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The White Umbrella
The White Umbrella is a book about a Chinese-American family that is narrated by a twelve year old girl who feels embarrassed about her mom. The narrator has a little sister named Mona who isn't afraid to tell the truth. The mom neglects her kids as she is hardly at home. Finally, a Mrs. Crossman - owner of the umbrella - takes care of the kids instead, making them hot chocolate and pot roast.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
Unknown Binding
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About the author
Gish Jen
40 books430 followersGish Jen grew up in New York, where she spoke more Yiddish than Chinese. She has been featured in a PBS American Masters program on the American novel. Her distinctions also include a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a Guggenheim fellowship, a Fulbright fellowship, and a Radcliffe Institute fellowship. She was awarded a Lannan Literary Prize in 1999 and received a Harold and Mildred Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2003. Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009, she has published in the New Yorker and other magazines.
John Updike selected a story of Jen's for The Best American Short Stories of The Century. Her newest book, Tiger Writing, is based on the Massey Lectures in the History of American Civilization, which she delivered at Harvard University in 2012.
John Updike selected a story of Jen's for The Best American Short Stories of The Century. Her newest book, Tiger Writing, is based on the Massey Lectures in the History of American Civilization, which she delivered at Harvard University in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 7, 2020
Summary: This short story by Gish Jen is about a young girl who is ashamed and embarrassed of her hard-working mother. The girl has a fixation on a white umbrella that she notices at her piano lessons, desiring to have it for herself. Upon being gifted the umbrella from her piano instructor, she wishes that Mrs. Crossman was her mother. The girl (narrator) ends up in a car accident, which was caused by fighting over the umbrella with her sister, Mona. Following the crash, the narrator perceived her mother’s closed eyes as a sign of her being dead, when in reality she had closed them out of frustration due to her poor driving skills. Having learned a valuable lesson, the narrator threw the umbrella down the sewer.
Connection: This short story is another great example of using texts to teach students about identity. In this case, the young girl in this story becomes fixated on the beautiful white umbrella at her piano instructors house. After her teacher gave it to her as a gift, the girl grew to resent her constantly-working mother because she couldn’t provide her the desired white umbrella. The young girl is evidently insecure of her identity, and looks to her piano teacher as an escape even though there’s no escaping your ethnicity. She desired the identity of her white, successful piano teacher instead of her hard-working, ethnic mother. The white umbrella seemed to be an object that’ll help the girl fit in, but turned out to represent a rejection of her mother. The girls decision to throw the umbrella down a sewer after their car crash thus represents her throwing away a desire to be someone she isn’t. In regards to MS students, this story would prove useful as a way to teach students that you can’t simply abandon the aspects of your identity one’s born with.
In terms of strategies that can be used to get students writing using this short story, the activity “My Favorite Mistakes” in chapter two of Gallagher’s Write Like This would be effective and engaging. After reading Gish Jen’s short story, students will understand that the young girl's obsession with her piano teacher and her white umbrella was the result of being embarrassed that her hardworking, ethnic mother being the polar opposite of her teacher. After reading an interview about Jen’s short story, she mentioned how this was written because it was a defining moment in her life that she never ceases to think about. That being said, having students write about a defining moment in their life where they made a mistake, in addition to explaining how it has affected them presently would provide an opportunity to further reinforce the concept of identity. This would be better suited for a longer writing format, along the lines of a 3-4 page reflective essay. Many days should be spent on this activity, giving students opportunities to receive feedback from the teacher and their peers through group-review.
Connection: This short story is another great example of using texts to teach students about identity. In this case, the young girl in this story becomes fixated on the beautiful white umbrella at her piano instructors house. After her teacher gave it to her as a gift, the girl grew to resent her constantly-working mother because she couldn’t provide her the desired white umbrella. The young girl is evidently insecure of her identity, and looks to her piano teacher as an escape even though there’s no escaping your ethnicity. She desired the identity of her white, successful piano teacher instead of her hard-working, ethnic mother. The white umbrella seemed to be an object that’ll help the girl fit in, but turned out to represent a rejection of her mother. The girls decision to throw the umbrella down a sewer after their car crash thus represents her throwing away a desire to be someone she isn’t. In regards to MS students, this story would prove useful as a way to teach students that you can’t simply abandon the aspects of your identity one’s born with.
In terms of strategies that can be used to get students writing using this short story, the activity “My Favorite Mistakes” in chapter two of Gallagher’s Write Like This would be effective and engaging. After reading Gish Jen’s short story, students will understand that the young girl's obsession with her piano teacher and her white umbrella was the result of being embarrassed that her hardworking, ethnic mother being the polar opposite of her teacher. After reading an interview about Jen’s short story, she mentioned how this was written because it was a defining moment in her life that she never ceases to think about. That being said, having students write about a defining moment in their life where they made a mistake, in addition to explaining how it has affected them presently would provide an opportunity to further reinforce the concept of identity. This would be better suited for a longer writing format, along the lines of a 3-4 page reflective essay. Many days should be spent on this activity, giving students opportunities to receive feedback from the teacher and their peers through group-review.
February 28, 2018
A twelve year old girl is embarrassed of her mom. Her mom is barley able to spend time with her and her sister Mona and she isn't afraid to tell the truth. Mrs. Crossman cooks them pot roast and gives them hot chocolate. She's embarrassed of her mom because she works and the dads are suppose to work not the moms. I recommend this to people who like realistic fiction.
February 8, 2016
Conveys the mixed feelings of a 2nd generation Asian beautifully. It's not always clear cut - there are aspects of Asian culture one is grateful for and aspects of being "American" (without the hypen) to yearn for...the ending of this story is left to interpretation.
February 10, 2015
It was part of work in english to read this plus I can't really figure out what the narrator's name is so...
