Establish setting, major characters, milieu – overall feeling
in the text, emotional centre of the novel – drama, comedy
Verisimilitude of Vancouver, city history
verisimilitude – setting, details of the setting, little details
that make the story seem real
Introduce morays of Chinese culture
“Poh-Poh” has power, matriarch, eldest, decision-maker
matri – mother
matriarch – the highest status woman in a family, the boss
matrimony – marriage (n) the father “gives her away” to the
groom
dowry – money that is given along with the woman
“took pleasure in her status” “arbitrator of the old ways” (6)
her position in the family
paradox – internal contradiction -
patra – father
narrator- point of view
NOTES:
“false immigration stories to hide, secrets to be kept” p6
Poh-Poh “Too much bad memory” p7
“Old One” Poh-Poh – respect, aged, elderly, high status
“Go to Gold Mountain” p9 Gum San
“law against begging for food… no law… against starving to
death” p10
“pea pod China men” p11
Wong Bak “an elder…so every respect must be paid to him” p11
“Grandmother must not lose face” p11
Wong Sin-saang’s face
“Is it a demon or spirit?” p15
funny- Popo waiting, forgotten in kitchen
“the Monkey King” p18
“Monkey talk” p20
Monkey King as Cheetah, cultural elusion
tried to pull his face off “A for-real Monkey Man” p24
Jook Liang bonded with Wong Suk
“This child not afraid of me.” p25
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