For my literary seminar I read the story of "A Voice From the Wall" Lena St. Clair. My questions for the inquiry section were pretty challenging and really made people think which is why I believe they took a while to answer. Overall, the seminar went smoothly :)
After a little while of deep thought and referring back to the text, the first question I asked recieved the most feedback from the class.
The question was:
Ying Ying rearranges the furniture settings in the St. Clair’s new house several times claiming things felt “off balance”. What do you think the rearranging of the furniture conveys about Ying Ying and how she deals with seeing fear in everything in her future?
The class's responce was very close to my own, adding insightful thoughts and ideas to the topic.
I believe she tends to run away from pain and try to escape it somehow. This happened when Lena let go of her mother’s hand in the supermarket and she later regretted that she did not protect her daughter better. She is constantly telling Lena to stay away from “risky” situations or any situation that may lead to danger. This is Ying Ying’s way of teaching Lena to run away from fearful situations that can end with danger, pain, or a sacrifice of some kind.
The class agreed by saying that Ying Ying has trouble confronting the problem head on and facing her fears. The idea was also brought up that there was a reoccurring theme in which the St. Clair family seemed to be stuck in the middle of multiple situations. They are constantly finding themselves out of place and stuck between two worlds throughout the story.
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3 comments:
This was probably my favorite chapter in the book so far, but unfortunately I was absent during your lit seminar. It sounded like it went great and I agree with your and the class's statement that ying ying rearranged furniture as an escape from pain. However, I also think her rearranging furniture is her way of taking control. All throughout her life, ying ying has had almost no control over any situation. it is established that she has a fear of uncontrollable situations such as : natural disasters, being kidnapped, or murdered. Because of the language barrier between her and her American husband, he often unwittingly puts words in her mouth and thus, takes control of her actions. Ying YIng's miscarriage is also another example of an incontrollable situation that has been thrown at her. All the trauma has probably taken a toll on her psychologically and the rearrangement of furniture stems much deeper than just better use of residential space.
I also noted that because the St. Clair family is constantly stuck in the middle of situations, Lena, and perhaps other members of the family feel a lack of control. It could be that Lena rearranges the furniture not only to escape fear, but to gain a feeling of control. By moving the furniture, she is able to temporarily put off her fear. And perhaps give in to superstition?
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