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In Li-Young Lee¡¯s poem ¡°Persimmons¡±, the speaker, Lee himself, describes his experience of western culture as the second-generation of a Chinese couple. The whole poem persists in two words, ¡°Persimmon¡± and ¡°Precision¡±. In this poem, the speaker shows his deep love to his parents, their quality of life and culture. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker recalls an unpleasant childhood story. In his sixth grade, the child speaker cannot tell the difference of the pronunciation between ¡°persimmon¡± and ¡°precision. As a punishment, his teacher, Mrs. Walker slaps the back of his head and lets him stand in the corner. Then, the speaker uses a humorous way to distinguish these two words. ¡°How to choose / persimmons. This is precision¡± (6&7). How to choose? The speaker suggests the reader sniff the bottoms, look at the color, judge the softness and then pick a sweet and fragrant ripe one. How to eat? The speaker gives a detailed and precise description. No knife, just use your hands to peel the skin tenderly and do not hurt the meat. He suggests people, before eating the meat, chew the skin, suck, and swallow it. Then enjoy the meat; it¡¯s so sweet, to your heart. The description of how to choose and how to eat implies the author¡¯s great respect to persimmons. More interpretation is required. The speaker ashamedly reflects the fading of his parents¡¯ culture in his life by depicting the scene in which he play sexually with a white girl Donna and his oblivion of some common Chinese characters.
Approximate Word count = 951
Approximate Pages = 3.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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