A Different Mirror

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. A Different Mirror is often described as a “revisionist” account of American history.

• How does one define the term “revisionist history”? (topic sentence)
• What makes Takaki’s book different from the way American history is usually written and taught? In your response, be sure to clearly explain the primary features of the dominant narrative of American history.
• In your conclusion, answer the following question: Why are revisionist accounts of American history like A Different Mirror important to American society and culture at large, particularly in American immigrants’ Struggle for Equality?

2. Takaki makes extensive use of primary sources, from government documents to letters, to songs, poems, and memoirs throughout A Different Mirror.

• How reliable are these primary sources? Are some primary sources more reliable than others? Be sure to define “reliable” here. (topic sentence)
• How does Takaki’s use of primary sources contribute to his overall historical narrative?
• In your conclusion, describe how Takaki’s use of primary sources contributes to the overarching idea that America is built on a foundation of Multiculturalism and Diversity.

3. Takaki makes an important distinction between “race” and “ethnicity” in America.

• Generally, how does Takaki define “race” and “ethnicity” in A Different Mirror? (topic sentence)
• Is one categorization more fluid than the other? If yes, how does this fluidity create a power differential between the two categories?
• In your conclusion, describe how race and ethnicity are both tied to Takaki’s larger argument related to Class Conflict and the Struggle for Equality.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. In an author’s note at the end of the book, Takaki writes about his life experiences as a Japanese American. How does his personal narrative contribute to the analytical framing of A Different Mirror? Consider what Takaki has to say about the importance of primary sources in helping to revise traditional American thought away from the “Master Narrative of American History.” How do primary sources, including Takaki’s own story, help tell the true history of a more Multicultural America?

2. Takaki often includes the narratives and experiences of women in his book and shows their contributions to American society. Does this make his work feminist? If so, why? If not, why not? Ask yourself if A Different Mirror embraces intersectional identity as much as it does Multiculturalism. What stories of individual women, or of movements, might have been added to A Different Mirror to make it more explicitly feminist?

3. Is it useful to rely on literary works like The Tempest to convey history and to help illustrate society’s racial conception of The Other? What are some of the advantages of using literary sources, and what are some of the limitations? In your response, cite no less than two advantages and two limitations, using evidence from the text to support your answer. Ask yourself, also, if certain historical works can ever be considered “timeless,” or if they are inherently a snapshot of a particular time/place, and therefore reflective of society’s thinking at the time?