Word Cache-EP 20
“Hua Hsu Is True to the Game: His new memoir is both a coming-of-age story and an evolutionary step for Asian American literature.”
#relentless
R-E-L-E-N-T-L-E-S-S
not stopping; not getting less strong
- Miranda’s relentless pursuit of perfection made her a tough boss to please.
- His parents were not the relentlessly aspirational Asian immigrants of the popular imagination, those who force their children to master the cello and ace their standardized tests.
#dilemma
D-I-L-E-M-M-A
a situation that makes problems, often one in which you have to make a very difficult choice between things of equal importance
- She faced a dilemma about whether to accept the offer or not.
- That’s the dilemma of life: you have to find meaning, but at the same time, you have to accept the reality.
#rift
R-I-F-T
a serious break in the relationship between people or organizations
- Efforts to heal the rift between the two countries have failed.
- In his relationship with his immigrant parents, there was a rift born out of not a lack of affection but the fact that they come from different cultures.
#yearn
Y-E-A-R-N
to want something very much, especially when it is very difficult to get
- The people yearned for peace.
- One of the refreshing aspects of the novel is that the protagonist does not yearn to be accepted; rather, he develops a healthy disdain for the society that has made him feel like a foreigner,
#arbitrary
A-R-B-I-T-R-A-R-Y
(of an action, a decision, a rule, etc.) not seeming to be based on a reason, system or plan and sometimes seeming unfair
- The choice of players for the team seemed completely arbitrary.
- To me, Asian-American was a messy, arbitrary category, but one that was produced by a collective struggle.