Analysis Of Persimmons By Li-Young Lee

In “Persimmons” Li-Young Lee seems to be looking back upon his life and recalling his troubled childhood. From the beginning of the poem, readers are introduced to the unpleasant scene of his sixth grade teacher, Mrs.Walker, slapping him in the back of the head due to his inability to differentiate between persimmon and precision. Lee then remembers a time when he was conversing with his white girlfriend and shows that he no longer has difficulties with English anymore, but is beginning to lose his Chinese culture. The poem leaves off on a more positive note when his father, although blind, gives Lee an insight on life. Throughout the poem, a prominent piece of symbolism is the persimmon. The persimmon is brought up multiple times in the poem, …show more content…
Readers first see persimmons in the first stanza when his teacher, Mrs.Walker, believes that Lee is unable to differentiate between persimmon and precision. However, in the following lines Lee states “How to choose persimmons. This is precision. Ripe ones are soft and brown-spotted. Sniff the bottoms. The sweet one will be fragrant.” this shows readers that Lee understands the difference of the two words (Lee 6-10). Although it is clear to the readers that Lee is able to differentiate between persimmons and precision, due to the clash in culture he is unable express so to Mrs.Walker. This is one of the many difficulties that Lee faces trying to assimilate to American culture. The persimmon, a symbolism of Lee’s Chinese culture is brought up again in the fourth stanza, where Mrs.Walker brings a persimmon to class and describes it as a “Chinese apple”. Lee with the knowledge that the persimmon is ripe does not eat any; he only looks for the reaction of his fellow classmates. This shows that Lee is looking for whether or not his fellow classmates accept his culture. Lee seems to feel the need to gain acceptance from his classmate in order to be able to balance his internal cultural clash. His struggles to balance the two cultures are further emphasized through the use of the …show more content…
His father who has become blind states “These I painted blind, some things never leave a person: scent of the hair of one you love, the texture of persimmons, in your palm, the ripe weight” this shows readers that his father although blind still is able to remember certain things that can never leave a person (Lee 84-88). Again the persimmons are brought up and his father is still able to paint persimmons even without his sight. This may suggest to readers that the father is telling Lee that although he has lost much of his Chinese culture it still resides within him. That even though he has forgotten a lot of the Chinese language he still has his Chinese heritage. This ending brings hope to the poem and it seems that Lee is able to find balance between his two identities because even if his Chinese culture was lost there are still some things that can never be