History 346: Introduction to Asian American History

Prof. J. Wu

Reading Questions for Mary Paik Lee, Quiet Odyssey, ed. By Sucheng Chan

1. Why does Mary Paik Lee’s autobiography begin and end with references to Korea?

2. Compare the experiences of the Paik family as they migrated from Korea to Hawaii and then to California. Compare the rural versus urban and Northern versus

Southern California experiences of the Paik family. How do you account for the differences in experience?

3. Characterize gender relations within the Paik family. What factors shaped the nature of these relations?

4. Characterize the relations that Mary Paik had with other Koreans, Asians, Mexican Americans, African Americans, and white Americans. How did gender affect

race relations? What strategies did Mary Park Lee utilize to counter racial hostility?

5. What strategies did she and her family employ to sustain themselves economically? What indicators does she use to describe class? How does she explain social

mobility?

6. What is the relationship between the Korean Christian Church and the Korean nationalist movement?

7. What does Lee leave out of her narrative and why? Why do you think some discrepancies exist between her memory and written documentation from that time

period?

8. Review the introduction and the appendices. What is Sucheng Chan’s role in shaping Mary Paik Lee’s oral history?

9. What is the value of oral history compared to other forms of historical documentation?

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