Blog #2 question #3

Blog #2 question #3

Pearl has had a lot of external factors pushing her life in different directions. The only stable period for her was when she was in her father’s home living a carefree life. Once she was sold into marriage her freedom was taken from her far before she reached Los Angeles. In escaping Shanghai Pearl, May and their mother where tossed into a movie like action scene. The part in the book where she has to find May laid out after the bomb explosion or the encounter with the Japanese soldiers are both tremendous external factors. She was pressured to do the husband and wife thing with her arranged marriage partner, despite having the choice the pressure to go with the flow was enormous.  The visitor from the Green Gang comes to their home and threatened them, setting them on a course to flee the country. Her body was changed forever when Pearl and her mother were raped by the Japanese soldiers. Upon finding out that May is with child the only way for them to utilize the Louie name to escape the refugee camp was to take Mays child. She could have let her sister deal with the consequences, but she has taken care of May her entire life. Since she has cared for May in this manner for so long to take the child is more of a reflex than a choice especially with reference to the predicament that they are in.  Once in Los Angeles she is thrust into a complete submissive roll for a while to Old man Louie. She thinks that as an American citizen he can have her sent back to Shanghai for noncompliance. She is forced to work in a café or were every Old man Louie wants her for that day. Pearl is forced to learn to be a mother by shadowing here mother-in-law and helping her with the care for the house and Vern.

It is funny how things change because after she runs into her American friend’s dad while working in the restaurant she has a choice. Her friend’s dad invites Pearl and her sister to come to stay with them and the choice is hers to make. She has begun to gain more freedom in the household. Doing things such as choosing to cook family dinners on Sundays. May and her child are acting and she is building a relationship with her, and Pearl has begun to create relationship with her arranged marriage partner. She chooses to stay within the Louie home when she could have left. Eventually she chooses to do the husband and wife thing but is still force to keep the secret of her infertility.

I often feel that outside forces interfere with my life far too much. If everything in my life is balanced at some point something will remove that balance that I try to maintain and it is always an outside source. I don’t think that anyone with a sense of responsibility will put themselves in danger like an external force. This is the adventure that we call life. The forces of our actions affecting others. Like I said earlier we will not purposely put ourselves in danger but the repercussions of our action may have negative effects on others.