Journal #34 Sui Sin Far

Shirly Ong
English 48B
13 March, 2008
Journal #34 Sui Sin Far

Quote:
“The little boy’s face was round and dimpled and his eyes were very bright…She fell on her knees and stretched her hungry arms toward her son. But the Little One shrunk from her and tried to hide himself in the folds of the white woman’s skirt.”

Summary:
This is found at the end of the story. In this quote, “she” refers to Lae Choo. This is the first sight of her son after Lae Choo was separated from him for ten months and the reaction of the kid when he saw his mother.

Response:
The ending of this story is so sorrowful. When the customs officers were going to take Hom Hing and Lae Choo’s child, they claimed that the child will be “well taken care of”. According to this quote, the child had a round face and bright eyes after being taken away from his mother for ten months. I think the child should have been well taken care of. When I was reading the story, I thought the child would be tortured. I imagined that he would be put in a room crowded with children who have similar conditions. They would be left there unattended and be starved because of the lack of nursery nurses. I am surprised that the little boy was in a very healthy condition when he was returned to his mother after ten months. Although the child is well taken care of, it does not mean the Chinese family was not harmed. When Lae Choo was going to hug his son whom she missed so much, the little boy stepped back from her. I feel so sad for Lae Choo because she has suffered so much when her boy is away. She has longed for the day when she can get back her child. I think the boy has accommodated to the living with white people. He held hands with the white woman and hide in the folds of her skirts but at the same time withdrew himself from his mother. Lae Choo must be heartbreaking. I believe this is only one of the examples of how Chinese suffered in America at that time. If the child has not been taken away from Lae Choo, their wonderful relationship illustrated at the beginning of the story would not be destroyed. Alternatively, if Hom Hing and Lae Choo had been wealthier than they were and paid for getting help in obtaining the required documentation earlier, their family would not have suffered as much.