![]() Sek-Lung searches throughout the story for belonging, for answers and for identity, both for himself and for his people. She is also the family's font of spirituality, bequeathing her jade peony to Sek-Lung in response to his always-seeking nature. ![]() She is refreshingly free of ancient-Chinese-wisdom-style cliches, saying that old mouths "can drop honey or drop shit," as she recognizes the shortcomings of the ancient strictures and the inevitability of changes brought about by world events. The Old One as CatalystĬhoy invests great symbolism in the character of Poh-Poh, aka "the Old One," as she is the bridge between cultures for Sek-Lung, as well the touchstone for the old ways. Also, with his grandmother Poh-Poh, he creates a wind-chime made entirely of junk - odds and ends picked up over the years - the music of which is "splendid." Thus prosaically dull items becomes catalysts for learning and aesthetic appreciation. ![]() His uncle tells him about a jar of a hundred fireflies, and the vision enchants him until he learns the jar was only for light to study by. Two central inanimate symbols profoundly affect Sek-Lung, the tale's protagonist and the narrator of the novel's final section. ![]()
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