Passages with Connections/Analysis

Prologue - Chapter 1

        They said, "This youth has a tender face, but he has the look of an old soul."

"An old soul?" he asked when they leaned close, looking for promises.

"Yes," they replied, "you have been reincarnated many time. You have lived many lives fruitfully and have a deeper understanding of many things." They told him that he must believe.

        "Believe what!" he demanded.

        "In your mission."

        "My mission is to search out the bones of those who have died on the iron road, so they can be sent back home...by you, the Benevolent associations." (pg 2)

March, 29, 2015

I believe this passage is important because it is the start of the story; the "jump off", or beginning of a great writing that is eloquently written. The writer introduces the the main character, Gwei Chang, who is about to start his discovery expedition. In this short introductory passage, the readers have a glimpse of Gwei Chang's character which probably explains his action as the plot develops. The use of rich imagery to describe Gwei Chang, enables the readers to remember vividly his physique and his behavior.  

The movie, Iron Road, speaks about the Chinese railroad. It is a text to world with the adventure/journey part of Disappearing moon cafe. It also connects with the background of the Chinese Railroad workers. The journey part connects when the main character needs to go on a journey to bring her father’s ashes back to China. There is also mention of racial discrimination and interracial relationships.

Chapter 2-5

       Later that evening, Ting An ducked into the back door of a blood-coloured brick building on the corner of Pender and Columbia. Inside the lobby, he walked part a little box office, unmanned and unlit, towards two great, heavy doors ornately carved with gold-flamed dragons. Exalted beings that they were, they writhed and frolicked silently in a cloud-petalled heaven under his fingers, yet out of his grasp. Ting An pushed one back, and the door opened just enough for him to slide into a darkened theatre. Immediately, the thin wail of a lone Chinese fiddle reached out to him. Surrounding him, rows of empty benches lined the large floor, patiently waiting for an audience to fill them with gaiety and laughter. Far away, a small stage gave off the only light; it was empty except for a lion dance headpiece artfully arranged in the centre, mouth open in perpetual surprise.

  April, 1, 2015

 I have chosen the last paragraph on Pg 140 which says "Ting An". This paragraph ends on page 141. I have chosen this passage because of the eloquent, beautiful imagery. The depth of description as well as the skill it takes to have such a good command of prose is astounding. I think this passage is a very decorative one, and it gives great insight to the traditional Chinese culture. Subtle accents of words coalesce together to form one big picture that is supremely breathtaking whenever i think and imagine about it. Even though this is not one of the major scenes, readers are able to learn more about the Chinese culture, especially those who are not native Chinese. As a history student myself, I have even asked many of my Chinese friends about their culture and most of them were unable to describe it as well as the writer. I do not believe that any words/passages written in a book is meaningless, so there is obviously a reason why the author has chosen to describe this particular scene in such vivid detail. I think that it is setting the readers up for a sudden change in events, perhaps even unexpected. Perhaps this is a little ‘break’ readers see before the action ensues. Even though the action may not be major to the story, it is definitely major to the passage and section of the chapter.   

Disappearing moon cafe has a text to text connection to “A Single Shard” by Linda Sue Park. The book takes the reader on a journey to somewhere, riddled with conflicts and adventure. In my opinion, the ‘atmosphere’ of the book greatly rings true with Disappearing Moon Cafe, and coupled with the Asian background produces a clear connection. 

Chapter 6-7

       "Women, whose beauty and truth were bartered away, could only be mirrored, hand-held by husbands and men; they don't even like to think that they can claim their children to totally be their own. I was given the rare opportunity to claim them for myself, but I sold them, each and everyone for property and respectability. I trained their innocence with fraud. Even not contemptible, in order to do that, I had to corrupt the one chance at true love I ever had ."

April, 5, 2015

       The first passage was about the descriptive writing at first. It shows how words could do more than one we that I chose was from Chapter 6: The Writer, page 254 to 255, the last paragraph on page 254. The passage seems to be giving off a femininity vibe. It shows how women had no rights and how they are nothing but an object for people to toy around with. They had no choice but to give up what they had, loved, and cared about. I could sense no jubilation within their eyes, it was as if they were inconsequential. One could imagine if a women was used just for her aesthetic appeal and nothing else. The imagery within this passage has a beautiful and straight-forward message. Imagine the woman as a flower being taken away from its home by a gardener, in the end left to wither. It shows how society during the past was unequal. This passage allows readers to think about woman’s rights in the past and in the present.

