The Jade Peony - Connection to Political System

In the Canadian book, "The Jade Peony" by Wayson Choy has many interesting connections to political system. The book mentioned some political system in the 1930 to 1940 which still effect on us today. Political system is a broad general topic but in the book, the author mentioned some specific political systems which are pretty interesting. The political system in the book mentioned two major specific topics such as jobs and languages. They are both important because they seemed to kind in some of the ways. There are few minor topics that lead some into the political system like government control of immigrant’s arrival and education system in Canada.

During the 1930 to 1940's, China was under attack by Japanese armies because World War 2 had almost started. As years goes along, Japanese armies took over most China mainland including some major cities. Many Chinese people were preparing themselves to flee to Canada for refuge and others flee to the States. These Chinese people as known as Chinese immigrants arrived in Canada for settling. The story focused on a Chinese immigrant family who fled to Vancouver and they lived in Chinatown. During this time, a lot of Chinese immigrants in Vancouver were beaten up by the locals assuming they were from Japan because some locals thought they looked like Japanese people.  In Vancouver, many Japanese shops were destroyed. All Japanese Canadian were sent to different places, mostly in camps as the local doesn’t want them to communicate to their home country.

 

Many Chinese immigrants were looking for a good job to raise their family but because this time it was a hard time and due to war chaos. Many of Chinese immigrants couldn't find any good jobs. They get paid less but worked more than the locals. The Chinese immigrants worked for the railway company because it was the best job for them at that time. Some of them die because they die of starvation or get injured, or beaten up. In short, they couldn't find a good job and get a lot of money.

Languages are important, too because many Chinese immigrants spoke poor English, so that's part of the reason why they couldn’t find a good job. Most jobs in Vancouver even today, require good English. This includes good writing skills, communication skills, and thinking skills. In short, Languages are the major key that lets you to become a successful person because you need it a lot, not just only for jobs but also everyday communication.



The setting of "The Jade Peony" (group blog )

Story “The Jade Peony” by wayson Choy, is about a Chinese family that has just immigrated to Vancouver, British-Columbia, and is experiencing trouble adjusting to the new lifestyle.  The novel takes place during the 1930s and 1940s and among other events, explores the ways in which the Chinese and majority of Canadians once viewed the Japanese, especially during Japan's occupation of China during the Second World War and in the events following Pearl Harbor. The narrator gives vivid descriptions of the setting around her and takes the reader on a journey through her unhappy childhood as "useless" girl. One aspect regarding the setting that shows up through the novel is the superstition and feudalism. Through the three sections in the novel, the narrator use the setting to illustrate her interior mind about how Chinese families in a strange land, struggling to adapt to the new society and get rid of the old Chinese feudalism.

In Chapter one, the grandmother insisted the whole family simplify their kinship terms in Canada, so the narrator’s mother became “Stepmother”. Nobody protested, however, this showed superiors and inferiors of “the older you are, the honored you are”. The narrator stated “that was the order of things in China”. The order revealed the class among the old Chinese family, the narrator felt the powerfulness of the Old One: her grandmother because of her age.

Later on, the narrator mentioned a game that they played named “Enemies of free China” which made in Hong Kong. It illustrated that when the narrator was a child. Besides, the narrator described “One enemy head swooped up and clacked onto the linoleum floor.” This revealed the detestation inside the Chinese people’s mind. This special setting showed how resentful people were during the wars, all they felt is that without the war, they did not have to leave their home country. For example, Old Wong, during all their hard time in British Columbia, still hoped to return to China.

In conclusion, there are many descriptions of the superstitious setting in this novel. This novel include the sense of belonging to a nation, and how young children of immigrants felt at this time, trying to find their identity when they were alien residents in Canada. The setting in this novel fully illustrates the depressive lives of Chinese people in Canada and the  struggles of Canada-born Chinese children of having a brand new identity.