Lindo Jong: The Red Candle- C-Rod's seminar

1. Do you think Lindo Jong's reasoning, after learning she was to be with Tyan-yu forever, was the sign of an intellignt mind or a desperate mind?

I believe Lindo Jong's reasoning was that of a desperate mind, which showed her intelligent mind, as many said throughout Chris' seminar. At first Lindo Jong brings up a thought of "throwing [her] body into [the Fen River]" (Tan 53) which she heard countless stories of it eating children and swallowing homes, but then she realizes something else. She stares into the mirror and finds someone deeper in her that she had not seen before. She finds a confident and intelligent young woman in herself. At that moment you can start to see the intelligent side of her, which was brought out by the desperate side willing to do anythign to get her out of the marriage.

2. In previous pages, Lindo Jong states that she thought the Huang family dear to her. Do you believe she meant it, or do you believe the promise she made to her mother made her feel that way? Why?

At first I believe Lindo Jong finds the Huang family dear to her because of the promise she made to her mother of not disgracing the family, but as time goes on, you learn she has forgotten the promise and just feels as though she never had another family. On page 51 Lindo Jong finds she actually enjoys working for the Huangs, and she also states she has never felt any better. So i believe she actually finds the Huangs to be dear to her only because of the promise she makes to her mother. There is also evidence of this because later in the story, Lindo Jong finds a way to get out of the marriage without disgracing her family.