TOPIC SENTENCE: The main theme revolves around the struggle between the Western and Eastern traditions. It is more of a conflict between the old traditions versus the new ones.

ARGUMENT/ANALYSIS: The film revolves around the traditional arranged marriages. Sammy Fong’s mother has ordered a “picture-bride” for him from China. The picture bride goes by the name Mei Li. When Mei Li first arrives in San Francisco, it is apparent that she is shy and fails to understand the world that she has now found herself in. It is clear that she is the wrong girl for Sammy who has been completely Americanized. Sammy tries to pass Mei Li over to Wang Ta. Master Wang likes Mei Li and is convinced that she is the right girl for his son. The struggle between the Western and Eastern traditions is apparent when Wang Ta argues with Master Wang when he informs him that it is the duty of the father to search his son a bride. Master Wang bases his argument on the Eastern traditions since a similar thing had happened to him at that age. Wang Ta uses the western traditions to refute Master Wang’s notions by asserting “father; they don’t do things like that over here, here a man picks his own wife”. Here, there is evidence that the traditions in China and those in the United States are conflicting since they prescribe a different approach to a similar issue. In the United States, an individual is at liberty to choose their own bride meaning that there is more freedom on this issue compared to China. As a result, an individual raised within the confines of the Chinese traditions would struggle to adapt to the way of life in the United States. This results in conflicting aspects with other people of similar origin, who have already been Americanized.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: In my personal experience, this form of conflict is something that is quite prevalent. I am from China and my being here in the United Sates has helped me witness the differences in culture. There are things that I could not have indulged in while in my home country, but the moment I came here some of them changed. Initially, I used to fight with my parents on issues like having a boyfriend. With time this has changed as they now came to understand the changes in concepts and culture.

CITATION/QUOTATION: A quote that shows the prevalence of the above theme is one from Jeff Yang’s article that states, “Flower Drum Song, in which he stars as Wang Ta, the American-born son of a wealthy Chinatown family torn between sexy Chinese American showgirl Linda Low and Mei Li, the innocent newly immigrated girl to whom he’s been promised in an arranged marriage” (Yang 2). There is a struggle since Wang Ta is being pressured into marrying Mei Li while his eyes are on Linda Low.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the film revolves around the theme of struggle that is present between the Western and Eastern traditions. Sammy and Wang Ta believe that they are being subjected to a tradition that they are not part of since they have now been westernized and are at liberty to choose their own brides. This is something that is likely to occur when people move from culture to another; there is usually a conflict between what the parents think is right and what the children believe in based on the current environment.

Work Cited

Yang, Jeff. “How The Late James Shigeta Changed The Image Of Asian American Men”. WSJ, 2014, http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/07/31/how-the-late-james-shigeta-changed-the-image-of-asian-american-men/.

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