Jade Peony
Sample Paper 1 commentary on The Jade Peony
Questions
(a) What do you understand of the characters and the situation in the passage?
(b) How does the writer effectively convey the context and feelings of the narrative voice?
This excerpt from “The Jade Peony” by Wayson Choi conveys the mystery and insightful fear of the unknown of a young boy who has just lost his mother. Although the passage refrains from giving sufficient details, the reader is still able to understand the essentials of the situation: A young boy is lying in a bed with his dying mother and is then taken into the care of a family friend.
The reader confirms the death of the mother with the narrator’s description of the “rigid arms” (line 8), which implies the limpness of the mother’s lifeless arms, and the boy’s realization that “my mommy’s voice…would never say again…” (lines 23-24). Also, from the apparent urgency and, perhaps, panic of the first paragraph, the reader may infer that something – most likely an emergency – has gone terribly wrong.
The development of the Chin family characters then expands on this confirmation (of the mother’s death) to help develop the reader’s understanding. Mrs. Chin is shown as a very nurturing and maternal woman – a foil to her husband’s practical leadership in giving instructions (line 3) – who comforts the boy as the mother dies. She pulls the boy “up, up, up, from the dark…” and carries him away to her family’s cabin, a safe place. These actions indicate the switching of maternal roles between the boy’s mother and Mrs. Chin as the biological mother passes on.
Also, the other Chin characters help to convey the situation. For example, in line 13, the expressions of the Chin children reflect back the “vacant stare” of the young boy to indicate his scared yet insightful awareness of the situation. Once they are in the Chin family’s cabin, Mr. Chin dynamically changes from practical leader to nurturing father, mirroring the comfort given by
Questions
(a) What do you understand of the characters and the situation in the passage?
(b) How does the writer effectively convey the context and feelings of the narrative voice?
This excerpt from “The Jade Peony” by Wayson Choi conveys the mystery and insightful fear of the unknown of a young boy who has just lost his mother. Although the passage refrains from giving sufficient details, the reader is still able to understand the essentials of the situation: A young boy is lying in a bed with his dying mother and is then taken into the care of a family friend.
The reader confirms the death of the mother with the narrator’s description of the “rigid arms” (line 8), which implies the limpness of the mother’s lifeless arms, and the boy’s realization that “my mommy’s voice…would never say again…” (lines 23-24). Also, from the apparent urgency and, perhaps, panic of the first paragraph, the reader may infer that something – most likely an emergency – has gone terribly wrong.
The development of the Chin family characters then expands on this confirmation (of the mother’s death) to help develop the reader’s understanding. Mrs. Chin is shown as a very nurturing and maternal woman – a foil to her husband’s practical leadership in giving instructions (line 3) – who comforts the boy as the mother dies. She pulls the boy “up, up, up, from the dark…” and carries him away to her family’s cabin, a safe place. These actions indicate the switching of maternal roles between the boy’s mother and Mrs. Chin as the biological mother passes on.
Also, the other Chin characters help to convey the situation. For example, in line 13, the expressions of the Chin children reflect back the “vacant stare” of the young boy to indicate his scared yet insightful awareness of the situation. Once they are in the Chin family’s cabin, Mr. Chin dynamically changes from practical leader to nurturing father, mirroring the comfort given by