A Thousand Years of Good Prayers Literary Elements

The book is a collection of short stories.

The settings of the stories are China and United States.

The narrator of the stories is Yiyun Li and he has written the stories from different person's point of view. 'Extra' has been narrated from the point of view of Granny Lin While 'Son' has been narrated from the point of view of Han.

Grave, Pensive, Optimistic, Intense.

The protagonists of all the stories are Chinese Americans. In the story Extra, Granny Lin is the protagonist of the story. In the story 'Son', Han is the protagonist. In the story, 'Love in the Marketplace', Sansan is the protagonist of the story.

The major conflict in the stories is between humans and their circumstances. In the story Extra, Granny Lin suffers from loneliness and helplessness at certain times of her life just because of her crucial circumstances. The major conflict in 'son' is between the mother and his son. The mother wants Han to marry but he is a gay so he cannot a marry a girl.

In Extra, the climax in the story comes when Anti Wang suggests Granny Lin to marry an old man. She may inherit some property for the later part of her life.

The old man's sudden death in the story Extra, foreshadows the dismissal of Granny Lin from his inheritance. In 'Son', when the mother does not show any pictures of girls to Han, it foreshadows that she knows that he is a gay.

In 'After a Life', when Mrs. Su gives extra dose to her daughter, because of the fear that Mr. Fong might get to know about her, it foreshadows the death of Beibei.

The understatement in the stories is that how culture, politics and history in tandem with each person's personality make their fate. People strive to save their lives but they have no control over their fates. Granny Lin make attempts to avoid loneliness and poverty but she remains lonely despite of all her efforts but fortunately she manages to save something for herself. The mother of Han wants his son to marry but after knowing that he is a gay she gives away her desire. Mr. and Mrs, Su married by going against their families but they were blessed with an unhealthy child who died later on because of over dosage by the mother. All the stories understates that man is a pawn in the hands of destiny.

There are allusions to bankruptcy, inheritance, Widow, Widower, Alzheimer disease, gays, begging, love, marriage, betrayal, market, mental retardation, extra-marital affairs and death.

There are images of Granny Lin taking care of Old Tang and Kang. She bathes Old Tang and then he sips in the tub. Then there are images of Old Tang's death and his family blaming Granny Lin. The story also includes images of Granny working as a maid in a boarding school. The school represents images of Kang stealing socks of other students and of Granny putting socks for Kang. The author has also portrayed thieves stealing Granny Lin's bag from her.

'Son' portrays images of children begging in front of church. There are also images of a mother showing pictures of girls to his son.
The story 'Love in the Marketplace' depicts images cutting a man on his shoulder. There are also images of betraying Sansan by her fiance and friend.

The paradox in the story 'Extra' is that Granny Lin helps the old Tang and looks after him but despite of all her care she is blamed for his death. In case of Kang, she spends her own money and brings socks for him. She attempts to save him from insult but still she is blamed for negligence and is moved away from the school.

In 'Son', Han's mother wants him to marry and shows him the pictures of girls but the paradox is that he is a gay.

'Extra' represents a parallelism between Granny Lin's efforts to survive and her failure. She strives to save others' lives but at the same time she is blamed for their deaths and wrong acts.

An example of metonymy is Granny Lin in the story Extra, who represents all the people who strive for their survival in life. An example of synecdoche in the story 'Son' is that the mother shows the pictures of girls to his son which shows that she wants him to marry.

Fate and betrayal have been personified in the stories.