Preface. They recognized the resulting symptoms as quag dab peg, which means "the spirit catches you and you fall down. Chapter 7: Government Property. "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. What listeners say about The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Average customer ratings. If Lia Lee had been born in the highlands of northwest Laos, where her parents and twelve of her brothers and sisters were born, her mother. Chapter 1. Dan Murphy. "Sooo much more helpful than SparkNotes. S medical system battles with their traditional Hmong healing methods. Fadiman is skeptical at first: the txiv neeb (shaman) is kinda goofy, and the whole solemnity of the thing is. Fadiman gives a survey of sacrificial events in Hmong culture,. Hmong residents ask her if American doctors eat the organs of dead patients. Citation Generator. When Lia was three months old her older sister Yer slammed the front door. Chapter 7: Government Property. • Chapter 1 - Birth. Unlike violence, death, and exile, Lia's medical catastrophe is not a tragedy the Lees expect. On December 18, 1980, Foua and Nao Kao Lee arrive in the United States with their six surviving children. A Hmong community leader in Merced. Section One: Chapters 1-4; Section Two: Chapters 5-8; Section Three: Chapters 9-14; Section Four: Chapters 15-19; My Review and Takeaways;. Ultimately, everything comes to a head when Lia's doctor, Neil Ernst, gets fed up with this lack of communication and sends Lia into a foster home. According to Hmong folklore, Shee Yee, the sorcerer who had turned into a tiny red ant and bit the evil dab on the testicle, had spent many years fighting dabs and restoring health to the sick. Fadiman begins the chapter with an autobiography that May, one of Lia’s sisters, writes for a school assignment about her family’s experience fleeing Laos in 1979. S medical system battles with their traditional Hmong healing methods. According to Hmong folklore, Shee Yee, the sorcerer who had turned into a tiny red ant and bit the evil dab on the testicle, had spent many years fighting dabs and restoring health to the sick. MLA (8th ed. When Fadiman ’s boyfriend visited her in Merced, Foua decided that she would help get her married. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between Different. Chapter 10 - War (Cont. 2 pages at 400 words per page) It is no surprise that Fadiman obsessed over the idea that the gulf between Hmong culture and Western medicine might be “unbridgeable,” since the very aim of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is to examine the missed avenues of communication in a disastrous instance of cross-cultural misunderstanding. Naturally, they go through some serious culture shock. For example, the Hmong maintain that each person contains a finite amount of blood, so any blood extraction is viewed as dangerous. Their character proceeded from that. It was awarded many honors including: A Salon Book Award Winner Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest Boston Book Review 1997 Ann Rea Jewell Non-Fiction Prize A New York Times. When a rabies scare cropped up, to get the Hmong to bring in their dogs for vaccines, he organized a Rabies Parade in which there were three characters - a tiger, a chicken, and a dab - which told the people by loudspeaker to bring in their dogs. Talking to Fadiman later, she and her husband tried to describe what it was like to see Lia in such a terrible state. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. At the age of three months, Lia Lee had an epileptic seizure. The Hmong had always been Montagnards, mountain people. In response, Lia's eyes rolled up, her arms jerked over her head, and she fainted. A young Hmong man gave a presentation about how to make fish soup. Makenzie Griffith EDSE 460 Denise Hitchcock 1 March 2018 Midterm: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down It is a story about a family who shows so much loyalty to their traditions and cultures, but it clashes with the strict American “norm” and creates conflict. Foua and Nao Kao grow to distrust American medicine almost completely. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman is an analysis of Western medicine and traditional Hmong medicine in the treatment of a young child with severe epilepsy in Merced, California. S medical system battles with their traditional Hmong healing methods. Recorded on these tapes are the many conversations she had with American doctors and the Lee family, who came to the United States from Laos as refugees in 1980. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down essays are academic essays for citation. The little girl’s name is Lia Lee and she suffers from severe epilepsy at the very young age of 3 months. