Background
Sumi Cho’s article about the Korean American and the African American groups in the United States and practically other parts of America provides a visual of what was really happening at the United States’ society. The U.S.’s society has been a problematic one back then, with several minority clashes happening persistently and most of the time, uncontrollably. The chaos brought about by such conflicts only resulted into more chaos.
The objective of this paper is to present an analysis of the author, Sumi Cho’s ideas as well as the overall content and quality of the article. It’s quite undeniable that Sumi Cho’s work could be of great help to those who want to view what society used to be and how the people in it behaved at a time when cultural and ethnical conflicts proved to be a threat to domestic and regional peace and order. But, did the author succeed in telling what she wants to tell? Can a common reader, one who has no prior knowledge to sociology or anthropology understand and grasp the things she was trying to say? Was the article clear about something? These are likely the questions that will be covered in this paper.
I would like to commend the way the author presented her ideas in her article “Korean American vs. African American”. First, let me talk about the focus of the article. Throughout the text, it was clear that she was only talking about the same thing. The article was divided into subtitles in a way that did not result into a focal compromise. From the beginning of the paper up to the last few sentences, the reader could stipulate that the author knows how to present her ideas well. Yes, there were some issues with regards to the clarity of the statements but that is a different story. The bottom line here is that the focus of the text was maintained.
Without a clear focus, readers will likely lose their focus in reading too—nobody wants to read something hard to understand. The author did a good job in this part overall.
Development of a Compelling Thesis
After reading the whole text, I could say that the author was able to present a complete, concise and compelling thesis. In fact, she did more than just developing and presenting such type of thesis. She supported her developed thesis with non-biased facts and evidences. It became clear for me that her objective was to inform and not to convince—although using correct thinking, one could say that the best way to persuade or convince is to inform.
There are several types of thesis that may be used and crafted for a paper. A thesis statement could either be analytical, expository or argumentative in nature. Usually it is the author who chooses the type of thesis statement he wants to use. Usually the style and the overall outlook of the paper would change depending on the thesis statement plus several other factors like the author’s objective and the target audience.
In this case, I would rather say that the thesis statement was more of an analytical type. An analytical paper should be something that has breakdowns of an issue or idea into smaller components (which was well evidenced in the text) and the evaluation of each component; all of which will of course be relayed to the audience in the end. So, another point for the author for this criterion because she was able to successfully develop a compelling thesis for the text.
Quality of the Examples Used
An idea or a hypothesis can always be supported with evidences. The best way to provide evidences so far is by giving out examples that are, as much as possible, directly related to the subject or argument at hand. Sumi Cho gave a lot, not just several but a lot, of examples in her paper regarding the factors that may have contributed to the sociological downfall of Korean Americans living in the U.S. Let me support that by giving out examples too. Sumi Cho stated that one of the great contributing factors that led to the domination of the Black and White American dichotomy in the American Society is the theories and ideas of the Human Capital theorists during their time. The author tends to use examples whenever necessary or whenever something has to be cleared out. Yes, giving out examples can really help even out the impurities that may be found on the arguments but I think there was something that Sumi Cho failed to address—the quality of her examples. Some of the examples she used was for me, baseless.
She gave a kind of confusing and out of the lane example when she tried to educate the readers about the fact that Korean Americans were usually the ones being blamed for the wrongdoings of the Black Americans. She used the events that covered up the wrongdoings of a Japanese Minister in the past. Yes, it was related to the case which makes it more like an analogy more than an example but it would have been better if she tried to look for a more suitable example, one that has something to do with ethics and sociology perhaps. This way, the readers would be able to get or simply to understand what she had to say—a very important quality of any type of paper.
The justification of the thesis statement could have been further improved if the author was able to follow this routine—using most recent examples. The author, in an effort to clarify things, used some inappropriately dated examples to back up her claims; inappropriate in a way that they either happened a long time ago or they never really happened. It is indeed important to know that using the most recent sources and examples will always lead to better results than using outdate ones. As a result, the text will be easier to validate. The thesis statement will also be easier to justify if a more recent set of sources or examples are used.
Here is another example. It was stated in Sumi Cho’s text the reasons why the Koreans and other Asians living in the Americas are being scapegoat sometimes, to the point that they are just being ignored. It was kind of common for Black Americans to hate or have a weird feeling of envy about Korean Americans. One of the reasons stipulated in the paper was success. Sumi Cho discussed the relationship between the Korean Americans’ successful community in the U.S. and the current treatment they receive from Black Americans. She pointed out that that there is indeed a relationship between the two factors.
In the end, I say that Sumi Cho’s arguments that were backed up by evidences were not good enough, even for readers who already have a background in society and culture. Firstly, there were good and straight-to-the-point examples but others were clearly out of the line. Secondly, there some examples used were clearly outdated. Using a more direct and recent example will obviously help the author more in accomplishing her task of justifying her developed thesis statement.
Additional Issues or Topics not included in the Text
There were some issues, I think, that could have helped a lot in justifying the thesis statement, if they were just included and discussed in the text. One particular topic that I think would have helped provide a stronger basis for the arguments is behaviorism. The author should have included the normal behaviors of the Black Americans, the Korean Americans and the White Americans during that time, discussed them each and provided a clear and comprehensive comparison. Conflicts and their effects could be perceived as the total effect of human actions. Human actions could in turn be influenced by their normal behavior. Perhaps the reason why the native Americans always blamed the Asians living in their territory is because it has always been part of their behavior to blame other people in the midst of trouble or maybe it was just their habit to jump into conclusions fast even without knowing who is who and what is what.
Psychology could also be considered as an important issue that should have been discussed in addition to the discussion points in Sumi Cho’s text. Sociology, the central theme of the paper has always been linked with Psychology. There is this branch of psychology called Cultural Psychology that deals with the relationship of a person’s culture and his mind. Principles of Cultural principles may have also answered some of the remaining questions Cho was not able to completely answer using a sociological perspective.
Conclusion
The text Korean Americans vs. African Americans was a well-published text. It did not mislead its readers. It was focused on one and only one topic which prevented the readers from getting confused and disinterested. The author also did a good job in developing a compelling, concise and comprehensive thesis statement. It was categorized and it appears that what the author developed was an analytical thesis statement. These are all the strengths of the paper.
The examples that the author enumerated, in an effort to clear things out and further defend her stand, were either outdate or off-topic. I am not saying that all of her examples possess these qualities but even a few outdated plus off-topic examples could result into confusion, preventing the readers from understanding what the author wanted them to understand. Lastly, there were some topics that should have helped defend the thesis statement but were not included in the text.
Nevertheless, it was a good text and it presented a unique perspective about the reasons behind the scapegoating of the Korean Americans, as well as the great cultural conflicts between the White and Black Americans and the Korean Americans.
Works Cited
Cho, S. (n.d.). Korean Americans vs. African Americans. Conflict and Construction. Book.
