Reading Journal: "The Chinatown Idea" Eric Liu

1) Eric Liu uses objective descriptions in his story. In some part's of his story he would describe what he is seeing without telling the readers how he felt about it. Liu also uses sensory impressions through out his story. He uses this technique very well in his first body paragraph. Liu describes what he sees and smells while walking through East Broadway. Liu says "Soon we were wading through thick crowds on the sidewalk, passing through bells of aroma: sweat and breath, old perfume, spareribs"(80). Liu refers to two out of the five senses smell and sight to give the readers a better understanding of what is going on around him.

2)Liu did not just want the readers to read his story. He wanted people to be able to read his story and visualize everything. By using sensory impressions readers will have a better idea of what the setting looks like. Also by using sensory impressions, readers will be able to connect with Liu when he is expressing a thought that is going through his mind. His sensory impressions grab the readers attention. As a result, it makes his story more interesting.

3)His word choices also help the readers recreate the setting. When Liu uses the word "incongruous" he is commenting on how unusual it looks to see a New York, Empire State license plate in the area he is in. He then uses "emporium" as another way of saying marketplace. Liu uses this to add on to the setting so readers can picture what he is seeing.Lastly, he add's the word "fortified in paragraph six to express how he feels about making a trip to Chinatown.