A Step from Heaven--Reading Journal

A Step from Heaven
By An Na

Two things struck me as I began reading this novel. The first thing that struck me was how similar the structure of the novel was to Sandra Cisneros’ House on Mango Street. As I was reading the questions & answers included at the end of the novel, I read that An Na had gotten the idea of presenting vignettes from Young Ju’s life from House on Mango Street. Although I believe that Cisneros is a gifted writer, I found An Na’s collection of vignette’s much more satisfying to consume as a reader. Even with the brevity of some of the vignettes and the gaps of time between other vignettes, I felt a sense of continuity in the story that House on Mango Street does not have.

The other thing that instantly popped into my head as I read the first few chapters was Langston Hughes’ poem “A Dream Deferred” (copied below).

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-- And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

I thought it was an interesting parallel.
Aside from presenting many opportunities for discussing the obvious themes of hope, dreams, bravery/courage, and education, A Step from Heaven provides a great segue into discussions about differences in culture—family expectations, gender expectations, and ways of showing respect to parents and other elders, etc. It also presents the questions: What does it mean to be American? Can an individual reconcile or accommodate two cultures simultaneously? Apa never seems to be able to; Young Ju somehow establishes a balance, but at the cost of going against her father’s expectations of how she should demonstrate her respect for him.

Probably more students of mine than I realize suffer at the hands of some kind of abuse at home. An Na’s description of the physical and verbal abuse that Uhmma, Young Ju, and Joon Ho endure at the hands of Apa brought me to tears at times. Abuse is a problem that knows no cultural boundaries—we find it in all cultures. And, common in almost all cultures, the fuel that fires much abuse is pride (or pride threatened), depression, and alcoholism or drug abuse. All three of these triggered Apa’s abusive rampages.

One other thing that I thought was very interesting was how An Na wove the motif of hands or holding someone throughout the novel. Young Ju enjoys being held by Halmoni, comments several times on her mom’s “cat-tongue” fingers, and reacts angrily to Apa holding and changing Joon’s diaper. She notices her mother’s white-knuckled hands holding the steering wheel, cringes under the abusive hands of her Apa, and notes the differences in hers and Joon’s soft hands compared to their mother’s labor-weathered hands. This is also the motif which An Na chooses to open and close the book—Apa holding her as she first takes on the waves of life.