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. From the creators of SparkNotes. Throughout The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Fadiman often references the Hmong’s maximalist worldview, which takes into account all aspects of life and seeks to acknowledge the interconnectedness of all things. The story of Lia Lee in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman, explores many struggles people experience when faced with a life-threatening medical conditions. Buy Study Guide About The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary Character List Glossary Themes Quotes and Analysis Ch. Analysis. What's crazier is that he does, and a mere week later. Two cultural assumptions rise to the surface of this section: the first is that the Hmong eat dogs and cats; the second assumption is that Americans only care about money and thus would be unperturbed by the sight of a severed cow’s head on a doorstep as long as the cow had been fairly purchased. 47352453. E. The best study guide to The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. When two cultures collide in defending their beliefs on western medicines versus spiritual practices, the life of a young Hmong girl hangs in the balance in Anne Fadiman’s 1997 book, The Spirit. Explain the meaning of the book's title. Neil Ernst didn't believe in giving a different standard of care to different patients, which is why he continuously fine-tuned her drug regimen. Nao Kao gained weight and had high blood pressure, while Foua. It's a bad scene. Jonas Vangay Character Analysis. When the Lees refuse to give in to their doctors' demands they demonstrate the historical. Yes, including the pigs (after the sacrifice, that is). In Hmong culture, epilepsy is known as ‘quag dab peg,’ which means ‘The spirit catches you and you fall down’ (Fadiman, 2012, p. Intensely researched and eloquently written, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down weaves sociology, history, medicine, and psychology into a tapestry that permanently raises the bar in literary journalism. Lia 's family celebrates her permanent return home in April 1986 by sacrificing a cow. Animal sacrifice, a reverent occasion for the Hmong, is more difficult in America but still part of Hmong American life. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Quiz 3. . At this point, Fadiman focuses on the concept of immigration and assimilation. Summary. Looks like you're viewing this page on a mobile device. This blog will be a long-term project lasting the duration of the novel, with students needing to make entries about each reading section. They're disoriented and confused by new appliances like refrigerators, toilets, and electrical devices. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman - MonkeyNotes by PinkMonkey. 5). Book review for Social and Cultural Perspectives of Public HealthThe timeline below shows where the character Yer Lee appears in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Fadiman writes that Lia was seven when she first met her, which was two years after she had entered a nonresponsive state (her doctors called this a “persistent vegetative state”). These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. Find out what happens in our Chapter 1 summary for The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. ) The Hmong had their own reasons for defending the Royal Lao government, and thus, collaborating with the United States. The TV was off, a candle had. One day, while at a school for children with special needs, Lia falls off a swing and has a major seizure. • Chapter 3 - The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Chapter 9 Summary and Analysis. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between Different Groups. Seventeen years later Foua and Nao Kao have continued to resist. Nao Kao and Foua are devastated. • Chapter 6 - High-Velocity Transcortical Lead Therapy. But the families—who don't trust hospitals or medical staff—are skeptical of her. ISBN-13: 9780374533403. Quag Dab Peg in Hmong culture is caused by a bad spirit (dab’s). The family has two pigs to sacrifice—one for them and one for Lia—as well as a host of tasty Hmong food. Nao Kao, Blia. It’s no surprise, then, that things have changed in the fifteen years that have elapsed between the book’s last chapter and this afterword. . . 00 Carol A Redding, MA, is a member of the American Medical Writers Association and an InformationSummary. Nothing like medical problems and totally opposite cultures to show you how messed up things. Summary. Share to Tumblr. . She considers what she's learned while researching, writing, and hearing reader reactions. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between Different. We might not know much about the Lee children as individuals, but much like the von Trapps or the Brady Bunch, they work best in a pack. Peggy Philp Character Analysis. ” At this point in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, the idea of right and wrong begins to blur. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. In The Spirit Catches You, we witness a bona fide communication breakdown after Nao Kao and Foua Lee—two Hmong refugees who can't speak English—bring their daughter Lia to a hospital to treat her epilepsy. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child with epilepsy, whose tragic demise reveals the dangers of a lack of cross-cultural communication in the medical profession. In response, Lia's eyes rolled up, her arms jerked over her head, and she fainted. On May 2, 1985, Child Protective Services (CPS) placed Lia in temporary foster care for two weeks, after which she returned home. Their journey in The Spirit Catches You reveals a great deal about the challenges they face—and they benefits they enjoy—as the younger generation of Hmong-American immigrants. At the time of the war in Southeast Asia, they lived in Laos about 400 meters above sea-level. Culture, or the learned beliefs, values, and behaviors of social groups, leads to major misunderstandings in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. "--Linnea Lannon, The Detroit. Although The Spirit Catches You is all about Lia, there's not much actually about Lia within its. On December 5, 1986, Lia returns to. Unfortunately, she couldn’t save their only son or her husband. In-depth explanations of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down's themes. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Lia was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 1. The Hmong see illness and healing as spiritual matters linked to virtually everything in the universe while medical community marks a division between body and soul and concerns itself almost exclusively with the former. Summary. She notes the “uphill battle” the Lees faced in converting their apartment—with its humming refrigerator and fluttering TV screen—into a tranquil, spiritual atmosphere. 5-6 Ch. Chapter 10 describes a defining moment in Hmong history, working together with the defining crisis in Lia 's life that dominates Chapter 11 . Summary See All. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman Buy Study Guide The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Quotes and Analysis Dan had no way of knowing that. Chapter 3: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down When Lia Lee was about three months old, her older sister Yer slammed the front door. • Chapter 3 - The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Lia becomes a minor celebrity at MCMC. We're at the Lee's apartment and a txiv neeb has just arrived "to perform a healing ceremony for Lia" (19. Although Dee follows "the anticonvulsant prescriptions to the letter," Lia continues to have seizures—more frequently than she did at home, in fact. The first chapters introduce the Hmong: both the family who suffers the book's tragedy, and the people as a whole. Summary. 31). Now we know where the overbearing-and-oppressive idea comes from. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down is a work of literary nonfiction that chronicles the life and medical troubles of Lia Lee, a young girl from Merced, California. Next. They also established themselves as masterful opium farmers, though very few of them became addicts. By ANNE FADIMAN. Analysis. 1. The Lee family's journey was indeed terrible, but they and their fellow travelers hoped for a better life in the future. In one story, he offers his home to two sisters, one good and one snotty. Neil is a highly intelligent and inquisitive pediatrician who specializes in infections, asthma, and allergies. 5). 17). The snotty sister insults him, calling him dirty and ridiculing his poverty. Yet again,. Analysis. In the Lees' view, Lia's soul had fled her body and become lost. Denise Hitchcock. Beginning in infancy,. The Afterword was written in 2012, 15 years after the book was first published in 1997. 7-8 Ch. Clapsaddle, Diane. She lay suspended in time, growing only a few inches, gaining little weight, always looking far younger than her age, while her six siblings grew up around her. For their part, the Lees respond by doing something even more powerful—making Jeanine a part of the family. Fadiman brings up a program of eight questions designed by. EDSE 460. “Don’t do that, there’s a good boy,” said Martin, addressing the little girl in English, of which she did not speak a word. Anne Fadiman’s ethnography . The office in his home—where Fadiman stays while conducting her research—is full of ethnographies of. Unlike her fellow. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need. Now, instead of living off the land, they're forced to rely on American food drops to survive. Then he presents spirit-money to thank the pig for its sacrifice. The family would have called in a txiv neeb, a Hmong shaman or traditional healer, if any difficulties arose. By far the most common cause of illness is soul loss. Plot Summary & Analysis Themes Quotes Characters Symbols Theme Viz Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Spirit Catches You makes teaching easy. Shee Yee eventually transferred his powers to human tvix neebs, or shamans, who summon his spirit as they do his work. 3-4 Ch. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Lia was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 1. