In class we dedicated multiple weeks of class time towards writing a synthesis essay comparing The Escape to Gold Mountain by David Wong and Jook-Liang Only Sister: The jade Peony by Wayson Choy. Having not known what a synthesis essay was going in, I was not as prepared as would’ve been ideal. When it was time to start planning our essay using outlines and Venn diagrams and by searching for quotes from the texts. I felt like when I read the books the first time I didn’t follow along with the right thought process. Instead of critically analyzing the important points or styles I just absorbed the information to only benefit my understanding of the basic plot. When it came down to planning the supporting points for my essay I decided to re-read most of each text, because I needed a much deeper understanding than I had. When I felt more comfortable I started with a Venn diagram pointing out differences and similarities of each text.
This diagram shows how styles differentiate in each text but manage to convey the same meaning. With some further understanding of what it means to use a writing style I was ready to write an outline for my synthesis essay. You will see however that my outline is very different from my actual essay. I decided on different supporting quotes, and I reworded my conclusion several times. The reason is because, as I started to sew all the elements of my essay together they just didn’t flow the way I wanted them to. You’ll see this when you get to reading both my outline and then my essay (assuming that’s what you’re here to do).
This was my first time writing a synthesis essay, and though I had a rocky start I just kept trying new things until something worked. Over the entire writing proccess I learned new techniques, and writing styles as well as a new analytical process for understanding the use of style to convey meaning. I feel like now I would be able to complete a much better piece of work than this first attempt at a synthesis essay. I hope to improve my comparative writing skills in the future based on the foundation I have developed by writing this essay. To wrap up my reflection you’re going to see my final product. As you’re reading try and think about the proccess, how it’s different from my original plan. You could even think of improvements to be done and suggest things in the comment box below. Enjoy:
Meaning Comes In Many Forms
David Wong/Wayson Choy
Jackson Rogers
If you think back to all the stories you’ve read, the movies you’ve watched, try to remember a couple of messages delivered in them. You’d be surprised to find that there will most likely be stories with the same message, however they manage to be different through the use of writing style. The mood the thoughts and the characterization used in the style of both The Escape to Gold Mountain by David Wong and “Jook-Liang: Only Sister” from The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy, help explain how an oppressed people can persevere together to fight discrimination.
The mood in both pieces of writing both explain the harsh reality for the Chinese immigrants giving the story a sad feeling, however the mood shifts to a more satisfying feeling to represent the success of a people overcoming discrimination. In “Jook-Liang: Only Sister” from The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy, a change in mood is evident from start to finish when you read about the often depressing life of a Chinese Canadian family: ““Too much bad memory,” Poh-Poh said, and then, midway in its telling, would suddenly end a story of those old days.” (Choy). However, near the end you find out that when they all support each other as a family they do achieve a certain joy of being together. At the very end you are left with the Monkey Man going back to his home in southern China, leaving you with a feeling of subtle content. The use of mood is very similar in The Escape to Gold Mountain by David Wong. In fact it takes about 19 out of 22 chapters for the intense racism to fizzle out: Chapter 3: “Get outta here Chinamen!” (Wong) this is said early in the book to add impact on the emotions of the reader, it affects the reader’s ideas on the topic by making them resent the racist characters in the book. In Chapter 22 the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologizes to the Chinese people: “On behalf of all Canadians and the government of Canada, we offer a full apology to Chinese Canadians…”. The progress made by the Chinese in this story goes from the two polar extremes of all out discrimination against the Chinese people to an official sincere apology from the entire nation wronging them in the first place. These two books differ in the magnitude of the people they are specifically focused on however the message is still conveyed on the same level because of the author’s use of mood. The opinions and ideas of the characters on the events they are involved in, is up to the author. The author then has all the influence over whether the events are portrayed as negative or positive and therefore has some sway on what the reader will most likely agree with during and after reading the book.
