"A laotong relationship is made by choice for the purpose of emotional companionship and eternal fidelity" (See 56). A friendship comes with many challenges, but with a strong bond between one another, friends can overcome the obstacles they are faced with together. In the book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, Lily and Snow Flower are laotongs who face obstacles throughout their lives. Throughout the novel, the two girls have to follow the strict cultural practices to please Chinese Society. They are faced with the pain of foot binding, and the everyday chores women have to do. Together, the girls face big and small obstacles that make the theme of the novel about the bond between women.
In this novel, one of the ways Lily and Snow Flower bonded together was by learning from each other. The two girls grew up in a time where women had a typical boring day-to-day routine. They spent their lives in upstairs women’s rooms away from the rest of the world only knowing how to weave, embroider, and cook. Snow Flower taught Lily something “rebellious” which broke tradition, but made the two girls closer. “My only rebellion came in the form of nu shu, our women’s secret writing. My first break with tradition came when Snow Flower-my laotong, my “old same,” my secret-writing partner-sent me the fan…(2).” Since Snow Flower taught Lily Nu Shu, the two girls were able to write to each other using the secret-code. This form of writing was used exclusively for women’s use. If it were not for Snow Flower teaching Lily Nu Shu, the girls would not have been able to know more about each other and end up not having as close of a bond. Meanwhile from learning from each other, Lily and Snow Flower both experienced the process of foot binding...
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...er learned from Lily how to cook, wash clothes, and how to clean the house. These girls learned from each other without realizing it, and had created even more of a special bond with one another than they thought. After both of the girls had gotten married and had children, the two girls did not see each other as much. Because of nu shu they were able to keep and touch and learn what was going on in their lives. “You who always knew my heart now fly above the clouds in the warmth of the sun. I hope one day we will soar together” (321). Lily wrote these words on her final entry on her fan after Snow Flower’s death. Through all of the lies Snow Flower told Lily, she still loved her and the bond they had together for eternity. Together as laotongs, the girls overcame obstacles, learned from each other, and created an eternal both between women throughout this novel.
In the book “The Boys of Winter” by Wayne Coffey, shows the struggle of picking the twenty men to go to Lake Placid to play in the 1980 Olympics and compete for the gold medal. Throughout this book Wayne Coffey talks about three many points. The draft and training, the importance of the semi-final game, and the celebration of the gold medal by the support the team got when they got home.
Love, partnership and commitment have been the subjects of a multitude of novels, plays poems, movies and great works of art. Throughout these works, the image of love and commitment in love have taken many different forms. Today, we easily recognize symbols of commitment in love to be items such as hearts, wedding bands, roses, etc. However, in literature, especially, more abstract and creative symbols of commitment to a loved one are often present. Additionally, the symbols of devotion that exist in literature do not always involve romantic love as opposed to many movies, painting and sculptures. For example, in the short story, “Saving Sourdi” by May-Lee Chai, symbols of loyalty to a loved one manifest between two sisters. In opposition to symbols of loyalty existing in a platonic manner as it does in “Saving Sourdi,” Peter Meinke’s “The Cranes,” provides symbols of commitment in an amorous relationship.
In every story, there is a protagonist and an antagonist, good and evil, love and hatred, one the antithesis of the other. To preserve children’s innocence, literature usually emphasizes on the notion that love is insurmountable and that it is the most beautiful and powerful force the world knows of, yet Gen’s and Carmen’s love, ever glorious, never prevails. They each have dreams of a future together, “he takes Carmen’s hand and leads her out the gate at the end of the front walkway… together they… simply walk out into the capital city of the host country. Nobody knows to stop them. They are not famous and nobody cares. They go to an airport and find a flight back to Japan and they live there, together, happily and forever” in which their love is the only matter that holds significance (261). The china
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews Have you ever imagined living locked up in an attic for 3 years and 5 months? Have you ever imagined not growing up with your mother's care and love at the time you were 5? Flowers in the Attic is one of the more original series written by V.C. Andrews of the Dollanganger series. It is one of the best books I've read because it's depressing and dark yet heart-touching. In this book report, the setting, plot and the characters of the book will be included. Flowers in the Attic is one tragic yet a hopeful story of four children.
Lily is the narrator of Snowflower and the Secret Fan, therefore we see the entire novel through her filter. Lily grows tremendously throughout the novel, as a young girl we see Lily as a shy schoolgirl who longs for her mother’s affection. As a female,
Diamant’s magic enables a romance to flower from violence and the formulation of a “voiceless cipher” into an ingenious being transpire (1). She forces the reader see that in the eyes of trial and tragedy, happiness and love, we find reflections of ourselves no matter the age gap. She emphasizes that such a task could not happen if not for the “scolding, teaching, cherishing, giving, and cursing one with different fears (2),” that “summon up the innumerable smiles, tears, sighs and dreams of human life” (321). All this, Diament reminds all females, can be sequestered in the red tent.