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. On the other hand, though, their failure to administer Lia’s medications had seemingly measurable negative results, meaning that Neil was equally entitled to wield his. As a philosopher, Renan contributes to the social work profession and this perspective by helping make sense of the world regarding race and ethnicity and how dominance negatively impacts disadvantaged populations This theory focuses on the. Dan is the first doctor to diagnose Lia as epileptic after seeing her in the throes of a seizure during her third visit to the hospital. The Spirit Catches you and you fall down. For her part, Foua believes that Lia "missed [the. When she learns that Anne's boyfriend is in town, she decides to "dress [Anne] as a Hmong bride" to entice her bae into popping the question (8. Cultural and geographical borders within any society are believed to create boundaries that limit similarities between those on opposite sides. The Spirit catches you and you fall down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman presents a case study of a young Hmong girl, Lia, and her journey with Epilepsy in America. Acclaimed by reviewers, “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” won a National Book Critics Circle Award. Chapter 15 Quotes. The s pirit catches you and you fall down is cited in 14 different citation styles, including MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, APA, ACS, and many others. The colored dots and icons indicate which. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down . The book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall down by Anne Fadiman is one of the highlights of the Hmong culture and the challenges socializing a family from Laos faces in American society. A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Fadiman begins by calling attention to a carton of cassette tapes she keeps beneath her desk. Lia Lee. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the story of a Hmong Family, the Lees, their journey to America, and their struggles following their immigration. Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A +. Illness had come when the wife of a wicked god named Nyong laid an egg full of dabs. Who now lives in America, but still manages to head a rebel group. By now, Lia has been seizing for almost two hours. Incredibly driven and willing to seek out the truth even if it unearths his own mistakes, Neil eventually comes to. Chapter 9 - A Little Medicine and a Little Neeb. Chapter 2 introduces key facts about the Hmong, which place the Lees' behavior in a broader context. The Orphan is one of the recurring characters in Hmong folktales. This book reveals the tragic struggles between a doctor and patient because of. “I have always felt that the action most worth watching is not at the center of things but where edges meet. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down offers an insight into the clash of modern western medicine with the traditional methods and people of another culture, in this case the Hmong. I like shorelines, weather fronts, international borders. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Neil apologizes to Nao Kao and Foua with tears in his eyes—Foua thanks and hugs him, while Nao Kao remains cold. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the poignant story of a young Hmong girl suffering from epilepsy who is caught in the cultural chasm between her family and her. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997) is an ethnography written by Anne Faidman. The family lived in a refugee camp in California, and Lia’s parents treated her with traditional Hmong remedies. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. The book suggests no doctor can be completely impartial. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down tells the story of treating Lia’s epilepsy, examining her medical experience in Merced in… read analysis of Lia Lee. Fadiman continues to examine the arrival of the Hmong in California, rehashing some of her earlier ideas about xenophobia and welfare. These babies were born at home on a dirt floor. ) When the author took Selvidge’s information to Neil Ernst, he said that if he’d thought that Lia was septic, he would have done a lumbar puncture. Upset because he "perceived the doctors' comments [. com. 31). If Lia Lee had been born in the highlands of northwest Laos, where her parents and twelve of her brothers and sisters were born, her mother. Makenzie Griffith EDSE 460 Denise Hitchcock 1 March 2018 Midterm: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down It is a story about a family who shows so much loyalty to their traditions and cultures, but it clashes with the strict American “norm” and creates conflict. Neil is a good dude and a good doctor, but even he fails to look past his own cultural preconceptions and see the Lees as people. Writing both a literary profile and an in-depth ethnography, Fadiman devotes whole chapters to the history and context of the Hmong ethnic identity, which she characterizes as “independent, insular, antiauthoritarian,. The. Sukey’s business card read, in Hmong and Lao, “Fixer of Hearts. Fadiman considers the fact that the Hmong view health concerns as not only relating to the body, but also relating to everything else in their lives. The book also details Hmong culture, history, and their life as refugees. 