All That Matters: a Character Analysis of Kiam-Kim - Book Report/Review Example

?All That Matters: A Character Analysis of Kiam-Kim 0 Introduction All that Matters is a book written by Wayson Choy that presents a new creative element to the distinctive character of a Chinese-Canadian1. The novel starts with the story of a young boy named Kiam-Kim who is a Chinese and grew up in the Canadian city of Vancouver. Choy further narrates the story by incorporating the elements of love and tension between Kiam-Kim’s accountant father and his grandmother Poh-Poh, a former household servant. The main theme of the story in All that Matters is highlighted to the issues of the Chen’s family who were struggling with the challenges of migration in China during the 1930s and 1940s”2. This paper, which would particularly focus on the representation of Kiam-Kim’s character and how the author develops its importance to the overall plot of the novel, seeks to present his character sketch. Furthermore, this seeks to examine the character in a historical context that will be the basis for formulating an argument and accompanied by supporting evidences from the novel. 2.0 Overview of Kiam-Kim’s character All That Matters unfolds the story of the Kiam-Kim and his entire Chen family who immigrated to Vancouver in the 1930s3. In his entire childhood, Kiam-Kim was confronted with two opposing views where he had to struggle to unify his Chinese and Canadian cultural backgrounds so that he would be able to teach his siblings in making the best out of these two different worlds. The novel filters the protagonist’s character of Kiam-Kim who was only three years old when he arrived in Vancouver along with his father and his grandmother, Poh-Poh. Macdonald further noted that while the experience of the Chen family was assimilated in a distinct neighborhood in a Chinatown village, it was Kiam-Kim who recounted a place that only those people who do not speak any English would survive. However, as the years went by, Kiam-Kim gradually realizes the significance of his position on being the first son of the family. While he initially learns the secrets involving his family, particularly with the mysterious arrival of his stepmother, he also starts to understand the reason why the past and its ghostly elements are always with him4. Since Kiam-Kim’s mother died before he turned two years old, he was eventually taken care of by his grandmother, Poh-Poh until his father got hold of a concubine in order to lessen the tasks faced by Poh-Poh. Regardless of the fact that she is referred by the children as the concubine, she was still accepted in the family as their stepmother. As Kiam became use to living in a Canadian society, he followed his father around the community, wherein later on he became close friends to his Irish neighbor, a boy named Jack O’ Connor. He also had an evolving friendship with Jenny Chong who became his love interest during his teenage years. Donaldson further remarked that while Kiam grows older, his grandmother’s idiosyncrasies have lesser impact on him, as opposed to when he was younger, where he would rather settle to his adopted home. 3.0 Representation of Kiam-Kim’s character Kiam-Kim represents a character that shows strong determination in fulfilling his duties to protect his siblings and obey his elders5. Moreover, he portrays a personality whose desire is to teach his siblings that literal truths are not merely confined within their grandmother’s superstitious stories and tales. Green further describes Kiam-Kim’s character as a responsible, caring, and dedicated to his family. However, what lies beneath its casual composure are the tensions between the old ways in China as well in the conflict to that of Gold Mountain ways in Canada6. Although from the author’s perspective, it can be observed that Choy’s approach does not appear to shun from illustrating the racist nature that characterizes the events that took place at the onset of the 20th century in Canada7. Such characteristics can be reflected in the way Chinese workers were maltreated, suffered dreadful living conditions, uncontrolled diseases, and an inadequate health care system that confronted the people in the community. Moreover, Green emphasized that the lessons in history largely contribute to the novel’s totality. These lessons have been incorporated into the lives of Kiam-Kim, his siblings, his best friend Jack O’Connor, and Jenny Chong, with whom he could directly connect his future. Since the novel is narrated from the perspective of Kiam and characterized as “thoughtful, bright, and sensitive,” it is also relatively dependent on how Kiam, who is of Chinese-descent, would link the two cultures of the family, look after his siblings, and follow his grandmother’s order not to lose his “Chinese brain8”. 