Analysis Of Unpolished Gem By Alice Pung

Australia is a very diverse and multicultural country and Australians come from many different cultures, religions and backgrounds. However, many Australians struggle with their Australian identities because they do not fit the "stereotypical Australian" description. As a result of stereotyping, Australians who are perceived as different can be alienated by their peers and even experience racism. Alice Pung, author of Unpolished Gem, documents her negative treatment by her classmates. Meanwhile, Ivy Tseng reveals the cultural struggles she experienced growing up. Through the use of aesthetic text features, each author reveals a contrasting experience of growing up as an Asian Australian. Pung reflects upon the exclusion she felt from her wealthy

This is exemplified by Tseng when she creates a contrast between feelings of contempt for the Chinese lessons as a child to feelings of regret that she had not understood and valued their significance as an adult. Affect is shown in Chinese Lessons as Tseng spent the lessons "sulking and glaring" at her father. One similarity between the two memoirs is the strong regretful tone. These illustrate different struggles many young people of colour growing up in Australia face: Tseng's internalised hatred for her culture and Pung's external exclusion by her white peers. Judgement is used in Unpolished Gem to create a regretful tone while also challenging how Pung and her friends are perceived by their peers as boring and compliant: “If only they knew our lives did not revolve around study as much as theirs did— but they would never know.” This demonstrates how Pung's classmates made a snap-judgement about her without getting to know her. Regret is similarly and explicitly demonstrated through affect in Chinese Lessons: “I regret not paying closer attention… there's a sense of shame, a vague unease.” Tseng expresses remorse and a feeling of inauthenticity. Both authors struggled to make sense of conflicting parts of their identities throughout their

In Tseng's memoir, repetition of long sentences is used to create a sense of monotony and boredom in regard to the lessons: “Eleven o'clock meant the end of video hits. Eleven o'clock meant the end of the Mandarin program on SBS radio. Eleven o'clock meant Mum washing the floors. Eleven o'clock meant Chinese lessons. Contrastingly, Pung strings together short and long clauses to engage the reader and create a rhythmic memoir, such as when she describes the moment her parents discover the reality of their children's schooling careers: “It must have hit them hard—that we were still sticking by each other, sticking with each other, and not getting out, not fitting in.” These different structures contribute to the respective writing styles of the authors. Tseng's is vaguely comedic, while Pung's is