The tone in both The Escape to Gold Mountain by David Wong and “Jook-Liang: Only Sister” from The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy reflect how the authors feel about discrimination and how that influences the way they decided to convey how the discriminated people overcame their unethical treatment. In The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy tone is used to make the reader sympathize with the protagonists who don’t receive a fair amount equitable treatment. In this case it happens to also occur to Jook-Liang when she is made fun of and called useless, or “mo yung” because she is a girl: “Job too good for mo yung girl!” (Choy). This line is used well as it strengthens the readers sympathy for Jook-Liang moving forward in the story. In The Escape to Gold Mountain by David Wong, tone is used a little differently, it is focused on the Chinese and happens most noticeably at the start. “I used to wish that I had not been born Chinese. We had to endure so much prejudice. The iron chink… it represents a people’s pain and sadness”. This is said by the Chinese grandma in the early pages of the book and because of the visual element of the graphic novel we see how upset the thought of it makes her. As the reader you can’t help but sympathize with her. As a reader you also already likely have a disliking for the racist people who have barely even been mentioned yet. Tone is very successfully used in both of these pieces as it is very unlikely that you finish it with a different idea on the topic than the author as they both inject them very effectively into the story and the moments of characterization.
Characterization strongly conveys the personal emotions each character felt during that time and can give you a mostly accurate personal account of what it would be like to be an actual person in their position. It shows what emotions and opinions arise in certain people when faced with discrimination. In “Jook-Liang: Only Sister” from The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy you see examples of this when Jook-Liang reacts to being called mo yung- useless: ““Mo yung girl!” she said, as if I would never learn a thing, however much I wanted to be taught. “Too much spoil!” I hopped off the kitchen stool, smoothed my cut taffeta dress against my spindly legs. The patent surface of my tap-shoes glimmered back at me; the shoes no longer looked second-hand, not at all as if they came from a throwaway church bazaar sale, which they had. I lifted each heel, heard two satisfying tap taps: I felt light as air, in control again.” (Choy) Jook-Liang is shown as indifferent to what people told her she couldn’t do because her acceptance is internal. We also see her father very motivated to take action against the lack of equity being shown in their society: “Father always editorialized in one of the news sheets of those Depression years how much the Chinese in Vancouver must help the Chinese. Because, he wrote, “No one else will.”. Sure these characterizations are based on different forms of discrimination and are of different scale but in the end, they are exactly the same. The scale of the discrimination is not what matters it is the intent and motive behind it that dictates whether or not it is equitable. In both cases there is proof of countering the discrimination. The obvious one being the father trying to get people to join together to become stronger, but then there is Jook-Liang. She ignores the comments made about being a girl. Since the comments were strictly verbal and their purpose was to get her to listen to their way, by ignoring them she renders those words useless. The Escape to Gold Mountain by David Wong shows examples of both direct and indirect characterization all throughout the story. “Racism is the last of human delusions to be overcome” (Wong). This is said by George Frisbie Hoar, speaking out against the ban on Chinese immigration. Frisbie Hoar was white, so it is interesting to see him acting out despite being in a small minority. It shows a certain amount of bravery to speak out on something that is easier to just ignore. George Frisbie Hoar defending the Chinese shows that the Chinese were convincing important people to do the right thing, by remaining a humble working people during most of the conflict. They did not become unnecessarily violent, or do anything else that would give the white people a justified reason to kick them out. This was a very hard thing to do but the perseverance of the Chinese people as a whole resulted in the long term resolution of being givin the equity everyone deserves.
It is very interesting to see the comparisons between two very different types of books delivering the same meaning. Tone and mood reflect ideas and morals of the author, and are used to successfully be delivered to the reader. The mood, the thoughts and the characterization used in the style of both The Escape to Gold Mountain by David is Wong and “Jook-Liang: Only Sister” from The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy, show that an oppressed people can fight to overcome discrimination through both support and bound persistence for equity amongst all.