Review of “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down”
Introduction
In her book, Anne Fadiman discusses ways that cultural disagreement can have tragic effect for people who are trapped in the border between two distinct cultures. In this tale, the cultural discord between the parents of a young girl and her doctors wasted the girl’s life because of medical circumstances; septic shock and epilepsy, which were possible to treat. While the book of Ferdinand concerns a certain situation, it can serve as a warning for the risks of discord of cultures. Fadiman’s book is a story concerning the realities of two cultures, which are Hmong animism and Western rationalism. These cultures contentiously bump into each other and cause harm to a young girl, Lia, whose life depends on the agreement of these two cultures. The realities of these two cultures failed to take a course of a mutual understanding because of their prejudice, and suspicion. In a number of ways, it was not a biological pathology that caused harm to Lia. The pathology was cultural. Fadiman argues that the main cause for Lia’s life damage was a cross-cultural misunderstanding and not noncompliant parents or septic shock.
Question 1
I think that Fadiman was evenhanded in her presentation of Hmong culture and medical culture. First, language of these two cultures was hard to bridge (Fadiman 25). The hospital hardly had anyone who could translate Hmong to English, and it did not have any employees who could work during the night. The doctors who were on a late shift could not take the medical history of patients, ask the patients of what, or where hurt those most. There was hardly any way to communicate significant info. In the situation of Lia, her parents hardly spoke any English and could not mention anything about Lia’s seizures. Therefore, this made the doctors diagnose her with the wrong symptoms of bronchial infection for a number of times (Fadiman 26). This made her go untreated for several months.
Question 2
The author included the Hmong phrases because he wanted to put emphasis to the culture that was highly affected, Lia’s culture. The author was also pitiful for Lia because she could hardly receive any medical care since there was a lack of dialogue between the two civilizations. The Western cultures and Hmong did not offer the Lees with sufficient support and honesty to assist Lia. None of the groups recognizes that their view of authenticity is just a single view. Both cultures were prejudiced.
Question 3
From the doctor’s viewpoint, the western culture thought that their medical view was the only rightful way to handle healthcare because they had advanced training and education (Fadiman 76). These people assumed that their authority would get some respect and the Hmong would appreciate their assistance. The doctors were puzzled with the taboos of Hmong that were against the application of modern medicine, including surgery and blood tests (Fadiman 61). They kept applying medicine in the means that they were taught without relating it to the Hmong culture.
Question 4
From the perspective of Lee, the Hmong thought that the traditional Hmong was the only rightful way to approach life. Therefore, the experience and history of Hmong people in fighting other cultures, starvation, oppression and exile have taught the Hmong people to oppose other cultures.
Question 5
The Hmong people resist being assimilated by maintaining their language, practicing their religion and honoring their traditions. In any case, these people become more Hmong as time passes. In the same way that the doctors were puzzled, Lee’s Hmong people were also puzzled. For instance, the doctors believed that Lia’s problem was epilepsy, while the Hmong people believed that the problem was that of the soul (Fadiman 78).
Question 6
It is obvious that each culture understood the pathology in distinct ways and they also thought of treating the problem in distinct ways. While the Hmong looked for assistance from a shaman, the doctors thought that the solution was medications. The western doctors could hardly understand the Hmong with their traditions, social orders, medical taboos, spiritual healings and family values.
Question 7
An average doctor might learn that the Hmong people are quite strict with their cultures. Some may also think that the Hmong people are primitive.
Question 8
A good doctor is one who listens to his or her patients complaints and puts himself into the situation of the patient.
Question 9
I think that life is more significant than one’s soul because the soul is something that people believe to be in existence. No one has ever interacted with the soul; all that people know is that the when someone dies his soul goes to heaven. The truth is no one is sure about this; it is a mere belief. However, life is something that all of us experience before we die, so I think life is more significant than the soul (Fadiman 59).
Question 10
I think that Lia is a valuable person just like any other human being. Lee is reluctant to give medicine to Lia because he thinks that it might be harmful to Lia. He only believes that Lia’s problem is that of the soul. Lee also does not trust the doctors.
Question 12
I sympathize with this because Lee is putting Lia’s life in danger because mere spiritual belief. The Lees did not believe any message that the doctors passed across because of a cultural misunderstanding.
