“The Jade Peony” is a lovely short story about traditions, written in first person narrative by Wayson Choy. Every life has its profound moments that touch us deeply and become embedded in our very DNA. Choy artfully details the plot of the story which revolves around finding, gathering, and preparation of various pieces of objects that will become his Grandmama’s gift to the family upon her death. Typical of writings in Asian culture, the defining moment is described first off and then, the story begins leading the reader back to the initial opening of the story. In this case, Grandmama died, and the family needed a sign from her – “final proof that her present life had ended well” (Wiggins et al., p. 203). The conflict seems to be one of tradition versus learning to live life by the ways of the new country the family had moved to several years earlier. The Grandmama did not care about the concerns or questionings of her son and two of the three grandchildren. She found solace in the youngest grandchild, Sek-Lung, who reveled in the musings of his Grandmama. His relationship with her is keenly felt in how she included him in her search for the perfect pieces that would be her final gift to the family after her death. …show more content…
The climax of this story appears in the form of a cat that had jumped “into our garbage pail and knock[ed] it over” (ibid, 208).
Because of its coloring, it symbolized the beginning of the end for Grandmama. While the author does mention she went go outside to chase away the cat, forgetting to put on her sweater, this detail does not seem as relevant to the story as much as the symbolism of the cat itself representing the image of her long-lost lover and signaling her soon departure from this earth. The reader would have understood that it the weather was not necessarily the cause of the flu symptoms as much as the suggestion or “curse” caused by the advent of the white cat with pink
eyes. The characters of the story are aptly described more for the roles they played in relation to the Grandmama and her need to fulfill tradition. Hence, the two main characters of the story are described in more detail (Grandmama and Sek-Lung) than the son, step-mother, and two other grandchildren. The setting is in a country not of their heritage but of survival, dealing with unfamiliar language, culture, and traditions of this new place called home. The mood of the story is a delightful journey of discovery that bonds Grandmama and grandson, finishing with the sign of love – the jade peony – found in Sek-Lung’s pocket, warming his heart with all of the memories he made with his Grandmama.
Love, partnership and commitment have been the subjects of a multitude of novels, plays poems, movies and great works of art. Throughout these works, the image of love and commitment in love have taken many different forms. Today, we easily recognize symbols of commitment in love to be items such as hearts, wedding bands, roses, etc. However, in literature, especially, more abstract and creative symbols of commitment to a loved one are often present. Additionally, the symbols of devotion that exist in literature do not always involve romantic love as opposed to many movies, painting and sculptures. For example, in the short story, “Saving Sourdi” by May-Lee Chai, symbols of loyalty to a loved one manifest between two sisters. In opposition to symbols of loyalty existing in a platonic manner as it does in “Saving Sourdi,” Peter Meinke’s “The Cranes,” provides symbols of commitment in an amorous relationship.
At the end of The Latehomecomer, Yang concludes with the promise she had made to her grandmother: “I told her we will not become the birds or the bees. We will become Hmong, and we will build a strong home that we will never leave and can always return to. We will not be lost and looking our whole lives through.” (Yang, 263) Throughout this story, her grandmother was the bond that held the whole family together through all the ordeals. She was the source of pride of being a Hmong, and the courage to find her
Family became an important aspect in Mah’s life. In the Chinese culture family is typically a vital part of the way of life. Mah may have been ashamed the way her first marriage ended and did not want the same with this man she met named Leon. Leon is a Chinese immigrant and family is his priority. Mah and Leon marry and have two girls, Ona and Nina. They form a family like connection more than ever before. Leon was a fairly stable man and loved his family. Mah and Leon were b...
Perhaps one of the biggest issues foreigners will come upon is to maintain a strong identity within the temptations and traditions from other cultures. Novelist Frank Delaney’s image of the search for identity is one of the best, quoting that one must “understand and reconnect with our stories, the stories of the ancestors . . . to build our identities”. For one, to maintain a firm identity, elderly characters often implement Chinese traditions to avoid younger generations veering toward different traditions, such as the Western culture. As well, the Chinese-Canadians of the novel sustain a superior identity because of their own cultural village in Vancouver, known as Chinatown, to implement firm beliefs, heritage, and pride. Thus in Wayson Choy’s, The Jade Peony, the novel discusses the challenge for different characters to maintain a firm and sole identity in the midst of a new environment with different temptations and influences. Ultimately, the characters of this novel rely upon different influences to form an identity, one of which being a strong and wide elderly personal
...Also an important quote is when she says, "But today I realize I've never really known what it means to be Chinese. I am thirty-six years old" (857). Even though she was in her 30's and still had that identity crisis, it was uplifting knowing that all it took for her to resolve that conflict was one meeting with her sisters.
“Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on. She tested our strengths to establish realities”(5). In the book “The Woman Warrior,” Maxine Kingston is most interested in finding out about Chinese culture and history and relating them to her emerging American sense of self. One of the main ways she does so is listening to her mother’s talk-stories about the family’s Chinese past and applying them to her life.
