Rooster Alarm Clock
“After that historic morning we got into the habit of re-adjusting the time on the alarm clock. It all depended on how we were feeling, physically and mentally. Sometimes, instead of turning the clock back, we would put it forward by an hour or two, so as to finish the day’s work early.”(15).
“In the end we had changed the position of the hands so many times that we had no idea what the time really was.”(15).
Thesis- Sijie uses the symbol of the alarm clock as a representation of how much Lou and the main character have left to grow up. By moving the hands on the alarm clock, Lou and the main character are showing just how immature they are, and what they’ll do in order to be able to have a bit of freedom. Sijie especially uses the symbol of the alarm clock to demonstrate that even Lou and the main character are being forced to grow up on their own, and to do their own amount of work every day, they’re still not fully grown up yet, but they’re without parental supervision to catch them in the act.
Lice
“I had a vision of my body as a rallying ground for armies of lice, all thrilled at the change of diet, ravenous for the delights offered by my poor veins.” (71).
“His thin bony body was dotted all over with angry red bumps, and the skin was broken and bleeding and covered in scratch marks...Lining the seams there were rows and rows of black eggs, gleaming like tiny glass beads. Just glimpsing them was enough to give me goose flesh from head to toe.”(63).
Thesis: The lice demonstrates the struggle one will go through in order to be reunited with their family, and to keep a connection to the past and their memories, especially what they’re familiar with. Sijie uses the symbol of the lice as a connection to the topic of coming age. Luo and the narrator are willing to do anything in order to stay connected to their old roots, and old way of life. Both boys are not ready to give up on their past, emphasizing their reluctance to grow up and change who they are.
