cover letter
Hello everyone!! Welcome To My Writing Portfolio for Advanced English Writing Class.
This is Alice Hong from Taiwan. I am a sophomore student, majoring French in University Fudan, Shanghai, China.Here is a collection of my essays I wrote for my English class this semester: Reading log as being my personal reflection after reading the text， “Americanization of Shadrach Cohen”, and three drafts of “ The essence of Americanization” as my essay，corrected，edited，and commented by my classmates，English professor and lastly by myself respectively。It centers the theme on discovering the true meaning of Americanization，describing how two cultural conflicts play out and complement one another in the end。Over the past few months, we have been asked to write an essay in limited time, with specific subject given for three times. “Final Timed Writing” is of the last. Besides from these six themes, I also have 4 other reflections on other stories, which unfortunately, cannot be posted here. Overall, in retrospect, I learned a great deal from this class especially in terms of my English writing skill. Different from any other Chinese educational system, the difficultness of vocabulary or grammar no longer seem as important as being able to fully express yourself with your own unique and independent thoughts. This is what I find the most fascinating in this class. Through exchanges of thoughts orally in class and posting reading log online, with my classmates, I developed my ideas into thoughts bit by bit, and therefore, became more capable of expressing my exact opinion in English. Timed writing essays helps me to find out my weakness in English writing, that is the management of time when writing essays. I usually take quite some time to develop my thoughts and writing outline before writing an essay. However, when it comes to limited time essay, I no longer find time to organize my sentences with the best choice of words, grammar and structure. This is something I still need to be working on.
OＫＡＹ！！here you go
Essay Draft Three
The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen written by Bruno Lessing tells of the unexpected clash of cultural and religious values between Cohen, a newly arrived zealous Russian-Jewish immigrant in New York City and his two “Americanized” sons, Abel and Gottlieb. In the beginning the boys had denied their cultural heritage and wholly embraced American culture, but are transformed when they finally realize their father’s wisdom and ability to adapt his Jewish religious values to American Values, yet not adopt them as his own. Lessing uncovers the true essence of Americanization by displaying conflicts that resulted from the intersection of cultures, compromises adopted by Shadrach Cohen and his sons, and the life lessons learned.
Cohen’s tenacious attachment to Jewish tradition and his sons’ disdainfulness toward that attitude only widened the original existing gap caused by differences of moral, religious and cultural values which eventually leads to a breakdown. Cohen is ridiculed by his two sons not only because of his typical dressing style of Russian immigrant: a loose, baglike garment of the ghetto and grey bear and the ringlets that came down over the ears; but also the Jewish habit of going through the grace after meals. After five years of living in America, the boys had been assimilated a great deal into so called “American” lifestyle and its’ society, which they were proud of, and had omitted the religious and traditional aspect of their own heritages’ identity.
“To their chagrin, however, they began to realize, after a few months, that their father was clinging to the habits and customs of his old life with a tenacity that filled them with despair. The more they urged him to abandon his ways the more eager he seemed to become to cling to them” (p.47)
While Abel and Gottlieb held the opinion at the beginning that their father would voluntarily become more integrated into the new society after a period of adaptation, they found his stubborn demanding attitude unchangeable. Without reproach or directly expresses his thoughts, Cohen would remain silent to any remarks made by his sons such as “let us fix you up a bit; learn to speak English; wear your beard shorter and trimmed differently” (48)By not losing his temper, and by the gleam in Marta’s eyes, a maid he brought from Russia, he seemed to observe a certain degree of nervousness and uneasiness while remaining ambiguous. The quote stands out perfectly “There is no set rule for the turning of the worm; most worms, however, turn unexpectedly.”（p47） The consequence of his two sons’ disdainful attitude to forget their old practices and former identity and Cohen’s very tenacious attitude toward his old identity by subconsciously refusing to change is where the break down occurs.
By the dissatisfaction of attitudes shown at the beginning, the reconciliation and assimilation of the distinction between main religions and cultures and lastly the life lessons learned, the author shows the reader that the true essence of Americanization lies within ones’ spirit, character and hopes (such as the “American dream". ) Adapting to the current environment doesn’t necessarily mean a contemptuous attitude toward the original, as is the original case of Cohen. The ability to adjust to a new environment while maintaining your own cultural virtues proves to be the true essence of Americanization.
