Common Struggles

May and Pearl are sisters who live a bourgeois lifestyle full of parties, drinks, and late night adventures. One night in their Shanghai home, their lives changed forever. “I’ve arranged marriages for the two of you,” he says (pg.19). This is the lie their father had told them, but he actually lost a bet and had both May and Pearl purchased. As part of the deal with Old Man Louie, both sisters were to leave to Hong Kong, but eventually they were to arrive to San Francisco with their husbands. May and Pearl both didn’t board the boat they were supposed to, and as a result get a visit from the Green Gang. The Green Gang threatens May, Pearl, and their Mama. 

            When the Green Gang had visited Pearl and May, they already started to experience poverty. Many new faces appeared in their home, so Papa could gain some money. Furthermore, they had lost their servants and their Papa kept only the cook and gardener. As a result of Papa losing all their money, the sister’s diet also changed. They no longer had the luxury of eating meat, they had to eat less exotic meals. However, although May and Pearl experience poverty after Papa lost a bet, they both cope with this new change extremely well. As the sisters experience poverty, Shanghai is at war with the Japanese. The streets are filled with wheelbarrows, dead babies, tourist, and poor people.

            The night after Papa had left his family, May, Pearl, and Mama plan an escape. On the second night of their journey, Pearl and Mama experience yet another hardship. They had arrived to an abandon shack, and had slept to recover from a long day of traveling. In the morning, they get an unexpected visit from a couple of Japanese soldiers, who rape both Pearl and Mama. Mama sacrificed herself, but it was curiosity that leads Pearl to being raped as well. What May does next is shocking, because from the readings she is annoying, stubborn, and spoiled. She gathers all of their belongings, gets a wheelbarrow, and takes Pearl to a hospital that is in the next city. Since she lost both her Mama and Papa, Pearl is all that she has.

            I have also experienced something similar to Pearl and May. My father left my family when I was a child. My mother coped with it extremely well; she worked two jobs to provide for my sister and I. As a result, we also experienced poverty. We often lived in homes that were granted to us from Section 8. As a child I couldn’t really cope with the idea of my father leaving my family, often times I was upset and sad. Since both of my parents were uneducated, I have felt that I should get a college degree. Unlike Pearl and May, who did arrive to San Francisco and lied about Joy being from Sam, I feel that what we have in common is that we are hardworking people. Pearl and May have to adjust to a new life, and both of them grow from these experiences.