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Jocelyn Quintanilla
English 115
Professor Lawson
19 September 2016
Rhetorical Analysis: Final Draft
Word count: 601
Finding My Eye-dentity
Olivia Chungs purpose in the essay, Finding My Eye-dentity, is to point out that you
don't have to try to fit into the images of Americanness in order to be beautiful. Her intended
audience was those from Asian cultures. Chungs position in her writing is claiming that she
doesn't have to change to reach societies expectations to have beauty by getting sang ka pul, a
procedure where a surgeon creates a crease on eyelids that naturally don't crease. Chung was one
of the many Korean girls being asked if they want sang ka pul done on them so they can look
better. Her mom brought up the topic to her for what seemed like a billion times by saying You
know your aunt? She used to have bean eyes just like you!.. Then she went to Korea and got the
surgery done. Now look! She looks so much better! Don't you want it done? I would do
it.(Chung 150). Chung made it known in her essay that she was frustrated about being told to
change and being picked on, since she could remember, for the way she looks. A memorable joke
back in Kindergarten she says is a little boy pulled the edges of his eyes out, yelling, ching
chong chinaman!(150) She describes how many ways she has tried to make a crease on her
eyelids with beauty tricks she came upon and her response/perspective now to the criticism she
has gotten that she didnt before defended herself on. Her defensive and dignified tone in this

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piece was effective in making her point and gives the impression of how serious and strongly she
is defending herself and other asians not accepted without the surgery done.
I found Olivia Chungs position persuasive and I agree with her claims. None of the parts
in the essay sound wrong nor seem doubtful to me. However, I feel that there is a problem in the
order it is written. She goes back and forth and I feel that it is a problem because it may confuse
the writer about what time in her life she is referring to and her opinion between now and before
is very different. The structure, tone, and word choice are great in the authors essay. They help
support her thesis by getting the reader to understand her situation and feel her emotions. The
word choice in the essay fits in well with the subject she is touching on with Asian culture. My
views and thoughts on this topic is that people shouldnt try to change their identity that makes
them who they are. It relates to the ideas expressed in the authors text by Chung persuading the
reader to know it is okay to be the way they are. In the end of the essay she says After all these
years of wanting to open up my eyes with tape and glue and surgery, I have opened up my eyes
to a different definition of beauty one that embraces differences and includes every girl, who
can hold her head up (151). This connects to what I am interested in writing about because it
relates on the fact that being different is okay and one should embrace it, not try to change or influence others to. One person will not be able to relate with you on a topic but there is 100%
chance someone else will. I want to write my essay about being different yet still belonging because everyone has their own way of being beautiful and it should be accepted.

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Works Cited
Chung Olivia. Finding My Eye-dentity. Pop Perspectives: Readings to Critique Contemporary
Culture. Ed. Laura Gray-Rosendale. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 149-151. Print.