      In the news, there is always news about the Japanese Comfort Women and how they were victims of human sexual trafficking during the Pan-Asian Pacific War. In this text to world connection, there is a clear similarity with Disappearing Moon Cafe in the aspect of Women’s rights. For example, Kelora has no rank and Fong Mei was forced into an arranged marriage.

Epilogue

   

        "I am your father," Gwei Chang had to answer. "I gave you my name because you're my son." Ting An smirked at him.

      "Don't you know that you are my son?" Gwei Chang asked. 

      "A Chang, you have always treated me like family," Ting An said hesitantly at first, then continued with to much deliberation. "All these years, I wanted to thank you for the protection of the Wong name, sir. I will always be very grateful to you for ask that you have done for me."

      Gwei Chang waited, but he could have waited a thousand years. Ting An refused to see the truth glaring at him.

 

April,10,2015

        At the bottom half of page 311 Gwei Chang reveals to the shocked Ting An that he is actually his father.  Gwei Chang, as described in the text, was terribly inebriated at the time.  He begins to pour out his heart and explain to Ting An that he is his father.  However Ting An just refuses to believe this and actually gets furious.  In my opinion, I believe that Gwei chang felt a tremendous amount of resentment and guilt towards himself  for not being with Ting An, acting as a proper  father.  He resorts to many things, for example, drinking to cope with his own guilty conscience. He, in his own eyes has been a terrible father.  On the other hand, Ting An could have felt very bitter to this new, shocking reality that has been sprung on him.  He was in the dark on who his father was his whole life, then, all of the sudden this random drunk man tells him that he was his father.  I can see why he would be so bitter towards Gwei Chang, refusing to accepting this truth.  He was already dealing with accepting the fact that he was fatherless his whole life. As this was his story, he now has to adapt to a sudden change in reality and actually try to accept something he has been denying his whole life.  Moreover, what he had believed, being his reality has actually been a big lie this entire time.  There may be feelings of anger, worthlessness and resentment running through his mind as his,”father” is revealing this fact. Thus, this shift in his mind caused him to lash back at his father, just like a wounded dog.  I believe that this is these are the reasons why he acted this way.

There is a personal text to self connection in which I have experienced many conflicts between generations of my family. I also have a family tree which dates back to quite a while.

About Disappearing Moon Cafe

•••••••••••••••About Sky Lee•••••••••••••••

Sky Lee was an asian born Canadian in 1952 at Port Alberni, British Columbia. She went to the University of British Columbia, B.A.; Douglas College, diploma in Nursing. Her career(s) included being a nurse as well as a proficient, bestselling writer. In 1983, Lee first was an illustrator of a children’s book, Teach Me to Fly Skyfighter! Like her books to come, this book was an interesting look into exploring growing as a Chinese-Canadian in a Asian Canadian/Anglo Canadian Community. She then published her first book, Disappearing Moon Cafe,in 1990. This is the book we are focusing on in this blog. This book was the winner of the 1990 City of Vancouver Book Award and was a finalist for the 1990 Governor General’s Award. Then, still in the same year, she published Telling It: Women and Language Across Culture, which explores issues of racism and homophobia amongst lesbian, native, and Asian Canadian women. Lee published Bellydancer: Stories in 1994. This book was a collection of 15 short stories. This book explored feminist themes and the like. She also has a list of short stories including West Coast Line, The Asianadian, Kinethis, and Makara.

••••••••••Disappearing Moon Cafe••••••••••

“Sometimes funny, sometimes scandalous, always riveting, this extraordinary first novel traces the lives and passionate loves of women of the Wong family through four generations. As past sins and inborn strengths are passed on from mother to daughter to granddaughter, each generation confronts, in its own way, the same problems---isolation, racism, the clash of cultures---and each evolves a little bit more. Moving back and forth between past and present, between Canada and China, SKY Lee weaves fiction and historical fact into a memorable and moving picture of a people’’s struggle for identity.” Sky Lee

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“If Gabriel Garcia Marquez had been Canadian-Chinese, and a woman, ONE HUNDRED YEARS of SOLITUDE might have come out a little bit like this.” Washington Post Book World

Explore the world of Sky Lee in Disappearing Moon Cafe for a memorable trip you won’t forget!

