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Cathy Park Hong’s Father
Cathy Park Hong’s mother migrated with her husband (Hong’s father) from South Korea to the U.S., where they raised their two daughters (Hong and her sister). Hong emphasizes that her relationship with her mother was tumultuous, combative, and often violent, and she admits that she’s not yet ready to address it directly in her writing. However, Hong also highlights how she was shaped by observing white Americans’ racism toward her mother—for instance, adults often spoke to her mother like a child, in part because of stereotypes about Asian women and in part because she struggled to express herself in English. Hong found this humiliating, particularly because her mother was an intelligent, dignified woman who was highly articulate when speaking Korean.
Cathy Park Hong’s Mother Quotes in Minor Feelings
The Minor Feelings quotes below are all either spoken by Cathy Park Hong’s Mother or refer to Cathy Park Hong’s Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The End of White Innocence
Quotes
One characteristic of racism is that children are treated like adults and adults are treated like children. Watching a parent being debased like a child is the deepest shame. I cannot count the number of times I have seen my parents condescended to or mocked by white adults.
[…]
By not speaking up, we perpetuate the myth that our shame is caused by our repressive culture and the country we fled, whereas America has given us nothing but opportunity. The lie that Asians have it good is so insidious that even now as I write, I’m shadowed by doubt that I didn’t have it bad compared to others. But racial trauma is not a competitive sport. The problem is not that my childhood was exceptionally traumatic but that it was in fact rather typical.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Cathy Park Hong’s Mother Quotes in Minor Feelings
The Minor Feelings quotes below are all either spoken by Cathy Park Hong’s Mother or refer to Cathy Park Hong’s Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The End of White Innocence
Quotes
One characteristic of racism is that children are treated like adults and adults are treated like children. Watching a parent being debased like a child is the deepest shame. I cannot count the number of times I have seen my parents condescended to or mocked by white adults.
[…]
By not speaking up, we perpetuate the myth that our shame is caused by our repressive culture and the country we fled, whereas America has given us nothing but opportunity. The lie that Asians have it good is so insidious that even now as I write, I’m shadowed by doubt that I didn’t have it bad compared to others. But racial trauma is not a competitive sport. The problem is not that my childhood was exceptionally traumatic but that it was in fact rather typical.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
