Sunday, May 26, 2019

Explaining the Mysteries in the Story “Lucky” by Viet Dinh Essay

Viet Dinhs short story is ab emerge the change in relationship between a man and his Aunt and Uncle. Jae, the main character in the story used to like his Uncle Sung and Aunt Kwi better than his declare parents but suddenly had a change of heart because of an incident he experienced. Jae had been working in his Uncle Sungs store when it was robbed one day. The robber drop a gun against Jaes temple and demanded for cash. Although the robber had acquired the contents of the cash register, he also demanded Uncle Sungs wallet, threatening to put a crush in Jaes head.While Jae had been terrified with his current situation, fearing for his life, Uncle Sung acted as if his nephew were non in a flagitious situation, refusing to surrender his wallet. In the end, Uncle Sung bribed Jae $20 for his silence. Despite of his Uncle Sungs request for him to keep silent, Jae told his Aunt Kwi what historically happened during the incident hoping to get the sympathy of his Aunt. To Jaes diswhitet horn, Aunt Kwi also requested for his silence. Jae was scarcely 12 years old during the incident.While Jaes change of heart in his relationship with his Aunt and Uncle is understandable, there are some mysteries in the story. First, why would Uncle Sung and Aunt Kwi non want Jae to tell others what really happened during the robbery? What would Uncle Sung accomplish or get by non telling the the true or by reinventing the story? Certainly, Uncle Sung has nothing to do with the full incident and he was a victim as much as Jae was. Second, why were Uncle Sung and Aunt Kwi still mad at Jae 16 years afterward the robbery incident when it did not really did them any harm whether Jae told the real story or not?As a matter of fact, they were the ones who should be sorry for what they did to their nephew. Third, Jaes feelings towards his Aunt and Uncle were not really resolved. The answers to these questions were not very put one over from the story but I will attempt to find the log ic behind such actions by the characters. The answer to the setoff mystery may be found in Uncle Sungs sense of adventure. At the beginning of the story, Jae, who was also the narrator, related how Uncle Sung died. Uncle Sung, with all his profit from his businesses, was able to buy different cars, all of them built for speed.Uncle Sung died while driving one of these sports cars, where he evidently lost control, probably racing on a freeway. Jae held that he ceaselessly felt danger around Uncle Sung. Uncle Sungs sense of adventure was apparent during the robbery by keeping his cool despite the presence of life-threatening danger that he bragged about it in a get-together after the robbery. He even rebuked Jae for acting cowardly during the whole incident while leaving out the beta part that Jea had been held captive.The first mystery could also be solved by Uncle Sungs greediness with specie. It was apparent during the robbery incident that cash was more important for Uncle Sung than the lives of his workers, especially of Jae who was held captive by the robber, imposing a real threat to his life. Although, the robber was demanding for his wallet, Uncle Sung acted as if he did not care about Jaes life hanging in the balance. He told the robber that he did not have his wallet at the moment although he had it in his pocket all along.Although Jae ended up keeping his life, Uncle Sung refused to give the robber his wallet in exchange for Jaes life. That Uncle Sung held his funds more important than anything else is shown also by his attitude regarding money. By bribing Jae, he hoped to buy Jaes silence, and by giving a large sum of money during Jaes wedding, he hoped to appease Jae. Uncle Sung regarded money so much as to think he could buy people with it, as through the locution of their silence or approval.Note that this attitude of Uncle Sung works in tandem with his being adventurous to solve the first mystery. By asking Jae to be silent, Uncle Sung hoped the approval of those who heard his version of the incident, that he would gain their admiration by keeping his cool despite the terrifying incident. To fully accomplish this, but, it was important for him to leave out the part that he put Jaes life on the line, which also saved him hard-earned money in his wallet. Having found the answer to the first mystery, the solution to the import becomes apparent.Uncle Sung and Aunt Kwi were still mad at Jae because they held honor an important aspect, even though this honor was not rightfully earned. clear-sighted the real story of what happened during the robbery and his apparent refusal to keep silent, Jae represented a threat to Uncle Sungs honor. Although it was really not clear whether or not Jae told the story to others, he at least told it to his parents, as could be shown with their understanding why Jae would not want to see or be associated with his Uncle Sung. In fact, the whole incident was the reason why a strain in the extended familys relationship developed.Uncle Sung and Aunt Kwi were still mad at Jae because, after all that they had done for their nephew, he still refused to keep silent threatening the reputation his uncle worked hard to achieve. They held that Jaes refusal to keep silent is a sign of not only his disrespect for them but also of his ingratitude towards what they did for him and his family. Again, it displayed Uncle Sungs attitude towards money, that he expected Jae and his family not to cross him by helping Jaes family on their business. Unfortunately, the terce mystery could not really be solved from the solutions to the first 2 mysteries.Although Jae agreed to come to his uncles wake, it is uncertain whether or not he had already forgiven his uncle for putting him in danger and asking him to keep silent. Maybe he agreed to come, just as he was urged to agree to tender Uncle Sung in his wedding, because of his parents urging that Uncle Sung is still a family member. Howeve r, in his uncles wake, Jae told his Aunt Kwi that his uncle looked so peace of mindful. It is unclear whether this was a sign of him making peace with his uncle or not and it does not help knowing the reaction of his aunt.Aunt Kwi, after hearing what Jae has to say, pushed him away saying that he was ungrateful. There are two plausible solutions why Aunt Kwi may have acted the way she did. First, she still may hold a grudge against Jae for being defiant towards Uncle Sung. There is however a flaw in this solution. It was apparent that Aunt Kwi was preventing for the relationship between her husband and Jae from getting any worse through her action during Jaes wedding, wherein she move to put her husband at ease while Uncle Sung was criticizing Jae in front of other people.By preventing her husband from saying any further that may ruin Jaes reputation, despite of the fact that she disapproved of what Jae had decided to go against their wishes, then it is possible that Aunt Kwi no l onger hold any grudge against Jae. The second plausible solution why Aunt Kwi acted towards Jae the way she did during the wake was that she may have found no sincerity in Jae. Remember that Jae was only urged by his parents to come to the funeral and it is all too possible that Jae went only because of this and not because of his wanting to pay respect and tribute for his uncle.Looking into his eyes, Aunt Kwi may have cerebrate of this fact and so pushed Jae away while stating her dismay towards him and his being ungrateful, that after all the years and after his uncle has already passed away, Jae was still unforgiving. Saying this, the solution to the third mystery may be that Jae still has not forgiven Uncle Sung. This could also be established by the fact that Jae does not approve of his uncles adventurism, as is apparent by stating that he always knew Uncle Sung would die in the freeway and that he always felt danger around him.Works Cited Dinh, Viet. Lucky. Zeotrope All-Stor y vol. 8, no 2, 2008.

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