Ethereal Fog
The difference that exists between immigrant parents and their first or second-generation offspring is the attachment to traditional beliefs. From a young age, her mother exposes Ruth to these beliefs and superstitions that explain the natural phenomena. These teachings allow Ruth to understand her mother and the otherworldly enlightenments that define her character:
“The air was moist and antiseptically cold against her face. She scanned the sky, but it was too light and misty to see any "ghost bodies" burning up. Foghorns started to blare. And after another minute, Ruth saw the billows, like an ethereal down comforter covering the ocean and edging toward the bridge. Her mother used to tell her that the fog was really the steam from fighting dragons, one water, the other fire. "Water and fire, come together make steam," LuLing would say in the strangely British-accented English she had acquired in Hong Kong. "You know this. Just like teapot. You touch, burn you finger off.”
Turnips
The narrative frequently mentions Ruth’s love for turnips particularly the spicy turnips that she liked since childhood. The cuisine is part of the family recipe and has been passed down from the previous generations in China. In the aisle, Ruth describes the essence of this vegetable that makes up her dietary choices:
“In the vegetable aisle, Ruth headed toward a bin of beautifully shaped turnips. They were each the size of apples, symmetrical and scrubbed, with striations of purple. Most people did not appreciate the aesthetics of turnips, Ruth thought as she chose five good ones, whereas she loved them, their crunchiness, the way they absorbed the flavor of whatever they were immersed in, gravy or pickling juice. She loved cooperative vegetables. And she loved turnips best when they were sliced into wedges and preserved in vinegar and chilies, sugar and salt.”
Emotional Scars
Akin to LuLing with her manuscript, Ruth kept a diary where she wrote her sentiments and opinions. Much of her writing is full of pain, anger, and fear that has trickled down from her mother and grandmother. In the diary, she references her grandmother’s suicide and LuLing’s suicidal thoughts in a callous manner that she later regrets:
“Ruth debated over throwing away her diary. She retrieved the dreaded book, still in the back of her underwear drawer. She turned the pages, reading here and there, weeping for herself. There was truth in what she had written, she believed, some of it, at least. There was a part of her in these pages that she did not want to forget. But when she arrived at the final entry, she was stricken with a sense that God, her mother, and Precious Auntie knew that she had committed near-murder. She carefully crossed out the last sentences, running her ballpoint pen over and over the words until everything was a blur of black ink.”
World War II
LuLing’s accounts allude to the Second Sino-Japanese War that takes place in the background. She mentions the pressure that the soldiers and civilians had as they were cornered by the Japanese troops:
“When winter came, we heard that many of the Communist soldiers were falling sick and dying of diseases before they had a chance to fire a single bullet. The Japanese had more medicine, warmer clothes, and they took food and supplies from whatever villages they occupied. With fewer Communist troops to defend the hills, the Japanese were crawling up, and with each step, they chopped down trees so no one could hide and escape. Because they were coming closer, we could no longer safely walk the ridge road to buy food.”
