Applying theories to the novel The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down - Essay Example

The author dexterously manoeuvres the plot of the book so that the readers can identify with the more complex socio-psychological paradigms of the multicultural societies and the challenges that the medical fraternity has to meet to overcome the prejudices of the Hmong family. The book is fascinating in its treatment of the seemingly mundane but highly relevant issues of the different cultures and the modern society that heavily relies on science. The story of Lia Lee, a small girl who is diagnosed with epilepsy by the medical fraternity in Merced, California but which is differently interpreted by the Hmong family as ‘qaug dab peg’.

The intense conflict in the treatment of the little girl and the frustrations of both the girl’s family and the healthcare system is brilliantly captured by the author. The book throws great insight into the differing views and perspectives of the cultures that clash with the value system of the healthcare practitioners. The institutional indifference to the cross cultural values and the trials and tribulations of the immigrant family that finds itself strangely vulnerable in the alien surrounding is the highlight of the narration.

The socio-psychological imperatives found in the book are of great relevance to the contemporary environment of globalization. The behavioral and cognitive theory can explain the ongoing struggle of the Hmong family that tries to work along with healthcare system towards the common goal of saving their daughter’s life. Cognitive science is basically an amalgamation of philosophical thoughts and scientific theories that try to rationalize the working of conscious and unconscious thoughts of a man and co-relate them with his subsequent actions and reactions.

The theory of cognition, thereby, tries to explain why and how the events take place and subsequent pattern of behavior of man under certain condition involving emotional