Disappearing Moon Cafe Timeline vs Plotline

TIMELINE

1892 Prologue--Searches for the Bones  

 1986 Waiting for Enlightenment

1924 Ties Overseas--A Ticket In 

1925 Triangles 

1986 Ties to the Land--A Ticket Out?  

1968 Identity Crisis  

1986 The Writer  

1951 The Suicide 

1939 Epilogue--New Moon 

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PLOT LINE

1892: Where Gwei Chang meets Kelora Chen; the retrieval of bones  

1924: Mui Lan against Fong Mei, as well as Janet Smith and the JS Bill

1926: Keeman and Beatrice mentioned

1932: The departure of Ting An

1938: This is when Beatrice is sent to Hong Kong

1939: Gwei Chang dreams of his reunion with Lee Chong

1942: The death of Ting An

1949: Morgan gets to know Sue

1950: Sue talks about her pregnancy with her sister

1951: Sue dies while giving birth to Kae

1962: The death of Fong Mei

1971: "Legitimate, traditional, conventional" family ties are requested by Kae upon meeting Hermia in Peking. 

1986: Kae Ying gives birth 

1987: A telegram is sent to Kae Ying

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REFERENCES

David. N. Rodowick, "Madness, Authority and Ideology: The Domestic Melodrama of the 1950s."? 
           Home is Where the Heart Is. Ed. Christine Gledhill. 273.

Thomas Elsaesser, "Tales of Sound and Fury: Observations on the Family Drama."? Home is 

           Where the Heart Is. Ed. Christine Gledhill. 

 <http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/worldlit/paper/chinese_canadian_identity.html >

Themes

THEMES

Racism

          This book clearly portrays a great discrimination between Chinese immigrants and other races. Further underscoring this point was the formulation of the Chinese Exclusion Act and its effects on the Chinese. While this book includes some interracial relationships, the gist of the story provokes the attention of the reader to the issue of racism; the resulting murder in the formulation of the Chinese Exclusion Acts. I believe that Sky Lee has successfully brought new light to racism considering her context and time period. She passionately illustrates scenes so  poignantly I feel that she must have experienced it herself.

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Relationships

          Here, we explore the theme of relationships. This includes relationships within as well as outside the family. In fact, it is common knowledge that Chinese people are a closely-knit bunch; proven through their extensively big houses and terms of respect and endearment. Sky Lee explores relationships within the family; there are roles set for the husband and wife in a typical traditional Chinese household. Here, the husband and wife seldom talk to each other. This is also common since women were treated badly in that time period. There were stereotypical roles of the household; the husband was the breadwinner and the wife was the bearer of children, especially sons. I think that this provides insight to our world in Asia back then contrasting to the world right now. Today, there is the concept of feminism, women's rights, and the roles in the household are not cemented. For example, the wife in the family could be the breadwinner while the husband is a "stay-at-home" dad. Other relationships mentioned by Sky Lee are interracial relationships between the younger Chinese generation and their friends of different races. I think that it doesn't matter what's on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts.

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Identity

          In the book Disappearing Moon Cafe, Sky Lee also illustrates the concept of Identity. This can be in the form of the identity of early immigrants in Canada or the identity of the younger generation. Through her eloquent prose, she depicts a clash of identity as the early migrants kept close to their Chinese values and cultures. Being immersed in a totally different culture creates identity crisis for both parties; the Chinese migrants because their culture will soon disappear in future generations and the Natives/Europeans because their culture would soon evolve to multiculturalism through a dilution of their culture. Sky Lee also notes that the younger Chinese generation has immersed into the local Canadian society. Through this, there is a clash between the 2 generations in their outlook about life, values, and cultural practices. I think it doesn't matter what culture you are from, as long as you stay true to who you are.

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Loneliness 

      Somewhat connected to the theme of identity, the theme of loneliness comes into play. the Chinese migrants are isolated from the rest of the world, either voluntarily as they fear that their values and culture would be watered down. They are also stigmatized by the involuntary issue of racism. Isolation also exists from within the Chinese family. Usually, the wife is isolated from the husband, as the husband needs to work to support the family. However, through this mutual relationship, they seldom communicated. Back then, women were left alone most of the time and are isolated from the rest of the world. On the other hand,  the husband feels lonely too, even though they might have wives,  they seldom communicate. I think that just like in all bad relationships, loneliness is the product of  little or no communication. I think that communication is key here in resolving this issue of loneliness.

Family Tree

As you can see this is the family tree of the characters in Disappearing Moon Cafe by Sky Lee. There is some mention of interracial relationships and it is a great tool to help you understand before you read the book.

