The Asian As Superior Myth Essays -- essays research papers

The author, Ronald Takaki, wishes to illustrate that the perceptions of Asian Americans as a "model minority" are not entirely accurate. Takaki writes that the facts and figures used to compare Asian-Americans to other, less successful minority groups are misleading. For example, the author writes that although Japanese Americans are seen as upwardly mobile, they have not yet achieved equality. The essay states that "while Japanese American men in California earned an average income comparable to Caucasian men in 1980, they did so only by acquiring more education and working more hours." In addition, the author found that while some Asian American groups do have higher family incomes than Caucasians, at the same time the Asian American families are larger and have more members of working age than Caucasian families. The author's purpose is to show the reader that although Asian Americans are portrayed as "successful" when compared to other minority groups, they still have ground to make up before they begin to accurately approach the ranks of the Anglo majority. The author uses his own personal experiences as the grandson of agricultural laborers to relay to the reader than he, too, can relate to the plight of Asian Americans in this country. The essay was written to show and give reasons why Asian Americans are seen by other minority groups as a "model minority." The author attempts to show that this i...