Chapter+16

Synopsis Of Chapter 16: In Chapter 16: - Da starts off the chapter by working in the Canned Food Factory. - Then his sister comes and takes over his job so Da can start school again. - He prepares for his first English lesson with Professor Wei by doing his hair, and making sure he is clean. - When he arrives at her house, her dog growled and scared Da. - Professor Wei thinks that he is very smart, and she has hope for Da. - Da Chen realizes the uphill journey he will have to make to make it to college.

Important Themes and Issues: - Education is the main theme because Da leaves his job at the Canned Food Factory to go back to school again. He also starts English lessons. It is also an important issue of the whole book, not just Chapter 16. It is the issue because he is not sure he can make it to college, and in this chapter he realizes the struggle. ( Quote # 4 under Key Quotes) Another main theme is family, his sister sacrifices hardships so he can go to school.

Key Quotes:

"I felt like a big brother, unwilling to leave my innocent little little sister in such a horrible, dangerous place." - Page 183

"Educate me, I prayed. Teach me, enlighten me. Make something out of nothing." - Page 188

" 'You are very, very smart, I can tell from our first lesson.' She cupped her tiny hands, which were still beautiful, under her elegant chin. 'I am full of hope for you,' she said. 'If only you would come every day.' Her eyes were glowing with light as she looked at me. She was asking me to come back. I couldn't believe it. Hope filled me up again as if I were a sagging ballon. I was ready to fly." - Page 190

"I was overcome with mixed feelings of joy and sadness. This was a new start to my boring and hopeless life, but it would be a long, uphill ride from the very bottom. The hill was Everest and I was starting out somewhere under the Pacific Ocean." - Page 191

Symbols: - The fact that his sister would take his job at the Canned Food Factory symbolizes how important family is in the memoir. - The dog at Professor Wei's could symbolize the Communists or people out to get Da and his family. "After all, it was a man-eat dog or a dog-eat man world out there." - Page 187

Style/Tone: -Da Chen uses both humorous and poetic diction to describe his time at Han Jian Canned Food Factory and his first visit to Professor Wei. -In the begining of the chapter, Da Chen mostly uses casual and humorous language instead of slang and obsceneties to explain the events that go on while he is working for the canned food company. -In the second half of the chapter Da Chen describes his first visit with Professor Wei using metaphors and setting a very poetic tone.

Mood: -Throughout the chapter, the mood Da Chen uses is neither sad nor especially uplifting, and instead of using alot of obsceneties and slang, he uses mostly casual language or the occasional metaphor.
 * Example of Da Chen's humorous tone: (Pg. 186) "'//Welcome to the Wei estate, and could i have your ass for lunch?'// I took a step back backward and almost peed in my pants."
 * Example of Da Chen's metaphorical tone: (Pg. 191) "This was a new start to my boring and hopeless life, but it would be a long uphill ride from the very bottom. The hill was Everest and I was starting out somewhere under the Pacific Ocean."
 * Example of Da Chen's poetic tone: (Pg. 185) "Autumn filled me with emptiness, as if my heart knew the bleak winter was near. The sound of the buffalo always seemed to me the lonesome song of Yellow Stone's autumn. I used to sit by the river and stare at the buffalo in the distance, letting their song take me back to the distant memory of the summer now behind me, leaving me forlorn and melancholy."