“I’ve always had a knack for school...It was as if school were a vast machine and I a cog perfectly formed to fit it… not that my education was always easy. There's a Chinese saying that the fates are winds that blow through our lives from every angle, urging us along the paths of time. Those who are strong-willed may fight the storm and possibly choose their own road, while the weak must go where they are blown. I say I have not been so much pushed by winds as pulled forward by the force of my decisions.”
It is very interesting that Jean Kwok (the author) chose to begin the book with such a powerful quote, and tells the reader much more about Kim than one might think. Kwok immediately chooses to use a simile comparing Kim to a cog perfectly …show more content…
Those who are strong-willed may fight the storm and possibly choose their own road, while the weak must go where they are blown”, and Kim’s response to it to show us more about Kim as a character, and allow the reader to see the main influences in the plot. The basic meaning of the Chinese phrase suggests that fate puts us in our place, and only those who are strong can choose their own path, but the weak will only go where their duty lies. In this context, it can be assumed that fate suggests duty. This can be gained from other parts of the book that help show a strong loyalty to family in Chinese culture, that labels loyalty to family as a high duty. In Kim’s case, duty can be seen as fate because everything Kim does is to help her mother have a better life. Taking care of her mother is Kim’s “fate”. Going back to the Chinese phrase, Kim’s response shows just how independent and strong she is. Kim responds that she “has not been so much pushed by winds as pulled forward by the force of her decisions”. By saying this, Kim is suggesting that she has been pulled forward by her decisions, and does not credit her progress to being pushed forward by winds; Kim is not weak. This is apparent in Kim’s strong loyalty to her duty to her mother, while she still must fight to be pulled forward by her decisions in school, and in dealing with her cruel manipulative
It is very interesting that Jean Kwok (the author) chose to begin the book with such a powerful quote, and tells the reader much more about Kim than one might think. Kwok immediately chooses to use a simile comparing Kim to a cog perfectly …show more content…
Those who are strong-willed may fight the storm and possibly choose their own road, while the weak must go where they are blown”, and Kim’s response to it to show us more about Kim as a character, and allow the reader to see the main influences in the plot. The basic meaning of the Chinese phrase suggests that fate puts us in our place, and only those who are strong can choose their own path, but the weak will only go where their duty lies. In this context, it can be assumed that fate suggests duty. This can be gained from other parts of the book that help show a strong loyalty to family in Chinese culture, that labels loyalty to family as a high duty. In Kim’s case, duty can be seen as fate because everything Kim does is to help her mother have a better life. Taking care of her mother is Kim’s “fate”. Going back to the Chinese phrase, Kim’s response shows just how independent and strong she is. Kim responds that she “has not been so much pushed by winds as pulled forward by the force of her decisions”. By saying this, Kim is suggesting that she has been pulled forward by her decisions, and does not credit her progress to being pushed forward by winds; Kim is not weak. This is apparent in Kim’s strong loyalty to her duty to her mother, while she still must fight to be pulled forward by her decisions in school, and in dealing with her cruel manipulative