For the first half of the story, most of the story is told describing Deming’s life in New York and focuses on Deming to try and understand himself and the things happening around him. The beginning of the story tells a segment of Deming’s life with his mom Polly, his mom’s boyfriend Leon, Leon’s sister Vivian, and Vivian’s son Michael. The purpose of the story tells a life experience through the eyes of an Asian American who grows up facing struggles and the repercussions of parenthood problems.
The main issue occurs in Deming’s life when one day his mother disappears from his life and at that point it becomes a struggle for Leon to take care of him. Deming ends up having adoptive parents. His adoptive father, Peter, and mother, Kay, want to push him to go and complete college for a better chance at life. Deming has a history of academic problems and even dropped out of college so doing this is very difficult. Although a majority of youth in foster care aspire to attend college, they are less likely than their peers to enroll in college. (Johnson) Growing up in school, he faced racism for being Chinese and being called names and getting into fights. (Ko, 61) Even over dinners with close friends and family, there would still be racism such as when Jim, Peter’s friend, makes a comment “It’s all Chinese to us dumb-dumbs.” (Ko, 89) He also had a gambling problem as a way to avoid school problems and make money but ended up in trouble with loan sharks. “Asian Americans experience systemic racism in all sectors of society.” (Morey)
Growing up for him can’t be easy as he can get made fun of very easily for the way he looks. “Asian Americans will face these struggles as racism has been normalized against Asians.” (Phan, 2021) There will be many accounts of people showing examples of these problems and especially with being inside a Covid time period, this causes even more issues for Asian Americans. “Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Asian Americans have reported more cases of racism and discrimination. The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council found that between March and June, 2,031 Asians have reported cases of discrimination.” Discrimination is something no one should have to face, but Deming’s experience with it affected his life in some ways and prevented him from having a more stable life. “Problems begin to form where he is unable to maintain stable relationships, as well as having worse mental and physical health, and financial issues.” (Johnson) Not having his biological parents when he grew up affected him in different ways as well. Even though he had adoptive parents, he never let go of finding where his mom went in the back of his head. “The schools that youth in foster care attend are often among the lowest performing.” (Johnson) He dealt with identity issues of understanding who he was due to this environment he had to grow up in without his mother. His position as being the child of an immigrant affects the way he experienced things during his life. “Popular and harmful sentiments about immigration and race become enshrined in immigration policy.” (Morey)
Phan, Natalie. “Asian American Students Share Their Cultural Struggles.” KMC Crusade, 12 Jan. 2021, https://kmccrusade.com/6895/news-features/asian-american-students-share-their-cultural-struggles/.
Johnson, Dana. “Impact of Foster Care.” American SPCC, 10 Sept. 2021, https://americanspcc.org/impact-of-foster-care/.
Morey, Brittany. “Systemic Racism Impacts Asian Americans as Well.” Orange County Register, Orange County Register, 22 May 2021, https://www.ocregister.com/2021/05/22/systemic-racism-impacts-asian-americans-as-well/.
Ko, Lisa. TheLeavers. Dialogue Books, 2018.
Amazing work on your Context Presentation! You did a great job of setting up the scenes from the novel and explaining the inner meaning. Like you mentioned, Deming’s identity crisis between balancing Chinese and American cultures could have been no easy task, especially with the sudden disappearance of his mother. This first half truly struck a chord with me as I’ve often also felt like I’ve had to integrate into the norms to assimilate with others, even if it meant giving up parts of my culture. Unfortunately, the societal pressures such as the continuous racial teasing are factors that don’t just affect Deming, but many other individuals in our nation. Though America’s called the “melting pot” or “salad bowl,” it’s frustrating to see that many are forced to let go of their identities in order to join in.
Nice job on your [presentation. The issues facing Asian Americans are oftentimes unacknowledged in the U.S. and your context presentation did a good job diving into these issues especially with how you mentioned COVID-19 in the current day. Thanks to the pandemic many Asian Americans are facing undeserved hate from people who blame China for the outbreak. This bold generalization of all Asian peoples is an egregious trend in America that needs to be stopped. Overall your presentation was very nice thanks again!
