Reading Blog "The Chinatown Idea" Eric Liu

1.      In Liu’s narration in, The Chinatown Idea his most successful strategy is being very descriptive in his time in Chinatown. He could be simple and say it’s packed or that at night it is very lit up or it smells like something, but no he uses strong sensory details. He describes even the license plates to the aroma. He describes how cold it was by saying it was “chilly enough to numb my cheeks” but that the “bustle all around gave the place an electric warmth.” Liu also describes Chinatown as “lit like a stage thanks to the aluminum lamps hanging.” Those are just a few of his vivid description of his evening in Chinatown.

2.      Liu’s uses of intense sensory impression and using such detailed descriptions is to get the reader to use their imagination. He goes back to that point that he can “recall with precision.” He also gives a little description on his grandmother Po-Po. His strategy he uses is for the reader to actually visualize the scene as if they were there is very good and makes the narration more real.

3.      Liu’s choice of words like “incongruous”, “emporium”, and “fortified” are very descriptive for his narrative. The word “incongruous” is just a fancy way of saying they did not fit in in the “emporium” or marketplace when they were there. He felt “fortified”, by the trip that he helped I guess you could say embrace and see more of his Chinese culture. The mood not really change other than the fact he is using formal words to really describe the details of the scene what he is talking about in the narrative.