Common themes in literature and culture

Li-Young Lee's Poetry

On the surface, Li-Young Lee's poem "Persimmons" seems simply based on the challenges an immigrant faces coming to America, or a boy learns how to grow up in a different culture from his own. These challenges are very apparent when an Asian (or any foreigner) goes about learning English. And moreover, Lee alludes to the cultural barriers that go along with inter-racial sexual relationships. But deeper than those issues by far is the linking of the persimmon fruit to rough new times and solid, sweet old times. There is symbolism in the poem of youth old cultures banging up against age, of one culture slamming into unfamiliar customs in a new culture, and of one culture dying as others carry on. But the greatest strength of the poem is the fact of tying all of these issues together in the image of the persimmon. It is part of the reason the poet was punished and yet it ties his new culture in with his family's culture, with his blind father and his family's cultural experiences.

Analysis: Lee is asking the reader to relate to the poetry on several levels. First of all, Lee is Asian and learning English is not the easiest thing for an Asian. Learning any new thing - especially a language - is problematic. Readers relate to that. Also, when one is scolded by a teacher - slapped and made to stand in the corner - this kind of treatment is not only embarrassing for an immigrant, it is humiliating and hurtful. But everyone can relate to being called out by a teacher, and so the poem is easy to relate to on this level.

Beyond simply being punished in front of one's peers, and the humiliation that goes along with that punishment, is the sense of isolation the poet felt at being made to stand in the corner. In a way, that imagery carries through when one thinks about the isolation a newcomer feels when entering an alien or foreign land.

Indeed, there is a lot of terrific imagery in this poem, and much of it springs from the symbolism of the persimmon and how to eat it properly. "Peel the skin tenderly, not to tear the meat," he writes, and this could easily pertain to the arrival in a new culture. One must slowly peel away the surface distractions of a new society, and be careful not to "tear" into something too quickly. Then, the surface (skin) of a culture must be experienced ("chew on the skin, suck it, and swallow" before eating "the meat of the fruit"). The meat will always be there but first one must taste the outer edges of the fruit, so that when finally arriving at the meat, it will taste "so sweet, all of it, to the heart."

The next stanza in the poem in a very real way emulates the previous stanza. Peel the skin of the persimmon very "tenderly" he asks, and that opens the door to some imagery when he watches Donna undress. She is peeling away the "skin" of her fruit, too. Her fruit is her sexuality, which the poet obviously treasures. While asking her to spread her legs he must not forget to remind her that she is very beautiful, white like the moon. So it isn't just about sex, it's about love and appreciation.

Readers know the poet is watching because Donna's stomach is white. That is different from an Asian's skin color, and the imagery here appeals to the senses because the two cultures are lying "naked, face-up, face-down" and maybe, just maybe, he can teach her some Chinese ("Ni, wo") while the two are about to engage in physical romance.

Irony is part of the stanza in which the poet reminds his readers that while the teacher seems smart enough to bring a non-ripened persimmon to class (which the poet doesn't try to eat because he knows it isn't sweet enough), the poet knows a thing or two about persimmons. Indeed, his mom gave him really good advice by saying that persimmons have the sun inside them, "...something golden, glowing, warm as my face." He may have been punished for mispronouncing "persimmon" but the irony is he fully understands the fruit even beyond the understanding his English teacher shows.

Still more irony is to be found in the first part of the poem based on the concept and pronunciation of "precision." Okay, the poet didn't know the precise phonetic difference between "precision" and "persimmon." He messed up that part of the assignment. But wait, he does know how to be precise. He tells with exact precision how to eat the persimmon. "How to eat: put the knife away, lay down the newspaper. Peel the skin tenderly, not to tear the meat. Chew on the skin, suck it, and swallow..."

The eroticism in this poem (besides the obvious sexual move of laying down beside Donna) is apparent through the imagery of words like "bottoms," "lay," "skin," "suck," "eat," "meat," "swallow" and "heart." Again, readers are given a sense of linkage between the persimmon and culture, and persimmon and life. More irony is to be found in the poet's decision to part Donna's legs; he doesn't ask her if he can, he just shows the leadership of a teacher (even better than his own teacher of English who punished him) by helping her reach a physical position so the joy of sexual interaction may be wholly experienced.