Although The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down may sound like the debut album from an obscure EDM artist, this little non-fiction book has changed the world in more ways than one. Answers: 1. ― Sherwin B. Neil apologizes to Nao Kao and Foua with tears in his eyes—Foua thanks and hugs him, while Nao Kao remains cold. Between the ages of 8 months and four and a half years, the Lees brought Lia to the hospital dozens of times. Birth. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between Different Groups. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1997. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, among. The doctors believe epilepsy is a pathological process in the brain, while the family believe “the spirit catches you and you fall down”. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. 11-12 Ch. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down written by Ann Fadiman is about a Hmong child, Lia Lee, that has epilepsy. The Afterword was written in 2012, 15 years after the book was first published in 1997. Her parents assumed the noise of the door had caused her soul to flee. In response, Lia's eyes rolled up, her arms jerked over her head, and she fainted. Even things we take for granted like electricity and refrigeration are new to them. Lia was born in 1982 in Merced, California. After hearing more good things about Cali from his brother, Dang Moua buys a cheap car. - both Foua and dad threaten to commit suicide in the period when Lia was in fostercare. Hmong residents ask her if American doctors eat the organs of dead patients. Read the Review. Share to Reddit. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down essays are academic essays for citation. Nao Kao and Foua had always carried Lia to the hospital before, but Nao Kao. The Spirit Catches you and you fall down. Lia Lees’ story shows the importance of communication in the medical profession dealing with different cultures. While their children take their father's clan name, Foua follows Hmong tradition and retains Yang—her original clan name—after marriage. Unlike her fellow Americans (Dee not included, obvs), this social worker falls in love with Lia and her family, making their plight her personal crusade. In the Hmong language the term for epilepsy is qaug dab peg. At this point, Fadiman finally goes beyond merely suggesting that doctors ask their Hmong patients what they believe is happening to them. Nao Kao and Foua are devastated. Share to Twitter. When Peggy first saw Lia after the girl’s return from Fresno, she was heartbroken: Lia was hardly alive. At this point, Fadiman focuses on the concept of immigration and assimilation. 9-10 Ch. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down examines the ways in which people cling to various strongly-held tenets set forth by their cultures. When the Lee's settled in the United States Foua gave birth to a baby girl named Lia. Open Preview. Things go from bad to worse. Read More. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. Two men slaughter the pig, and the txiv neeb marks Lia with the pig's blood to protect her from dabs, or evil spirits. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Many Hmong people don't trust American doctors. Although The Spirit Catches You is all about Lia, there's not much actually about Lia within its. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The Big One. ”. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Lia 's family celebrates her permanent return home in April 1986 by sacrificing a cow. 7. On November 25, 1986, Lia has a severe seizure at home. June 6th, this time for six months. In California's Central Valley agricultural town of Merced, Hmong Americans make up one fifth of the population. Chapter 13 represents the falling action of Lia's story as the family adjusts to the reality of her fate. But the whole experience is a disaster—Lia even catches an infection at the hospital. $3. MLA (8th ed. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman. While Lia has a United States birth certificate that includes a time and date. Dee falls in love with Lia and cares for her like her own. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Her parents assumed the noise of the door had caused her soul to flee. The best study guide to The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Chapter 5: Take as Directed. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. 2 pages at 400 words per page)Unlike other doctors, Fadiman points out, Neil Ernst remained unbending in his care for Lia, ultimately unwilling to compromise the quality of his services to accommodate Foua and Nao Kao ’s beliefs or abilities. The second student was a Hmong, who proceeded to speak about a recipe for fish soup. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Quotes Showing 1-30 of 44. The non-fiction book offers a skillfully written depiction of the plight of the Lee family, one of many Hmong refugees absorbed into the United States followingChapter 2 - Fish Soup. Writing both a literary profile and an in. Meanwhile, Western medicine is based on the advancement of science and technology. Many shamans—known as txiv neeb—use seizures to commune with the spirit realm. Her siblings grew up around her, part of a close-knit family, some excelling in sports and others going to university. Explain the meaning of the book's title. At the hospital Lia's seizure becomes more violent, defeating all the EMTs' attempts to sedate her. She knew the names of all their children, and her size at five feet one was less pretentious than that of Peggy and Neil who were both quite tall. Yer Lee. Last updated by jill d #170087 a year ago 10/10/2022 11:47 AM. The Hmong New Year fell during Lia’s stay at MCMC, but Foua said that it was the only time. Buy Study Guide About The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary Character List Glossary Themes Quotes and Analysis Ch. Her record nearly always noted the communication difficulties brought about by language differences. Adorbs! Foua, in particular, takes a strong interest in Anne's life. Lia has another, even worse seizure three days before Thanksgiving, 1986. The lack of understanding and communication lead to a medical tragedy for Hmong child Lia Lee. Open Preview. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down lesson plan is designed to help teachers and educators plan classroom activities and instruction. 17-18 Ch. Anne Fadiman’s ethnography . They live in Portland for two years before moving to their current home in Merced, California. Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures (Noonday Press, 1997) is widely used in "cultural competence" efforts within U. In the 1980s, Lia was part of the Hmong population in America who were refugees from Laos. At the end of Chapter 12, Fadiman introduces the character of Shee Yee, the hero of the greatest Hmong folktales. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a. Basically, the main difference between Hmong and Western views of medicine is simple—Hmong treat the soul, Americans treat the body. It was the most terrible of cultural clashes. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down The two cultures 1. Chapter 7: Government Property. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is based on a true story that involves the collision of American and Hmong cultures. We hope Lia will be healthy, but we are not sure we want her to stop shaking forever because it makes her noble in our culture, and when she grows up she might become a shaman. By ANNE FADIMAN. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Topic: Literature Words: 1378 Pages: 5 Jul 4th, 2022. Book Details. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child with epilepsy, whose tragic demise reveals the dangers of a lack of cross-cultural communication in the medical profession. 15-16 Ch. Summary See All. A young Hmong man gave a presentation about how to make fish soup. As…. Between the ages of eight months and four and a half years, Lia was admitted to MCMC seventeen times and made more than one hundred out patient visits to the ER and the Family Practice Center. “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anna Fadiman tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child with epilepsy, whose life could have been different if only her family was caught up in western medicine. , a Chinese emperor named Hoang-ti decrees that any Hmong convicted of a crime will be castrated. One case involving the Lees' young. 17). Preface. They spoiled her and treated her like a princess, believing that her epilepsy marked her as special and that she might someday. What's crazier is that he does, and a mere week later. Looks like you're viewing this page on a mobile device. Her seizures normally lasted only a few minutes, but when she didn't get better, Nao Kao's nephew, who spoke English, called an ambulance. “Don’t do that, there’s a good boy,” said Martin, addressing the little girl in English, of which she did not speak a word. Menu About The Book; About The Author; Book Summary. Throughout The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Fadiman often references the Hmong’s maximalist worldview, which takes into account all aspects of life and seeks to acknowledge the interconnectedness of all things. Since the seizure happens right after her older sister Yer slams the door, the Lees think the loud noise startled Lia's soul and made it flee her body. 1997 Winner, National Book Critics Circle Award - Nonfiction. If Lia had been born in Laos, her mother would have squatted on the floor and pulled the baby out of her womb with her own hands. Foua Lee Character Analysis. Need help with Chapter 1: Birth in Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down? Check out our revolutionary side-by-side summary and analysis. S medical system battles with their traditional Hmong healing methods. Her recently-deceased father was a well-respected txiv neeb —or shamanistic healer—who used to seize so. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is a critically acclaimed book describing the importance of understanding cultural influence on health care and health outcomes. At the same time, it is considered. Upset because he "perceived the doctors' comments [. Lia neither died nor recovered. When Fadiman told Foua that she’d gotten engaged, Foua was not surprised at all. Clapsaddle, Diane. Analysis. Personal and communal crises mirror one another in the plot. “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” is the story of a Hmong family living in Merced, California and their Daughter, Lia, who has severe epilepsy. Chapter 18 - The Life or the Soul. Pediatricians Neil Ernst and Peggy Philp—the doctors in charge of Lia's case—keep detailed notes on her condition over the years. 17-18 Ch. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Dee is a gentle, kind person who devotes herself to caring for children. Everything was a spiritual problem. Summary. When Lia returns home the family is overjoyed to have her in their beds once again. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a book by Anne Fadiman about a Hmong family (the Lee’s) that moved to the United States. Next. By studying miscommunication between Hmong patients and their American doctors, Fadiman demonstrates that many cross-cultural misunderstandings hinge on a disconnect between the two parties’. Nothing like medical problems and totally opposite cultures to show you how messed up things. As a writer, Fadiman herself moves in and out of her scenes; in some moments, she describes her conversations with Lia ’s. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Detailing copious Cultural subjects, the author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down 1st Edition (978-0374533403) strove to write an ultimate text on the field of Social. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. They now treat illnesses in their family at home. I like shorelines, weather fronts, international borders. May Ying Xiong Character Analysis. This book reveals the tragic struggles between a doctor and patient because of lack of communication. Nonetheless, she manages to remain reasonably neutral, not blaming any of Lia’s doctors personally nor Lia’s parents, but rather the aforementioned idea that the cultural “gulf” is “unbridgeable. And it gets worse. Downloadable / Printable Version. However, I have come to believe that her life was ruined not by septic shock or noncompliant parents but by cross. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a. By suggesting that Hmong culture. Chapter 11 - The Big One. 1. This section contains 173 words. Fadiman notes that family obligations sometimes put enormous demands on people, such as Jonas Vangay, a community leader who lived with his wife, his three children, his two brothers and their wives, and his brothers' ten children. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Book Report. Chapter 13 Summary and Analysis. Chapter 12 shows violence, starvation, and death became normalized for Hmong refugees in a way few Americans can understand. When Lia was around three months old, her older sister Yer slammed a door and Lia had her first seizure. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down frequently evokes Hmong history to illuminate the circumstances of Lia Lee ’s medical crisis. Anyway, this sparks a rebellion that goes on for centuries, until the Hmong finally retreat into the mountains. Though they eventually figure that stuff out, they never make too big. The doctors prescribed anticonvulsants; her parents preferred animal sacrifices. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The story starts with the Lee’s forced immigration to America and talks about Lia being born with epilepsy. Having immigrated with Foua and the rest of their family to America from Laos, Nao Kao is a devoted father who advocates strongly for Lia, often allowing his strong temper and stubborn disposition to dominate the interactions he has with doctors and social. 17-18 Ch. Martin Kilgore Character Analysis. Nao Kao can tell that this one is serious, so he calls an ambulance for the first time. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures Anne Fadiman, 1997 Farrar, Straus and Giroux 368 pp. The teacher's suggestion appears in the narrative as a contrast to the tragic events in May's life. Peggy Philp Character Analysis. She considers what she's learned while researching, writing, and hearing reader reactions. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Analysis. Yikes. Fadiman is skeptical at first: the txiv neeb (shaman) is kinda goofy, and the whole solemnity of the thing is. The teacher's suggestion appears in the narrative as a contrast to the tragic events in May's life. . The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between Different. The Lees, refugees from Laos, find themselves in Merced, California, where Lia's seizures begin. Chapter Summaries Chart. Study Guide: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman (SuperSummary) SuperSummary. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis. Nonetheless, when she came back inside after watching the family sacrifice a pig in the parking lot, the room’s atmosphere had changed. Fadiman considers the fact that the Hmong view health concerns as not only relating to the body, but also relating to everything else in their lives. The Lees believed Lia had been returned to them because foster care had made her sicker; Neil and Peggy felt that foster care had improved her condition. For many American doctors and patients, Western biomedicine is accepted as the default setting. Hmong residents ask her if American doctors eat the organs of dead patients. Then he hears that Vang Pao (remember, the rebel group guy) is planning to buy land in Merced. From the creators of SparkNotes. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a tragic true story written by Anne Fadiman, who spent over five years in the middle of a fight between Hmong culture and American medicine. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between Different. The. Three months after her healthy birth, Lia went into a seizure after her older sister Yer loudly slammed the apartment door. Answering a question posed to her by a bigoted gas station clerk, she determines (in retrospect) that the reason the Hmong chose to settle in Merced has to do with Dang Moua, a local Hmong entrepreneur and businessman who. CPS workers arrived at the Lee house with Sue Xiong , a Hmong interpreter whom. From the creators of SparkNotes. Lia, who suffered from severe epilepsy, was constantly jostled by two conflicting forces. The story is about a series of episodes of miscommunication, misinterpretations, disagreements between Lia’s parents and the. Dee Korda Character Analysis. Foua Yang is a Hmong American woman living in Merced, California, with her husband Nao Kao Lee and their family. The timeline below shows where the character Arthur Kleinman appears in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. 1-2 Ch. Her first book, "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," is an account of the unbridgeable gulf between a family of Hmong refugees and their American doctors. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. doi: 10. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. 7-8 Ch. These babies were born at home on a dirt floor. by Anne Fadiman Buy Study Guide The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary and Analysis of Ch. It's a bad scene. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the riveting narrative of a showdown between modern American medicine and ancient Hmong beliefs, a blow-by-blow account of the battle fought. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Book Report. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down study guide contains a biography of Anne Fadiman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. Writing both a literary profile and an in-depth ethnography, Fadiman devotes whole chapters to the history and context of the Hmong ethnic identity, which she characterizes as “independent, insular. 19 - Afterword Symbols, Allegory and Motifs Metaphors and Similes Irony Imagery Cultural. Personal and communal crises mirror one another in the plot. 17-18 Ch. After spending eleven days at Valley Children's Hospital, Lia returned to MCMC on. Yet again,. ''. Chapter 3: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down The important aspect of this chapter is the two-sided nature of epilepsy among the Hmong. In this union, an American was celebrating an event in a Hmong way, truly a collision of. There are interesting frictions and incongruities in these places, and often, if you stand at. Even worse, the Hmong have lost their prized "self-sufficiency" (10. Chapter 13 represents the falling action of Lia's story as the family adjusts to the reality of her fate. Jeanine takes thorough notes about Lia’s circumstances, notes that Fadiman draws upon extensively to illustrate the specifics of the young girl’s story. Get all the key plot points of Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down on one page. Exactly what every hospital needs. The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations can Merge Characteristics between Different. Summary. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman Buy Study Guide The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Quotes and Analysis Dan had no way of knowing that. Although the assignment called for a five-minute speech, he spoke for forty-five minutes by starting from the very. In response, Lia's eyes rolled up, her arms jerked over her head, and she fainted. • Chapter 3 - The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. But the families—who don't trust hospitals or medical staff—are skeptical of her. 19 - Afterword Symbols, Allegory and Motifs Metaphors and Similes Irony Imagery Cultural. Lia 's epileptic crisis is over. Share to Facebook. Her older sister, Yer, slammed the front door of the Lees' apartment. Dan is the first doctor to diagnose Lia as epileptic after seeing her in the throes of a seizure during her third visit to the hospital. In the Lees' view, Lia's soul had fled her body and become lost. Analysis. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. According to Hmong folklore, Shee Yee, the sorcerer who had turned into a tiny red ant and bit the evil dab on the testicle, had spent many years fighting dabs and restoring health to the sick. Share to Tumblr. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the story by author Anne Fadiman, which explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Analysis. The Hmong religion permeates the Lees' life. read analysis of Fish Soup. It is no surprise that Fadiman obsessed over the idea that the gulf between Hmong culture and Western medicine might be “unbridgeable,” since the very aim of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is to examine the missed avenues of communication in a disastrous instance of cross-cultural misunderstanding. 7-8 Ch. 1. 9-10 Ch. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes,. The narrator—Anne—reflects on her time with the Lees, a Hmong American family living in Merced, California. Fadiman sensed something else amiss in the girl, too, admitting that perhaps her soul really was missing. Summary and Analysis of Chapter 13 of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. " LitCharts. 5). The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Topics for Discussion. Recorded on these tapes are the many conversations she had with American doctors and the Lee family, who came to the United States from Laos as refugees in 1980. They are animists who believe spiritual forces affect the natural world. On the other hand, Epilepsy is referred to as a neurological. Fadiman relates a story told to her by a French professor who taught an intermediate class at Merced College. The fact that it has a divine nature to them and the fact that the doctors see it only as a disease to be either cured or controlled foreshadows problems yet to come between the 2 cultures. 13-14 Ch. Nao Kao is preparing "spirit money"—pieces of paper. This moving chronicle of a very sick girl,The The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down lesson plan is designed to help teachers and educators plan classroom activities and instruction. Writing both a literary profile and an in-depth ethnography, Fadiman devotes whole chapters to the history and context of the Hmong ethnic identity, which she characterizes as “independent, insular, antiauthoritarian, suspicious, stubborn, proud, choleric. 13-14 Ch. Produced in April 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, this copy of The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman affords 368 pages of first-rate lessons. Fadiman, Anne. