In The Orphan Train a life of hardship and loneliness bring a troubled seventeen year old Molly looking for belonging and acceptance and a lonely ninety-one year old woman with a secret past to find that they have more in common than just cleaning out an attic. Seventeen year old Molly has her gothic looks and vegan lifestyle that her foster parents are fed up with. After Molly is caught stealing a book from the library, she is sent to serve her community service at Vivian’s huge mansion helping the woman clean out her attic. As Molly and Vivian go through the boxes in Vivian’s attic they discover something more than some old junk; they discover their identities.
For all Jing-mei’s life, she has never understood her own mother. The Aunties were in shock to hear Jing-mei so unaware of her mother as a person along with her wish. Suyuan’s wish was one step closer to finally meeting up with her two daughters she abandoned. Jing-mei replies how she does not know what to tell her two sisters about their mother. The Aunties are uneasy by Jing-mei's statement “‘Not know your own mother?’ cries Auntie An-mei with disbelief. ‘How can you say? Your mother is in your bones!’” (Tan 16). Jing-mei little by little understands her mother's ways after her passing. Jing-mei and her father travel to her mother’s homeland to comprehend what her mother endured “She must not only hear her mother's words, and later, her father's, but also she must see the landscape that those words, or mini poems, interpret in order for her to discover her own individual place” (Wood 13). Once Jing-mei was with her sisters, her character grew or the better. In the end, Jing-mei finally understood and knew how Suyuan was in her
Character development is the most crucial element of a story, as it urges the reader to analyse the motives or the emotions that character may convey, therefore making the story immensely impactful. Wayson Choy effortlessly and deftly develops the character of Sek-Lung in his renowned short story, “The Jade Peony.” Sek-Lung, who is also the narrator in this story, is six years old and he’s struggling dreadfully to cope with his grandma’s upcoming death. The protagonist’s affectionate yet sorrowful feelings during this emotional crisis are clearly delivered, “Her palm felt plush and warm...I could not imagine how she could ever part from me. Ever,” (Choy 120). Upon reading that sentence, the reader understands how appalled Sek-Lung is to discover
At first, Poh-Poh was the closest family member for Sekky, who really loved him and cared about him but her death pushed Sekky into a shadow. On this occasion, “Chinatown people turned away, muttering behind my back. Poor Sek-Lung... spent all his seven years with Poh-Poh... he can’t get over it” (Choy 172). According to the others’ words, Sekky was too close with Poh-Poh that he could not fit into the life without her. However, it was also a chance for Sekky to learn about the inescapability of farewell and to be independent in the society. Poh-Poh was the most important character for Sekky since she taught Sekky the first lesson about complex life. Next, Miss. Doyle also played a necessary role in Sekky’s life because she taught Sekky to be brave and kind, which Sekky’s parents did not do. In this situation, students described Miss. Doyle that “She was, like a mother, easier to annoy than please and, like a father, careful to display authority. She always mentioned ‘rescue’ and ‘courage’ and ‘kindness’ ”(Choy 200-201). Thus Miss. Doyle was Sekky’s life mentor who guided him to pick the right way that he should be kind, justice and brave. Miss. Doyle replaced the role of Sekky’s parents to help him to survival in the intricate society. Subsequently, Meiying was the third important character for Sekky since she taught Sekky
Traditions and heritage are important to be kept. As an immigrated family, culture seems to fade while trying to fit in. Also, when the death of a loved one occurs, it is important for families to help each other cope with grief.
In the poem “A Story” by Li- Young Lee, the audience is introduced to the intricate relationship between the father and the son. There is an obvious internal conflict ongoing within the father’s thoughts; the father desperately wants to tell his son a story but cannot come up with one. The author highlights the altering views held by the father and the son through the use of shifting points of view and the intended structure. These two devices adeptly establish the poem’s profundity and intensity of emotions; moreover, it brings light to a common battle that evolving filial relations face against time; as innocence eventuates into maturity, parents inevitably feel helpless and nostalgic.
