Peter Hessler and China - 702 Words

Peter Hessler and a fellow Peace Corp. volunteer were placed in Fuling, and poor town on the Yangtze River in rural China. River Town is more or less a journal of what it was like being in Fuling on a day to day basis. He illustrates his experience through stories of trips he took, people that he became close with, and situations that required an open mind. Peter’s job was teaching English literature at a small college in the town; and through this was able to learn both about the tightly controlled nature of being a foreigner in China, as well as some of the thoughts of the younger generation through various assignments. He was greeted as a â€Å"hero† and was lavished upon, but at the same time found it very difficult to be â€Å"accepted† by the locals, cadres or not. Many â€Å"hot† topics were addressed, from the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong, to the independence of Taiwan. It is amazing how nationalized China is—and how standardized thinking is there. To the people there; Mao is good because he is a revolutionary, and Taiwan is bad because they should be part of China. Everything is simplified into this style of thinking and debate is not a valid avenue for students (or teachers for that matter) to take. Hessler constantly fought with his position as a foreigner, even after two years of living in the town. Ethnocentrism is evident in China just like it is everywhere else, and even though Peter tried very hard to blend in, he was never truly able to shed his waiguorenShow MoreRelatedReview of Peter Hesslers Oracle Bones1541 Words   |  6 PagesBones, Peter Hessler (2006) explores the history and culture of China, incorporating personal and social commentary. Hessler (2006) also weaves personal stories of individual Chinese people into Oracle Bones, to provide both a broad and an intimate narrative. The three core personal narratives are vastly different, to capture the diversity of Chinese culture and society. One of the people that Hesler (2006) follows is a Uighur (Muslim from Eastern China), who successfully endeavors to leave China forRead MorePeter Hessler s River Town1967 Words   |  8 PagesLet’s rewind back in time to 1996, Peter Hessler’s River Town is a graphic account of his experiences as a waiguoren (foreigner) in an ancient country. His crisp, content-rich and attention to detail style of writing keeps the reader mesmerized. Peter Hessler, a.k.a Ho Wei, volunteers as a Peace Corps officer who spends 2 years of his life in a city called Fuling, a Yangtze River town in China. The Peace Corps have assigned him to teach English and Literature in class to students who have never seenRead More Compare and Contrast: The Difference Between the United States and China in Terms o f Living and Working1033 Words   |  5 PagesThe United States or come back to China makes more and more Chinese people concentrate on a basic question: what is the difference between The United States and China. Although both The United States and China are world’s major economies, in terms of living and working, The United States has advantages over China in relationship between people, work relationship, and getting information. People in the United States show more trust to each other than people in China do. In the United States, returnsRead MoreModernization and Nationalism in South Korea2312 Words   |  10 Pagesnatural. Without the weight of a continuous history and the conservation of Confucianism, Westerners seemed more likely to look ahead. Western view of the future expected tangible, long-term progress. Western history is more fluid. Unlike its neighbor China, Korea’s history is not a trap. It is not a set of rigid traditions that prevent the country from modernizing, but Koreans are intent on protecting and passing on their culture. Having a conservative ideology at the core of society such as Confucianism