Essay Draft Two
The true essence of Americanization The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen written by Bruno Lessin writes of the unexpected transformation of cultural and religious values between Cohen, a newly arrived Russian Jew immigrant in New York and his two “Americanized” sons, Abel and Gottlieb who embrace the outward American culture at first, but are touched by his father’s wisdom and ability to adopt to American values and yet remain Jewish in the end. Lessing uncovers the true essence of Americanization by displaying the conflicts resulted from the intersection of cultures, compromises adopted by Shadrach Cohen and his sons, Abel and Gottlieb, and lastly, the lifetime lessons learned. Besides from original existing challenges resulting from differences in terms of moral values, religion and culture between Jews and Americans, Cohen’s tenacious attachment to Jewish tradition and his sons’ disdainfulness toward this attitude, have indeed deepened the gap and resulted in the break out later. Insisting about his Jewish tradition, Cohen is ridiculed by his two son not only of his dressing style of an typical Russian immigrant with loose, baglike garment, grey bear and ringlets that come down over ears; but also certain Jewish tradition, such as going through the grace after meals. Five years of living in America has assimilated them in a great deal into this so called American lifestyle and its society, in which they are proud of, whereas omitting the religious and traditional aspects of their own identity
Besides from original existing challenges resulting from differences in terms of moral values, religion and culture between Jews and Americans, Cohen’s tenacious attachment to Jewish tradition and his sons’ disdainfulness toward this attitude, have indeed deepened the gap and resulted in the break out later. Insisting about his Jewish tradition, Cohen is ridiculed by his two son not only of his dressing style of an typical Russian immigrant with loose, baglike garment, grey bear and ringlets that come down over ears; but also certain Jewish tradition, such as going through the grace after meals. Five years of living in America has assimilated them in a great deal into this so called American lifestyle and its society, in which they are proud of, whereas omitting the religious and traditional aspects of their own identity
Instead of trying to reach a mutual approach, Cohen continues sticking to these tradition without making the least effort of adapting himself to this new society, while his two sons still consider regular grass after each dinner troublesome; having a father dressing Jewish-like shameful and hope he would soon be Americanized However, things are not as planned and this family conflict seems to gets worse. “To their chagrin, however, they began to realize, after a few months, that their father was clinging to the habits and customs of his old life with a tenacity that filled them with despair. The more they urged him to abandon his ways the more eager he seemed to become to cling to them” While Abel and Gottlieb held the opinion at the beginning that their father would be voluntary and become more integrated into this society after a period of adaptation, they find his stubborn demanding attitude unchangeable. Without reproach or directly expresses his thoughts, Cohen would remain silent to any remarks made by his sons such as “let us fix you up a bit; learn to speak English; wear your beard shorter and trimmed differently” By not losing his temper, and by eye contacts with Marta’s eyes, a maid he brought from Russia together, but no one knows what truly is on his mind. The quote stands out perfectly here “There is no set rule for the turning of the worm; most worms, however, turn unexpectedly.” The consequence of his two sons’ disdainful attitude to leave out their own practices and to forget their true identity and Cohen’s very tenacious attitude to its own identity in refusing subconsciously to change is the break out or the turning of the worm. The worm or Cohen, after all these time of hesitation between his moral standard and struggling whether to give his beloved sons a lifetime lesson, “turned: unexpected eventually. The official break out, resulting from Gottlieb’s refusal to let his girlfriend and father meet immediately due to shameful or blizzard behavior in which Cohen may display to ruin everything, has fastened the determination of Cohen, the worm, to figure out a solution to deal with current problems. By interfering their business which he claims to know nothing of, such as extending working hours adding with better services and attitude in order to prosper the business, by obligating his sons to every tenet of their religion , Cohen becomes stern and unyielding that the implicit obedience and profound respect are demanded of his sons. Nevertheless to their amazement, not only does business begin to prosper where respect is shown to their father from certain clients, from whom these two sons have never experienced, but most essentially, they also come to realize the important function of religion serving as an unique and peaceful consolation to their souls. The two sons express their increasing appreciation to religion, the value of discipline, the beauty of filial reverence, and the severe joy of the earnest life. On the other hand, through outer contacts with American clients, Cohen, too, is undergoing some changes of turning into more broader-minded, more tolerance and more flexible in his tenets and finds the idea of liberty, democracy, faculty of adaptability very appealing. Changes brought after the “turn of this worm” appear unexpectedly considerable. Through the process of dissatisfaction of attitudes showed at the beginning to the conciliation and assimilating of the distinction of mainly religion and cultures and lastly the precious lessons about life learned, the author shows the reader the true essence of Americanization lies upon its’ spirits and characteristics, such as American dreams, rather than physical assimilation. Adapting to the current environment doesn’t necessarily mean a contemptuous attitude toward the original, just as shown in the case of Cohen. It is the flexibility and the ability to adjust to new environment while maintaining your own cultural virtues that is the true essence of Americanization.
