that she did not let her kids
“attend a sleepover,” “have a playdate,” “watch TV or play computer games,” or “get any grade
less than an A.” Those are just a few of the strict rules that Chinese parents enforce on their
children.
“Suicide Note” was written by a young Asian-American college student to her family.
The poem reveals that she had extreme pressure to excel and succeed at everything she did. In
the poem she says “I apologize. Tasks do not come easy. Each failure, a glacier. Each
disapproval a boot print.” “…So I have worked hard. Not good enough.” This is evidence that
young girl was feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders because she could not succeed
like her parents expected her too. She could not please her parents like she had desired too.
The poem and essay are different because they show the views coming from each
argument. The mother in “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” believes that she is doing the
right thing for her child and that it is the only way for her to become successful. The girl in the
Sallee 2
poem is feeling all the pain from disappointing both her mother and father. She feels that she has
disappointed her parents because she is not a son to her parents because that is what her father
and mother wanted. The Chinese parents believe with everything that they are doing the right for
their child. They believe that their children are supposed to succeed at everything and never fail,
because if they do they will be punished.
You can see the similarities in both these writings because you can see the cause and
effect of the standards that the Chinese have for their children in the way the Asian child reacts
when she cannot succeed and be what her parents want. The Asian girl believes that she is not
strong enough. Chinese want their children to be strong, confident, and good enough. The Asian
girl believed her parents did not think she had any of these qualities. It shows similarities
between the mother and girl because the Chinese parent would be mad and disappointed if their
child failed. The young Asian girl said “I apologize for disappointing you.” It shows how much
that their feelings have affected her.
These two writings show how the point-of-view and feelings come into place when
dealing with two different sides of a problem. In my opinion I believe some of Chinese teaching
is very effective. When it comes to the children’s feelings I would take their side. No child
should feel like they are pushed to commit suicide. I think these two writings are similar and
different in many ways.
Sallee 3
Works Cited