Elements of Fiction Assignment Plot “The Jade Peony” by Wayson Choy is about a Chinese immigrant family struggling to adapt to their new unfamiliar lifestyle in Vancouver. As the older children begin to neglect Chinese customs and become accustomed to the Canadian culture‚ 8 years old Sek-Lung is the only child interested in Grandma’s traditional customs. Sek-Lung accompanies Grandma as looks for abandoned fragments of glass and metal to finish her precious wind chime before she passes. As Sek-Lung
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Belonging When someone is said to be Canadian‚ it does not just mean being one who lives on this land‚ or has lived on this land long enough to obtain this citizenship‚ it means living the Canadian life‚ it means waking up in the morning wearing a ton of layers and going outside in the freezing cold to do whatever a person needs to do during the day‚ to be Canadian it also means to belong. Canada is known for the diversity of culture‚ religion‚ color‚ and beliefs‚ as well as our ability to
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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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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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Generally‚ it is 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
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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‚ she
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“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. At the age of five she already knew how to treat somebody with respect‚ Jook-Liang said “Respect meant you dared not laugh at someone because they were different; you did not ask stupid questions or stare rudely” (page 12). Jook-Liang is looked at differently by her family because
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Father said. “We help all the people of China.” I was puzzled. “Even those who kill other Chinese?” “Yes‚” Father said. “Of course.” “But never help the Japanese?” “Never.”(Page 208) Explanation: This discussion is between Kiam-Kim and his father‚ which is a Chinese family in Canada for a long time.At that time‚ there is just a war between China and Japanese‚ and Kiam-Kim‚ who is the main character in the novel‚ is collecting money for the donation of Chinese
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According to 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
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during the depression. Life was hard‚ but acceptance and the family’s bond kept spirits high and helped them pull through the tough times. In The Jade Peony‚ the writer‚ Wayson Choy‚ tells three children’s perspectives of their family of Chinese immigrants dealing with death and acceptance during the depression. Everyone should read the Jade Peony because it develops important themes throughout the novel using the symbols and settings. The theme of thing’s not always being what they seem is
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