4.0 Author’s approach on Kiam-Kim’s character The main theme of Choy’s novel is centered on “the weight of family history and family secrets”9. Significantly, one could perceive the similarity between the characters of Kiam-Kim and the author of the novel himself, Wayson Choy. While All That Matters is fictional in nature, it does not, however, evade from the reality since its most interesting backdrop is set on the same territory that is reflective of Choy’s childhood in Chinatown. Like Choy, Kiam-Kim also grew up with the presence of opposing challenges between the ways of living in the Old China and the contemporary ways of living in Canada which are highly characterized with uncertainty on whether such nation accepts or renounces him with similar rights to that of Canadian citizens10. In view of the given circumstances at the time of writing his novel, Choy skillfully develops the plot outline in narrating the experiences of the Chen family, most especially to Kiam-Kim. The author sets the tone of the novel by situating the family under a series of events in world history, namely, immigration, the Great Depression, and World War II11. However, Choy did not also fail to disregard those other trivial events that seemed to be significant on the everyday lives of the Chen family. Certain experiences such as making a good business deal, falling in love, and getting along well with the neighborhood are typical events in daily life but Choy conveys them into something extraordinary. Similarly, the conversational story that was exemplified by Choy in the person of Kiam-Kim completely lived into the kind of life that is far from any consciousness that he had towards China12. Such condition can be characterized in his search for his true self and sense of identity, emphasizing every detail that is directly related on a person. As the first son, Kiam-Kim approached his way of life through the guidance of his grandmother, who insisted that he should live by the governing laws in Chinese society, considering that his new culture in Canada will not drive them into slavery or starvation13. In such case, it can be inferred that Choy represented the character of Kiam within the context of one’s culture that would allow readers to have an insightful perception on Kiam’s struggles with a culture that is extremely different from his own. Rivers further acknowledged the author’s unique approach in illustrating how Kiam struggled towards his passion for China and on his yearning to satisfy his grandmother’s desire against the realities of his new culture and the friendships he had established. 5.0 Arguments on historical context of the character While this novel has almost the same chronological pattern with the author’s first novel, All that Matters centered on the perspective of Kiam-Kim, wherein Choy’s approach of narrating the story is arranged towards the similarly conflicting backdrop in a historical context. The Great Depression, the Second World War, as well as the Japanese Occupation in China, are mere representations of the important events in history that are characterized in the novel of Wayson Choy14. Similarly, Wigston further notes that the author’s recounting of the events from 1930’s-1940 strengthened the entirety of the novel’s plot outline. The mythical images represented by Poh-Poh, along with his father’s sensibility, are the implications to that certain historical period that was highly dominated by social, political, and economic challenges, as expressed by the author’s holistic approach15. Moreover, the way Choy placed a certain perspective to the eldest child’s way of narrating their family history is a contributing factor that highlights the significant impact to the settings and character description of the novel. Moreover, the author satisfactorily expressed every detail of the story in providing a glimpse of Vancouver during the decades of 1930s-40s particularly on how the events such as World War II, the rail camps, and building an industrial city influenced in defining Canada’s largest city16. Choy develops the character of Kiam to provide the readers a meaningful experience and cultural perspective of living in Vancouver during those decades of war and disorder. In view of the given circumstance, it can be argued that Kiam-Kim was developed by Choy as an example of a character who has been left to define and search for his own sense of identity between two different cultures. This also implies a significant period in history, wherein human rights were the critical issues of those people who were facing challenges on discrimination. Miron notes that the racial minorities were among the active sector who challenged their own marginal status in society17. To illustrate an example, Miron further notes that some Chinese Canadians in 1946 attempted to create a committee that would repeal the legislation on Chinese immigration where they seek to influence the legal prohibition of Chinese immigrants in Canada18 Since most of the highlights of the story were taken from the author’s own family story, one could perceive the influential