Notes on Rhetorical Analysis of Simu Liu's Immigration Essay

Author: Simu Liu, an actor.
Task: Analyze Simu Liu's rhetorical choices in conveying his message about his experience immigrating from China to Canada.
Focus: The prompt remains consistent for the upcoming assessment.

Anticipated Message: Given the context, the experience is unlikely to be portrayed as easy.
Expected Difficulty: Moving from one country to another, especially as a child, is inherently challenging.

Speaker: Simu Liu reflecting on his experiences.
Primary Audience: Readers of his memoir.
Secondary Audience: Individuals who have immigrated or can empathize with the immigrant experience.
Context: AP Language class (2024).

Core Message: The immigration experience is difficult, causing a sense of distance even from loved ones. Over time, adaptation and growth are possible.
Nuances:
- Challenges lead to perspective.
- Potential for a better life despite initial difficulties.
- Adaptation over time.

Technique: Referring to his father as "this man" or "this stranger."
Effect: Establishes a lack of closeness and a sense of unfamiliarity.
Expected Norm: Typically, children refer to their fathers with terms of endearment (e.g., "daddy," "papa").
Contradiction: Initial expectation of a warm reunion (running to hug his father) contrasts with the reality.
Impact: Highlights the emotional distance and difficulty in understanding the situation.

Technique: Use of Chinese characters.
Effect: Underscores the foreignness and unfamiliarity of the new culture.
Interpretation: While the author may understand the characters, their inclusion creates a sense of otherness for the reader.

Technique: Describing moments of confusion and misunderstanding.
Example: Laughing along with others without understanding the joke.
Significance: Emphasizes the speaker's retrospective understanding (older self looking back at his younger self).
Message: Acknowledgment of the importance and impact of these early experiences.

Problem: Simply stating facts about Simu Liu's immigration.
Shortcoming: Lacking analysis of rhetorical choices or the message conveyed.
Omission: Failing to identify specific rhetorical devices or techniques used.

Key Elements:
- Identifying the message.
- Mentioning rhetorical choices used to convey the message.
Example 1: "Simu Liu uses human descriptive language and narration to convey his mixed feelings about immigrating to a different country."
Note: Could be more specific regarding the "mixed feelings."
Example 2: "In his memoir, there were shifts between the innocence of a four year old child and the wisdom of his adult self to describe his experience of meeting his father again and preparing to move to Canada."
*Focus: Shifts in perspective.
Example 3: "Simu Liu like many children. Through specific narrative examples he chooses discuss in this excerpt, Lou conveys the hesitance, unwillingness, and confusion he felt during his own experience as a child immigrant."
Focus: Anecdotes to show reluctance, unwillingness, and uncertainty.

Elements:
- Acknowledging Simu Liu's acceptance of his eventual move to Canada.
- Highlighting the fear and difficulty of change.
- Emphasizing the hardships of leaving people behind.
- Concluding with the idea that change is inevitable and requires perseverance.
Rhetorical Device: Examining his relationship with his father in China.
Example: the fact that he calls him "this man"
Message: To realize that although scary change is something that happens to everyone in most person

Focus: How Simu Liu uses events to highlight the difficulty and fear associated with change.
Components:
- Statement of message.
- Specific example from the text.
- Analysis of the example: "This establishes…"
- Explanation of why it's effective.
  Remember you are never summarizing but rather analyzing the device.
Example 1:
- Presenting the idea the change is unwanted especially when one already has a support system they like.
- "I already had five amazing people around me who love me"
- "This establishes Lee's point that change is hard to accept and it's difficult to prepare for as well as the point that it's hard to see the other side of change."
Example 2:
- Showing the characters are going through the motions without understanding why.
- "I just simply quote played along."
- "This further establishes Lee's point that changes often unexpected and although one can prepare for it it's still scary and difficult when it comes and the best one can do is simply play along and attempt to accept it."

Message, Example, This Establishes

Hardships that come with leaving people and starting over.:

Example: Showing his father as a stranger. Acquantaince at best.
- "This establishes his point that one of the hardest parts about change can lead people as well. "

The author describes the experience as bittersweet using diction imagery and repetition.

Language is loaded

Santa example: We describe Santa as portly. Portly in this context is nice. Compared to using obese when describing santa is offensive. Both words mean Fat.
Dad example: When you love your dad call him dad or baba. When he is a stranger you call him the man
Cheap vs Frugal vs Inexpensive: Frugal is good cheap. Inexpensive is good cheap. Cheap is bad cheap.