Yeonmi Park Book Report

Yeonmi Park was born in Hyesan, North Korea on October 4, 1993. The year after birth, the founder, Kim ll-Sung died at the same time the Great Famine occurred. Even though Yeonmi’s father was able to keep his family from suffering the worst of the famine, Yeonmi still witnessed horrific scenes. She saw, in particular, the bodies of the people who were starving. In 2007, Yeonmi and her mother went over the border to China to search for her sister who escaped years before and her father chose to stay behind. She and her mother managed to get to South Korea but it was very difficult as they both faced discrimination in China. Yeonmi spoke about the many women who had to deal with sexual violence and murder trying to leave North Korea. Despite knowing that she was on a list of defectors who the regime wanted to

Ceremony and Persepolis convey that cultural surroundings shape characters’ psychological development, including extraversion, openness, emotional stability, and impulsivity.

Indeed, the authors of Ceremony and Persepolis portray the effects of cultural surroundings on the main characters’ outwardness. For example, Tayo’s uncle Josiah died while Tayo was away at war, which leads to some of Tayo’s guilt. Shortly after Tayo comes home from the hospital, he has a dream where Josiah hugged him but he woke up in the world where Josiah no longer physically exists. Tayo feels immense sadness because he no longer feels Josiah’s love and he thinks: “He wanted to go back to the hospital. Right away, He had to get back where he could merge with the walls and the ceiling, shimmering white, remote from everything” (Silko 30). Tayo instantly goes from his dream to wanting to be alone and invisible. He chooses to restrict his energy and feelings about his dreams that upset him. The white hospital’s treatment of Tayo leads to his fear of the white man. After he has the dream