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Shaun Tan Peanut's Fortune Sparknotes

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In “Peanut’s Fortune”, Tan uses narrative to move the plot forward. With Peanut’s sister narrating the short story, Tan’s writing is predominantly narrative because it depicts events in the view of Peanut’s sister who is essentially a bystander to Peanut and Wen Fu’s interactions. Not only does the writing portray her observations, but it also reveals the thoughts and feelings of Peanut’s sister to the reader. The narrative especially shows her growing envy for Peanut’s love with Wen Fu, but also shows the dear love she has for her sister. Occasionally, when important events occur or when introducing new characters, Tan interjects dialogue into the narrative, revealing the thoughts and perspective of others surrounding Peanut and her sister. …show more content…

She writes according to the Chinese superstitions of fate and keeps thoughts of good and bad luck within the minds of the characters. As Peanut’s sister says, “I am only saying that’s how it happened. . . . Chance is the first step you take, luck is what comes afterward. . . . If you don’t take a chance, someone else will give you his luck. And if you get bad luck, then you need to take chance to turn things from bad to good. Of course everything is connected” (123). Through her traditional Chinese characters, Tan shows the fervent beliefs in fate and luck which bolster the underlying theme that the unfolding of an individual’s fate is dependent on previous decisions. Her descriptions of fervent New Year celebrations further display these beliefs associated with the Chinese population. These depictions make the plot and theme more realistic to the reader, proving it to be based off of reality and not simply emergences from Tan’s imagination. In “Peanut’s Fortune”, these traditional beliefs are embedded in the thoughts of Peanut and her sister, whose perspectives and fates change due to a chance meeting with a fortune-teller. While narrating the story, Peanut’s sister incorporates the beliefs of fate and luck as reasons to how her destiny, as well as her sister’s, had unveiled itself according to the circumstances surrounding

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