WRT 303.03: The Personal Essay
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“Rice for Thanksgiving” by Jocelyn Fong
Jocelyn Fong’s essay is about her life as a mixed race individual. She uses the dish of rice and gravy to symbolize who she is: a mixture of two different and unexpected entities. Although this is the case, the unusual mixture ends up being something that her family bonds over during the holiday and is apparently also quite delicious. Fong describes some conflicts in her identity that arose due to its ambiguity. She also recounts the rough history that many Asian Americans lived through. There was a large amount of discrimination towards Asians and relationships between Asians and whites were even illegal for a period of time. For Fong, her race is a symbol of triumph over these past grievances. It shows progress towards a more unified and accepting future.
What really struck me about this essay was the correlation that it had to my own life. I, too, am half Asian and half white-American. I went through similar situations in which I questioned my identity and where I fit in. I also understand the fusion of cultures and how, although they are so completely different, they seem to fit together in the end. I suppose one difference would be that I experienced much more Asian culture that Fong since my mother moved here from Korea when she was 25 and still has a hard time with her English. Either way, I found it inspiring and comforting to read this essay.
I was incredibly surprised, however, by Fong’s descriptions of discrimination that Asians faced in the past. American history tends to focus very little on the Asian race and its backround in this country. I knew that there was some racism from learning about the Chinese Exclusion Act, but I had no idea that there was segregation in cities separating Chinese and Americans. A lot has been overcome since then. I guess this made me a little more proud of my heritage, too.
Jocelyn Fong’s Essay
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One thought on “ “rice for thanksgiving” by jocelyn fong ”.
Hi Sylvia! It was nice to learn more about you though this blog post. I think it is so cool that you are of mixed race. I was intrigued by the title of your blog post and by its content because two of my best friends are also mixed race. One is half Italian, half Philippino, and the other, half-Chinese half Colombian. I’m always curious as to what culture they identify more with, and for both of them it’s the oriental one. Although, when I ask them what they really feel like, they respond American. So I was wondering, which do you think you identify with the most, or do you feel as though you are equally a part of them both? Even though I am not of mixed race, I feel like I grew up biculturally here in America. My vales come a lot from my Bengali culture, and I feel as though that created the more conservative side of me. I also feel that growing up in America taught me to have an open mind, and be more liberal. I feel like diversity is the most amazing thing about living in New York, and I’m glad I go to a school like Stony Brook where I am able to experience it. I would like to hear more about how you found your place as a mixed race child and how you saw the fusion of two cultures, keep writing!
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NROC Developmental English
Unit 2: identifying main ideas, writing assignment and rubric, writing assignment.
Write a summary-response to “Rice for Thanksgiving” that displays a clear understanding of the reading and is divided into two parts. The first part is a focused summary paragraph that briefly describes the author’s main idea, supporting ideas, and the author’s purpose. The second part is a detailed response paragraph that relates your own personal experience and opinions to the reading using your thesis statement, your supporting ideas, and your purpose. Both paragraphs should have clear topic sentences, supporting sentences, and concluding sentences. The grading rubric below will help you develop your paper.
Your summary-response assignment will be graded using four separate categories for each paragraph: the Topic Sentence, the Supporting Ideas, the Concluding Sentence, and your overall use of Grammar and Punctuation for both paragraphs. Each of these four items will be rated as Proficient, Developing, or Needs Improvement.
Proficient means that you have met the standards of an effective summary-response. Developing means you have partially met the standards of a summary-response, but it needs some revision. Needs Improvement means you did not meet the standards of a summary- response.
SUMMARY PARAGRAPH
| Proficient | Developing | Needs Improvement | |
Topic Sentence | Clearly states author’s main idea. | States an idea contained in the reading. | Does not include an idea from the reading. |
Supporting Ideas | Relates author’s supporting ideas to the main idea. | Partially relates author’s supporting ideas to main idea. | Does not include supporting ideas from the reading. |
| Concluding Sentence | Identifies author’s purpose in writing the text. | Partially addresses author’s purpose in writing the text. | No concluding sentence is present. |
| Grammar & Punctuation | Paragraph contains complete sentences with little or no punctuation errors relating to the period or comma. | Paragraph contains some sentence fragments and/or run- on sentences and comma splices. | A lack of editing distracts the reader, making the paragraph feel like a rough draft. |
RESPONSE PARAGRAPH
| Proficient | Developing | Needs Improvement | |
Topic Sentence | Clearly states your main idea about the reading. | States an idea about the reading, but it’s not clear if it’s yours or the author’s. | Does not include an idea about the reading. |
Supporting Ideas | Connects your personal experience to the reading and to your main idea. | Partially relates your personal experience to the reading. | Does not relate personal experience to the reading. |
| Concluding Sentence | Clearly relates your personal sentiment about the reading to the author’s main idea. | Relates a sentiment about the reading, but it’s not clear to the reader that it’s yours. | No concluding sentence is present. |
| Grammar & Punctuation | Paragraph contains complete sentences with little or no punctuation errors relating to the period or comma. | Paragraph contains some sentence fragments and/or run- on sentences and comma splices. | A lack of editing distracts the reader, making the paragraph feel like a rough draft. |
Developed by The NROC Project. Copyright © 2014 Monterey Institute for Technology and Education
IMAGES
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COMMENTS
Many people have a favorite Thanksgiving dish. It’s not turkey or pumpkin pie for Jocelyn Fong, but something that combines American tradition with her father’s Chinese heritage. Fong believes her simple dish helps her connect with her mix of cultures.
Jocelyn Fong's Rice for Thanksgiving poignantly explores the blending of cultural traditions, highlighting how rice becomes a symbol of heritage and family unity amidst a quintessentially American holiday.
The short essay, “Rice for Thanksgiving,” describes how someone from a mixed cultural background celebrates not only Thanksgiving, but life in the United States. The author uses the term “rice and gravy” to describe herself, meaning that even though she is white and Asian, she is still an American.
Rice for Thanksgiving by Jocelyn Fong states that what comes to her mind with Thanksgiving celebration is her grandma’s eleven children poring turkey gravy over rice and the way she feels and relates to the representation of different cultures.
Analysis Of Rice For Thanksgiving. 217 Words1 Pages. Jocelyn Fong, an Asian American who wrote the essay “Rice for Thanksgiving”, examines her family’s tradition of eating rice for Thanksgiving and how it represents how she feels in her everyday life.
Summary Of Rice For Thanksgiving. Jamie Branch A different view on Thanksgiving “Rice for Thanksgiving” is a short essay written by Jocelyn Fong, describing how she celebrates Thanksgiving being Asian and American and what is the most important thing to her.
This response essay delves into the significance of rice in the context of Thanksgiving, exploring its historical roots, cultural implications, and the evolving nature of American traditions. Historical Roots of Rice.
“Rice for Thanksgiving” by Jocelyn Fong. Posted by sylvia1991 ⋅February 14, 2012⋅ 1 Comment. Jocelyn Fong’s essay is about her life as a mixed race individual. She uses the dish of rice and gravy to symbolize who she is: a mixture of two different and unexpected entities.
Write a summary-response to “Rice for Thanksgiving” that displays a clear understanding of the reading and is divided into two parts. The first part is a focused summary paragraph that briefly describes the author’s main idea, supporting ideas, and the author’s purpose.
Many people have a favorite Thanksgiving dish. It’s not turkey or pumpkin pie for Jocelyn Fong, but something that combines American tradition with her father’s Chinese heritage. Fong believes her simple dish helps her connect with her mix of cultures.