Shanghai to Shanglo

Shanghai Girls is set in Shanghai sometime in the 1930’s when it was prospering and lauded as, “the Paris of Asia.”  The economic success was based on its bustling trade ports and the support of a large labor force of predominantly low class citizens. The posh urban settings were surrounded by slums and smaller poorer communities. The novel is narrated from Pearl’s point of view. In the beginning of the novel she is still part of the aristocratic class, so in her alluring description of her Shanghai Pearl briefly mentions the “peasants” as a small feature of Shanghai. We are drawn into the grandeur of the city with Pearl’s description, any mention of the poor is to describe their role in serving Pearl and her family. The callous attitudes towards the poor are attributed to the oppressive hierarchical social system. Pearl and May do not perform any menial tasks including cleaning, cooking, fanning themselves, and are driven around town. They possess no work skills and instead focus on their modeling. Modeling serves not only as a source of income, it also allows May and Pearl to alleviate some restrictions placed on them as women. They believe their wealth and financial independence can save them from living a life like their mother’s. When they are stripped of everything, their entire perception of their world and future is shifted. Pearl and May are no longer a part of the affluent and therefore they lose the awe of Shanghai and it is replaced with a bitter resentment to those with money. Their financial independence is staggered because any money they could accumulate would be used to pay off their father’s debt, they also cannot afford the trappings of the posh and therefore can no longer model. Their descent is expedited by their father arranging their marriages the only thing left deemed of value. Initially Pearl and May refuse to give up their dreams of independence. As the war zone begins to expand they are pressured to live with their husbands as the only means for survival. The journey from China to the United States is an extremely difficult task. Pearl and May had to travel a long journey to flee Shanghai and then endure the scrutiny of Angel Island. Their difficulties highlight the distinction between Pearl, May, and people in different social classes. Those who still possessed their wealth received priority and aid to leave Shanghai, this included many of Pearl and May’s friends who quickly turned their backs when they lost their money. Pearl and May had to walk a huge distance that would extremely arduous especially when they are unaccustomed to walking around the city. Their fair skin and exquisite clothing increase their susceptibility to robbers and upcharge from services needed to escape. Along their journey Pearl also begins to have appreciation for the working class. They receive aid from a women who appears to have little for herself, Pearl and May alter their appearance to mimic those who have lived as working class to alleviate additional attention. When they arrive in Angel Island many of the immigrants are poor and the two live in close quarters with many of them. The women they meet know a lot about old Chinese customs, remedies, food, and the immigration process. These encounters create dissonance in Pearl’s perception of the working class and cause her to introspect her place in the social schema.

I myself have always lived in the lower income class. This has made it more difficult to pursue higher education. Like Pearl and May I believe accumulating wealth may alleviate some social barriers and restrictions placed on me. Pearl and May placed a lot of value in how much their food and cost clothes. The financial stains I exhibit make me value a bargain instead of paying a lot of money for goods. I am able to work, cook, clean, and often utilize public transportation; unlike Pearl and May who needed servants. I also live in a very tight-knit community that supports me, college has expanded and augmented the support I feel from those around me. Pearl and May were isolated and did not understand where they fit into the world. They were not accustomed to living around the poor and they had no one else to support them. The financial strains added to me are not difficult with regards to how I always lived my life. Pearl and May are quickly dropped into the lower class and have little knowledge or skills to cope. Their descent allows them to develop more skills and independence much like I did to pursue higher education.