Category: Chapters 3 and 4

In Chapter 3, we learned more about Lia’s illness.  Specifically, its downhill development and insight on the illness from the Hmong perspective.  The first notable thing about the chapter is that its title is that same as the novels.  In the chapter, we learn that the symptoms Lia is experiencing would be characterized as “quagContinue reading Chapter 3 & 4 →

In Chapter 3, we learn about the name of the novel, and how it refers to how the Hmong community conceptualizes epilepsy.  Lia, NaoKao and Foua’s daughter, has this disease. In Hmong culture, those with epilepsy are seen to be divine healers, and this is an occupation those with this condition do not refuse. SeeingContinue reading Chapters 3 and 4 →

I thought these chapters were interesting and showed the difference between Eastern and Western culture. In chapter 3 Lia had a seizure at three months old. Her parents believed that the seizure was caused by her older sister slamming a door which scared Lia’s spirit. In the Hmong culture, seizures are seen as a connectionContinue reading Chapter 3 and 4 →

In these two chapters of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, we learn about the Hmong’s cultural perspective on the illness known as epilepsy and their uneasy feelings when it comes to Western medicine. The content from Chapter 3 surrounds Lia Lee’s condition of epilepsy and the family’s reactions to this new information. In HmongContinue reading Chapters 3 and 4 →

Chapters 3 and 4  go deeper into Lia and her family and their unique experiences with blending cultures. More specifically, these chapters are focused on experiences with medicine and health. Chapter 3 is titled, “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” which is the translation of a Hmong phrase used to describe Lia’s seizures.Continue reading Chapters 3 and 4 →

Chapter three of Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explains the title and nature of Lee’s condition. Quang dab peg or “the spirit catches you and you fall down” is the Hmong equivalent of epilepsy. While these terms are, on a very technical level, translations of one another, their social implications areContinue reading Chapters 3 & 4 →

Chapters 3 & 4 discuss how Western medicine and Hmong culture work in opposition to each other. They differ in what they believe is the cause of illness, how to cure illness, and how a healer and patient should interact. Not only do all of these factors contribute to a fundamental misunderstanding between the twoContinue reading Chapter 3 & 4 →

In Chapter 3 of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Fadiman explains the reason for Lia’s frequent visits to the doctor.. Lia suffered from epilepsy but her parents believed her symptoms arose from an incident that occurred when Lia was three months old. The Lee’s older daughter Yer slammed the front door ofContinue reading The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Ch. 3 & 4 →

Chapter 3 begins to tell the story of Lia’s sickness. What is described as “the spirit catches you and you fall down” to the Hmong but is referred to in western medicine as epilepsy has taken over Lia. While most Hmong people are hesitant to use the hospitals, the Lees take her to the hospital.Continue reading Chapters 3 & 4 →

Chapter 3 examines the events that took place during Lia’s first several seizures.  Lia’s seizures began after her sister slammed a door – the loud noise triggering what the Hmong describe as “when the spirit catches you and you fall down”.  In English this phrase is translated to “epilepsy”.  Due to a lack of translatorsContinue reading Chapters 3 and 4 →