Water Symbolism In The Gangster We Are All Looking For

Water is symbolic of the life cycle as the continuous, repetitive movement is symbolic of the Buddhist view of samsara. Within Buddhism, samsara is defined as the continual repetitive cycle of birth and death that arises from one grasping and fixating one’s self and experiences. Specifically, samara refers to the process of cycling through one rebirth after another within the realms of existence. The uninterrupted cycle of death and rebirth without a choice is called ‘cyclic existence’ ("Buddhism Beliefs |About Buddhism”). In lê thi diem thúy’s The Gangster We Are All Looking For, water permeates through the life cycle concerning life, death, and the dual-meaning of resurrection representing both rebirth and the manifestation of ghostly

When the narrator sees the image of the man and the woman at the beach, looking “through the triangle formed by the woman’s tanned knee, calf, and thigh,” she “saw the calm, sleeping waters of the ocean. My mother was out there somewhere. My father had said so” (le 6). Here, the power of the water is highlighted as this occurrence shows the significance of the ocean as both a connection between the Vietnamese refugees and their homeland, as well as a subjective construction of families and family experiences. It is in the water that families are created by experiences, not by blood. _____ Brogan argues “families do not simply tell stories; stories create families” (18). The four uncles became family due to sharing the “boat people” experience. The water in this instance represents family and starting a new life in America. The image is also seen as indicative of the pejorative aspects of water – the ocean separates these refugees from the narrator’s mother and their homeland. The ocean separates the refugees from the narrator’s mother and their homeland, but also creates a sense of unity among the

While staying at Mel’s home, the adolescent female narrator personifies the butterfly paperweight. The life cycle begins with the narrator “hearing” the butterfly sounds, and believing the butterfly is alive. The butterfly mirrors the narrator’s feelings of alienation and immobility amongst her ‘new family’ in America. She is convinced the butterfly is alive, although trapped inside thick glass (le 25). The thick glass mirrors the image of clear, still water. To the adolescent girl, the thick glass doesn’t stop the sounds of the butterfly from coming through; however, her father counteracts this with the idea of death, “…can’t do much for a dead butterfly” (le 31). In order to free the butterfly, the narrator throws the disk at a cabinet of glass animals, shattering the paperweight, as well as the glass animals. The shattering of the glass connects to the shattering of her being, and her experience in fragility. The idea of bringing the butterfly back to life was useless, as the motionless butterfly laid there “like someone expert at holding his breath or playing dead” (le 34). This sense of rebirth becomes ironic as the butterfly did not come back to life as either being reborn or as the manifestation of a ghostly spirit; instead its cyclic existence permeates through the narrator creating a transformative