And I need to because I have to write a literary essay on it! :/
And I need to because I have to write a literary essay on it! :/
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April 30, 2021https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/th...
"The White Umbrella" is a short, reflection story by Gish Jen about a twelve year old Chinese American girl who longed for a certain white umbrella. The mother of the narrator goes back to work, but instructs her daughters that it is not because they are struggling for money. The narrator is embarrassed by her mother and lies about what her mother's profession is. One day, as the narrator and her sister are waiting for their mother to pick them up (despite knowing she wasn't because she was still working), it starts to rain. The narrator is offered the white umbrella.
"The White Umbrella" is relevant to the lives of middle schoolers because the narrator tries to become someone she is not. Many middle school students may feel the pressure of faking certain elements of their personality or being someone they are not in order to fit in or impress others. There is a reference in the short story that alludes to the fact that the narrator may be insecure of her ethnic identity. Some students may relate to this, but it is a great opportunity to remind students to celebrate all parts of who they are.
The concept of Identity connects to this short story because the audience sees how the narrator tries to alter her identity because of certain attributes of her real identity that she is embarrassed about. The story reveals how there may be parts of our identity that we are not proud of, but we need to celebrate those attributes because they are what make us who we are.
Gallagher's "A Hard Moment" works well with "The White Umbrella." In "The White Umbrella," the young girl is embarrassed by her mother and lies about what her mother does for a living. Clearly, this instance in the text is a hard moment for the main character because she tries to hide part of her identity out of embarrassment. Students will be asked to list a handful of hard moments they have lived through in their lives. After brainstorming a short list, students will be asked to pick one hard moment and write about it. They will describe the hard moment and explain how it helped them grow. Hard moments shape our identity and this writing activity will help students realize how resilient they are.
"The White Umbrella" is a short, reflection story by Gish Jen about a twelve year old Chinese American girl who longed for a certain white umbrella. The mother of the narrator goes back to work, but instructs her daughters that it is not because they are struggling for money. The narrator is embarrassed by her mother and lies about what her mother's profession is. One day, as the narrator and her sister are waiting for their mother to pick them up (despite knowing she wasn't because she was still working), it starts to rain. The narrator is offered the white umbrella.
"The White Umbrella" is relevant to the lives of middle schoolers because the narrator tries to become someone she is not. Many middle school students may feel the pressure of faking certain elements of their personality or being someone they are not in order to fit in or impress others. There is a reference in the short story that alludes to the fact that the narrator may be insecure of her ethnic identity. Some students may relate to this, but it is a great opportunity to remind students to celebrate all parts of who they are.
The concept of Identity connects to this short story because the audience sees how the narrator tries to alter her identity because of certain attributes of her real identity that she is embarrassed about. The story reveals how there may be parts of our identity that we are not proud of, but we need to celebrate those attributes because they are what make us who we are.
Gallagher's "A Hard Moment" works well with "The White Umbrella." In "The White Umbrella," the young girl is embarrassed by her mother and lies about what her mother does for a living. Clearly, this instance in the text is a hard moment for the main character because she tries to hide part of her identity out of embarrassment. Students will be asked to list a handful of hard moments they have lived through in their lives. After brainstorming a short list, students will be asked to pick one hard moment and write about it. They will describe the hard moment and explain how it helped them grow. Hard moments shape our identity and this writing activity will help students realize how resilient they are.
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February 19, 2019A twelve year old girl is embarrassed of her mom. Her mom is barley able to spend time with her and she is afraid to tell the truth. Mrs. Crossman cooks them pot roast and gives them hot chocolate. Gish is sacred to tell the truth and they embarrassed of her mom because she works and the dads are suppose to work not the moms.
February 28, 2018
The white umbrella Gish she is insecure and doesnt like her cultures wanting to be like other people and how she doesnt want to be like herself and accept it she also wants a white umbrella and hides the fact that her mom works.She says to Ms Crossman that her mom was a concert pianoist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 27, 2013Book about a Chinese-american family where the kids feel neglect from their mother, but warm up to another.
May 15, 2018
At first, the white umbrella becomes a symbol of everything .but after the car accident, the narrator wrecked with remorse to her mother ,as she bertraied her when Miss Crossman hands her the white umbrella ,she tells her "l wish you were my mother ".so the white umbrella becomes a symbol of rejection to her mom and wrong feelings .So she rids herself from it by throwing it under the sewer .
The white umbrella symbolizes the American cultures and values, which the narrator desires to have .
The white umbrella symbolizes the American cultures and values, which the narrator desires to have .
October 9, 2019
I'm going to be quite frank. It was pretty ridiculous. And the moral was very unclear. The main character? Such a strange 12-year-old girl, I'm twelve and let me tell you, I'm a heck of a lot more mature than her. Had to read it for my English class and I understand that it has this whole message behind it but I think the author made some pretty strange choices. The only positive thing is that it's short otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get through it.
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November 20, 2025The book description/summary on good reads drastically misses the point of this story and needs revised.
July 9, 2016
I was flipping through my English textbook, bored in class, and landed on this story. Maybe I'm just dense, but I didn't understand what was the moral of the story. I guess it was "appreciate what you have" or something like that.
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November 17, 2013i like cheese sticks from T.G.I Fridays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol yolo
October 26, 2015
Yet another short story I had to read for my English class. Sigh.
This was Meh. Boring. Middle of the road. Just sort of Ok.
Yep, That sums it up.
This was Meh. Boring. Middle of the road. Just sort of Ok.
Yep, That sums it up.
February 17, 2016
I enjoyed this book and loved the character growth!
May 20, 2016
it is the story that has a content and the goal is not clear , but by reading between the lines look somewhat good
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews