Peony: A Short Story

A Chinese plum, Prunus mume, blossoms in the cold of late winter and early spring. It is a classic Asian aesthetic of five petals. “It manages in the

I would like to discuss Peony Pavilion which written by Ming dynasty author Tang Xian-zu. It was a variety play that described the protagonist, Du Li-niang, met her ideal husband, Liu Meng-Long, in her dream and overcame hardships to finally be with him. Since it was shared dreams between Du and Liu which brought them together, there were many scenes related to their dreams throughout the script. After the time first time she met Liu Meng-mei in her illusion, she could not stop thinking of him. She described him as “young and winsome, for her must chosen” (Owen 886). However, in reality she did not meet anyone like this charming Liu. She could only find her mother persuade her to do some needlework or readings when she was awake (Ibid 890).

“My two older teenage brothers and my sister, Liang, age 14, were embarrassed by my parents’ behavior. What would all the white people in Vancouver think of us”(Choy

chrysanthemum sprouts that were growing around the old roots…. ‘You’ve got a strong new crop coming.’... ‘Yes. They’ll be strong this coming year.’” (pg.2) This shows, she is speaking about the plants but referring to herself.

We have all been in a situation where we have immigrated to a new country for different reasons regarding, better future, or education. In the book Jade of Peony, Wayson Choy describes a struggle of a Chinese family as they settle in Canada, with their new generation of kids born here, the family struggles to keep their children tied to their Chinese customs and traditions as they fit in this new country. The Chinese culture needs to be more open minded as it limits the future generation’s potential. Chinese culture limitations are seen through the relationship expectations, education, gender roles and jobs.

The Jade Peony, is a beautiful short story about the relationship between Sek-Lung and his grandmother Poh-Poh. The story deals with many complicated social and emotional issues including change, death, and acceptance. I chose tradition because everything Poh-Poh did was based off her tradition. The things she did that were based off her tradition were she went through people’s trash to find items to use to make her wind chimes. She also kept her jade pendant in a tiny red silk envelope and in her pocket until her death. Plus she had made her wind chimes out of trash that looked decent for a wind chime.

❖ The Jade Peony The major symbol in this novel is the Jade Peony. It is Poh Poh's most valued possession. She passed it to Sek Lung after her death. The Jade Peony symbolized Old China's culture and traditions. The Jade Peony was there for Sek Lung to keep his culture in Canada. It reminds all the people in this novel of their cultural roots.

We have all been in a situation where we have immigrated to a new country for different reasons regarding, better future, or education. In the book Jade of Peony, Wayson Choy describes a struggle of a Chinese immigrant family as they settle in Canada, through the perspective of three young children; Liang, Jung, and Sekky. Each child describes his or her struggle, while settling in a new country. The family struggles to keep their children tied to their Chinese customs and traditions as they fit in this new country. The Chinese culture needs to be more open minded as it limits the future generation’s potential. Chinese culture limitations are seen through the relationship expectations, education, gender roles and jobs.

"The Chrysanthemums" introduces us to Elisa Allen, a woman who knows she has a gift for growing things, but it seems to be limited to her garden. Diligently working in her garden, Elisa watches as men come and go, living their lives unconfined, wondering what it must feel like to have that freedom. That emotion is revealed as Elisa gases at her husband and acquaintances talking, "she looked down toward the men by the tractor shed now and then." As she tills the soil for her chrysanthemums Elisa tills the thoughts in her head. The garden she so desperately maintained represents her world. A world that will only flourish if nourished. Emotional nourishment and stimulation is what Elisa lacked and longed for. The garden is limited in space to grow and so is her marriage. The garden is safe, non-threatening and so is her world. The garden contains many different elements that make it what it is, although unseen, and if the proper nourishment is not given it will die, as with Elisa.

Throughout the short story “The Jade Peony” by Wayson Choy the character of the grandmother is shown through her actions, physical descriptions of her, and from the way family members act with her. The Grandma in this story is a very old fashioned lady, who follows family traditions beliefs and practices, and teaches valuable lessons to her loving family.

Picture yourself walking on a sidewalk. Looking down you notice how this sidewalk is different then all of the other ones you have walked on before. It is made from bricks so it gives it a little bit more charm. As you turn a corner, a kaleidoscope of color blinds you for a second or two. When your eyes come into focus again you realized the stand of freshly cut flowers with it a sign that says, “Two for One”. You’re immediately attracted to the baby pink peonies. You arsk the lady at the stand to make you a bouquet using the peonies. She creates a beautiful bouquet with soft pastels colors and tells you that it consist of lavender, baby blue hydrangeas, white roses and tiny white flowers with the strange name of Baby's Breathe. She wraps them

Thesis: one’s personal culture and sense of tradition will always be a strong part of the self, regardless of external factors which can have a profound influence on one’s life.

Many of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories take place over the course of one day. The length of her scenes, the description in which she fills them and her pristine use of dialogue makes her protagonists well developed. They do not feel like characters we have just met, but ones we have always known, making the stories feel longer than a day’s time, too. In studying a few O’Connor stories there is another common element of craft she uses in order for us to understand and know her characters better, given the handful of pages that make up her short stories. That is her use of flashback and character memory. The first story in Flannery O’Connor’s The Complete Stories is The Geranium. Here, we spend a day with Old Dudley, a racist man from the south who has since moved in with his daughter in a tiny New York City apartment. O’Connor’s mastery becomes alive automatically. Flannery provides us with flashbacks though Old Dudley’s mind. This helps us to literally see him better, for the flashbacks contain short, but vivid imagery, showing us another side of Dudley and the other life he used to live. The same can be said about the nameless grandmother in A Good Man in Hard to Find. While the protagonist here is slightly more personable, she has a similar mindset as Old Dudley: her ways and ideals are stuck in the past. We are given similar glimpses into this past life through the

Central Idea: Flower is important in life as it helps in enormous symbolism, natural remedies for depression and are an integral part of many of life’s ceremonies.

A long time ago, far far away was a little village called Icelandic. The little village was an excruciatingly hot town, ruled by the powerful Goddess Pavlof. The villagers would daily be in pain from the vibrant heat, they wouldn’t complain for their queen; for they knew what would punish the courageous soul.The villagers would try to leave, but always ended up back in their homes or find some reason to stay in the boiling town until death. One day, a villager tired of being scared, a young woman of the name Poinsettia. Though, she was small and weak young lady, she knew it was imperative for her to take action. She just wanted was to feel some kind of coolness in her life, even though all she ever felt was the blazing heat. With a positive in mind state nevertheless, Poinsettia marched into the castle with her confidence up to the roof and stood high while faced with the queen, “Oh my dear goddess, may you let some of the cold air in the village?” Sitting at her thrown, Goddess Pavlof looked down at her for a minute before she started to cackle. The only sound that was heard throughout the castle was her cackle echoing through the halls of the castle, as she wiped the tears in her eyes from laughter Pavlof told her,“The only way you’ll ever feel the cold is if it rained from the sky,” said the Goddess. As she cackled, she signaled the guards to take her to the dungeon. Without putting up a fight, she allowed the guards to lift her off the ground and take her to the freezing