Example research essay topic: Living Room Fight Back - 1,711 words

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You better hang up now! Do that now! he yelled. You better not think bad about me, he said to remind me to hang up for the tenth time. I wasnt really doing anything.

I need to talk with my friend about the assignment thats due soon, I responded, at the same time covering the speaker of the phone, so my friend couldnt hear my fund-daddy Yeye. After finishing talking on the phone, I looked around the living-room. There was a carpet, hand-made by my grandmother, in the center of the living room. Right on it was a little coffee table. On the wall there were most of the pictures of our ancestors. Some dressed in Qing dynasty's clothing.

Nothing luxurious in the room except for one picture of Yeye and his comrades. Most of them died during the war. He took good care of that picture and washed the frame at least once a day, but I always thought that Yeye neglected all the other stuff in the house. They needed to be cleaned, too. There was a slight light snaking out from the gap of the kitchen door hitting Yeye's bedroom door. It assured me that Yeye was still in his asylum.

He always yelled out behind the door, like the phantom of the house. In his eightieth year, he still had the extra energy to waste by yelling and disciplining people. He always said, If you are strong enough to fight against me, why not fight against the Carrot Head. Carrot Head was the nickname for the Japanese.

Yeye lived through about three-fourths of this century. He was about five feet six. But maybe he was a well-trained soldier through WWII, for his back was still straight. Sometimes I felt that he was still in the armed forces. It was in the middle of summer; muggy weather depressed me.

My eyes were half way closed. I lay down on the sofa. For some reason I looked up to the ceiling, and I saw the fragile rusty copper-gold fan hanging down. The paint was mostly stripped off, and it made annoying noises when turned on. Spider webs had claimed sovereignty over every corner of the house, and yet this fan was untouched.

Probably its plain munificence and even distant un reachability had kept the spiders off. Or probably, it was my Yeye. This was like a masterpiece that was even adored by the spiders. Each of the wings ends had a plane attached. Those were supposed to be made like fighting planes in WWII, but it was Yeye's version of a plane. They were made with wooden sticks from eaten popsicle's.

So when the fan was on, the plane would circle around above the sofa where I used to sit on Yeye's lap and listen to his wartime stories. I enjoyed hearing how great he was, how much pride he had in killing Carrot Heads, and how some of the people got buried alive by the Japanese. I was only one-tenth of his age, and Yeye said I was in a Dont know nothing age. I never would agree with that. I considered myself belonging to an innocent age. However, Yeye said that if I were innocent, the son of the devil was much better.

Ahn Ahn, the gate of the asylum had opened. Yeye walked out so fast, rushing into the kitchen. I could only see the shadow stretching out from the kitchen. The next thing I sensed was an opened freezer. I heard, Ping. Yeye closed it, then the sound of pouring water.

He came out of the kitchen with a glass of water. He must have been thirsty, for he yelled so much. One glass? I didnt think one glass was enough.

Make it ten, I thought in my head. However he walked over with a frown on his face. He didnt drink it, instead, he threw the water directly into my face. It was fresh from the refrigerator. I jumped up immediately, then I heard, You have no reason to talk on the phone so late, and now you slept on the sofa. Sooner or later you will get a cold, so why not give you one now?

You must have your brain sat on, he said it with the heavy Than accent of Canton that I didnt understand. There was no way to believe he could be that ridiculous. What? He thought I was one of his comrades who fell asleep while the Japanese were bombing. Or maybe I did not wash the toilet in the army camp.

Dont make me hit you with the stick, you know it is going to be something, he continued, Now go on and change you clothes. Dont you stare at me like you dare to fight back. He was absolutely correct. I did not dare to fight back. I did not move, not a bit, although I was cold and shivering.

The icy water was draining down across my face, and my lips were shaking. For so many years I had been under the rule of this man; now the moment to fight had come. The spirit of an avenging angel had awakened in my soul. Without a second thought, I spit. It was like a cannon ball falling parabolically onto Yeye's toes. Ah, Li kau do!

You think you have grown winds on your back, and you think you can fly away. I sent you to school, and all you have learnt is throwing things at your grandpa, he yelled as he bent down for his stick. He found it and continued, Boy, now I am going to teach you a lesson you would never have a chance to learn from school. He started swinging that thing. I blocked it with my bare arms. It hurt a little, so I decided to run away instead.

I was running, screaming, tripping, then getting up and tripping again. I got slashed on the back a few times, but I did not care much. I was chased into a corner. After he gave me a couple more licks, he paused. I was hurt but not badly enough to be knocked down. He was finished.

Then it was my turn to talk back, You were no-good old trash, blocking the Earth s rotation, so why dont you help yourself fill up the soil, yeah, that could be good for the world. He stopped immediately, just holding, as if I had pressed the pause button on the remote. He was looking down at the floor like he had dropped something that he could not get back. I knew exactly what he lost; the respect and loyalty of his grandson were gone. He walked back into his room without saying anything, not even one single word. Just like in the past, the Japanese had won again.

Victory was in my hand, triumph had finally arrived. Should I eat ice-cream for celebration? Silence scared me. It was because usually silence followed a big storm. I was afraid he might come over with a knife.

Another hour had passed; there was still no storm. However, I started to feel something in my stomach, or maybe it was not my stomach. It was something swinging around in my head. Was I too excited about the victory? It caused all the blood to rush into my brain, making me dizzy. I changed my clothes and went to bed.

I rolled from one side of the bed to the other, like sausage fired on the grill. The feeling of burning and itchiness, like thousands of ants crawling on my body, kept me awake. Sooner or later Yeye would accept the fact that he had lost. For it was his second time losing a war already. Forget it, he will be fine, I guessed. An apology would be fine for tomorrow morning.

But wait. It would make me lose face. I was bold enough to confront him, for I needed my face. Now.

Now I needed to go back where I was. In the next morning, since I did not sleep, I decided to get up early. If there is a man up there, please make it as easy as possible, I prayed as I stood in front of Yeye's bedroom door. I knocked a few times; no one answered. He might went out for morning exercise.

However, his running shoes were still under the coffee table. So I decided to go in myself. First I opened the door a little, so I could see Yeye was there in his rocking chair. So I slightly pushed my head into the room first and then I walked in. The door was left open, in case he chased me again with his stick.

His bed was still made. I did not think he had slept last night. The smell of alcohol filled the room. I was not surprised because Yeye usually drank a little before going to bed. As I walked closer and closer to him, I saw Yeye's favorite snifter on the floor. I smelt an odor of dead fish and whisky.

Yeye really had weird taste. He looked so comfortable in his seat with his head leaning to the side. His face was so pale that I thought he had been playing with Grandmas makeup. Sorry, I said. I wanted to keep it simple because I wanted to save face as much as possible. No answer.

Silence. Is that simple? I laughed to myself. I took a closer look. Then I realized he never forgave me, or he never could do so. He was dead because he drank a little too much.

A couple days after the funeral, somehow I looked up to the ceiling again; the spider web had invaded the fan totally. Those three planes still hung there steadily. My Yeye had made it for me, and they were securely tightened to make sure they would not fall off onto my head. Similarly Yeye's love held me so tight and steady, because he wouldnt want to see me falling.

I knew I could not fly, but I still cut myself loose. I was same as the Japanese never won a war. What a fool I was.

Research essay sample on Living Room Fight Back