11-12 Ch. The spirit referred to in the name is a soul-stealing dab; thus, the Hmong believe that epilepsy has a spiritual origin and should be treated accordingly. Both Hmong patients and Western doctors have biases about one another. She was interested in investigating the circumstances surrounding Lia's health care but was warned by fellow colleagues. The teacher's suggestion appears in the narrative as a contrast to the tragic events in May's life. Get all the key plot points of Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down on one page. Many of Li’s healthcare providers, especially Neil Ernst and Peggy Philip, worked hard to help Lia. They knew the y wouldn’t approve of swidden agriculture and because the Hmong had sided with the French, they fear reprisals. Chapter 15: Gold and Dross. Summary Of The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down By Fadiman 1860 Words | 8 Pages The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman, explores cultural competence, ethics in medicine, and the provision of culturally competent health care in the United States by following a family of Hmong culture in their struggles with mainstream. Accepting that soul loss causes most physical illnesses, they think the invisible soul and the visible body are intertwined. For more than two years, her doctors had been. When the Lees left Laos, Foua explains, at least they hoped for a better future. “Don’t do that, there’s a good boy,” said Martin, addressing the little girl in English, of which she did not speak a word. “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anna Fadiman tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child with epilepsy, whose life could have been different if only her family was caught up in western medicine. Midterm: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down It is a story about a family who shows so much loyalty to their traditions and cultures, but it clashes with the strict American “norm” and creates conflict for their most prized possession, their daughter. 9). By Monica Chiu, PhD University of New Hampshire Hmong. Lia's older sister, Mai, is born in Thailand during this exodus. Lia's story becomes the story of the Hmong people, the doctor-patient connection in Western medicine, and the immigrant experience in the United States. LitCharts LLC, 18 Sep 2017. Nao Kao is preparing "spirit money"—pieces of paper. Nao Kao gained weight and had high blood pressure, while Foua. This chapter explains how the Hmong figured into the Vietnam War and American troops fighting there. Members of 14 Hmong clans live in Merced. This was regarded by American doctors as neglect, and Lia was taken. You know when Lia is there because you'll undoubtedly find her running "up and down the corridor in the pediatric unit, banging on doors" (5. Summary and Analysis of Chapter 13 of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Like their patients, they have biases. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Download. May Ying Xiong Character Analysis. A fun and humorous chapter by chapter summary broken into tasty tidbits that you can digest. Though Lia 's mother Foua Yang gives birth to Lia in the United States, she delivered 12 children in her native Laos. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a sad, beautiful, complicated story that is ostensibly about a tragedy that arose from a clash of cultures, but is really about the tragedy of human beings. One of Lia ’s primary doctors (along with his wife, Peggy Philp) at Merced Community Medical Center. eight hours in a Hmong home while an American doctor demanded the patient come to the hospital where the. The lack of understanding and communication lead to a medical tragedy for Hmong child Lia Lee. The doctors prescribed anticonvulsants; her parents preferred animal sacrifices. doi: 10. Reviews Book Excerpts Media About the Author Reading Guide. Chapter Summary for Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, chapter 10 summary. Bill didn’t assign blame to Neil for not catching the sepsis. The even-numbered explanatory chapters often begin or end with a Hmong folktale illustrating an important aspect of the culture. Neil is at home when Lia arrives at the hospital. ”. At the age of three months, Lia Lee had an epileptic seizure. Chapter 8 Summary and Analysis. Lia neither died nor recovered. Her family however believed her illness was caused by soul loss (Fadiman 21). Plot Summary & Analysis Themes Quotes Characters Symbols Theme Viz Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Spirit Catches You makes teaching easy. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997) is an ethnography written by Anne Faidman. Fadiman reminds readers that The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down was written in the 1990s and concerned itself with events that took place in the ’80s. Her medical chart from this time describes her as a female Hmong child well known to the facility. Summary. In hindsight, Lionel Rosenblatt, the former United States Refugee. 