Wang Lung needs a wife so saves up the little money he has and buys a woman who is a slave named O-lan. O-lan is sold to Wang Lung so she can take care of the home, cooking and bear children. Wang Lung is disappointed when he first sees O-lan because she does not have bound feet which was a desirable quality at that time but he does enjoy when O-lan has the food ready when he comes in a night from the land. Wang Lung is very proud when O-lan makes cakes that no one else in the village knows how to makes and when his family comes to feast for the new year at their house.
The poem, “Field of Autumn”, by Laurie Lee exposes the languorous passage of time along with the unavoidability of closure, more precisely; death, by describing a shift of seasons. In six stanzas, with four sentences each, the author also contrasts two different branches of time; past and future. Death and slowness are the main motifs of this literary work, and are efficiently portrayed through the overall assonance of the letter “o”, which helps the reader understand the tranquility of the poem by creating an equally calmed atmosphere. This poem is to be analyzed by stanzas, one per paragraph, with the exception of the third and fourth stanzas, which will be analyzed as one for a better understanding of Lee’s poem.
Alexander Stowe is a twin, his brother is Aaron Stowe. Alex is an Unwanted, Aaron is a Wanted, and their parents are Necessaries. Alex is creative in a world where you can’t even see the entire sky, and military is the dream job for everyone and anyone. He should have been eliminated, just like all the unwanteds should have been. He instead comes upon Artimè, where he trains as a magical warrior- after a while. When he was still in basic training, and his friends were not, he got upset, he wants to be the leader, the one everyone looks up to.
A Cold Day in Paradise is a book that was written by Steve Hamilton and takes place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The name of the book is very significant to the meaning of the book. The cold day represents the metal bullet that is in Alex McKnight’s chest and on cold nights, it is a reminder of a traumatic event that took place. While Paradise is the place that he lives and where the last death took place and it was also on a cold windy night.
Over the course of several months, August guides, teaches, and helps Lily to accept and forgive herself. August once knew Deborah, and she knows that Lily is her daughter, but she does not confront Lily about the issue. Instead, she waits until Lily puts the puzzle pieces together and discovers for herself the relationship between her mother and August. August knows she is not ready to learn the truth about her mother when she and Lily first meet, so she waits for Lily to come to her. When Lily finally realizes the truth, she comes to August and they have a long discussion about Deborah. During this discussion, Lily learns the truth about her mother; that her mother only married T. Ray because she was pregnant with Lily, then after several years she had enough of living and dealing with T. Ray, so she left. Lily is disgusted by the fact that her mother would've done something like this, she did not want to let go of the romantic image of her mother she had painted in her mind (“‘The Secret Life of Bees’ Themes and Symbols of The Secret Life of Bees). Lily struggles to stomach the fact the her mother truly did leave her and she spends some time feeling hurt and angry, but one day, August shows her a picture of Lily and her mother. As Lily looks at the picture she is comforted and thinks, “May must’ve made it to heaven and explained to my mother about the sign I wanted. The one that would let me know I was loved” (Kidd 276). Seeing
Is society too egotistical? In Hunters in the Snow, Tobias Wolfe gives an illustration of the selfishness and self-centeredness of humankind through the actions of his characters. The story opens up with three friends going on their habitual hunting routine; their names are Frank, Kenny, and Tub. In the course of the story, there are several moments of tension and arguments that, in essence, exposes the faults of each man: they are all narcissistic. Through his writing in Hunters in the Snow, Wolfe is conveying that the ultimate fault of mankind is egotism and the lack of consideration given to others.
The Flowers By Alice Walker Written in the 1970's The Flowers is set in the deep south of America and is about Myop, a small 10-year old African American girl who explores the grounds in which she lives. Walker explores how Myop reacts in different situations. She writes from a third person perspective of Myop's exploration. In the first two paragraph Walker clearly emphasises Myop's purity and young innocence.
They let the things that can separate them bring them closer to each other. This poem teaches its readers that love takes sacrifice. Towards the ending on the poem the poet expresses what she is feeling, “She smiled, stretched her arms to take to heart the eldest daughter of her youngest son a quarter century away.” (Ling, 142) The quote shows that the poet traveled halfway around the world to meet her grandmother that she couldn’t communicate with.To sum up the poem, “Grandma Ling,” both the poet and the grandmother take huge sacrifices to see each other. The whole poem represents that love takes
Culture molds the character of writers and gives a variety of different perspective on certain life experiences. In Julia Alvarez’s short story Snow, Yolanda, an immigrant student, moved to New York. While attending a Catholic school in New York, bomb drills were performed. The teacher would explain why these drills were important. Yolanda later found out that her first experience of watching snow was not the best experience one could possibly have.