Essay Questions

Why is death emerging as a mystery in the story The Conjoined: A Novel?

The reader is instantly familiarized with a chilling encounter of two corpses in a freezer inside the house belonging to Gerry, Jessica's father. The mystery surrounding these deaths is that the case relating to them was closed many years ago by the investigating authorities since the children were assumed to be alive but ran elsewhere. After the discovery of these mysterious deaths, investigations start afresh and the case files are opened again. The police come in to start their interrogation. Astonishingly, the story comes to an end without alerting the reader of what killed these two children. Therefore, the cause of these deaths remains a mystery to readers because they are left in suspense.

What is the allegorical meaning of the police as used in the book The Conjoined: A Novel?

The police's incapability to uncover the cause of the death of the two children even after the corpses are discovered represents the failure of the human power to uncover hidden mysteries. The reader expects that since the corpses have been discovered, the police are going to do proper investigation to know why the two children died and put in a freezer. It is also ironic that Jessica and her father Gerry are free instead of being the first suspects in this case. The reader concludes that the police's inability to solve the case represents the powerlessness of human beings when it comes to answering life riddles.

How is the female gender discriminated against in this story?

The society in this story is depicted as patriarchal because men are the dominant figures in every aspect. Women such as Casey are raped and mistreated by men and nobody comes to their rescue. Cheng sister's father is an alcoholic and he tortures his wife. Jessica's effort in the investigation of the death mystery is not recognized because she is a woman. However, the reader recognizes that much of gender discrimination is taking place in the lower class of society.