8. In what ways is the violin an opportunity but also an obligation for Hodges?

Discussion on Uncommon Measure by Natalie Hodges - The Big Library Read pick for May 2025. It’s a thoughtful reflection on performance, cultural expectation, and finding meaning beyond mastery.
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smkelly
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2025 7:35 pm

8. In what ways is the violin an opportunity but also an obligation for Hodges?

Post by smkelly »

Hodges outlines an "immigrant credo": "to be able to give your children what you did not have yourself." Her immigrant mother passed on her love of music and worked tirelessly to ensure that Hodges and her siblings could have instruments and lessons.

In what ways is the violin an opportunity but also an obligation for Hodges? Did her mother succeed in giving her daughter what she didn't have herself? How did the stereotype of the Asian "Tiger Mother" harm her mother in family court, in her relationship with Hodges's father, and in society as a whole?
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