Yi's Voice

(Image generated by Gemini) Q: Given that this story was written in 1948, what do you think was the author’s message or purpose?  What did she want to explore?  How does the twist/shock ending help her accomplish her goal?  Why do you think the story provoked outrage when it first came out? A:  The author wanted to warn people that people could be brainwashed into doing brutal things to each other and believing they were doing the right things, including killing a mother by her own children and town people who actually loved her.  She wanted to make people think about why World War II happened and how we could avoid making the same mistakes. She accomplished this by setting up a specific foreshadowing: a quiet little town, quite peaceful and no conflict for the most part until the last session. The stark contrast between the peaceful town people and what they do to a mother creates a very shocking effect. It makes the reader startled and think.  The America...

[Presentation for a webnia r, From a Non speaking Child's Perspective: What I want Parents to Know, for a group of parents in the UK with kids with autism.] I am a 13-year old boy with autism. I can’t talk to communicate and I need help with my daily hygiene. It is not easy for me to share my thoughts and feelings with others. I type with my index finger. It is slow and takes lots of effort but it allows me to express myself and learn my academics. I want to share my experiences and hope it can help you better understand your child with non speaking autism. It can be a very lonely journey to be non speaking.  I was not able to communicate until I was nine years old. Before that I was thought to have intellectual disability because my stupid body just couldn’t do the right things. I had no way to share my thoughts or feelings. I was so lonely in my prison of silence. I was so sad, so frustrated, so helpless. It took lots of work to practice typing but it’s really important to do th...