role of Kiam’s grandmother whose life has been subject to strict adherence to Chinese tradition19. From a reader’s perspective, one could argue that men in the earlier times were not as strong as the women in terms of being a role model to their children. However, this was argued by Li wherein most women during the Chinese Revolution were only a subject of discussion instead of being historical participants.20Although Kiam’s father might have a significant role in the process of defining his identity both as a native Chinese and a Canadian immigrant, it was still his grandmother Poh-Poh who shaped an aspect of his life. The historical nature of Choy’s novel is a reflection of a family’s struggle to cope with the contrasting ways between their old and new cultures. As for Kiam, this suggests a difficulty on a certain degree since adopting a new culture can be truly challenging especially if one still adheres to the traditional practices of its native culture. 6.0 Conclusion In brief, the story of All That Matters symbolizes the historical events that took place in Vancouver during the 1930s, where it perceives the experiences of the Chen family in their struggle to survive in a foreign culture. It is much similar to the author’s family story, which centered on the perspective of the main character, Kiam-Kim, who faced challenges of fulfilling his duties and his struggle to live up to two different cultures. Bibliography Donaldson, Emily. All That Matters. Quill & Quire, 2004. Web. 05 Aug. 2013. . Giese, Rachel. In the Beginning: See Life Loop Around. Daily Xtra, 2004. Web. 07 Aug. 2013. http://dailyxtra.com/toronto/in-the beginning?market=210>. Green, Sue. “All That Matters.” South China Morning Post 19 Jul. 2012: Print. . Li, Danki. Echoes of Chongquing: Women in Wartime China. Chicago: University of Illinois, 2010. Macdonald, Moira. “All That Matters: Growing up in Vancouver’s Chinatown.” The Seattle Times 23 Mar. 2007: Print. . Miron, Janet, ed. A History of Human Rights in Canada: Essential Issues. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc, 2009. Rivers, Robin. Mom’s Book Shelf - A Discussion on All That Matters. Our Big Earth Media, 2010. Web. 07 Aug. 2013. < http://www.ourbigearth.com/2010/02/27/moms-book-shelf-a-discussion on-februarys-featured-novel/>. Wigston, Nancy. A Review of: All that Matters. n.d. Web. 05 Aug. 2013. . History 287 Novel Response For this assignment, I would like you to prepare a 1800 word essay on a character from All That Matters. Basically, you will conduct a character sketch. You will need to tell me as much about the character you choose as possible. You will then have to tell what this character represents, how Choy develops the character, and their importance to the overall plot of the novel. You will need to put this character into some sort of historical context. DUE: 8 August 2013 This essay will require an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. You will also need to frame an argument, and support this argument with evidence from the novel. It is also necessary for you to use outside sources to support your argument. I think a minimum of three sources, plus your novel, will be enough. You can always use more if you choose. Please cite all work properly by using footnotes. Your instructor can also help you find resources. Choose a character from the list below: Characters: Kiam-Kim Third Uncle Father Patriarch Chen Stepmother Poh-Poh Sek-Lung Jung-Sam Jook-Liang Mrs. Lim Jack O’Connor Jenny Chong Meiying Mr or Mrs. O’Connor Frank Yuen As an example, let’s say that you choose to write your essay on the character of Stepmother. You will need to contextualize her character by using secondary sources that speak to the nature of Chinese women’s immigration. You might argue that Stepmother is developed by Choy as an example of the importance women had in Chinese families. Without a proper female helpmate, the Chen family cannot survive. Poh-Poh cannot fulfill her desire for grandsons, Father will not be able to expand his family, and there will be no one to take care of Kiam-Kim when his Poh-Poh dies. Without a strong female figure, the family becomes weak and unstable. Stepmother also provides a stark contrast to white women of the time. You might want to speak about the fact that she works outside of the home, something that was frowned upon for white women. You might also speak to the fact that she travels to Canada ALONE, something unheard of for white women. This is just an example, and a brief one at that. I think, however, that it provides you a hint of what I am expecting from you. Remember, I am here to help. Additional Resources: How to write a character sketch http://www.enotes.com/topics/how-write-character-analysis SPECIFICS: Due: 8 August 2013 Length: 1800 words All essays MUST be typed, using Times New Roman 12 pt font or similar. Essays must be double spaced, must include a bibliography, and must use footnotes. Read More