Traditional Chinese Culture In The Jade Peony By Wayson Choy And Iron Road?

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Traditional Chinese culture has a very strict set of rules which need to be followed. Only if one follows the rules, will they fit into the Chinese society. This is depicted in the book The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy and Iron Road directed by David Wu. The Jade Peony portrays a story about three Chinese-Canadian siblings living in Vancouver’s Chinatown: Jook-Liang, Jung-Sum, and Sek-Lung. Each child experiences different complications depending on their age and gender. Their Grandmother, Poh Poh, teaches them to balance their Chinese culture along with Canadian culture. Moreover, Iron Road portrays a story about a strong-willed 19 year old girl, Little Tiger, who presents herself as a boy in order to survive as an orphan in the male-dominated …show more content…

However, the characters in the novel and movie prove they are not inferior to others in their community. As a result of these obstacles, the characters in The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy and Iron Road directed by David Wu are able to mature. Sek-Lung, from The Jade Peony, and Little Tiger, from Iron Road, struggle with their identity. This is shown when Sek-Lung’s teacher, Mrs. Lim, asks him if he is Canadian or Chinese which makes Sek-Lung reflect on her question and tells the reader “The words RESIDENT ALIEN were stamped on my birth certificate, as if I were a loitering stranger.” (Choy 136) Growing up with more than one culture to balance becomes very difficult. Sek-Lung is born in Canada yet he is grown up in a Chinese-cultured family. Even if he wants to call Canada his home, his birth certificate is stamped with the words “Resident Alien” because of his Chinese background. The words stand out to him so much because they make him feel like he does not belong in his birthplace, Canada. He has always felt confused as to what he really is; Canadian or Chinese. It was also very hard for him to balance both cultures as he goes to public school on the weekdays and learn the English alphabet, …show more content…

Liang’s courage is praised by her best friend, Old Wong, when he says “Liang is tiger-willed” (Choy 28) The reason Old Wong chose to use the word tiger-willed is because tigers are known to be brave and leaders. Old Wong is implying that Liang is a very similar to tigers as she is also brave and shows leadership. In the family, Liang is known as “mo yung”, which is the Chinese word for useless, because she is a girl and nothing but trouble is expected from of her. This is shown when Old Wong visits the family for the first time and due to his facial deformity, everyone keeps their distance from him, out of fear, except for Liang. Liang runs to him and does something no one else would have the courage to do, hug him. In Chinese culture, women are viewed as the feeble gender while men are seen to hold leadership skills. Despite being the youngest and the only daughter in the family, Liang showed leadership rather than her father or her older brothers. In Iron Road, James tells her, he respects her for her courage because she was able to go into the tunnel alone and blow it up despite putting herself in danger. Using the knowledge Tiger gained from working in a fireworks factory, she was able to save her fellow workers in Canada from days of labour by blowing up the tunnel (Iron Road). Going into the tunnel to blow up firework was very dangerous as she almost got stuck in the tunnel. The reason it was an action worth

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