Lindo Jong-->The Red Candle: Chapter 3-term: motif

Feathers from a Thousand Li Away

In this chapter Lindo Jong describes all about her childhood from start to finish.  She tells about the strict rules of arranged marriages.  When she was just two, she already knew who she was suppose to marry.  She met her husband's family at such a young age.  The term I used in this chapter was motif because of the same theme occurring in each chapter.  Lindo says, "This is when my mother would say, 'Such an ugly face. The Huangs won't want you and our whole family will be disgraced'" (52).  The idea that the children at such a young age are to make their family proud is a reoccurring theme.  Just like An-Mei-Hsu in the last chapter, so much is expected out of little children.  The world they live in is one where they have to impress others.  The whole chapter shows the pressure that is put on children.  Lindo is forced to marry Tyan-yu Huang when she was sixteen.  Not very many people showed up to the wedding because of the war.  Lindo says, "When thunder and lightning began, people confused it with Japanese bombs and would not leave their houses. I heard later that Huang Taitai waited many hours for more people to come, and finally, when she could not wring any more guests out of her hands, she decided to start the ceremony. What could she do? She could not change the war" (57).  This quote is important because it shows that the war affected the lives of many in the country.  It explains the fear that many had everyday of the Japanese arriving.  For some reason, this quote reminded me of the movie "Mulan" when the enemy could arrive any minute.  Lindo married Tyan-hu, but she later got out of it which was really hard to do with their culture.