5). A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. While their children take their father's clan name, Foua follows Hmong tradition and retains Yang—her original clan name—after marriage. Their selection of this town is largely because of the influence of Dang Moua, an energetic Hmong American businessman. From the creators of SparkNotes. The narrator—Anne—reflects on her time with the Lees, a Hmong American family living in Merced, California. The Lee family were. When Fadiman told Foua that she’d gotten engaged, Foua was not surprised at all. ABOUT THE BOOK Anne Fadiman's seminal work of nonfiction, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, examines the myriad difficulties and complications. A little girl who is part of Merced, California’s population of Hmong immigrants. This Hyperink Quicklet includes an overall summary, chapter commentary, key characters, literary themes, fun trivia, and recommended related readings. Anne updates readers on the book's key figures. Birth. She was in a "persistent vegetative state," able to breath, sleep, and cry, but showing no signs of self-aware. The Spirit Catches You Exam. Get all the key plot points of Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down on one page. The book contains many Hmong phrases and many medical phrases, both unfamiliar to most readers. ”. These babies were born at home on a dirt floor. It might be the first time a book focusing on transcultural health care made it onto the New York Times best-seller list. The Lee Children. Plot summary. They also knew, in the midst of their grief for their infant daughter, that people. Neil Ernst. Jeanine takes thorough notes about Lia’s circumstances, notes that Fadiman draws upon extensively to illustrate the specifics of the young girl’s story. Her father is furious, while her mother is devastated. Lia Lees’ story shows the importance of communication in the medical profession dealing with different cultures. The Lees believed Lia had been returned to them because foster care had made her sicker; Neil and Peggy felt that foster care had improved her condition. At first they stay with relatives in Portland, Oregon. Summary. ] as threats," Nao Kao grabs Lia and attempts to flee the hospital (13. In California's Central Valley agricultural town of Merced, Hmong Americans make up one fifth of the population. • Chapter 2 - Fish Soup. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. While considered by some to be an illness, seizures are actually seen as a good thing to the Hmong culture. Lia was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 1. Analysis. He believed her fate was sealed, because everyone at MCMC focused entire on the seizures. Her parents assumed the noise of the door had caused her soul to flee. Neil is at home when Lia arrives at the hospital. Her full name is used only five times in the narrative. CPS workers arrived at the Lee house with Sue Xiong , a Hmong interpreter whom. Lia did not die, nor did she recover. By ANNE FADIMAN. 19 - Afterword Symbols, Allegory and Motifs Metaphors and Similes Irony Imagery Cultural. Anne Fadiman. Fadiman began writing while at Harvard University as a columnist for Harvard Magazine. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures Anne Fadiman, 1997 Farrar, Straus and Giroux 368 pp. Lia can sense when her seizures are coming. Lia's treatment is complicated by Nao Kao's and Foua's inability to speak English, making it all but impossible to communicate with her doctors. Even things we take for granted like electricity and refrigeration are new to them. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The author recalled her introduction to Hmong culture and the Lee family. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Her parents call an ambulance, fearing the doctors won't give her immediate attention otherwise. As Lia is being prepared for release, the doctors tell Nao Kao that she will probably die within weeks. She's rushed to the hospital, where the doctors learn that the Lees are finally giving Lia the right amount of medication. In the Lees' view, Lia's soul had fled her body and become lost. • Preface. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Fadiman turns her attention to Hmong history, surveying the origins of their time in Laos, where they dwelt in the mountains at high altitudes in which few other populations cared to live. OCLC. Yer, Lia’s older sister, slammed a door which triggered Lia’s first seizure. A pediatrician who specializes in hematology and child development, she is—like her husband—a motivated person who is most interested in discovering the truth. Misunderstandings and disagreements manifested in day-to-day interactions reveal. " The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1997 A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. In 1973, 150,000 members of the Hmong ethnicity—the Lees included—were forced from their homes after "their country fell to communist forces" (1. Between the ages of 8 months and four and a half years, the Lees brought Lia to the hospital dozens of times. The fact that it has a divine nature to them and the fact that the doctors see it only as a disease to be either cured or controlled foreshadows problems yet to come between the 2 cultures. Chapter 3: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down The important aspect of this chapter is the two-sided nature of epilepsy among the Hmong. D. Chapter 11: The Big One.