Great work on your context presentation! Something I have learnt from reading Ko, The Leavers is The Leavers is a novel about migration and relocation that delves into the human predisposition to link change with happiness. Polly must first travel from China in order to obtain what she desires, as she does not earn enough money in her remote community. It highlights the ways in which people refuse to hold themselves responsible for their own racial and cultural insensitivity. As a Chinese-American teenager growing up in the largely white neighborhood of Ridgeborough, Deming experiences a slew of microaggressions from his peers, educators, and even his adoptive parents.
The novel itself highlights how ready people are to fool themselves because many of the characters in The Leavers trick themselves into forgetting their own flaws. In The Leavers, Ko shows how feelings of responsibility and “indebtedness” frequently sabotage parent-child relationships. For example, as Deming’s mother, Polly feels a crushing feeling of duty, viewing parenthood as a sacrifice and a burden.
Great job on your context presentation. I think it was very valuable that you were able to tie in aspects from the novel to real world issues, such as the racism that Asian Americans face. Given that this novel is a work of fiction, the use of these real struggles that Asian Americans do face is important to note for all the readers to understand. I also appreciated how you brought up how COVID-19 has affected the issue of racism. Again, great job!
Great job on your context presentation. Your presentation did a great job of bringing to light the racism and discrimination that Asian Americans face which is often not spoken about. I also appreciate you connecting this to how COVID-19 has affected this issue of racism and discrimination.
Hello!
Excellent job on your context presentation. I believe that you highlighted important aspects of this week’s reading. and made strong connections with current issues. For instance, the statement you made about Asian Americans facing obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic really shows how racism and discrimination has never been fully resolved. Additionally, I really enjoyed reading the summary portion of your presentation because it helped me further understand the reading and why it is important. Overall, your presentation brings to light that racism and discrimination can be extremely detrimental to one’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
Great Presentation! I like the use of the impact of the foster system in your presentation.
Good job on your presentation! I appreciate your summary of the story, it helped me better understand it. Also, I like how you brought up Asian American discrimination in today’s society and how it impacts people.
I just wanted to applaud you on writing such a well thought-out and organized context presentation. It really helped me in getting a basic idea of what I am about to read to help me better understand ideas when I am ready to make connections. I enjoyed reading on how you personally felt sympathetic for Deming which gave a personal aspect to your summary. The connection between Asian Americans and how they have been affected by the COVID pandemic really brought a new level of insight in the hardships that were similar that they had to face. I really enjoyed reading what you wrote!
This was such an amazing context presentation. I love how you related the text to the issue of racism that you were writing your topic on so smoothly. It was also so cool to see how you tied the context presentation into the present time to relate to what we are experiencing right now during the pandemic. I feel like racism affecting Asian Americans has not been talked about until recently and has usually just been normalized. Great job.
The excellent background presentation is very helpful for my understanding. I like your description of Deming’s life, which makes me well understand Deming’s identity problems in the United States. For a long time, racial discrimination against Asians has not been paid attention to. The discrimination suffered by other characters in the book you mentioned is also very helpful to understand. Your background is well connected with the current COVID-19, exposing the unfair treatment of Asian Americans during COVID-19. This is very good. Generally speaking, I like your background presentation!
Great job on your presentation. Your anlaysis on the first half of the book helped me and will help others better understand the full picture of the book. It was important that you noted the root of a lot of deemings struggles come from his relationship with his parents as well as the battle between two different cultures. The struggle that of deeming’s identity will resonate with a lot of people including myself. Great job.
Great Job on your context presentation! You really brought out the main points of the story and explained them very well. I liked that you made the connection between the book and real world issues. This really helped me understand the Deming’s character a little more. I also thought it was interesting how you made the connect with Covid-19 today and how it affected Asian Americans. Great job again on your presentation!
Amazing job on your context presentation. I think you did a great job explaining Deming’s struggles growing up being an Asian-American, without his biological parents. I also liked how you included that since the covid outbreak there has been an uptick in discrimination against Asian-Americans which is uncalled for and should not be tolerated.
