Trouble

The conflict I chose to write about is the death of Henry Park's mother. Through the eyes of Henry Park's father this was just a problem, something that just needed to be fixed.
When Henry's mother dies there is something missing in the daily routine of the lives of the Park family (now only consisting of Henry and his father). When Henry's mother dies she is no longer there to do the every day things, Henry and his father were use to when she was alive. After her death, Henry would come home to an empty house after school, he wouldn't walk in to the smell of Korean food, and his father and him would be forced to spend more time together. After the death of Henry's mother, Henry's father would have to change his daily schedule to accomodate his son. Henry's father's solution to this problem was to bring the "Aujuhma". The Aujuma was a replacement for their lives, a solution to their problem. On p. 64 Henry's father says "you know, it's difficult now. your mommy dead and nobody at home. You too young for that. This nice lady, she come for you. Take care home, food. Nice dinner. Clean house. Better that way." "I didn't answer him." I better tell you before, I know, but I know you don't like. So what i do? I go to store in morning and come home late, nion o' clock, ten. No good, no good, nice lady, she fix that." The aujumeh fixes all the problems that were caused by the death of Henry's mother. Henry's father could have left all these things to be done on their own, and they were for a short while. After Henry's mother's death Henry and his father were forced to spend more time with each other, Henry had to do the things, traditionally a Korean mother would do, and his father had to take time off from work. Henry and Henry's father's lives were both changed and inconvienced by her death. On p. 77 Henry says, "She was buried in a Korean ceremony two days afterward, and for me it was more of a dissappearance than a death." By bringing in the aujuma, Henry's father restored the normal and daily routines, that they were used to and fixed the problem.

Freedom

The most important American value that my parents and I decided was, freedom. The discussion was interesting to me because my father, has always been an American and my mother, originally born in Korea, had a foreigner’s view of America. The main value that my mother talked about was freedom. She first mentioned how America had more opportunity. The artifact that I chose to represent freedom, is a dollar bill. I chose this because of freedom there is opportunity. America is a place with many open doors for anyone and everyone. Many people from America, and not from America have the freedom to become successful and make a living for themselves. My mother, born in the rural countryside of Korea, came to America for a better lifestyle. In America there were more opportunities, and better education; with hard work and determination she slowly became successful and acquired a more comfortable living life. The freedom in America is also about being more liberal or open minded about things. We are more accepting to differences in people and what they might value. We allow people to act (to a certain extent) the way they want to, and express themselves. The freedom in America is not just about being able to do more things or get away with more things but it is also about being who you want to be and what you want to believe in. The freedom of religion in America allows anyone to practice any religion that they desire. America is a more accepting and liberal place, which allows more diversity in culture, religion, people, and race etc. The dollar bill also represents freedom in America because money is different in every country and the freedom in America is unique and different than in other countries. The more accepting liberal society in America allows people to openly express who they truly are. More opportunities and better education in America allow people to work hard and achieve a more prosperous lifestyle.