Inspiring Essay About Who’s Irish By Gish Jen

The book is a story about a Chinese mother and the differences she faces in communicating with her own daughter – married to an Irish - in raising her granddaughter, Sophie. It depicts an ideal scenario of difference in thinking between generations, and how children belittle their parents once they get older. Moreover, it also shows the differences in the Chinese culture with the Irish culture particularly related to the upbringing of their offspring’s.
As times progress so does the way of living and the thinking of society’s younger generations. This is one of the main elements that are prominent throughout the story. Natalie and the author belong to two different generations, and their thinking is also very separate. For instance; the author believes in spanking the children if they do not obey their elders, but Natalie emphasizes upon the power of words to teach her daughter, Sophie. In earlier times, parents did not expect their children to argue or misbehave with them, but Natalie does not show anger when her daughter misbehaves rather she supports her actions and deals with the situation calmly unlike her mother. The generation gap becomes even wider between the author and the ex-babysitter, Amy. Amy thought of herself as a free soul and independent girl because of which some behaviors Sophie picked up from her; such as roaming around without clothes, and the author strongly detested this idea and form of thinking.
The Chinese culture places a strong emphasis on family values and respect towards parents; whereas, in the Irish culture there is little importance given to old parents. The older parents in the Irish culture usually do not interfere with the children’s life because the children do not appreciate this interference. Moreover, the Chinese people continue to respect their parents throughout their lives regardless of age. The author of the story – Chinese grandmother – goes to show how she feels disrespected by her daughter – Natalie – who uses her mother as a babysitter for Sophie, and also does not let the grandmother teach Sophie the values she wants her granddaughter to know and learn. The author often felt frustrated when she saw her daughter – Natalie – busy with work and earning a living for the household and her son-in-law was mostly unemployed and did not help in housework. The grandmother seems to be from a patriarchal background where the man is the sole breadwinner, and the wives are mainly seen as housekeepers and in the upbringing of the children.
There are many other themes that are apparent in the book, but for the purpose of this paper, the aforementioned have been discussed in much detail. The idea of generation gap has always been there and is nothing new. This generation gap is becoming even more apparent as time is progressing and with the advent of media the generation gap has become wider than ever. The grandmother herself in one place has expressed her shock in the number of channels that are now shown on the cable and play a very important role in building individual’s personalities. The busy lifestyle’s of parents has made them ignorant of their children’s activities. Leaving them in the hands of babysitters does not do justice to their upbringing, and this is what the author is also mainly concerned about.