"In the Land of the Free"

Charles So
English 48B
Jan. 23 2011
Journal for Sui Sin Far

Author Quote:
"You do not know man what it is to miss the feel of the little fingers and the little toes and the soft round limbs of your little one. Even in the darkness his darling eyes used to shine up to mine, and often have I fallen into slumber with his pretty babble at my ear. And now, I see him not; I touch him not; I hear him not. My baby, my little fat one!" (882)

Internet Quote:

"the first Chinese woman writer in North America, expressed both her feelings as a Eurasian and her keen desire to explain what kind of people Chinese Americans were.¹ Among early Chinese immigrant authors, she was virtually the only one who was engaged in writing imaginative literature rather than social-anthropological works." (Literature Resource Center The Voice of a Eurasian:, by Xiao Huang Yin)

Summary:

Still attempting to cope with the loss of her only child, Lae Choo is very frustrated and vents out at her husband who asks if she had gotten any sleep. Her reaction is very emotional as she tries to express to her husband about her discontent and her emotional loss of her child. She becomes very maternal as she talks about her child. She talks about her son as if he was a part of her, like he was still in her womb, when she talks about the loss of her child she expresses it as the end of the world.

Personal Opinion:

In Sui Sin Far's "In the Land of the Free," she conveys the Chinese as a race of positive and enduring people, who work hard and overcome the adversities which are handed to them. From the beginning Sui Sin Far portrays the mother and son as faithful immigrants coming to America to enjoy the freedoms. From the confrontation between Hom Hing and the U.S. customs, you get the sense that the Chinese people are law abiding even through unjust actions. Throughout the story Sui Sin Far goes into the lives and mentality of Chinese immigrants, she captures their emotions and attitudes through the heart wrenching story and throughout the story she drops little pictures and ideas of Chinese culture; celebration of a baby's first month, description of food; rice steaming in the bowl. She also gives stark insight about the attitudes of Chinese people towards White people, it seems that Chinese people don't really trust Whites.