Genre
Memoir
Setting and Context
19th Century China
Narrator and Point of View
Narrator- Chang Yu-i
Point of view- First person
Tone and Mood
Hopeful, Melancholic, Rebellious, Empowering.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Chang Yu-i and Antagonist is Hsu Chih-mo.
Major Conflict
Chang Yu-I leaves her homeland to live with her husband even though she never wanted to be wed. She does everything to keep her husband happy, but her husband is not faithful to her and abandons her.
Climax
Chang Yu-i struggles to achieve her goals, and she becomes a vice-president of China's first Woman's Savings Bank and also manages a clothing store.
Foreshadowing
According to Natasha, her aunt's refusal for binding her feet foreshadows her rebellious side that shows she never fears the society.
Understatement
In Chinese society, women are considered unimportant and vulnerable. After being left by her husband, Chang Yu-i fights off all the odds and supports herself by working in a kindergarten.
Allusions
Chang Yu-I is called Qing Be Be, which means Dear Uncle. Her nickname alludes to her strong personality and influential personality.
Imagery
In her book, Natasha Chang reminisces her childhood memories of her parent's house at Connecticut; the paintings, a carved beautiful wooden trunk from China that has tiger-claw like legs. That trunk is full of her grandmother's expensive silk clothes.
Paradox
Natasha used to feel shame about her being an American-Chinese in her teenage. After meeting and living with her aunt Chang Yu-i she starts to take the interest to know the history of her heritage.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
When Natasha shows Chang Yu-i her old black Cheongsam, she holds it and her face lights up as if she has seen her old friend.
