Today Kailin and I got started on Essay 2. Kailin’s second thought letter mainly focused on her own personal experiences rather than the actual readings, so I initially wasn’t sure how well Kailin had read the articles. Talking it over with her, I realized that she didn’t understand the concept of Orientalism, which was preventing her from fully understanding the articles. So I explained to her the concept and we did some brief internet research so she could get a background in it. Doing so definitely helped her grasp a better understanding of the authors’ meanings. She did have strong reactions to the articles, one of which she disagreed with outrightly and another which she strongly questioned. We talked about which directions her second essay will go, and drafted potential thesis statements. At this point it seems lshe will write an argument that Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club is not exemplary of New Orientalism, as some literary critics have charged it.