Jade Peony Essay
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The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy, is a novel depicting Vancouver's Chinatown in the early thirties. The story that takes place before the times of World War II, and is told through the eyes of three different siblings: Jook-Liang, Jung-Sum and the young Sek-Lung; three children born from a Chinese family, but raised in Canada. For this immigrant family, life in Vancouver's Chinatown is difficult; both parents are forced to work constantly in order to provide a satisfactory and safe living environment for the three children. Life for the children is seemingly safe, however, each is not without his or her own internal struggles. Individually, they continually strive to form a self-identity, while battling to meet expectations set by a society that often makes its judgement based on age, gender, and ethnicity. Nevertheless, each child has found his or her own way in coping with this immutable struggle through the exploration and fabrication of their own imaginative world. For Liang, she finds encouragement and pleasure from Wong Suk, whom Liang believes, is a "bandit-prince in disguise". For the adopted Jung, his mistrust for others has made him believe that Poh-Poh is the Fox Lady; and for the young Sekky, he is able to find comfort and a sense of security through his Old China grandmama. With the absence of both working parents, Poh-Poh is left with the responsibility to take care of Liang, the "useless only-granddaughter that wants to be Shirlee Tem-po-lah," (Choy, 34) as Poh-Poh has described her. To Poh-Poh, Liang is a "mo yung girl," (36) as she is born into the female gender and traditionally thought as an unfavorable and useless child within the Chinese community. This in term has caused relationship between Poh-Poh and Liang to become relatively distant in comparison with the imminent relationship between Poh-Poh and Sekky, who is born into the male gender. Poh-Poh cannot tolerate Liang's "Canadian" ways and constantly scolds Liang for "too much playing, and learn nothing." (39). Liang's dream of becoming Shirley Temple is also disapproved by the Old One as being foolish, who invariably reminds Liang that she will always be Chinese, not Canadian, and Liang cannot become the blonde hair and blue eyed movie star she dreams of. Despite all the criticisms and negative comments forced upon Liang by Poh-Poh, Liang realizes that she is in fact not useless nor ugly. Wong Suk, an old family acquaintance, unlike grandmama, addresses Liang as the "pretty one," (25). This intimate relationship between the monkey-faced, crippled Old Wong and the "mo yung" girl is a rewarding and positive one for each. Liang's affectionate attitude toward Old Wong is reciprocated with constant attention from Wong; an attention that Liang fails to receive from both her own parents and Poh-Poh. Instead of giving constant scolding like grandmama, Wong Suk encourages Liang to tap dance and further emulates her idol, Shirley Temple. The Monkey King pampers Liang and addresses her as the "bandit-princess," (34). To Wong Suk, Liang is everything but a "mo yung" girl. She is precious, like a princess, perhaps someone even more precious than a princess. As one of Chinatown's bachelor man, Wong Suk is not married, and Liang may as well play the closest role as a daughter...
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