The industrial revolution woke up the sense of humanity in people, yet at the same time It turned it off. To begin with, from the year 1819 through 1901, Great Britain was beginning to face an all new era called the Victorian Era. In fact, this era was named like that, because of queen Victoria. Also, this era was very important because it introduced medical advances, scientific knowledge, and technological knowledge that helped increase work efficiency. However, not all the things that occurred were great. One of the things that were very outrageous, were the working conditions of the employees. As a matter of fact, there were writers, like Charles Dickens with “A Christmas Carol”, Benjamin Disraeli with “Sybil”, and Elizabeth Gaskell with
Immigration experience has five fundamental components to it the Honeymoon Phase, Rejection Phase, Regression Phase, adoption phase, and Reverse Culture Shock phase. This story incorporates the rejection and adoption phase. The rejection phase is depicted many times throughout the story through one of the main characters Poh-Poh (the grandma). This can be seen through the eyes of Poh-Poh when she believes she is going to die soon because a cat crossed her, goes to alleys ways and trash bins searching for glass fragment, makes wind chimes, sends her grandchildren to Chinese schools, and by using herbal medicines. All of this substantiates the fact Poh-Poh is rejecting to give up her cultural practices and adopt Canadian cultural practices. The adoption phase is demonstrated through the main character/narrator Sek Lang’s siblings Jung, Kiam, Liang and parents. Some of the occasions where the adoption phase is implied is when they were; worrying about perceptions of white people in Vancouver ,worrying about their Canadian friends insulting them , calling Latin, French or German scientific and logical, calling themselves Canadians , and finding their grandma’s cultural practice’s disgusting. Upon examining these examples, we can consummate that Sek Lang’s sibling have adopted to Canadian cultural
The unique bond that exists between a mother and her child is practically unbreakable. A mother’s love is unselfish, unconditional, and knows no boundaries. Without the love and support of a mother, a child is like a ship lost at sea. The only way one can possibly repay their mother for all they have done is by giving her the same relentless love and affection that she have always given. In “The Lanyard”, Billy Collins implements juxtaposition, humorous comparisons, and metaphors to refrain the poet's message of love from lapsing into a cliché about parental love and convey the theme of a mother’s love.
In the story "Excerpt from the winter hibiscus" There is a girl named Saeng. Saeng just failed her drivers test and on her way home she enters a flower shop. When she enters the shop she is reminded of when she used to live in Laos which she moved from 4 years ago to move to the United States. Saeng starts to look at all the different flowers and she finds A plant that used to grow around where she lived. This made her think about her home and it also brought up some sad emotions.
Howe begins her book with the poem Mother’s Jewellery Box. The poem acts as a gateway to the main topic discussed in her other poems: the relationship between her and her Chinese heritage. By providing context for the rest of the poetry book and through the use of stylistic features, Howe is able to enforce the idea of a spiritual journey.
Later in the interview she reported that she had been experiencing fear and anxiety that the worst could happen to her. Ms. NS elaborated on the response that there would be always a possibility that unthinkable events could happen, especially after she had already encounter events like losing her home, getting kicked out from her Godmother’s house, and losing her grandmother and friend around the same time.
Nothing But Death, The poem from Pablo Neruda translated and edited by Robert Bly. The poem presented about the looks of the Death and about how the death appears around the human. There are seven stanzas in this poem and the techniques appeared in the poem are Imagery, Simile, Metaphor, and Alliteration. The imagery is the techniques used all over the seven stanzas in this poem to describe the image of the Death the movement, and the sound which included Auditory, Visual, and Kinetic.
Asian American Cathy Song drew closer to her Korean-Chinese ancestry, and was able to describe in a clear image of the two women she represent, one being the industrial American women and the other one being the Chinese caretaker. Cathy Song was born and raised in Hawaii making her an American by birth right. This fact did not keep her from engulfing her Korean-Chinese heritage. In the poem “Lost Sister”, Song isolates a young girl who struggles to find who she truly is in China, because of all the restrictions. The young girl wants to go to America to seek a needed fulfilment. The analysis of the young girl in “Lost Sister” is no doubt an effort to link Cathy Song’s two worlds together. Cathy Song wanted acceptance of her culture, using it as a release and that freedom is within.
Nature is expressed in the world in many ways like beauty, peace, and youth, but it can also teach people lessons on how to live their life. The poem “Thanatopsis” by William Bryant, the short story of “ The Ambitious Guest” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the essay “ Self Reliance” by Ralph Emerson all have lessons on how to live through nature. The poem Thanatopsis is about what nature has to say about death and dying. It discusses how everyone experiences death and it should be not be feared but embraced. The lesson teached by nature is explained through the quote “Go forth, under the open sky, and list