Short Story Analysis: The Jade Peony

Jade Peony

Michael Watts 8/29/15 Ms. Roache Jade Peony Essay Final Draft

The Jade Peony, written by Wayson Choy, is a beautiful short story about the relationship between a young boy and his grandmother. The story deals with many complicated social and emotional issues including change, death, and acceptance. As we explore the repeating conflicts in the story we begin to understand how difficult it is to assimilate cultural beliefs and traditions into a new life.

The story begins with the passing of Grandmama. She has promised to send the family a sign of her leaving, a clear message that her life ended well. Father believes that without a clear sign, the family fortunes could be “altered, threatened”. Both Father

and Step Mother search anxiously for the sign. The older children in the family are embarrassed by their parent’s behavior and worry about what “the white people of Vancouver” will think of their family. The older children realize their new community does not share the same beliefs about life and death as their Chinese parents and fear ridicule because they are different.
While the story starts with the passing of Grandmama, the narrator quickly takes us back to recount the last year of her life. During this time, the older children of the family are embarrassed by their Grandmama’s behavior. As the story flashes back to the time before Grandmama’s death, we learn that the teenage children are angry that Grandmama and Sek-Lung, the youngest child, search the alleys and garbage cans for wind chime trinkets. They think Grandmama and Sek-Lung look like beggars and have brought shame to the family. Father scolds the older children and tries to explain that Grandmother is looking for something. He does not dare to tell his mother that her treasured old hobby is an “abomination” in their new world. The author leaves us with the idea that while they all love Grandmama, they find her “inconvenient and unsettling”. Again we see that the older children do not want to be seen as different from their Canadian neighbors and struggle with the fact that their beloved Grandmama is bringing shame to the family.
Perhaps the clearest example of the family’s cultural clash comes when the older children complain about learning Mandarin Chinese in school.

The children complain to Father that Mandarin is confusing and of no use. Father points out that they do not complain about learning other languages. The children explain that these are scientific languages and will be useful in the “logical” world. This seems to be a clear example that the older children are dismissing their Chinese culture. They have embraced their new world and want nothing to do with their Chinese heritage. When Father tries to help them see this, they all end up angry. Grandmama thinks “all this babbling noise was her family torn and confused in a strange land; everything here was so very strange and scientific. “ The multiple references to “scientific” help us understand why the children are so embarrassed by the search for signs after Grandmama’s passing. Communicating with deceased loved ones is often viewed as magical, which of course is the very opposite of

“scientific”.
With the help of his grandmother, Sek-Lung was able to hold on to his Chinese roots.

He realizes the hours he has spent with her have been his “real education”. As the story circles back to the time of Grandmama’s death, Sek-Lung is the one who receives and understands the sign that Grandmama has passed peacefully. And because of their shared belief, Grandmama will always be with Sek-Lung.

The integration of past and present was difficult for all members of the family. Grandmama was removed from her memories and misunderstood by most of her family. Father was stuck between his mother’s beliefs and traditions and his children’s quest for Science. As Choy revealed more about each character’s worries and needs, he created a natural avenue for conflict and resolution. Given this progression and a bit of analysis, the reader understands that it can be difficult to hold on to one’s beliefs in a “strange

land”.