The Scar-let Letter

I can't be the only one who immediately thought of Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender when we started reading The Scarlet Letter in class. I mean seriously, he literally has a SCARlet letter (kinda) on his face.

So, as a healthy alternative to losing brain cells while trying to decipher this book, I have created a comprehensive list of similarities between the best cartoon character ever and our romantic hero, Hester Prynne.

Just as Hester wears the scarlet letter as an emblem of shame, Zuko's scar is also symbolic of a sin he has committed in the past - speaking out against the Fire Lord a.k.a worst father and evillest dictator ever. (Fortunately Zuko did not commit adultery because he is actually my soulmate and that would be terribly heartbreaking.) Because of Hester's crime, she falls to the lowest ranks of society and becomes the embodiment of a debased and unholy woman. Similarly, Zuko drops from the esteemed heir to the throne to an unworthy "banished prince", one who is looked down upon and deemed incapable by his own people. Both are characters who, due to scrutiny and influence of society, have been thoroughly robbed of their honor.

However, obviously, neither Hester nor Zuko is really the one to blame here. Ultimately, their shame and dishonor are rooted in the fact that neither character conforms with the accepted ideals of society - for Hester, being a devout Puritan, and for Zuko, being a heartless ruler who shoots fireballs at people just because he can. Now that I think about it, The Last Airbender as a whole can be classified as a romantic work: emphasis on elements of nature and departure from classical standards are core themes throughout the course of the show. In this way, Zuko, just like Hester Prynne, is a romantic hero.

Sincerely,

Your source of infinite wisdom, Avatar Aang-ela

haaaaaa ha ha ha ha.

Peace.Love.What?!

Fact #1: I am a socially awkward Chinese girl with strict parents who eats rice every day and overachieves in school.

Fact #2: I can just feel the stereotypes running through your head right now.

Over the years, I've grown accustomed to constantly hearing the lines "can I copy your homework?", "why can't you go to parties?" and "why do you think a $10 shirt is expensive?" The answer is almost always the same: Because I'm Asian. How silly of you to ask!

It's no secret that racial stereotypes exist in society. You don't need to be Sherman Alexie or Brent Staples to know that. But this is not a typical upset-kid-blames-society-for-being-racist post. Not at all. Today, my sole purpose is to blame myself.

If you knew me or knew of me at the tender age of twelve, you might be familiar with a certain Facebook page that I usually avoid speaking of at all costs. It's called Peace.Love.Asian (go ahead, start laughing, but I'll have you know that page got 164 likes). And yes, this page is pretty much exactly what it sounds like - a brainless 6th grader glued to a computer screen in attempt to make friends on the Internet. Somehow, the 12-year-old me believed that creating this page would finally give Asians a free pass to popularity. Little did I know, however, that posting dozens of rice bowl photos captioned with overflowing exclamation points would only reinforce and promote the stereotypes already surrounding Asians in society. 

(Literally.)

Looking back four years later, I realize that my actions on this page have probably negatively portrayed Asians instead of helping me rise on the social hierarchy. I mean, who would want to interact with a race that publicly obsesses over its "only" food and boasts shamelessly about its skin color?

No joke, at some point I actually posted this picture.

Now, embarrassment and loathing for my 6th grade self aside, my point is this: Maybe racial stereotypes aren't always the result of the ignorance of others. In this day and age, maybe the real perpetrators of racism are none other but ourselves. 

Or maybe it's just me.

Fact #3: If Peace.Love.Asian posts mysteriously begin to pop up in my News Feed after the publication of this blog post...I will find you, and will I kill you.

Maybe.

What are you hungry for?

Take a look at this picture.

Are you hungry?

Now take a look at these pictures.

Are you hungry now?

Why not? The answer lies in society's assumption that hunger applies exclusively to food. Before reading Jeannette Wall's memoir, The Glass Castle, the word "hungry" to me was merely a synonym for "I haven't eaten anything in about 10 minutes and my mouth is getting dangerously lonely." While this statement obviously still holds true, reading about Jeannette Walls and her family has given me considerable insight into what hunger really is.

On a surface level, Jeannette walls is on the verge of starvation. She is “tall and pale and skinny” (Walls 28) and “finds [her]self rooting in the garbage at school for food” (Walls 125). In this way, I may find that Walls and I have nothing in common. I mean, there is nothing in my refrigerator or pantry that cannot satiate my constant cravings. However, just like Jeannette, and just like you, I am always hungry. Growing up in a bizarre household that never settles down and never conforms with society, Jeannette hungers for stability, for success, for social acceptance, for independence, and for control, just to name a few. After an exhaustive self-reflection, I've come to realize these elements are no different than what I hunger for myself. Every day, I am hungry for security and self-esteem. I am hungry for a 4.0 GPA and acceptance to a top college. I am hungry for a smartphone to fit in with my friends. I am hungry for the the freedom that comes with a drivers license and for a figurative steering wheel to conduct my own disordered life. And of course, I am hungry for strawberry shortcake flavored Goldfish grahams.

If that’s not enough for you, think about a story/movie that we all know - The Hunger Games. Why is it called the Hunger Games? Yes, the citizens of District 12 are all poor and starving and yes, winning the Games brings wealth and an end to that starvation. However, on deeper inspection, the Hunger Games ultimately depicts a hunger for strength, for courage, and for survival - it is a fear of death and a scarcity of prowess, not an empty pantry back home, that drives the tributes to kill one another in the arena. (Unless you’re Katniss and Peeta; they’re mostly just hungry for each other. No one cares about Gale.)

I all comes down to this. Hunger can be a passionate desire for an object, be it three-cheese lasagna or the iPhone 6+, but more often it is a lack or absence of an abstract aspect of life. It doesn’t matter if you've just returned from an all-you-can-eat buffet or have all the money in the world. What are you hungry for?