The worm or Cohen, after all these time of hesitation between his moral standard and struggling whether to give his beloved sons a lifetime lesson, “turned: unexpected eventually. The official break out, resulting from Gottlieb’s refusal to let his girlfriend and father meet immediately due to shameful or blizzard behavior in which Cohen may display to ruin everything, has fastened the determination of Cohen, the worm, to figure out a solution to deal with current problems. By interfering their business which he claims to know nothing of, such as extending working hours adding with better services and attitude in order to prosper the business, by obligating his sons to every tenet of their religion , Cohen becomes stern and unyielding that the implicit obedience and profound respect are demanded of his sons. Nevertheless to their amazement, not only does business begin to prosper where respect is shown to their father from certain clients, from whom these two sons have never experienced, but most essentially, they also come to realize the important function of religion serving as an unique and peaceful consolation to their souls. The two sons express their increasing appreciation to religion, the value of discipline, the beauty of filial reverence, and the severe joy of the earnest life. On the other hand, through outer contacts with American clients, Cohen, too, is undergoing some changes of turning into more broader-minded, more tolerance and more flexible in his tenets and finds the idea of liberty, democracy, faculty of adaptability very appealing. Changes brought after the “turn of this worm” appear unexpectedly considerable. Through the process of dissatisfaction of attitudes showed at the beginning to the conciliation and assimilating of the distinction of mainly religion and cultures and lastly the precious lessons about life learned, the author shows the reader the true essence of Americanization lies upon its’ spirits and characteristics, such as American dreams, rather than physical assimilation. Adapting to the current environment doesn’t necessarily mean a contemptuous attitude toward the original, just as shown in the case of Cohen. It is the flexibility and the ability to adjust to new environment while maintaining your own cultural virtues that is the true essence of Americanization.
Essay Draft One
The true essence of Americanization
The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen written by Bruno Lessin writes of the unexpected transformation of cultural and religious values between Cohen, a newly arrived Russian Jew immigrant in New York and his two “Americanized” sons, Abel and Gotth who embrace the outward American culture at first, but are touched by his father’s wisdom and ability to adopt to American values and yet remain Jewish in the end. Lessing uncovers the true essence of Americanization by displaying the conflicts resulted from the intersection of cultures, compromises adopted by Shadrach Cohen and his sons, Abel and Gottlieb, and lastly, the lifetime lessons learned.
Besides from original existing challenges resulting from differences in terms of moral values, religion and culture between Jews and Americans, Cohen’s tenacious attachment to Jewish tradition and his sons’ disdainfulness toward this attitude, have indeed deepened the gap and resulted in the break out later. Insisting about his Jewish tradition, Cohen is ridiculed by his two son not only of his typical dressing style of an immigrant with loose, baglike garment of the Russian Ghetto and grey bear and ringlets that came down over ears; but also the Jewish habit of going through the grace after meals. Five years of living in America has assimilated them in a great deal into this so called American lifestyle and its society, in which they are proud of, whereas omitting the religious and traditional aspects of their own identity. This is where the quote takes place “There is no set rule for the turning of the worm; most worms, however, turn unexpectedly.” The consequence of his two sons’ disdainful attitude to leave out their own practices and to forget their true identity and Cohen’s very tenacious attitude to its own identity in refusing subconsciously to change, is the break out.