In conclusion, Wu made us remember how important our grandparents no matter how different are we from each other. Also, I learned a lot from my grandparents, and some of things that I learned are that we should treat others with good manners and secondly, we shouldn’t blame others for things that we are uncertain they did it. What I learned from my grandfather made me owe both of my grandparents a lot. And off course one of the things that I and Wu share is that we miss our grandparents a lot and we hope to see them as soon as possible in the
By any measure, The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong, known as Hanjungnok (Records written in silence), is a remarkable piece of Korean literature and an invaluable historical document, in which a Korean woman narrated an event that can be described as the ultimate male power rivalry surrounding a father-son conflict that culminates in her husband’s death. However, the Memoirs were much more than a political and historical murder mystery; writing this memoir was her way of seeking forgiveness. As Haboush pointed out in her informative Introduction, Lady Hyegyong experienced a conflict herself between the demands imposed by the roles that came with her marriage, each of which included both public and private aspects. We see that Lady Hyegyong justified her decision to live as choosing the most public of her duties, and she decided that for her and other members of her family must to be judged fairly, which required an accurate understanding of the her husband’s death. It was also important to understand that Lady Hyegyong had to endure the
The Peony Pavilion told the love story of Bridal Du and Liu Mengmei. On a Spring morning, Bridal visited the garden and saw lots of beautiful views. Bridal’s mother and father never told her about the exquisite spot in their garden. After Bridal
Some people say that the love between a mother and her daughter is forever; but what about the understanding? In the case of Waverly Jong and her mother in the story “Rules of the Game,” by Amy Tan, there is much miscommunication and misunderstanding. The story is set in mid-1950’s Chinatown and as the story opens, it is Christmas time. “Rules of the Game” is the telling of how a little girl learns to be more independent but falls into conflict with her mother along the way and becomes a type of trophy. Amy Tan uses elements such as character, symbolism, and setting to portray the themes of struggle between two cultures and independence perfectly in “Rules of the Game.”
She honored her parents as she should, but longed for them to pass. In the beginning of the story she said "I had never expected my parents to take so long to die.” She had taken care of them all of her life she was in her fifty’s and her parents in their ninety’s. She was ready to live and break free of all the rules and duties put upon her, they were like chains binding her and holding her down. She was ready to explore to go on journeys and adventures she was already aging all she wanted was to be free. Her parents’ death let her run free, she left Hong Kong to start over and maybe find love, in any way possible, maybe even through food or luxuries. She wanted to be rebellious of her parents I’m sure she knew they wouldn’t approve but she didn’t care she wanted change. All her life she had followed so many rules, she had to fight to teach, to learn, to be with friends, her fight was finally over. She now had no one to rebel against, she now had the freedom to
symbolizing the concepts. Wayson Choy takes his readers on a journey of the love and magic of
Immigration is always challenging: for the host country and for the new arrivals. There are tensions, obstacles, and expectations on both sides. These issues arise when the new country expects conformity and the immigrants anticipate preserving their cultures and traditions. They want to maintain their language, their religion, and their social practices. Dealing with these matters - positively or negatively - leaves a lasting impression on everyone. Wayson Choy considers this in The Jade Peony. It follows the lives of three Chinese immigrants to Canada in the 1930s: Jook-Liang a ten-year-old girl; Sek-Leung, an eight-year-old boy; and Meiying a teenage girl. Each wants to fit into Canadian society and adopt its nuances, but they face internal
At the beginning of the story, Lam tells the reader about a conversation he heard between his aunt and his mother. His mother asked his aunt, “Who will light incense to the dead when I’m gone?, to which his aunt responded, “Honestly, I don’t know. None of my children will do it, and we can forget the grandchildren. They don’t even understand what we are doing when we pray to the dead. I guess when we’re gone, the ritual end”(Lam 1). At first, the reader may be confused as to what the mother is talking about, but as they read on it becomes increasingly the clear that the lighting of the incense refers to a very traditional practice in which the Vietnamese pray to their deceased ancestors. More importantly, the lighting of the incense represents lam’s mother's extreme devotion to their culture and
Throughout this part we jump from memory to memory. In the beginning of the story we are briefly introduced to the mother, and also a rather interesting trait that she is influenced by through the story. The mother is a devout Buddhist. She practices traditional Chines culture and she seems to live her life off of decision based on her religious values and Chinese culture. “...I think, and then, ashamed, immediately touch my forehead to the ground before the triple Buddhas”. Early on the reader realizes that the story revolves around her reminiscing several important and highly influential points in their lives in America. The first point is the mother and father arriving and America with their five-year-old daughter, Pearl. Pearl’s mother and father had to work at a factory all day in order to provide for themselves as well as Pearl. “Her father and I spent our waking hours at the factory in Chinatown” (l.8) In the first period of time, Pearl attends school while her parents work, and afterwards she stays at home alone, waiting for them to return. One evening the mother realizes that this abandonment perhaps could be the reason for