Prologue - Chapter 1

PROLOGUE - CHAPTER 1  

Many characters are mentioned in this novel. The complexity of this novel is what makes it a good read. It takes a second and third reading before one can fully figure out who they are and their tumultuous relationship with one another. The summary of the prologue to chapter 1 is split into four parts. Here they are:

In 1892 Wong Gwei Chang, the protagonist, is undergoing emotional trauma. He is on a bone-searching expedition.  He was chosen because of his physique by the Benevolent Associations. He meets an Indian girl named Kelora Chen and her father, Chen Gwok Fai, during his expedition.  Chen Gwok Fai and Kelora Chen help Gwei Chang get use to his new environment and also support him by helping him search for bones. Gwei begins to fall in love with Kelora.

In 1986 Kae Ying Woo is disappointed because she is let down by her family. She reminisces about her family history. She has been told that it is important to keep a family together. It was Kae Ying Woo's turn to have her child, she was never told how hard it was to give birth. She gives birth to a baby boy, Robert Man Jook Lee. Kae Ying Woo's mother tells her about her great-grandmother, Lee Mui Lan.

Lee Mui Lan worked at the Disappearing Moon Cafe. She had a husband named Wong Gwei Chang, but they had poor communication with each other. Lee Mui Lan wants her son Wong Choy Fuk to have a child with her daughter in law, Chan Fong Mei. She wants them to have the child for the Wong family. Kae Ying Woo is with her roommate , Hermia Chow, who is an overseas chinese from Switzerland. Kae Ying Woo and Hermia have conversations and interactions with each other. Kae Ying Woo shows Hermia letters her grandmother, Chan Fong Mei, had wrote about her life in Canada.

Chan Fong Mei is feeling pressured by her mother in law because she and her husband, Wong Choy Fuk, still do not have children together. Halfway through the chapter, Chan Fong Mei hollers at Ting An, a friend and a worker in the cafe.

The struggles experienced by the early Chinese migrants are illustrated here. The conflict between the old and young Chinese generation is also highlighted in this novel.

Chapters 2-5

CHAPTERS 2 - 5

One of the most important roles of being a wife in Chinese culture is to bear a child. This is because maintaining the bloodline and producing heirs is very important to the family. Unfortunately, based on the Chinese culture, a husband can divorce his wife if she is confirmed unable to bear him a child. The mother in law has much power and say over this matter too. The next few chapters are also summarized in five parts:

Mui Lan is threatening to kick Chan Fong Mei out of the house as she begins crying.  Mui Lan tells Chan Fong Mei that her husband would have another wife.  However she must get a divorce for this to happen.  This is all happening because of the sole reason that Fong Mei is having difficulty bearing a child.  


While Kae Ying Woo is thinking about her grandmother she is reminded of her uncle Morgan Keung Chi Wong.  When they talked on the phone her uncle Morgan began to talk about the Janet Smith murder case and this has something to do with her family.  Which raised a huge commotion in the area and Gwei Chang had to help control the crowd.  In this case the main suspect was Wong Foon Sing.  

The complex relationships among the characters make the novel more interesting and intriguing.

While Morgan and Kae are at the library working on homework, Kae begins to look at Morgan.  Morgan beings to tell Kae that her mother and him are half siblings and that Kae’s grandmother had a lover who was Morgan’s father.  Kae was very shocked and did not believe what Morgan was saying.  While Morgan Drives Kae home there is a car crash, but everyone survived.  When they were in the hospital, Kae looked at her parents and saw their faces that is when they realized that what Morgan had told her was all true.

When Fong Mei begins thinking about the affair that Choy Fuk had with a waitress working at the Moon Cafe and she gets frustrated.  She believes that it was Choy Fuk who set them together.  Choy Fuk also becomes frustrated because of his mother nagging him about having a child and fed up with his wife.  He was hoping that the waitress he was with would have a baby so his mother would finally be happy.  Ting An does not like the idea that Choy Fuk is planning to make the waitress pregnant and when he sees Fongs Mei she begins flirting and then they become intimate.

Kae’s mother and Nanny come over to her place to help her with the baby.  The waitress had a baby boy named Keeman Woo.  They baby didn’t go home with the Wong family even though the father may have been Choy Fuk.  Fong Mei also has a baby girl named Beatrice Li Ying Wong.  The story later reveals that Keeman and Beatrice are Kae’s mother and father.  During this time the waitress that Choy Fuk was with marries a gambler.  Keeman fights in World War 2 and Beatrice goes to Hong Kong and after this time they meet again and fall in love.  Later becoming engaged, however Beatrice’s father did not agree with this marriage and hit Beatrice.  Leading to Beatrice running away from home, but go back.  Keeman then goes to ask his mother about his father, however Song An is not sure of who his real father is.