Foua has lost her culture. She has nothing left with her anymore.
Question 13
Neil Ernst, who is one of Lia’s doctors suggested for a prognosis at the beginning, would have been preferable instead of several months later. However, after Lia was diagnosed, her parents could have hardly assisted her because they could not understand the language, which was used for the drug instructions. In fact, Lia’s drug prescription went through a number of revisions and complications that her parents could hardly understand it anymore.
Question 14
The language was utterly confusing for the Lees. It was also quite sad that the doctors failed to offer any help for the Lees in administering or understanding drugs. Therefore, even after Lia had gotten the drugs she was still harmed in her brain because her parents could not read the instructions.
Question 15
If I lived in Merced, I would also choose Neil and Peggy as my children’s pediatricians just like the author, Fadiman does.
Question 16
May Ying Xiong acts as the cultural broker and interpreter of Fadiman. Xiong assisted here pass numerous barricades into Lee’s family and the society of the Hmong.
Question 18
Jeanine Hilt is a social worker. She makes personal cause for Lia. Hilt is responsible for fighting against medical institution whenever she can do so. She does this on behalf of Lia, and she cares for the culture of Hmong.
Question 19
Jonas Vangay and Blia Yao Moua are the Hmong men who were generous and were ready to teach Fadiman what it means to be part of the Hmong culture.
Question 20
If this book might have been written by a doctor, it would have only supported the doctor’s story and disregarded the rest. The same would also happen for the Hmong cultures and any other Anthropologists. The way Fadiman wrote the book was so neutral that she could hardly emphasize on one side and forget the other side. Fadiman was telling the story like it was without hiding anything.
Question 21
For Fadiman to be an outsider of the two cultures, she could not participate in either of the scenarios. However, she got the opportunity to explore two cultures that were in disagreement and this made her write a magnificent story.
Question 22
I think Fadiman chose a long title for the book to emphasize on minor culture, Hmong that existed with such strong and powerful cultural beliefs, but the west were not aware of this Hmong culture. Fadiman was putting a direct translation of the Hmong phrase for epilepsy to give the readers that glimpse of understanding that the Hmong too are a powerful society.
Question 23
I think Fadiman organizes this book in this manner to bring sarcasm.
Question 24
The fish soup signified the essence of Hmong. The Hmong believe that they can use the spirit to communicate with everything in the universe. It is part of Hmong culture that reminds them that the universe seems to be full of things, and these things are always connected to each other in one way or another. Fadiman says that this is a character of the Hmong people. For instance, when the Hmong people encountered the west doctors, they believed that they were not connected because it was the same way as the universe begun. The Hmong believed that they would be connected with time. Hmong people are popular for being gentle when they handle their children. The Hmong people value their children more than anything else that they may possess.
Question 25
Fadiman (62) says that Hmong account of actuality does not match that of the western doctors. Sadly, this cultural conflict cause harm to Lia’s life. The lees fail to understand the significance of offering medications for Lia and this made them unpredictably offer her with the assistance that could have helped her if she was normal. The doctors did not know how to they could tell the Lees to administer proper medication to Lia. The Lees suspected the doctor’s drugs to be harmful to Lia, instead of it being a medication. The Lees thought that the doctors were proud and authoritative people and this made them recent from them (Fadiman 63). The doctors thought that the Hmong people were ignorant ad Lia had ignorant parents. This made the doctors isolate Lia from her family because they could not administer medications to Lia. It is evident from these examples that the key cause of Lia’s condition was cultural conflict between the Hmong and the western cultures.
Question 26
Fadiman’s book has no villains. This is because Fadiman did not intend to make it a fictitious story. She was being open in her narration. I do not think that this is a literary flaw since Fadiman did not intend to make it the usual villain versus protagonist story. For her to tell the story like it was, she did not have to introduce a villain. Fadiman gives an exceptional story and advice on how to address issues that involve cultural discord. She explains how the health of Lia was compromised because of two conflicting cultures that could hardly understand each other. This book is worth reading because it can help in saving lives of innocent people.
Works Cited
Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American
Doctors, and the Collison of Two Cultures. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2012. Print.
