The Spirit Catches You and You Call Down Essay - 4621 Words

09/09/2013 Assignment 1 1. What do you think of traditional Hmong birth practices (pp. 3-5)? Compare them to the techniques used when Lia was born (p. 7). How do Hmong and American birth practices differ? I find the traditional birth practices peculiar and very unsafe. The conceiving of a child should be done in a sterile environment by professionals, so that the risks of negative effects like infections, wounds, etc. is minimized. Nevertheless I think the tradition, that the placenta is buried by the father, so that the soul can return to it’s first jacket, in order to continue it’s after death journey, is a wonderful way of believing what comes after death. Professional doctors handled Lia’s birth the American way, with her mother†¦show more content†¦They want to be accepted as free men with the right to live in this world and history has made them proof their will to achieve this status several times up until today. 3. Dr. Dan Murphy said, The language barrier was the most obvious problem, but not the most important. The biggest problem was the cultural barrier. There is a tremendous difference between dealing with the Hmong and dealing with anyone else. An infinite difference (p. 91). What does he mean by this? While the language barrier became very obvious to them as the Hmong language has very long descriptions for even the simplest words, the cultural barrier lead to a cultural bias in regards of western medicine. Hmong patients expected to be released of the ER with any kind of medicine they wouldn’t need. In addition to that the Hmong had a negative attitude towards surgery or any other invasive treatments, as it was frowned upon in their culture. One aspect that made it even harder was that pregnant Hmong women preferred to stay at home till the really last moment, so that often Hmong children were born in the parking lot or the elevator. They distrusted the western medicine so much that they preferred not getting better by gratefully accepting the medicine and diagnosis to save their pride and dignity. Just as history showed, they would rather die than give up their pride. 4. The author says, I was struck...by theShow MoreRelatedThe Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Addresses Experiences And Decisions1018 Words   |  5 PagesFadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down addresses experiences and decisions we may all relate to in some degree through the point of view of a journalist. It offers a different perspective and insight that has been used as an acceptable resource on cultural competence. As a passive reader, our understanding of cultural competence has grown more humanistic, because we feel the healthcare provider’s frustration and their concerns becoming more salient, while we see how a breakdown in communicationRead MoreFadiman Case Study: the Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Essay1601 Words   |  7 PagesSummary of The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down In ‘The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down’, Lia, a Hmong baby girl, is born to a Hmong family living in California as refugees away from their war torn land in Laos. In Laos the Lee’s where farmers and lived in the country according to their Hmong traditions and beliefs. In California they barely understood the language, much less Western culture or medicinal practices. 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WhileRead MoreThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman1224 Words   |  5 Pages‘The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures’ is a book written in 1997 by the author Anne Fadiman. This book is based on a true story of the life of a Hmong child, Lia Lee who is epileptic. She suffers from numerous grand mal seizures and eventually she becomes vegetative for the remainder of her life. The intention of this book, however, is not Lia’s condition, but to highlight the problems that exist between the two culturesRead MoreThe Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Essay1566 Words   |  7 PagesThe book titled The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Talks about a Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures written by Anne Fadiman. Anne Fadiman is an American essayist and reporter, who interests include literary journalism. She is a champion of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Salon Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest. In the book, Anne Fadiman explores the clash between a county hospital in CaliforniaRead MoreRole of Cross-Cultural Misunderstanding in Ruining Lias Life1219 Words   |  5 PagesCross-cultural Misunderstanding in Ruining Lia’s Life Lia is born of a loving Hmong family, and just three months into her life, begins to reveal epileptic symptoms. According to the Hmong community, the condition is curable, and the presence of spirits in such a patient’s soul is considered a blessing. However, American doctors in a community medical center fail to understand and appreciate Lia’s parents’ approach to the child’s disease, and are only interested in saving this child’s life. As theRead MoreThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman542 Words   |  2 PagesIn the novel by Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, is written about two cultures and their differences: Hmong and American. The clash between these two cultures interferes with the treatment of a three-month child, Lia Lee, which has been diagnosed with epilepsy. Her parents’ think is actually caused by the spirits. When it comes to the treatment for Lia her parents prefer to treat her with th eir own particular ways and medications, like in the Hmong culture, instead of going for