“We rarely left our house to play because Mom said there were many bad people waiting to hurt us. When I did go out to buy food in the commune’s grocery store a few blocks away, I always walked in the middle, safely flanked by my three sisters as we hurried in and out.” (Chen 2)
In this passage, the author discusses about his childhood days. He was born in a town that was hit with drought and lack of food. The conditions in the locality were quite grave with the economic problems reflecting in the actions of the people around. While a child is expected to be innocent and play on the streets with companions, here the author was advised against any such thing. Indeed, the advice is not in compliance with the general view of children and their activities. In order to cope with the adversities of the locale and the people, Da Chen would hardly go out of the house as a precaution. During the times when he went out, he was accompanied by his elder sisters who would protect him from the people of the locality. They would return back home as soon as their work was done so as to avoid any sort of impediments from the people around. Thus, it becomes very clear that the neighborhood was not too friendly and the author had to learn ways to face trouble right from a very tender age.
“One day when I was about six I stood on the pavement watching a parade of Red Guards carrying their rifles and red flags and shouting slogans when a kid from next door, for no obvious reason, smacked me right on the face and kicked me when I fell. I picked myself up and charged like a bull into my smiling attacker.” (Chen 5)
This passage goes on to show the kind of adversities faced by the author when he was a kid. The amount of violence that this passage talks about shows the impediments coming on his way. As he is hit by this neighborhood kid, he does not give in to the situation. Rather, the author had the courage and the grit to stand up back on his feet at once. He even dared to hit that bully back as best as he could. The passage shows the resolute nature of the author. He came to learn to answer back to the opponent in his childhood. He can be described to be a fighter who did not bow down. This is what an adverse condition of growing up does to a person. His struggles and challenges only made him a stronger human as he was growing up.
“We had been stripped of all our property. Dad was fired from his teaching job, leaving a family of nine with no income. We relied entirely on a small food ration that went up and down with the harvest each year. A drought could wipe out half a year’s ration and a wet season would rot the young rice in the fields. For months we would have nothing to eat but tree bark and the roots of wild plants.” (Chan 6)
This passage shows the immense hardships faced by the entire family. The very fact that their father lost his job with a big to feed shows the amount of problems faced by the author at such a tender age. The lack of food shows that the very basic needs of sustenance were a challenge to have for the entire family. However, these hardships could not make the author lose his grit. Right from such a tender age, he went on to get accustomed to sustain on minimal food. He went on to consume roots of wild plants and tree bark- things that are not normally consumed by humans. This goes on to show the immense resilience of the author. This quality got developed in his personality right from the time when he was a kid. The passage shows that this person faced the worst possible adversities in his life, yet got over it.
“Mom was too busy crying and being nervous. She didn’t answer him right away and the secretary took this as an insult. He slapped her across the face, sending her whirling a corner. I wanted to jump out from behind the chair and hit him with my fists, but fear held me back.” (Chan 5)
This passage shows how the Communists came to their home and tortured his mother as he had dared to hit back the kid who hit him black and blue. The description shows the ambiance of fear and anxiety that loomed. The author was just a kid at that time. His mother did not have the courage to speak up for her son in front of the people. She was too nervous and scared. However, the author saw it all how his mother was hit by the secretary. He had the revolting spirit in his heart. He wanted to come out from behind the chair to hit that man as hard as he could. However, his tender age and fear held him back. Nonetheless, this passage shows how he had the spirit to come and speak out against oppressiveness- something that is truly commendable indeed considering the age of the narrator at that time.
“When I asked Mom why we had to hide in our dark house all the time, she said that we were landlords and the people outside were poor peasants who had taken out house, lands, and stores. They were making us suffer because the leaders were all bad. There was no fairness, no justice for us. We had to be quiet stay out of trouble, and wait for better days to come.” (Chan 2)
It needs to be noted that the family of the author were the landlords. After the Communists started ruling the country, these people were on the receiving end. The lost their riches and their property. The passage goes on to portray the opinion of the author’s mother who made him understand why they were being victimized. One can only imagine how miserable it must have been for the entire family as they were ostracized and targeted by others. As a child, the author came to see all this. He was advised to be out of trouble and wait for the better times. The passage shows the struggle in the life of the author right at that young age. However, this struggle played a major role in strengthening the personality of the author from that tender age. As a young boy, he was suggested to stay out of any sort of problems so as to ensure that the family did not run into any more trouble. It needs to be comprehended that the entire community was against the landlords, and this made this family suffer as they were seen as members of the class that the Communists spoke against.
References
Chen, Da. Colors of the Mountain. London: William Heinemann, 2011. Print.
