The Bridegroom

“The Bridegroom” by Ha Jin, is a short story about a man struggling with homosexuality in modern day China. The narrator, Old Chang, is the non-biological father of a young woman named Beina. Old Change promised to take care of Beina after her father, a close family friend, passed away. Beina then gets married to a very handsome man named Huang Baowen. Baowen quickly becomes the focus of this story. The climax of this short story is Baowen being revealed as a homosexual. This short story highlights Jin’s theme of homosexuality and shows the internal and external struggles of both Baowen and Old Cheng, through first person narrative, setting, and emotional appeal.

Ha Jin chooses to use first-person narration in this piece. He does this to better show the bountiful emotions and various opinions of each character. Ha Jin uses Old Chang to portray society’s views on homosexuality. At the beginning the narrator is very judgmental and believes that homosexuality is a disease, and that Baowen can be cured. When it comes to homosexuality, many people can be very close-minded. As the story progresses, Old Cheng begins questioning his feelings towards this subject.

.After the doctor tells Old Cheng that homosexuality is not a disease he states,” if homosexuality is a natural thing, then why are there men and women? Why can’t two men get married and make a baby? Why didn’t nature give men another hole?”(Jin, 377). These questions are often asked by many people who are questioning homosexuality. Just like Old Cheng many people struggle with their feelings toward this controversial subject. Society can be ignorant when it comes to homosexuality and accepting the fact that not all people have the same beliefs as they do. Just as many peopl...

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... people to stop treating homosexuality as a disease, and to start to better understand and or accept homosexuals. This story also helps highlight the struggles a homosexual goes through. Ha Jin allows the audience to look closely into the lives of both Baowen and Old Cheng.

Ha Jin is a very talented writer. He uses first person narrative, setting, and personal appeal to show his readers that cruelty and judgment against homosexuals is not needed in today’s society. He uses these three things to show that the criticism in this book is taken to an extreme. These aspects along with many others create a story that readers are not only interested in, but can relate to as well.

Works Cited

Ha, Jin. “The Bridegroom.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth

McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 10 ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. 276-279.

Print.