“The Gem Of Life” A wise chinese philosopher named Confucius once said “ The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.’ In Wayson Choy’s short story, “The Jade Peony” displays a young boy named Sek-Lung as the protagonist along with his adept grandmama. These two protagonists endure a mission that involves being disconnected with the societal standards, during an era of depression and war. During these ongoing events, they mentally adapt to the fact that they are Canadian citizens, yet pursuing a passion they both love from their past - making wind chimes. Choy’s use of the characters, setting and the conflict generated the theme, “ time and love are like a precious gem that shall be carried with us at all
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they were beggars!” (The Jade Peony; Para. 10) Grandmama is a passionate yet obedient character that expresses her feeling toward someone or something with her knowledge, “These are special pieces,” she said, giving the box a last push, “because they come from a sacred place.” ( The Jade Peony; Para. 18) The fact that grandmama called the neighborhood trash cans a sacred place, portrayers her view on the world, just like how Confucius explained that no job can be done by itself , without trial and error, and without putting your mind into from a different perspective you can't get the job …show more content…
For Sek-Lung's family, they seem as if, they are easily forgetting their past along with their culture, and are ready to excel into the standard Canadian “life”. This is a key factor, that shows the struggle between opposing forces; protagonist vs antagonist, igniting the main conflict in the short story. I believe that the conflict occurs when the family immigrates to Canada, but are stuck between a mental battle of who they truly are. Sek-Lung and grandmama are not ready to let go of their past and interests that lead to everyday moral lessons for each other; but pursuing that interest leads to arguments from the sibling and parents. The antagonist already fear not fitting in with the neighbourhood, let alone allowing grandmama to scavenge trash cans for her beloved wind chime pieces ;“All our friends are laughing at us!” Older Brother Jung said ( The Jade Peony; Para. 9). This quote displays how the siblings and parents are ready to leave the past behind and act like a Canadian family,when really they are losing their own culture but grandmama and Sek-Lung wont change without
they were beggars!” (The Jade Peony; Para. 10) Grandmama is a passionate yet obedient character that expresses her feeling toward someone or something with her knowledge, “These are special pieces,” she said, giving the box a last push, “because they come from a sacred place.” ( The Jade Peony; Para. 18) The fact that grandmama called the neighborhood trash cans a sacred place, portrayers her view on the world, just like how Confucius explained that no job can be done by itself , without trial and error, and without putting your mind into from a different perspective you can't get the job …show more content…
For Sek-Lung's family, they seem as if, they are easily forgetting their past along with their culture, and are ready to excel into the standard Canadian “life”. This is a key factor, that shows the struggle between opposing forces; protagonist vs antagonist, igniting the main conflict in the short story. I believe that the conflict occurs when the family immigrates to Canada, but are stuck between a mental battle of who they truly are. Sek-Lung and grandmama are not ready to let go of their past and interests that lead to everyday moral lessons for each other; but pursuing that interest leads to arguments from the sibling and parents. The antagonist already fear not fitting in with the neighbourhood, let alone allowing grandmama to scavenge trash cans for her beloved wind chime pieces ;“All our friends are laughing at us!” Older Brother Jung said ( The Jade Peony; Para. 9). This quote displays how the siblings and parents are ready to leave the past behind and act like a Canadian family,when really they are losing their own culture but grandmama and Sek-Lung wont change without