One of the themes of the Jade Peony was the difficulty that the early Chinese immigrants had to face when they came to Canada in the late 1800s. Wong Suk is one of the early immigrants‚ believing there is a "gold mountain" that could make them rich. "There had also been rumours of gold in the rivers that poured down those mountain cliffs‚ gold that could make a man and his family wealthy overnight." (pg 17). When he first arrived‚ he found out the "gold mountain" was only a lie‚ instead waiting for
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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
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Symbolism in The Jade Peony Symbolism is used in this story. Such like the wind chimes‚ the jade peony and the cat. The most significant symbol in this story is the white cat‚ with its red eyes‚ that appears outside the house. This “cat” symbolizes that grandma’s time has come‚ and that she must move on to her next life where she will be reunited with “the juggler”. This cat bring backs memories and old feelings she had for her lover‚ and is therefore a significant symbol in this story. At the end
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October‚ 21 Is Being Different so Bad? Jook-Liang is really affected by the Canadian culture‚ she acts as if she is only Canadian and not Chinese-Canadian‚ Poh-Poh said “You not Canada‚ Liang” (page 34). She wants to do everything the Canadian way. Jook-Liang wants to go by the “paper years” so her age would be fourteen‚ but her parents go by the Chinese way so her age is only nine‚ Jook-Liang said “Am I Clark 2 fourteen?” (page 49). Jook-Liangs parents raised her in a very proper manner
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hard for a person‚ who is stuck inside the third space‚ to deal with the relationships from two different cultures‚ and the result of such a situation is that this person would be marginalized as an outsider by his or her group. In the novel The Jade Peony‚ Sek-Lung is depicted as a character who feels that it is hard to blend inside himself either Chinese or Canadian culture‚ and his closest relationship with Poh-Poh also makes him marginalized by other family members. Thus‚ Sek-Lung is considered
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difficult. When a family moves to a different country‚ they need to adapt to that country’s culture while still keeping most of their own. It is difficult‚ especially when you have children because they are the most vulnerable. In the short story “The Jade Peony” by Wayson Choy‚ a Chinese-Canadian family struggles not to lose their Chinese culture like other families. The children are bewildered about changing to the Canadian culture or keeping their Chinese culture. They have to think deeply about whether
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Forster’s theory‚ there are 5 main aspects of a good setting; and the intellectual aspects are one of them. Wayson Choy clearly demonstrates this in the Jade Peony by showing the character’s constant indulgence of learning‚ schooling‚ and writing. In the first part of the novel‚ Wayson Choy tells us‚ through the eyes of 9 year old Jook-Liang‚ how the characters are always yearning to learn. They go the cinema‚ then “[they] stayed late to catch the newsreel. China was at war‚ fighting the Japanese
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In the Jade Peony of Wayson Choy‚ poh-poh or the grandmama seems to be the most intriguing character. Her character is complex for her grandchildren who are the narrators of the novel and therefore complicated for the reader of the novel; but not so complicated for their neighbour Mrs. Lim or even Father and stepmother who are from the generation in between. Even though Poh-poh’s character is not the narrator‚ she is present throughout the story even after her death. In each of the three stories
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Thesis: one’s personal culture and sense of tradition will always be a strong part of the self‚ regardless of external factors which can have a profound influence on one’s life. Subtopic 1: one’s value‚ habits and loyalty to his culture and tradition are not easily changed. Example:“ But we collect for the heart‚ Kiam-Kim‚” Father said. “We help all the people of China.” I was puzzled. “Even those who kill other Chinese?” “Yes‚” Father said. “Of course.” “But
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Sek-Lung is a Marginal Character A strong‚ intelligent‚ independent boy is what every traditional Chinese family wants. Unfortunately‚ Sek-Lung is not such an ideal child. In the novel‚ The Jade Peony‚ Sek-Lung is a marginal character. He is rejected by the dominant group‚ first being made to feel insignificant and second to feel uncomfortably visible. Sek-Lung is born in Canada‚ with a sick body‚ being considered inferior and unimportant. To begin with‚ he gains a reputation because
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