Thursday, January 28, 2016
Family
One thing I found very interesting in Chang Rae Lee's OSAFS was the concept of family. Family can be seen as a driving force for the plot of the novel. Throughout Fan's journey, everyone she encounters seems to want her as a part of their family. After leaving B-Mor, we see Quig growing quite fond of her and opening up to her, talking about his dark past. Further on, with the crazy blood-thirsty Circus family, they want her to join them and to forget about Quig and Loreen. Miss Catherine does not have any children of her own and wants Fan to join her and the other Seven Sisters. During this time, the sisters grow close to Fan and would do things a family would do for each other such as sacrifice their own health and well-being to help her be free and find Reg. Finally, her Brother Liwei (Oliver) and Betty desperately want her to stay and live with them in their "familial project". Family dynamics and the sacrifice that comes with it allows Fan to continue on in her journey across her own full sea.
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Very cool take on Family, Darren. Another thing to look at is the type of families that are in OSAFS. We see very few families that are related through blood. Most of the families are connected through adoption or some form of encapturement. But does it matter? Doesn't seem like it...family doesn't need bloodlines
ReplyDeleteDarren,
ReplyDeleteI definitely saw these connections as well as I read through the novel. One of the most interesting things to me about the family dynamics in OSAFS is the ending. Though family seems to be a driving force throughout the novel, and family ties seem to be highly revered, why does the book end with Fan being betrayed by her family? When Oliver attempts to 'sell her' to the pharmacorp, he goes against his ties to her as a family member. Also, Fan ends up with no family in the end. Though she travels through and becomes intertwined with different family structures, the novel leaves us with Fan departing with Vik, who she seemed not to have a familial relationship with.