Question for 25-75: What additional insight into culture do you gain from reading this section? Please explain with specific references to incidents in the section.
The major culture separation that I noticed in this section is the fact that many people in China, at least in this section, had to find their own way of providing for themselves, unlike an American way of living, which is to seek help from higher authorities whether is the government or and sub-branches of the government at local levels. I can see that other students have also taken notice to this observation made by Hessler, as well as the blind man playing the erhu. I find these two observations go hand in hand for this particular culture separation in China. To elaborate, the erhu is a major representation of Chinese culture and history in itself, and this heavy representation of their culture parallels the heavy presence of government in America aiding US citizens. In many cases, the Chinese have their own, more personal, way of solving their problems whether they are monetary, social, etc. There seems to be a level of shame and determination that drive this Chinese culture being portrayed by Hessler, in a different way that an American homeless man might try to take back his fortune. Just as people in other countries who are less fortunate have to find ways to stay afloat, people in America have to do the exact same thing, only the methods between different cultures tends to differ.
The major culture separation that I noticed in this section is the fact that many people in China, at least in this section, had to find their own way of providing for themselves, unlike an American way of living, which is to seek help from higher authorities whether is the government or and sub-branches of the government at local levels. I can see that other students have also taken notice to this observation made by Hessler, as well as the blind man playing the erhu. I find these two observations go hand in hand for this particular culture separation in China. To elaborate, the erhu is a major representation of Chinese culture and history in itself, and this heavy representation of their culture parallels the heavy presence of government in America aiding US citizens. In many cases, the Chinese have their own, more personal, way of solving their problems whether they are monetary, social, etc. There seems to be a level of shame and determination that drive this Chinese culture being portrayed by Hessler, in a different way that an American homeless man might try to take back his fortune. Just as people in other countries who are less fortunate have to find ways to stay afloat, people in America have to do the exact same thing, only the methods between different cultures tends to differ.
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