My Two Brothers free essay sample

No two people are exactly alike, and my two older brothers, Thu Nguyen and Thang Nguyen, are no exceptions. When I think of them, I think of Rudyard Kipling’s words, â€Å"East is East. West is West. Never the twain shall meet. † Even though they have the same parents, their considerable differences in looks, personalities, and attitude toward life reflect the differences between Eastern and Western cultures. Like the majority of oriental men, Thu is short, small, and has a full moon-shaped face. His smooth white skin and small arms and feet make him look somewhat delicate. Thu always likes to wear formal, traditional clothes. For example, on great holidays or at family rice celebrations, Thu appears in the traditional black grown, white pants and black silky headband, all of which make him look like an early twentieth-century intellectual. In contrast to Thu, Thang looks more like an American boxer. He is tall, muscular and big-boned. We will write a custom essay sample on My Two Brothers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He is built straight as an arrow and his face is long and angular as a Western character. Unlike Thu, Thang has strong feet and arms, and whereas Thu has smooth skin, Thang’s shoulders and chest are hairy, large and full. Unlike Thu, Thang likes to wear comfortable T-shirts and jeans or sports clothes. At a formal occasion, instead of wearing traditional formal clothes, Thang wears stylish Western style suits. Thu and Thang also differ in personality. Thu has the smile of an ancient Chinese philosopher that western people can never understand. He always smiles. He smiles because he wants to make the other person happy or to make himself happy. He smiles whenever people speak to him, regardless of whether they are right or wrong. He smiles when he forgives people who have wronged him. Thu likes book, of course, and literature and philosophy. He likes to walk in the moonlight to think. Thu also enjoys drinking hot tea and singing verses. In short, in our family, Thu is the son who provides a good example of filial piety and tolerance. Thang, on the other hand, does not set a good example of traditional respectful behavior for his brothers and sisters. Unlike Thu, Thang only smiles when he is happy. When he talks to people, he looks at their faces. Because of this, my eldest brother Thu considers him very impolite. As one might expect, Thang does not like philosophy and literature; instead, he studies science and technology. Whereas Thu enjoys tea and classical verses, Thang prefers to take sun baths and drink whisky while he listens to rock and roll music. And like American youths, Thang is independent; in fact, he loves his independence more than he loves his family. He wants to move out of our house and live in an apartment by himself. He is such an individualist that all the members in my family say that he is selfish. My brothers’ differences do not end with looks and personalities. Concerning their attitudes toward life, they are as different as the moon and the sun. My eldest brother Thu is concerned with spiritual values. Besides Catholicism, he is affected by Confucian and Taoist theories. These theories consider that the human life is not happy. Therefore, if a man wants to be happy, he should get out of the competitiveness of life and should not depend on material objects. For example, if a man is not anxious to have a modern car, he does not have to worry about how to make money to buy one. My oldest brother is deeply affected by these theories, so he never tries hard to make money to buy conveniences. In contrast to Thu, my brother Thang believes that science and technology serve human beings. Therefore, each person must compete with nature and with other people in the world in order to acquire different conveniences, such as cars, digital devices, etc. Thang is affected by the western theories of real values; consequently he always works hard to make his own money to satisfy his material needs. In accordance with the morality of the cultural of my country, I cannot say which one of my brothers is wrong or right. But I do know that they both want to improve and maintain human life on this earth. I am very lucky to inherent both sources of thought from my two older brothers.