Cultural Separation

Book Review # 100486

English > Analysis
Literature

Cultural Separation

This paper discusses symbols of cultural separation in "The Jade Pendant" by C. Lim and "The Cage" by N. Bissoondath.

1,423 words () | 5 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer studies the two works, "The Jade Pendant" and "The Cage". The writer discusses that in both these stories the chief symbols invoked emphasize the uniting of the abstract themes of social and familial segregation. Further, the writer discusses that in the two stories symbolism is used as a vehicle to explain both the societal and individual separation of identity, thereby underlining and progressing the themes within the stories. The writer concludes that the stories "The Jade Pendant" and "The Cage" use central symbols as a means to capture the abstraction and further the themes of the stories.

From the Paper:

"The name becomes a very oppressive symbol then, a symbol that separates the narrator that defines her past and personal history and ultimately separates her from the very family the name identifies. The ancestral name as symbol strengthens the themes of foreignness and separation that permeates the story."
"Similarly, "The Jade Pendant" uses its central symbol, the pendant as a means to underline its themes of societal and familial separation. The story's beginning is a perfect example: Lim begins by dictating the history and myth surrounding the Jade Pendant, forgoing any sort of character or family description; immediately the reader knows that the Jade Pendant is more important than anything. However, it is Mrs. Khoo activates the Pendant that is important, as a symbol of social standing."

Sample of Sources Used:

Abrams. M.H. (1999). Symbol. A Glossary of Literary Terms. (p. 311 314)Toronto: Hartford Brace Publishers.
Bissoondath, N. (1985). The Cage. G. Dasgupta & J. Jiang-hai Mei. Stories about Us. (p. 154-175). Toronto: Thompson Canada.
Lim, C. The Jade Pendant. G. Dasgupta & J. Jiang-hai Mei. Stories about Us. (p. 13-19). Toronto: Thompson Canada. "pendant". Oxford English Dictionary Online. (2006). Oxford, EN: Oxford Press.
Sarangi, Dr. J. Land and identity in the Poetry of Stephen Gill and Jayanta Mahapatra. (Accessed Nov. 20 2006) http://www.stephengill.ca/index.html?http&&&www.stephengill.ca/jayanta.htm.
Slayton, P. (Nov 18, 2006. pg. D.3). Immigrants and Other Canadians. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.