In the Name of Passion: Yin and Yang in A Single Shard Lilian Tawfik 10th Grade

Beyond the realms of imagination stands a dark stained door, gleaming with light between the hinges. Tree-Ear, a young boy in the book A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park, in some ways leads the representative life of a poor individual in 12th century Korea. Tree-Ear goes beyond the social barriers and peers into the light - an act that was deemed impossible by an ordinary Korean citizen. He learns that there were always be darkness in his path to the light. Throughout her narrative, Park relies on symbolism to depict the true meaning of the Yin and Yang, in order to thoroughly capture his tenacious, unique, spiritual and enlightened character.

One way that the author depicts Tree-ear’s spiritual and tenacious character is through the use of the Yin and Yang symbol. Tree-Ear views the world in black and white, because while the rain collapses down like shards of broken glass, he remembers the springtime: a temple of blooms, blessings, and new beginnings. Tree-ear is particularly fond of Min’s prunus vase, due to the “sharp angles of the plum twigs” (52). Let me begin by an introduction to the prominent value of “plum twigs” in Korea. “Plum twigs” are perceived as gateways to the spring season, and are constant reminders of spring’...