Many Chinese people have the
traditional custom to look to their zodiac sign for advice and guidance, this
belief is really expressed in Shanghai
Girls. Throughout the novel May and Pearl are compared with their
respective zodiac signs, the sheep and the dragon. The sheep is said to be a complacent,
content, feminine, fashionable, artistic and compassionate; she must be taken
care of and thinks only of herself and comfort. The dragon has a striving
desire that cannot be filled, she is loyal, demanding and responsible. The
character’s embodied their zodiac signs when they lived in Shanghai, but I believe
their roles switched when they went to America.
In Shanghai, May was never denied
anything she wanted, as a result she grew up a spoiled child and threw fits
whenever things didn’t go her way. She was able to live a comfortable glamourous
lifestyle, being able to afford to dress up fashionably to model and socialize
with artists and revolutionists whenever she wanted. She was carefree and let
her parents and Pearl take care of her, however when she moved to America she
could no longer afford to stay a sheep. Pregnant and scared she adopted some of
the dragons strong attributes, she was able to take a lot of responsibility on
when she tended to her sister’s aid after her rape, she concocted the white
mask for them to camouflage and she split their money between them when they
were on the boat, she even thought of a clever way to stay in the interrogational
angel island until the end of her pregnancy to keep her baby, sister and
herself alive and living. When they were transported to live with Uncle Louie
she was able to create a job for herself in the movies because she had the
desire to be portrayed as glamourous and she achieved her own goals but her own
merits, she didn’t wait for someone else to take care of her but instead strove
for opportunities to push her career further.
In Shanghai, Pearl was the
responsible, loyal older sister that listened to her parents and took care of
May. She strove to get an education and demanded more out of life, breaking
away from her traditional mother and into a modernized Chinese woman. Pearl
lead a comfortable life up to this point, however when the sisters were hurled
into America, Pearl took big hits to her mentality of life. She was weighed
down with the death of her mother, abandonment of her father, torments of rape,
stressed for her baby, and left with fears for the outside world of her little
apartment. She let herself become a sheep, being taken care of by Sam and the
rest of the family and became ignorant to the world around her only concerning
herself with the housework. She became introverted and reverted to old traditional
stories and Chinese thinking because it was comforting for her to act like her
mother. Pearl displays these sheep like qualities because she longs for china,
once she accepts she’s Americanized she could move forward and make an effort
to create a life around her, but she still lives in fear because she isn’t a
citizen.
According to the Chinese zodiac I’m a rooster,
I am said to be an observant, hardworking, resourceful, courageous and talented
individual that’s very confident in herself. I think this is fairly true I’m
very hardworking, resourceful and observant, however I lack the confidence, and
I definitely don’t like being the center of attention. I think I am fairly true
to my sign thus far, I do get a little agitated if I speak and others don’t listen
especially if it’s one of my siblings.
Welcome to the MORE Program's book blog. This year we will be reading the University's One Campus, One Book selection by Lisa See, titled Shanghai Girls. As we read the novel, we will encounter various themes and topics which will allow us to reflect upon both the past and our own personal backgrounds. You will be asked to write about some of these themes discussed within the novel in order to more fully internalize such concepts. Some of the concepts you will be asked to comment on include, but are not limited to, parent-child relationships, diverse cultural expectations, gender roles, the importance of diversity, the effects of war upon morality, and the issues presented by wealth inequality.