Chapter 10 starts out with Ailin
boarding the boat with the Warners. The Warners are put in the second class
class, but Ailin is put in third class section because the Warners could not
afford to have her up with them.
Although Ailin was in the third class, she could still visit with the
Warners and care for the children. Xueyan came to see her off, and the two were
very sad when they parted. She brought with her the sack of money that Ailin
had given to Big Uncle. Big Uncle had given it back to her so that she could
give to Ailin. Ailin stayed in a cabin with four sets of bunks and many people
got sea sick throughout the journey. One day, Ailin went to get Billy a snack
from the bar when the bartender refused to give her the cookies because she was
a third class passenger. However, Ailin defended herself and explained that
Billy was a second class passenger, and the bartender gave her the snack for
the boy. A Chinese man that spoke Cantonese laughed, but Ailin only knew
Mandarin so they had to speak in English. This man was James Chew and was born
in America where his family owned a restaurant. Ailin and James became friends
for the next few weeks. When Ailin would take Billy and Grace to the children’s
activity room every afternoon, her and James would talk. She told him her
entire story. He said she was the bravest person he had known and she was a
revolutionary who was fighting a war against tradition. He told Ailin his story,
and she was pleased to find out that he wanted a companion, not a status symbol
so unbound feet did not bother him. When they reached America, James told Ailin
to look for his father’s restaurant if she ever went to Chinatown.
The Warners were much better off in
China than in the United States. In China, they had servants and cooks, but in
California, they had to do everything themselves. Mrs. Warner had to start
cooking for the family, but it was not always the best. One night, Ailin suggested
that she cook some Chinese food.
The family was very pleased with her offer. After a while, Ailin wanted
to get some actual Chinese spices. Mr. Warner suggested that she go to
Chinatown. Mrs. Warner took her down there one afternoon and Ailin instantly
felt at home. She continued to go back to Chinatown each week to buy the
ingredients she needed to cook. Ailin started to pick up Cantonese phrases in
Chinatown that helped her communicate with others. One day, James Chew saw her
and invited her to have a meal in her father’s restaurant. He told Ailin that
meeting her had helped him make up his mind that he was no longer going to work
under his brother, and he was going to open his own restaurant. They continued
to meet on her weekly visits. Ailin finally decided that she did not want to
return to China with the Warners. She decided to marry James and help him open
his restaurant.
At the end of the book, Ailin is in
the restaurant with Hanwei. He told Ailin that the times were changing in
China. If she would have waited, they could have been married, and she would
have led a much easier life. However, Ailin enjoyed the life she had chosen.
She decided that she wanted to Hanwei to send a message to her family and tell
them all about the restaurant. She was proud that she had helped make the
restaurant successful and was able to stand on her own two feet.
I feel like these chapters rushed to pull together everything that had been unfolding throughout the entire novel, but I still enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting that the Warners were actually much poorer in America than they were in China; for Ailin to take on cooking in addition to caring for Grace and Billy would have been a very humbling act for someone who was quite accustomed to at least having a cook around to take care of the food. However, Ailin is well aware that her social status won't ever be what it was again, and adapts well.
It seems to me that Ailin rebelled against the social system of China, believing that she didn't have to painfully bind her feet and that she could get an education and care for herself. However, living in a patriarchal society (well, sort of), Ailin was never accepted for these choices, until she meets James Chew. James actually gives her a means to become what she believes in, and do it successfully.
As far as Hanwei, I cannot help but feel like he's a little pitiful. It was like he always wanted to be with Ailin, but instead of pursuing her, he wanted to wait until times had changed a little more so it would be "acceptable" to marry her. I guess it's kind of a romantic American ideal that two people that love each other can and should marry, even if it means rebelling. But clearly, this was not the case with Hanwei. That being said, maybe Hanwei didn't like her for the right reasons.
I think it is quite interesting that one person can be rich in one country and then poor in another. The Warner's had a easy transformation from being catered to in China to being their own employees in San Francisco. This transformation for Ailin was very traumatic and a bit of a culture shock. Ailin grew up having maids and servants so she kind of expected and became use to that treatment so once she got to San Francisco and seen that the Warner's were far from rich.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tierra...it's crazy how you can go from being 1st class one place and second class in the next. That's almost a culture shock in itself.
ReplyDeleteJames chew is almost like a superhero to me. He is just like Ailin and has dreams of change fur the Chinese society. He knows he's not limited to anything, just as Ailin felt. They were both like silkworms and bamboo they were either a different color or too hard to change; but they were okay with this. There was nothing wrong with them. :)
I don't like how Hanwei talks as if his life is better than Ailin's because she's working. She's not afraid of hardworking and nowadays men find this attractive. Ailin married James because he accepted her and wasn't afraid of what others had to say; Hanwei was afraid, which is something that Ailin overcomes the whole story.
Like Tierra and Monique touched on, the wide gap between classes is very surprising between living in China and America. I expected some differences but going from having several maids to virtually nothing is mind-boggling. It was nice to see Ailin find someone new to confide in with James Chew and a person to finally appreciate everything Ailin has been through. The ten year bridge between them was quite large but that is just a generation gap I figured. The book did wrap up a little to quickly for my liking and I thought there were a lot of problems that were solved within a few pages. The last scene with Hanwei was rather funny to see him the way he was. He looked a little (for lack of a better word) pathetic, pleading with Ailin and asking her why she didn't stay in China and things were changing. I think this had to be very satisfying for Ailin and was an excellent last scene for this book.
ReplyDeleteThe Warners were embarrassed on the boat that they couldn't afford a better class for Ailin. Thankfully, she understood and was empathetic. Ailin had learned that people are not equal, and she figured out that it was easier to live well in China than it is in the United States. I think she made the connection that it would be difficult for her to succeed in the United States on her own, but she went anyway. This proved her bravery. What also proved her bravery and determination was her willingness to marry a man who told her that she would work hard for the rest of her life. She knew that from her past experiences that she was a strong person and that she could handle it.
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