Jade Peony Analysis

I feel that every Canadian should read the Jade Peony, because the book was written for us as a nation. Choy creates a mirror for us, to look at a dark time in Canadian history. He wants us to see how we treated each other. He shows us this through the eyes of children, to show the impact it had in their lives. He wants us to look at the past, and compare it to our present. During the Depression, we Canadians were blind to the thought of any foreigners being equal, or having the same rights. We hide them from our society by not giving them jobs, or any means of support. We labelled them, and judged them before we knew them. We didn’t give them the time of day. This story puts yourself in there shoes, do you like that? Could you live your life to the fullest, when you’re alienated by the rest of your society? Would the things that matter to you now, (like fashion, big houses, nice cars, or getting you nails done) truly matter to you then? Are they of high importance, really? I think not.
This book shows our society’s defects through the eyes of children, for impact. To look at how our selfishness and cold-heartedness effected the youth of this community. How sick are we? As a nation we come off as angels, or “perfect”. A wise person can see right through us. Choy shows us what it’s like on the other side of the fence, and makes us see something within ourselves that most Canadians are blind to. What’s the point of coming off as such a perfect society? Let alone coming off as fake? Why do we lie to the rest of the world? Or better yet why do we lie to