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A Study Guide for Gish Jen's "What Means Switch"
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A Study Guide for Gish Jen's "What Means Switch," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.
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A Study Guide for Gish Jen's "What Means Switch" - Gale
13
What Means Switch
Gish Jen
1990
Introduction
In a 1993 interview with Martha Satz, author Gish Jen admitted a desire to be wicked.
When asked to explain what she meant by the word, Jen said,
It means writing about the things we're not supposed to write about. For example in What Means Switch
I'm pretty close to the edge. People are uncomfortable when one starts writing about the Jews and the Japanese. … It's dangerous but as a writer you have to get up the nerve to write about the things that are dangerous.
Indeed, in the short story What Means Switch,
Jen fearlessly tackles the controversial issues of personal cultural identity, racial stereotypes, and the budding romantic interest and social complications of eighth graders.
The topics proved challenging enough for Jen to continue exploring them: the story first appeared in the Atlantic magazine in 1990, and Jen later expanded it into a full-length novel, Mona in the Promised Land (1996). The short story can be found in the young-adult collection Who Do You Think You Are? Stories of Friends and Enemies (edited by Hazel Rochman and Darlene Z. McCampbell) and in Growing Up Asian American: An Anthology (edited by Maria Hong), both published in 1993.
Author Biography
Jen was born in 1955 in Scarsdale, New York. Her parents had immigrated from China before Jen was born. Her father was a professor of engineering, and her mother was an elementary-school teacher. Gish
is a nickname; Jen's given name is Lillian. The nickname came from silent-movie actress Lillian Gish.
Jen grew up in Yonkers and Scarsdale, New York. She had three brothers, all of whom became successful businessmen, and one sister, who became a doctor. Jen was expected to embark upon a similar professional career and went to Harvard University, intending to study law or medicine. While there, she took a poetry class, which she loved. Her professor saw her talent and encouraged her to pursue a career in a field related to literature. Jen explained to Satz, "I'm the daughter of immigrants—it never even crossed my mind for one minute
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