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Monday, 18 November 2013
Thursday, 14 November 2013
"Throwaway Daughter" Review
“Throwaway Daughter” is a young adult
fiction written by Ting-Xing Ye. The protagonist, Grace Dong-mei Parker is an
adopted girl from China. By describing Grace’s journey of discovering her
identity, the author effectively explores the ideas of family and identity.
The author develops the theme of family through the portrayal of Grace’s connection with her Canadian and Chinese families. Grace was born to a Chinese family bur raised by a Canadian one. The love and care she receives from her adoptive parents and sister show that family is not necessarily a link made by blood. Grace accepts that her adoptive family “treated [her] as if [she] came out of [her] mother’s womb in Milford’s Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital just like Megan did”; she is regarded as a true member of the Parker family. Sincere love and care is what forms a family. However, Grace cannot ignore her roots. Even though Grace wants to cut her ties with China, she cannot stop the curiosity about her biological family that rises as she gets to know more about Chinese history, culture and language. Her unbreakable connection with her roots is evident also when Grace and Chun-mei meets for the first time. They recognize each other at once and feel an overwhelming flood of emotions. Their closeness emphasizes that blood ties form family regardless of time and distance. Thus, the author conveys that the family is not limited to blood ties, but blood relationship is unbreakable.
Moreover, Grace’s internal conflict conveys the theme of identity. Grace suffers identity crisis due to the disparity between her ethnic appearance and upbringing. She feels that she is “neither and nothing”, belonging neither to Canada nor China. Grace’s confusion causes low self-esteem and leaves a missing puzzle in her life. Then, after she learns about the story behind her birth and abandonment, Grace’s identity crisis gets resolved. Likewise, the author illustrates the significant effects of her identity on Grace’s life to suggest the importance of knowing one’s roots.
What makes the themes stand out effectively is the use of different perspectives. The author shifts from one character’s point of view to another to describe in detail the character’s position in the events occurring. This technique facilitates more thorough insight into characters’ feelings and thoughts, so the overall message and themes are easy to grasp. For example, Grace’s uncertainty about her identity was revealed when she illustrated her envy for the children of immigrated Asian families and concern that “everybody is only pretending [she]’s a Parker. Her internal conflict and sense of identity were demonstrated well because of the technique.
Overall, Ting-Xing Ye successfully communicates her ideas about family and identity with the use of various perspectives. The author has made perceptive insights into possible issues that adopted children may face, and those touch the readers with the warmth of families and encourage them to look back at their upbringing that designed their identity. “Throwaway Daughter” is therefore a meaningful book containing significant messages for life.
The author develops the theme of family through the portrayal of Grace’s connection with her Canadian and Chinese families. Grace was born to a Chinese family bur raised by a Canadian one. The love and care she receives from her adoptive parents and sister show that family is not necessarily a link made by blood. Grace accepts that her adoptive family “treated [her] as if [she] came out of [her] mother’s womb in Milford’s Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital just like Megan did”; she is regarded as a true member of the Parker family. Sincere love and care is what forms a family. However, Grace cannot ignore her roots. Even though Grace wants to cut her ties with China, she cannot stop the curiosity about her biological family that rises as she gets to know more about Chinese history, culture and language. Her unbreakable connection with her roots is evident also when Grace and Chun-mei meets for the first time. They recognize each other at once and feel an overwhelming flood of emotions. Their closeness emphasizes that blood ties form family regardless of time and distance. Thus, the author conveys that the family is not limited to blood ties, but blood relationship is unbreakable.
Moreover, Grace’s internal conflict conveys the theme of identity. Grace suffers identity crisis due to the disparity between her ethnic appearance and upbringing. She feels that she is “neither and nothing”, belonging neither to Canada nor China. Grace’s confusion causes low self-esteem and leaves a missing puzzle in her life. Then, after she learns about the story behind her birth and abandonment, Grace’s identity crisis gets resolved. Likewise, the author illustrates the significant effects of her identity on Grace’s life to suggest the importance of knowing one’s roots.
What makes the themes stand out effectively is the use of different perspectives. The author shifts from one character’s point of view to another to describe in detail the character’s position in the events occurring. This technique facilitates more thorough insight into characters’ feelings and thoughts, so the overall message and themes are easy to grasp. For example, Grace’s uncertainty about her identity was revealed when she illustrated her envy for the children of immigrated Asian families and concern that “everybody is only pretending [she]’s a Parker. Her internal conflict and sense of identity were demonstrated well because of the technique.
Overall, Ting-Xing Ye successfully communicates her ideas about family and identity with the use of various perspectives. The author has made perceptive insights into possible issues that adopted children may face, and those touch the readers with the warmth of families and encourage them to look back at their upbringing that designed their identity. “Throwaway Daughter” is therefore a meaningful book containing significant messages for life.
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