The official break out, resulting from Gottlieb’s refusal to let his girlfriend and father meet immediately due to shameful or blizzard behavior that Cohen may display to ruin everything, has fastened the determination of Cohen, the worm, to figure out a solution to deal with current problems. By interfering their business which he claimed to know nothing of, to extend working hours adding with better services and attitude in order to prosper the business, by obligating his sons to every tenet of their religion , Cohen becomes stern and unyielding that the implicit obedience and profound respect are demanded of his sons. Nevertheless to their amazement, not only did the business begin to prosper where respect is shown to their father from certain clients, something that they have never experienced, but they also come to realize the important function of religion serving as an unique and peaceful consolation to their souls. The two sons express their increasing appreciation to religion, the value of discipline, the beauty of filial reverence, and the severe joy of the earnest life. On the other hand, through outer contacts with American clients, Cohen, too, is undergoing some changes of turning into more broader-minded, more tolerance and more flexible in his tenets and finds the idea of liberty, democracy, faculty of adaptability very appealing.
Through the process of dissatisfaction of attitudes showed at the beginning to the conciliation and assimilating of the distinction of mainly religion and cultures and lastly the precious lessons about life learned, the author shows to the reader the true essence of Americanization lies upon its’ spirits and characteristics, such as American dreams, rather than physical assimilation. Adapting to the current environment doesn’t necessarily mean a contemptuous attitude toward the original, just as shown in the case of Cohen. It is the flexibility and the ability to adjust to new environment while maintaining your own cultural virtues that is the true essence of Americanization.
Final Timed Writing
In Dead Men’s Path, after the incident in which the protagonist closed up the path between school and the place where ancestors are buried for the sake of the clash ideas between religion and an “so called “authentic school, the priest has come to warm him the possible provocation or danger of this act in hope of persuading him to restore the path. However when he insists upon his decision of closing the path, the priest, hopelessly, says “let the hawk perch and let the eagle perch.” This simple phrase not only indicates the result of an conciliating between nature and reality but also reveals priest’s hopelessness
“Let the hawk perch and let the eagle perch.” literally means let the hawk and eagle do whatever they want to do such as perching. In another word, instead of forcing hawks and eagles to hunt or something they do not want, just let them do whatever naturally. In this case, hawks and eagles refer to villagers who are persuaded to leave out their religious and moral values that they had followed for centuries and consider an irreplaceable essence in their life. Therefore, what this priest tries to express is that by depriving the right of villagers to have the access to this path or a spiritual connection to their ancestors without even conciliating with villagers could provoke serious issues, such as manifestation, as has proposed the priest. Desperate the fact that he has closed up the path hoping to create a school of alleviating religion and education, he h
This phrase also reveals priest’s characteristics with a sense of hopelessness, considerableness and pessimism. He is convinced with the idea that it is not rightful to close up the path and will not work out what he expects the ideal school of “the alleviation of school and religion” .Though not necessarily obligatory, as being very considerate, very well acknowledged about the culture of the villager and its possible consequences, he comes to warm him about the possible danger of closing the path.
reading log
Reading log for "Americanization of Shadrach Cohen"
The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen by Bruno Lessing instantly reminds me of the widespread of the same phenomenon of Americanization among Chinese society especially during the past decade. It always interests me a lot to observe how different cultures compromise one another in a society.
We have gradually absorbed and are still absorbing everything, good or bad, related to western world, such as technology, fashion, diet, cosmetics and so on. By doing so, Chinese traditional values, inevitably, more or less, are lost or are not appreciated as much as they used to be. I am not trying to judge the negative or positive viewpoints of inter-cultures, since; the globalization of the world did facilitate, a great deal, the communication and also other essential parts of all people regardless of nationality, race, sex and so on. For me, each culture is beautiful, unique and irreplaceable. However, too much admiration for another culture is not good. For example, in this story, Abel and Gottlieb became too Americanized that they began to even disdain their own culture, considering it inferior. It is irony how it is actually their father in the end who taught them a precious lesson about life; business, discipline, earnest life and so on, something they had long left behind.