Waiting

English

Waiting

Ha Jin - story of an army doctor named Lin Kong, who was forced to marry a woman named Shuyu whom he did not love. Due to this, Lin waits eighteen years to divorce his wife and marry Manna, the woman he truly loves

“Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu.”

The first line of the book - Geese are symbolic of marriage and discipline (motif of geese), theme of absurdism because how many times can a person divorce the same person? (The Stanger tie)

“He didn’t love her; nor did he dislike her.”

Lin’s feelings towards Shuyu - Absurdism = doesn’t dislike her nor love her, but it doesn’t matter (The Stranger tie)

“By now, after so many years of restriction, they had grown accustomed to it.”

 Introduced to Manna, the woman who Lin wants to marry but can’t be seen with her outside of the hospital grounds because of a new rule - Absurdism = Lin has gotten used to not being able to be with Manna (Tie to The Stranger - “After awhile you could get used to anything” when Meursault is musing about being a prisoner)

“Somehow he wished Shuya and Hua had hated him and barred him from this home. That might have made him feel better, at least less attached to them. It was harder to bear their kindness.”

Lin goes to visit Shuyu and Hua in their apartment in Muji city - Parallel to Meursault and him wanting to be “greeted with cries of hate” at his hanging

“This was the New China: who would look up to a young woman with bound feet?”

Lin Kong’s mother and father have chosen a fiance for Lin, but Lin does not like her appearances - Illustrates how Lin is very worried about how he appears to society and his fiance doesn’t fit in with new China (bounded feet, does not fit the social expectations/standards of women in new China)

“As men and women were equal, all the female nurses had to trudge along in the same way as the men did, though they didn’t shoulder a rifle and at times were allowed to carry lighter pieces of equipment.”

Discussing the march that the hospital staff had to do for field training - Establishes ironic mode - men and women are equal in new China, but not exactly equal

“His mother had never had her own name.”

Lin is getting ready to go visit his parents’ grave - Represents the social expectations of women in Imperial China, how women were supposed to be very submissive to men and their familial roles. In New China, men and women are supposed to be equal.

“A girl isn’t a reliable thing. She belongs to someone else after she’s married.”

Shuyu comes into Lin’s room and asks if he wants to have a boy because they are getting older - Represent social expectations and roles of women

“You have forgotten your class origin and tried to imitate the lifestyle of the exploiting class.”

The second time Lin and Shuyu go to court for a divorce - Criticism of communism, control desires and uses class as a weapon

“. . . who could choose any woman simply because he had power and rank.”

Commissar Wei is looking for a wife who is a nurse, hospital recommended Manna - Criticism of communism and classes/hierarchies, commodification of women

“a man’s life is worth nothing.”

Commissar Wei, Manna, and Geng Yang just watched a sad movie where everyone but Geng Yang cried - Criticism of the red army and a tie to The Stranger

“The young man planned to marry next year, although he had no fiancée yet.”

Lin returns to Goose Village to bring his daughter to Muji to find a better job and is introduced to Second Donkey’s son, whom Second Donkey wants to buy Lin’s house for - Represents how it doesn’t matter who you marry, just that you do get married

“A girl will have a harder life.”

Manna hopes she is pregnant with a boy - Even though men and women are supposed to be equal in New China, they are still unequal: equality only in words, boys are “worth more” as they can provide for their families