Dragonwings by Laurence Yep is a fascinating story about a young boy named Moon Shadow from the Middle Kingdom, also known as China. Moon Shadow's father, Windrider had moved to San Francisco, California, to get a job so that he could raise money for his family. Moon Shadow's only real knowledge of his dad was that he is a maker of magnificent kites. When the fatherless son moves to California to be reunited with his father he experiences many hardships. He must not only learn who his father is as a person and how to relate to him, but he must also deal with the fact that he's a Chinese immigrant in the US during the early nineteen-hundreds. These struggles were also accompanied by a desire to accomplish and turn into reality the dream of flight. This is a story of how the hopes of the Tang family came true because of the opportunities given by life in America.Windrider was forced to leave his family because money and jobs were scarce, he moved to San Francisco and got a job as the laundry boy for the "City of Demons", what they called white people. When Moon Shadow travels to the United States, Windrider began taking him on these laundry trips into the dangerous city " I was treated as a man, not a boy," he says, helping his father earn money for his family. However, life is not so simple, he gets picked on by the American white kids of the neighborhood because of his Asian features, his small size, and his Chinese accent and broken grammar. The main character had to grow rapidly throughout the story, in order to stand a chance against the natives, and live the American dream. The devastating and famous San Francisco earthquake of 1906 allowed the two honorable Tang men to help the community that once stood strong, but whose fate crumbled at the hands of Mother Nature. They heroically gathered many people to dig out the unfortunate people that were piled under endless mounds of rubble and dust, they found medics that weren't injured to heal the wounds of those those who barely made it, and selflessly offered shelter to those in need. These helpful actions and sacrifices, led to the townspeople agreeing that the Crazy Chinamen up the block aren't so crazy after all. Finally accepted by the community, life begins to improve for the Tangs. Gaining the respect and support of their neighbors, and the money saved from being launderers, led to their having the ability to pursue their wildest dream and their deepest passion, making an aeroplane and flying like a "dragon king". Inspired by, and helped by, the Wright Brothers, who had just recently flown around North Carolina, Windrider and Moon Shadow build their own plane that actually flies. Had it not been for the US, they never would have had the opportunity to take to the skies and equal the great feat of the Wright Brothers.
Living in New York City, also known as the Melting Pot, I relate to the immigrant story of Moon Shadow and Windrider, probably many students in my class have parents or grandparents that are first generation immigrants. I wonder why their families came. My mom is an immigrant, she's from Tainan, Taiwan, she came because she felt trapped as a women because of cultural obligations. She is now free to do as she wants and have the loving family she has today, I am extremely lucky to have her as my mother. Moon Shadow unfortunately had to leave his mother behind, however, the book ends with the Tang men saving enough money to bring the mom over to San Francisco, reuniting their entire family. Family is more powerful than anything else, even more powerful than flying.
