Chang-Rae Lee, Coming Home Again - Essay Example

Coming Home Again By Chang-Rae Lee Chang Rae Lee’s essay is a commemoration of his mother’s life and their unique bond until her untimely demise. Using some profound symbolism, Chang depicts the relationship with his mother and the effect her death had on him. Chang and his mother are of Korean descent, and they live in America. This change of location, from their native country, presents the essay with its first conflict. Chang does not share the strong heritage that his mother has due to being brought up in America.

For this reason, his mother decides to gradually incorporate Korean tradition through family meals. This results into a deep connection, between Chang and his mother, through food. Despite this connection, Chang is of the opinion that he is not on the same level with his mother. His mother, who is heavily involved in the author’s life, wants Chang to have an edge over his peers. She sends him to boarding school in New Hampshire to improve his academic prowess; enabling him to secure a successful future.

In retrospect, Chang views this as one of the reasons for his strained relationship with his mother. The question, he continuously asks himself, is success really worth sacrificing the relationship with his mother.Chang can only relate to his mother through the recipes and food she prepared for him. Being the first born, Chang had the opportunity of experiencing his mother’s cooking first hand. Recipes such as “Kimchi” and “Kalbi”, Chang is able to relate to his mother and her culture (Lee 5).

His mother dies of stomach cancer. Another point of disjuncture in this essay presents itself while Chang’s mother is ailing. She had taught her son how to prepare Korean meals so that one day he might prepare them for his mother or his family. However, this is not the case as Chang finds himself preparing the Korean dishes for himself.While his mother is ailing, Chang prepares meals for the whole family excluding his mother. He prepares the meals the same way his mother did. However, his mother does not have the opportunity of enjoying the delicacies made by his son cum culinary student.

The author prepares the last meal, for his mother, on New Year’s Eve, 1990. On this fateful day, his mother is hungry and urges Chang to cook some Korean finger dishes (Lee 2). Nevertheless, she cannot ingest, and she dies a week later. In her last days, Chang illustrates the deep regret his mother has on sending him away to boarding school in Exeter. During his days at Exeter, his mother always brought Korean dishes during visiting days (Lee 4). The significance of Korean dishes, especially kalbi, is throughout the essay.

The recipe of making the Kalbi dish symbolizes several events in the essay. The preparation of the meal, cutting hand kneading the flesh, subtly illustrates the conflict between Chang and his mother (Lee 2). The symbolism is present throughout the essay.The disjuncture of the essay is the conflict between his mother and the resolution of this conflict later on in the essay. His mother’s regret of sending him to boarding school resolves the author’s source of conflict with his mother (Lee 4).

In retrospect, he viewed his time at Exeter as unnecessary as he wanted to be with his mother while she was still healthy. Conflict and disjuncture make this essay both grippsing and memorable for readers of all ages. The author illustrates the concept of love, even after the death of his mother; he continues her legacy of preparing Korean dishes. Work CitedLee, Chang-Rae. Coming Home Again. 1994. Print.