Definitions (all definitions are from dictionary.com)
Capricious (22): subject to, led by, or indicative of a caprice or whim
Kowtowed (28): to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in expression of deep respect, worship, or submission, as formally done in China.
Appeals
On page 24 Jung Chang describes the process her grandmother went though in having her feet bound. This appeals to the reader emotionally because s/he feels sympathy towards the grandmother after reading about the pain, process, and reason for feet binding.
Side note: Foot binding is a process in which the bones in the foot are repeatedly broken and 'bound' over many years so that the feet never are more than approx. 4 inches long. This causes a lot of pain throughout the rest of a person's life. It also makes balance difficult.
Foot binding came into place because it was believed that small feet were beautiful, and since they were always covered (bound) the idea of only being able to see the feet occasionally was what made it so popular.
On page 34 the author depicts what it was like for the grandmother to live alone in her large house for six years waiting for husband; the boredom, frustration, and hopelessness are all conveyed in an attempt to gain the reader's sympathy. Therefore, this section is an emotional appeal.
On page 39 the reality of the grandmother's situation is made very clear. As a concubine she and her daughter have very few rights and seeing as her 'husband' is dying she fears that the wife of the house will dispose of them. This is a logical appeal because it explains things as they were normally and didn't have as much emotion behind it as some parts of the memoir so far.
Quote
"As I listened to my mother, I was overwhelmed by her longing to be understood by me. It also struck me that she would really love me to write." (Chang 15)
This conversation with her mother is what inspires her to write this memoir. Without this the book would have never been written, the thoughts, opinions, and realities never shared, and the voice never heard.
Themes
A theme I have found emerging from this book from the very beginning is how women in China had very few rights and many constrictions during the twentieth century.
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3 comments:
How old is your character?
Which one... The memoir is about three women, the grandmother, mother and daughter. The intro is the author (daughter) writing about making the book while the first chapter is about the grandmother. So far the grandmother goes from the age of 15 to mid twenties.
I read over the appeals etc... and the book sounds interesting with a lot of facts and such. But I was confused with the grandma and getting her feet bound. You talked about the different emotions she went through to do that but maybe you could explain it to me a bit more just sounds like something interesting?
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