University Literature Review: 'Growing Up Asian in Australia' Analysis

This literature review examines the collection of short stories from 'Growing Up Asian in Australia,' focusing on the experiences of Asian individuals growing up in Australia. The review analyzes three stories: 'Conversation with My Parents' by Oanh Thi Tran, which explores family communication and cultural identity; 'Anzac Day' by James Chong, addressing themes of patriotism and belonging; and a piece on Anh Do, highlighting his experiences and perspective as a Vietnamese-Australian comedian. The review delves into the challenges of navigating cultural differences, family relationships, and societal perceptions, offering insights into the complexities of identity formation and the immigrant experience in Australia. The stories collectively paint a picture of the diverse experiences within the Asian-Australian community, touching on themes of cultural identity, assimilation, and the search for belonging.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
Growing up Asian in Australia
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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Conversation with My Parents by Oanh Thi Tran
Communication is an integral part of life. Communicating information, ideas, thoughts,
emotions are a part of life that is important because it helps an individual to lead a life that is
fulfilling. Another significant part of a person’s life is family. Family does not have to be
necessarily be parents or related by blood; the people who are close to an individual can also be
associated with family. In this short story the author tries to bind the two topics together on the
same line. She tries to state the significance of conversation with the family and how it affects
the life of an individual. The author did not have a very healthy relationship with her family and
parents, she was always aloof and felt distant form them and hence after growing up she had decided to
move to England. It was not until that her father was admitted to the hospital did she actually have a
proper conversation with her parents.
Telephonic conversations can be a little tricky as the communication is not happening face to face
it is a little difficult to understand what a person is trying to say or trying to hide in the expressions (Pung,
2008). Oanh started talking with her father over the phone regularly after he was admitted to the hospital.
He spoke about his childhood days and she enjoyed them thoroughly. Though the first conversation was
drab stretched and boring as the she had not spoken with her parents for a really long time. The next one
was with her niece and that broke the ice in between the family and her. Hence the calls continued, but
then by the end of the story Oanh could not express her feeling and love for her parents because she still
feels the hesitation which will not b solved by just telephonic conversations (Pung, 2008).
Anzac Day by James Chong
Growing up in a different country has always been a challenging affair for a child especially for
the ones who come from a different ethnicity. There have been several incidents where people have faced
bulling, biased behavior; stereotyping and even judgmental outlooks form various sectors of life. But the

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story of James Chong has a different perspective and a different issue all together. In this story he doesn’t
talk about what he has gone through in his entire life. He states an incident that broke his heart.
The story is about how Chong was questioned about his patriotism when he was just a high
school child by the national media. Chong was in the school band and played the bag pier, he was
selected to play I the band on the converted Anzac Day. Anzac Day is regarded as one of the most
patriotic and symbolically proud day for the Australian public. Like every other fellow student he also
felt the same for his country and he was more than happy to be part of such a grand affair of the country.
But he was struck by a feeling of exclusion, separation and abandonees when he found his image on the
national media and the theme of discussion was “True Blue?” (Pung, 2008).
Anh Do
Famed by his stints from popular Australian television programs such as “thank god you are
here” and “dancing with the stars”, the Vietnamese-Australian is now a popular name in Australian
television. His ease and his non imposed easy humor was his claim to fame. He was also awarded the
comedian of the year.
In his interview he had mentioned that growing up he wanted to be a martial art champion
because he thought it was cool, but he was witty and humor was always his calling the way he answered
the coach of the jujitsu class was effortlessly funny. He readily accepted that he is a lazy person and that
is the reason why he had opted for a change in career. He could not believe the “sixty working hour”
schedule and he wanted to laze. He was offered 50 dollars for five minutes and that prospect excited him
that he was making a dollar a minute but then it was five minutes a week and he continued it for six
months. Anh Do is a witty and intelligent man and that is evident from the way he answers the question.
He gives an example of his gig where he was caught up in between the comrades of martyrs who were
killed by Asians. He describes it as a “hard gig”. He is of the view that the destination is secondary what
people needs to focus on is the journey (Pung, 2008).

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Reference list:
Pung, A. (Ed.). (2008). Growing up Asian in Australia. Black Inc..