Racial identity is a large running theme in this novel and we see this interracial relationship transcend the norms of the society and time in which the novel is set. The narrator often goes on tangent that deter from the story line which I don’t have a huge issue with, but sometimes it made me loose track. She started a relationship with a man that is twelve years older than her and a different race than her. I don’t want to touch on this too much, but just know that it did make me uncomfortable. The narration was switched between the first and tire narration and I think this pays homage to the traumatic childhood she has so her mind was a bit chaotic. Therefore, making the narration a bit chaotic.

We see the amount of references to the Chinese man by the narrator. It is quite interesting actually because the narrator does not even refer to themselves with name. She refers to herself as the “the white girl” and to the Chinese man as “the Chinese from Cholon. This shows that their race is what identifies them rather than their personality or abilities and even though her lover is wealthy, he is not white and therefore considered an outsider. Touching on more norms, the sexuality norms for white women were basically that they were to save themselves. Her sexual awakening with this man also tore through the norms of this “virgin” stereotype for girls. I have not really read a novel where the sexual passion was so intense especially from a women’s perspective. Interestingly enough, as soon as she started her sexual awakening she came across a man as passionate as her who was willing to enter a forbidden relationship. Also the fact that the man in the relationship felt more vulnerable than the women was a refreshing change in pace from the books we have been reading.

She did not express true feelings of love towards her older lover even though he did. She honestly did not show much emotion other than lust towards him. But then we do see how when her brother died she had intense emotions and that showed she could feel love towards someone. But to be real, she is just a girl trying to come into her own. Even though it was not the most ideal way to go about it she felt suffocated in her life and I think this also relates to the heat in the setting of her book. She has the opportunity to escape so she does.

Question of the week, I picked out this quote (below) because it stood out to me. I wonder how you interpret it? Do you feel it is a straightforward statement or does it have meaning that relates to the theme of the book ? I think that it relates directly to the fact that she is a desired object who realizes this thought too late.

“No one you look at is worth it. Looking is always demeaning.”