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman. The The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down lesson plan is designed to help teachers and educators plan classroom activities and instruction. In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, the professionals lacked cultural understanding and let their generalizations create biases. • Chapter 2 - Fish Soup. The teacher's language has a rational detachment similar to the tone of the medical notes on Lia 's case. Shee Yee eventually transferred his powers to human tvix neebs, or shamans, who summon his spirit as they do his work. Chapter 10 describes a defining moment in Hmong history, working together with the defining crisis in Lia 's life that dominates Chapter 11 . The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The author recalled her introduction to Hmong culture and the Lee family. The Spirit Catches You Exam. At first they stay with relatives in Portland, Oregon. In Fadiman’s unbiased book I learned that there are many cultural differences betweenAnne Fadiman wrote a nonfiction book entitled The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which is the story of a young Hmong girl named Lia Lee who had epilepsy. These questions are used to convey a patient. 3-4 Ch. Buy Study Guide About The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary Character List Glossary Themes Quotes and Analysis Ch. Chapter 5: Take as Directed. This section contains 495 words. 13-14 Ch. Bill is a veteran of the Peace Corps with a passion for learning about other cultures, and he was once the chief resident at MCMC. Chapter 9 continues Lia's story, sharing events from both Lia's parents' and doctors' points of view. ''. Accepting that soul loss causes most physical illnesses, they think the invisible soul and the visible body are intertwined. Lia should also be treated at home with our Hmong medicines and by sacrificing pigs and chickens. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. 5-6 Ch. The The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Theme Wheel is a beautiful super helpful visualization of where the themes occur throughout the text. On the one hand, the Lees had every right to exercise their beliefs. Regardless, both parents still blame the hospital for Lia's condition. ” She notes the “uphill battle” the Lees faced in converting their apartment—with its humming refrigerator and fluttering TV screen—into a tranquil, spiritual atmosphere. Lia's doctors ascribed her seizures to the misfiring of her cerebral neurons; her parents called her illness qaug dab peg. Neil and Peggy 's son receives a cancer diagnosis, and Peggy and Foua mourn together, bonding over the pain of having a sick child. The TV was off, a candle had. This question calls for your opinion, there is no right or worng answer. Yer, Lia’s older sister, slammed a door which triggered Lia’s first seizure. Healing process: scars that look like burns on the body on patients. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. A feast of traditional beef dishes followed the ceremony. • Preface. At 3 months old she started showing signs of severe epilepsy. She remarks that, even though these recordings have already been transcribed. Lia's older sister, Mai, is born in Thailand during this exodus. , 2002). sacrificed a pig and chickens, sometimes they want to do it in the hospital. Fadiman gives a survey of sacrificial events in Hmong culture,. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. The book is about a young Hmong child named Lia Lee. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction . Web. A public health nurse who makes house calls to provide Lia with medical checkups after her final neurological crisis. "The spirit catches you and you fall down" is the literal translation of the Hmong name for epilepsy, qaug dab peg. A tvix neeb performed the ritual chant with the cow's head sitting on the Lee's front stoop. We watch Lia, the little Hmong girl diagnosed with epilepsy, slowly fade from. In Hmong culture, epilepsy is known as "quag dab peg," which means "the spirit catches you and you fall down" (3. . 5-6 Ch. 19 - Afterword Symbols, Allegory and Motifs Metaphors and Similes Irony Imagery Cultural. 19 - Afterword Symbols, Allegory and Motifs Metaphors and Similes Irony Imagery Cultural. In response, Lia's eyes rolled up, her arms jerked over her head, and she fainted. Many Hmong people don't trust American doctors. They haven't been back since. Medical, Racist, and Colonial Constructions of Power: Creating the Asian American Patient and the Cultural Citizen in Anne Fadiman’s . During this time, one of their eight children became ill and died. “ […. Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A +. In 1973, 150,000 members of the Hmong ethnicity—the Lees included—were forced from their homes after "their country fell to communist forces" (1. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a book that highlights the struggles between two cultures in healthcare. Get all the key plot points of Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down on one page. Aside from the medical parts, which are described carefully and objectively, and without portioning any blame, this book is a very touching story of a family coping with adversity in a brave and dignified. Ge, one of Nao Kao and Foua's daughters, dies after they arrive at a refugee camp in Thailand. 31). If a Hmong walked into a doctor’s office complaining of a stomachache, she says, he may actually be “complaining that the entire universe was out of balance. In her case, only Western medicine could've saved her father from colon cancer. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. Arthur Kleinman Character Timeline in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.