The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" -Book Review
1. What do you think of traditional Hmong birth practices (pp. 3-5)? Compare them to the techniques used when Lia was born (p. 7). How do Hmong and American
birth practices differ?
2. Over many centuries the Hmong fought against a number of different peoples who claimed sovereignty over their lands; they were also forced to emigrate from
China. How do you think these up-heavals have affected their culture? What role has history played in the formation of Hmong culture?
3. Dr. Dan Murphy said, "The language barrier was the most obvious problem, but not the most important. The biggest problem was the cultural barrier. There is
a tremendous difference between dealing with the Hmong and dealing with anyone else. An infinite difference" (p. 91). What does he mean by this?
4. The author says, "I was struck...by the staggering toll of stress that the Hmong exacted from the people who took care of them, particularly the ones who
were young, idealistic, and meticulous" (p. 75). Why do you think the doctors felt such great stress?
5. Dr. Neil Ernst said, "I felt it was important for these Hmongs to understand that there were certain elements of medicine that we understood better than
they did and that there were certain rules they had to follow with their kids' lives. I wanted the word to get out in the community that if they deviated from
that, it was not acceptable behavior" (p. 79). Do you think the Hmong understood this message? Why or why not? What do you think of Neil and Peggy?
He wrote in essentially all classifications including orchestras, ballet productions, chamber works, and concerti. Very much portrayed by music pundit Edward
Greenfield:
Khachaturian's music quite outshone other Soviet peers in making a forcefully recognizable style, something which his successors have discovered difficult to
emu late. In essential thoughts he remains somehow or another as the original of the Soviet arranger, equipped [through his ballet productions, film scores,
accidental music and utilitarian work/walk songs] to correspondence with the amplest crowd.
This exposition will concentrate on Aram Khachaturian's violin concerto, written in 1940 during his primary compositional period from 1936-1948. It will
likewise look at his kinship with performers, for example, David Oistrakh, the conspicuous Soviet musician who the concerto is committed to. Also the paper
will quickly investigate his relations to the socialist party; subsequently how this affected his organizations and his profession.
Aram Khachaturian was conceived on June 6, 1903 into a working class family in the city of Tiflis, presently Tbilisi, current Republic of Georgia. Tiflis was
at the time a multicultural focus in the Caucasus, uniting Armenian, Georgian, and Azerbaijani individuals. It was this social condition that turned into the
melodic premise of every one of his works, inarguably adding to his unconventional compositional style. In an article titled "My Idea of the Folk Element in
Music" (1952), Khachaturian composed:
I experienced childhood in an air wealthy in society music: mainstream merriments, customs, happy and dismal occasions in the life of the individuals
constantly joined by music, the clear tunes of Armen ian, Georgian and Azerbaijani melodies and moves performed by people minstrels [ashugs] and artists –
such were the impressions that turned out to be profoundly engraved on my memory, that my melodic reasoning. They molded my melodic awareness and establish at
the frameworks of my imaginative character.