Elizabeth Wong Case

Part 1: Summary

In "The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl," Elizabeth Wong writes about her transformation from being a Chinese girl in to an American girl, as she moved to the U.S. Wong went to a Chinese school at the same time she attended American school because Wong's mother wanted her and her brother to maintain the Chinese language as part of their heritage. Wong became embarrassed by her Chinese culture while studying in America. She said Chinese was, " quick, it was loud, it was unbeautiful.... Chinese sounded pedestrian". The desire to become American had become her dream. When Wong was twelve, she was finally allowed to quit Chinese school. She did not care if she grew up remembering her Chinese culture. She just wanted to be an all-American girl. As an adult, Wong realizes that she had lost an opportunity to become a more complete Individual when she let go Chinese identity. 


Part 2: Response

This was a short essay that reflected on a young girl, Elizabeth Wong's past. She wanted to be just like everyone else. When she was in elementary school, she would have to learn Chinese at a night school by her mother's request. Her mother wanted her to learn the foreign language related with their Chinese heritage. However, the girl just wanted to be a kid and play. She also did not want to be associated with the culture. She described it as "humiliating," and referred back to her grandma's awful, "unbeautiful" voice in the supermarkets. After two years of Chinese school, she and her brother had finally convinced their mother to stop making them go there. This was a decision she clearly regretted.

At the end of this essay, Elizabeth Wong shows how she wanted to fit in so badly at a young age. However, she reflects upon it now as saddening that she is more like a normal American, not by association, but by choice. Had she not gone the route of quitting Chinese school, perhaps she wouldn't have given up a piece of herself just to fit in. Being an American does have strong attachments with our slurred English language, and it seems like this pushed her over the edge. She did not want to be unique.

I'm sure anyone can all think of a time when they did something for the wrong reasons. We may have even conformed to society's ways on something we objected to. This is what Elizabeth Wong did in "The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl", and it appears that she regrets her decision everyday. This story teaches us to hold on to our backgrounds and our unique habits, because they are the only things that separate us from the neighbor next door who are your average American.

By the time Wong had accomplished this goal she realized what she had lost and regretted it. "At last, I was one of you; I wasn't one of them. Sadly I still am." It isn't