Week 11: Emerging Scholars

After reading all of the books that we have covered in class this semester, I find it hard to pick just one to recommend for the Emerging Scholars class to read this summer. Since I have to pick one book, I would have to say that I think that they should read Esperanza Rising. I think that this book would be a very interesting book for both males and females in that program. The Emerging Scholars program focuses on students from lower income areas, and I think that these students would be able to relate to the struggles and hurdles that must be overcome in Esperanza Rising. Esperanza and her family go from having everything to truly realizing what is important in life, family. I think that these students, because they come from lower income areas could really relate to the struggles and understand the concept of not having material wealth, but wealth at heart. I also think that this book would teach the students about the struggles that go on in other countries, such as Mexico, and give them a better understanding of why people immigrate to America. It would also show them that although America is the "land of promise," there are still troubles that people face in establishing themselves. I think that this novel is a very good book for students to read because it will show them that with a little hard work, happiness can be obtained even without materialistic items.

Week 10: Mulan

I believe that Disney's story of Mulan and the Chinese folktale are very different. Although Mulan is a revolutionary woman in both versions of the tale, I believe that Disney's version tends to Westernize Mulan more than the original version. In Disney's version, once Mulan has revealed herself, there is hope that she will remain a powerful woman who continues to break the sexist traditional barriers of her society and culture. On the other hand, the original version depicts Mulan fighting to save her father and prove a point and then returning back to the woman who would be accepted by her Chinese culture. Although I am a fan of keeping stories true to their origin, I believe that in order for the story to become as popular world wide, Disney had to make the movie more Westernized. By making Mulan more Westernized, the story fits better into western culture, one that is dominated by more and more revolutionary women breaking out in what used to be known as strictly a "man's world". I think that viewers would have been fine to relate to a version involving a character like Ailin, due to their ability to see the struggles and relate to what she is going through to an extent. In a world in which Disney's main audience is the Western world, I think that making Mulan more Westernized helped to raise awareness and interest in the original Chinese story.