Weekly Blog Post: Shanghai Girls

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

     Another beautiful book is told yet again. This story of two Shanghai girls astonished me and touched not only my heart, but my mind too. Not too often do you find a book that does that. And so I open this book to wonders that are portrayed in the mid-1900's. This is a story that will sweep you off of your feet; that will bring you to a place so unfamiliar that you'll feel as if you were transported to there. This is a powerful novel that you won't ever let go. So jump into this moving story of family, appreciation, responsibility, friendship, and of course: remembering where you come from.

     When I think of family these days, I think of problems. Problems that would arise if one were to make that crack in my family. I've learned that family is a fragile thing and I can tell that Pearl and May- the two Shanghai girls- learns that too. But occasionally I don't think of problems in my family, but I just think of how my family will always be there for me, no matter what. Pearl and May are sisters and they learn to lean on each other; along with learning to cry on each others shoulders.They depend on each other and that makes me see the bond they have with each other; it's truly ravishing. But their relationship with their parents is distant (much like mine) and it hurts to see two girls who try so hard to love their parents, but their parents only seem to notice them once in a while. Pearl and May try hard to be obedient daughters and they try to respect their parents, but it's like their parents are oblivious to them. And yes, that's very much like my relationship with my parents and I guess every teenager's parents as well. It's like that feeling of never accomplishing something and it aggravates me to see myself  try so hard to just receive a simple  ''Okay.''. It's a delicate emotion, but that doesn't mean it's difficult to obtain.

     Now, when I think of never being able to make (some) people happy, I start to think whether they appreciate me or not. I do well in school, believe me, and I try to help out around my family, but it's that feeling of invisibility that drives me wild. So I can really feel Pearl and May; they only want to be noticed. But the thing is that they don't appreciate their parents just as much. I mean, I wouldn't be one bit upset if my dad was the richest man in the country, I lived in a huge mansion with servants, and I was a ''beautiful girl'' in Shanghai. I see how Pearl and May suffer from never being given the parental love they were supposed to receive, but they're vain; cold and they can't seem to think about the feelings of others. I wish they would see that they're already living a luxurious life with no distressing past at all. Somehow they make me think of myself though. My parents have always been there for me and I've never once thought about what would happen if everything left me. Nowadays, my parents work long, harsh hours just to see me have a future, but sometimes I can't think about it- it's just too... painful. In a way, I am Pearl and May; the girls who try to fight their way out of miserable thoughts. They never think of something bad that could ever happen in their life- never did they once did they imagine their lives spilling out like a bag of marbles; and of course, the unimaginable happens.

     Don't get me wrong, Pearl and May know exactly where they stand and they know what they have to do. So when I see these two sisters try their best for a shot at their future, I see that they're not afraid to fight. I'm the type of person who speaks with words; not actions. So you can see that I'm not good at being responsible; I've been everywhere from broken promises to taking the blame. I've learned that not everyone can keep responsibilities and it is hard. Pearl and May are responsible for where they are now and it's a wonder to see where they had ended up. I have always been responsible for something and if I was accused of doing something wrong, I would take the blame on myself. I've grown up thinking that my responsibility was to take the blame for something and then never doing it again. Then I realized that everyone has responsibilities; so everyone has a part in the blame. So I've been where Pearl and May has been; a place where you feel as if the whole world is weighted on your very own shoulders.

     When I was in Elementary School, I realized what a cold, cold person one could be. I am of Asian descent and therefore I had a dozen kids at my school make fun of me and tease me. What I didn't understand was why they were doing this to me; not once did I tease another person simply because of his or her's race. I've learned at a young age that everyone's the same, no matter what the race (huge cliche, ha ha). I see that Pearl and May has grown up thinking something else different in terms of race and maybe that's why they suffer so much when they arrive in a whole new world: San Francisco. They try hard to avoid the lo fan or the Whites so they wouldn't get caught then get sent back; they try to bear with being in a whole new position in a newly found place. They try to make to make friends (much like me trying to make friends with people that I later learned would never like me), but instead they are rejected by society and only accepted by their new in-law family. I see these two girls as two people trying to just get by, but they are merely kicked out of the world that they have fought so hard to get there.

     Many times in my life have my family called me a chok sing which basically means hollow bamboo. And the reason they call me this? It's because they think I'm too Americanized and far more American than Chinese. Whenever they call me this, I can only think of where I come from and how I will remember it. Now, Pearl and May, these two girls don't give up on being Shanghai girls; they fight for their culture and although they struggle while doing this, you know what they are: modern, beautiful, Shanghai girls. And you're reminded on every page that Pearl and May grasp a strong hold to who they are and where they have come from. I wish I could be like that; so headstrong in my culture in race, but I don't think that way. I only think of being different from my culture (something that Pearl tries to do while holding on to her old culture). I can't remember lots of bits from my childhood anymore; it frightens me that I barely know myself. Pearl and May; these two are each others memories of their old life; their only memory. So even though they're building to their future right at this moment; they're still memories and postcards of the past.

    The is a powerful book you'll never in your life forget. This outstanding story of family and the bonds that tie you together to make one is unforgettable. In this story, you'll see two girls with everything transform to two girls that are just trying to survive. This pragmatic book will hand over to you a tale of two beautiful, glorious girls who aren't just girls, but Shanghai Girls.