Introduction by Alice Pung
1. What were Asian-Australians referred to as when the author was growing up? Power-points
2. How does she interpret this title? She interprets it as thinking she was so smart and she had so much untapped potential.
3. What did this title actually refer to? Did the author find this demeaning? Why/why not? The title refers to a girl who grows up in Australia as an Asian-Australian who goes through a period where she experiences many things for the first time.
4. ‘All that untapped potential! All that electrifying brain power!’ What techniques are being employed by the author? How do they highlight her misunderstanding? Metaphor, they highlight her misunderstanding by talking about things that cannot really happen to someone.
5. What did the teen author take away from teen fiction? What did she feel that she needed to do? Why? What does this say is essential to fitting in to a culture? That she has to have a lot of plastic surgery to look like the cartoons and normal.
6. Who are the authors that she turns to? Why? She turns to the authors who have been effected by being Asian-Australian and the great things they went on to do in their lives.
7. In the third paragraph how does the author use repetition. How does it highlight the focus of this book? The author repeats the theme of 'firsts' which highlights how the stories in the book are about many peoples first experiences.
8. What metaphor does the author use to highlight the writers and the writing style in the third paragraph? The author uses the metaphor 'plucking the most garish fruit from the lowest-hanging branches of an exotic cultural tree.
9. Why does the author use a quote in the 4th paragraph? What does it say about her reaction to the stories in the book? The author uses this quote to show how many of these stories will relate to hundreds of people in Australia even if they are not Asian.
10. On page 2 the author talks about the themes that she loosely choose for the collection. What are they and why is it ironic that they show up in this book? They are stories that show heroic deeds and are worthy of national pride. Because this is a book about people who have had difficulties living in Australia and have been neglected by their fellow Australian but have done great things in Australia.
11. At the bottom of pg 3 on to page 4 the author says that sociologists have described Asians as the ‘model minority’. What is meant by this? What difficulties arise out of this label for young Asian-Australians? This means that they are people who make up a small percentage of the Australian population but who strive to succeed in life. They are faced with racism and adversity.
12. What are the editor’s hopes for the collection of stories? The editor's hopes are that the collection of stories help to answer all the questions that people may have about Asian-Australians and that the reader better understands what it is like to grow up in Australia as an Asian and what it means to be an Asian-Australian.
Pigs from Home by Hop Dac
1. How does the author start this story which is in direct contrast to the title of the story? What effect does this have on the reader and their expectations of the story? She starts it with an introduction to the story. This makes the reader think about anything that they may have experiences with.
2. What core Vietnamese value is instilled in the author? They core Vietnamese value is the farming and the way they create their own food instead of buying it.
3. What is humorous about the mother’s ‘flair for natural medicine’ in regards to her personality? It is humorous because her mother is a hypochondriac and knowledgeable about herbal medicine but is always worried and paranoid about being sick or being unhealthy.
4. How does the description of the killing of pigeons continue the style utilised in the introduction of the story? They don't really care about the pigeons and their feelings they just want them dead for food.
5. What is the author’s opinion of pigs? Give two quotes to support your conclusion. She does not like them very much.
6. In the paragraph on pgs 53-54, give two examples of alliteration employed by the author. 'Feeding frenzy' and 'Blowing raspberries on the bellies of babies'.
7. On pg 54 what simile is used to describe pigs? How does this simile work for the situation it is used? 'A pig is like an ocean' is the simile used and it works because you can't turn you back on the ocean or you will get dumped by the wave and can't turn your back on a pig because it will bite you.
8. What simile does the author use to describe her mother sunning herself? How does this relate to the core focus of the story? Tanning like a rotisserie which shows that the Chinese are very enthusiastic into cooking.
9. What does the author describe as ‘the divide between the old world and the new’? What do you think is meant by this statement? She began to see the harshness and cruelty of killing animals for food and what is necessary in order to save money and to not waste any food.
10. What is the author’s reaction to the slaughter of the pig at night? What statement does the author make about the neighbours which displays the way he feels about the whole experience? What is important about including this statement? She cannot speak and is so transfixed on the killing of the pig. She is worried that her neighbours may have heard the dying pig squeal which makes her feel worried about the whole thing.
11. Why don’t the parents have pigs anymore? How does this relate to the description of the burial of the last pig they owned? Because there is a local farmer who supplies them with bacon and ham. This is in relation to the last burial which is like being the last time they will ever have pigs any more.
12. How would you characterise the description of the mother’s treatment of the pig’s blood? Is it appetising? There treatment of pig's blood takes a lot of effort and time and does not sound very appetising with any sort of dish.
13. What is ironic about the way the author has a popular Vietnamese dish? What is it about the way the author describes the experience of having pigs that makes it ironic?
14. How does this story relate to the title Pigs from Home? Because this story is about her experience with farming and the animals in them which is what many Asians not only in Australia do.
15. Why do you think this story is in the Battlers section of the book? I think this story is in the battlers section of the book because it is about a time in someone's life who has to battle through the harsh realities of the world in order to save money and to live happily with food on the table.
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