Two writers fill the pages of Amy Tan’s latest novel, The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The first and most talented is LuLing, an 82-year-old Chinese woman who, in a tragically beautiful narrative, tells the story of her life before she emigrated to the United States following World War Two. At the heart of her story is Precious…
Tag: China
The Bonesetter’s Daughter: Setting
Peking Man Peking Man is an assemblage of Homo erectus fossilized bones found on Dragon Bone Hill, amidst the Zhoudoukian cave systems, thirty miles (fifty kilometers) southwest of Peking, China, from 1921 to 1936. Dragon Bone Hill was called such because local people knew it as a place to find the fossils they called dragon…
The Bonesetter’s Daughter: Literary Devices
Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is a literary device used by writers to present hints about events yet to happen. Foreshadowing creates dramatic tension as the reader anticipates what is to come without always knowing exactly how it will come to pass or even if it will happen for sure. In The Bonesetter’s Daughter, for example, Baby Uncle…
The Bonesetter’s Daughter: Themes
Family Relationships The Bonesetter’s Daughter tells the story of three generations of women, mother to daughter to granddaughter. Tan does not hesitate to reveal the pain and conflict in these relationships that cause the women to struggle with each other, as well as the love and loyalty that keeps them together. Throughout the novel, family…
The Bonesetter’s Daughter: Characters
Auntie Gal See GaoLing Liu Young Baby Uncle Baby Uncle, whose real name is Liu Hu Sen, is the youngest son of Great-Granny. He is thin and good-looking. He falls in love with Precious Auntie and a marriage is arranged between them but Baby Uncle dies on their wedding day when a horse kicks him…
The Bonesetter’s Daughter: Chapter Summaries
Truth (Prologue) The Bonesetter’s Daughter begins with LuLing’s childhood memory of waking with her nursemaid, Precious Auntie, when she is six years old. Precious Auntie helps LuLing bathe and dress, like they do every morning, then they go to the ancestral hall to pray before breakfast. Precious Auntie, who is mute, uses her hands to…
A comparison of the subjective factors between Di Hua and Juanjuan which cause the tragedy of their lives in Wu Jianren’s Sea of Regret
Wu Jianren’s 1906 novella ‘Sea of Regret (originally titled Hen Bai) is a masterpiece of modern Chinese literature. The book is rich in themes of morality and the challenges of modernity and patriotism. Adopting a tone of sentimentality that is essential to the Chinese literary aesthetic the novella deals also with concepts such as chivalry…
During the period from about 1405 and 1750 why was religious toleration practiced in some places and not in others?
When we look at geo-political and social conflicts across the world today we can see how religion is a factor in most of the conflicts. In this backdrop, it is fair to claim that the world would be a more peaceful place to inhabit if more people practice religious toleration. What is true today has…
Defense Spending and the Military-Industrial Complex
Dwight Eisenhower’s warnings about the Military-Industrial Complex have proved prophetic in the years since. Addressing the nation on occasion of his tenure’s closure, he reminded Americans about the threat to democratic policy-making posed by this corrupt nexus. Levin-Waldman’s concept of the ‘iron triangle’ closely aligns with Eisenhower’s understanding. Indeed, the former President had to strike…
What would I tell the 9 Billionth Person In the world with respect to Globalization?
Based on the current rate of growth of world human population, the year 2050 is a fair estimate of when the 9 billionth baby will be born. The rate of scientific and technological advancement in the last few centuries has happened at an unprecedented pace. As recent as the beginning of the 19th century, societies…