Wonderful post! Your approach of bringing the recent events of the Covid-19 pandemic was a powerful move to bring this injustice into a reality for readers who may not relate. The use of outside sources made a strong statement, especially having an exact number to represent the Asian Americans that experience racism. The discussion about the impacts of foster care was also a highly critical topic to bring to life. Your overall piece was very informative and really emphasized the first half of the book.
Really great job! I really liked the COVID approach to the topic. The amount of racism and discrimination during this time was astonishing. Because the case is still very different from Deming’s it was interesting to see how you made that connection. Which you did a good job doing; discrimination regardless of where it comes from or why it’s occurring is something that no one should have to deal with. Overall, very good job it was very interesting to read your connections and they definitely added to my understanding.
Hi! You have a great post! I really liked how you tied Deming’s experiences in with modern day asian racism, such as what happened with the outbreak of COVID-19. It is very interesting to be able to relate his experiences into situations surrounding our world today, and makes the book that much better. Good job!
I really enjoyed reading your presentation. I believe you did a great job of giving an in-depth analysis of what seems like a surface-level storyline. Additionally, I really like the fact that you were able to tie into the current situation our country and the world are at. Overall, this allowed me to get a better understanding of this story and how to relate it to the world around me.
I think you did a very good job with your presentation. You laid out the general development of the story and the systematic injustice that Asians receive in the United States. As an Asian myself, I couldn’t agree more with your story about the more severe injustice that Asians received during the COVID-19. We have been subjected to more injustice since the epidemic, and it has caused us distress.
Great job on your context presentation. The issues of racism for Asian Americans are really prevalent and are not talked about that often. It was nice to see different issues coming up along with Black Lives Matter that also included Asian Americans. Although racism for the two groups look different they are both really pervasive problems and you did a great just of outlining that in your presentation.
Hello!
Amazing work on your context presentation for the week. You summarize this story wonderfully and really point out and comment on the issues and importance we see being projected to us through the authors words. I think a lot of times racism within Asian American culture is often times brushed under the rug, when it is in fact very prevalent in our society. I really liked how you pointed to the uprise in Asian discrimination since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have heard HORRIBLE things from past political leaders such as calling COVID-19 “the China virus”. I liked how you intersected Deming’s problems and struggles with current systemic issues we are still facing as a country.
Great job on your post! You did a great job of summarizing the story, especially the salient racial and discrimination part. As a Chinese-American who was adopted by an American family, Delinwould lack proper instructions from his biological mother who was Chinese, his self-recognition problem would play a huge part in his life. That could contribute a lot to his behaviors like school problems. In addition, you did a great job of relating racial discrimination problems to the real world, leading us to see how racial problems are closely related to each one of us in the real world.
You did a great job on your presentation, I enjoyed it very much. It was very thorough and insightful. Since the beginning of COVID and the increase in racism against Asians especially Chinese-Americans, it has broadcasted the underlining racism against the Asian communities for decades. It has become common, for jokes to be had at the expense of Asians in every day talk, often not intentionally. Often racial discrimination is correlated with the political environment in the country. My mother immigrated to the United States from Laos in 1971. She experienced a lot of racial slurs in every day life, at work, the store or on the street.
You did a great job on your presentation. You did a good job summarizing the story. It’s important to include these details. You explained the discrimination and racism in the story and that’s an important aspect to get across the audience.
I really enjoyed your presentation. It helped be better understand the reading and provided me with some great insight. A quote from your presentation that really stuck out to me was when you wrote “Growing up for him can’t be easy as he can get made fun of very easily for the way he looks.” This really made me feel sympathy for Deming as no kid should have to go through that. Overall I really enjoyed your presentation and thought that you did a really good job with it.
Great job on the analysis. I really liked how you started the analysis with some background info. The way you included all the details about the discrimination and racism is really important since it is a big part of the story.
Great job on your Context Presentation! You did an amazing job explaining the scene and characters while citing needed information throughout the novel. I really enjoyed how you put the racial injustice and discrimination Deming faced into details and were able to summ up to the next part of the novel. It is really important as readers to understand the big picture and see what the author wants us to contextualize, as well as learn from their story, you did just that!