Title: The Lost Sister

Author: Cathy Song

Cathy Song was born on August 20, 1955, in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, to a Chinese-American
mother and a Korean-American father. Song spent her early childhood in the small town of
Wahiawa, which, like many other rural Hawaiian communities, made its livelihood raising sugar
and pineapples for export. The title poem of Picture Bride speculates what the experience of
immigrating to Hawaii must have been like for Song’s Korean grandmother. It imagines her
feelings upon first looking into “the face of the stranger / who was her husband,” the man who
had been waiting for her, picture in hand, “in the camp outside / Waialua Sugar Mill.” In “Easter:
Wahiawa, 1959,” Song connects her memory of gathering Easter eggs as a four-year-old with the
image of her Korean grandfather’s hard-earned find of “a quail egg or two” along the riverbank
as a young child, eggs that “would gleam from the mud / like gigantic pearls.”.
Cathy Songs Lost Sister explores the lives of two generations of Chinese women. One generation
chooses to leave China and begin a new life in America. the other chose to remain in China and
experience her culture the way it was meant to be. This is a comparison of the two generations of
women and how they are linked by culture and seperated by lifestyle.

In China, women were put in subservient positions to society. They were quiet, obedient
creatures who "gathered patience". Song speaks of how women learned to provide for their
families, as they were "learning to stretch the family rice". Women were expected to serve a
purpose and be seen and not heard.

The following generation chose to go to America and lead a very different kind of life. American
culture is vastly different from that of China and women are given the opportunity to experience
freedom as a a first class citizen. This collective is described as "a sister across the ocean, who
relinquished her name", giving the reader the impression that this generation was rebelliously
rejecting her culture, "diluting jade green with the blue of the Pacific".

However, these women were both losing and gaining by their choices. Chinese women who
chose to remain in China traded freedom for their culture. They were afraid to leave the
familiarity of their lives thee for an uncertain future in America Had they gone to America, they
would have lost the opportunity to experience Chinese culture firsthand. They lose the freedom
that the next generation would have and gained the experience of living in their native culture
accepting it as a way of life. These women were admirable because of their strength to choose
their culture and family over anything else. Their dedication is at a level close to monks and
saints. They were able to find harmony in their lives because it was all they ever knew.

An overview of literary facts

Plot:
The plot of the poem is about two Chinese women who are sisters, one has immigrated to
America and feels out of place, much like any foreigner who feels stuck between feelings of no
longer inhabiting one’s native country versus being in a new country. The speaker is an outsider
looking in at these two similar conflicts arising in the lives of the two Chinese women.

Themes:
Lost Sister tells the struggle of the two Chinese two peasant women with an emphasis on the
ideas of human tailoring and submission. Song details how the women are not to leave the home
be obedient and most of all to accept these things and even be grateful for them. The second half
tells of a brave woman who travels to America where opportunity is everywhere. Unfortunately,
she struggles with assimilation and hostility and the eastern nor western, but caught between
cultures.

Techniques
 Metaphors
 Ironic
 Imagery

The story of The Lost Sister by Cathy Song

Initial Conflict:
The author Cathy Song uses these two characters as a means to explain her own cultural identity
issues. The central conflict of the story is that both the women face degrees of isolation,
helplessness and discrimination in their two different worlds. The Chinese woman is filled with
sorrow and helplessness because in ancient China women’s lives were already predetermined
from birth. From peasant women to the rich elite, women were just secondary characters in their
own stories and lives. From the ancient cultural tradition of binding women and girls’ feet in
shoes the sizes of teacups to the manual laboring on the rice fields, traditional Chinese women
weren’t expected to do much other than menial work and mother-wifely duties. On the other
hand, the other Chinese sister is a foreigner in America, a place she feels she do not belong and
cannot completely assimilate into. These women both suffer from a sense of loss of their own
individual identity.

Climax:
Jade plays a very significant role in Chinese culture. Jade is a precious stone that can be found in
China and Burma. The Chinese people have used this valuable stone for a variety of crafts,
spiritual healing and jewelry. Jade’s meaning to the Chinese people is of beauty, purity and
grace. The symbolism of Jade in the poem is that like Jade, Chinese women are very important to
Chinese society. Chinese women are expected to be all of those characteristics listed above; pure,
beautiful and graceful.

In the second half of the poem Jade’s meaning is changed when Song writes, “You find you need
China: your one fragile identification, a jade link handcuffed to your wrist.” Now Song uses Jade
to mean a bridge of heritage to all Chinese people no matter where they may live in the world.
They will always be Chinese and have a connection to Ancient China. Since this poem is about
Cathy Song’s identity issues of being both of Chinese and Korean descent living in Hawaii, I can
understand why Song would make such a poem about the lives of a traditional Chinese woman
and an immigrant Chinese woman like her mother. Song feels a strong connection to the stone
jade which gives her a sense of security while finding comfort in China. She overemphasizes
Jade throughout the poem because the Chinese culture finds Jade invaluable.

Note of the poem:

Most people have traditions that they are made to follow. However, not everybody wants to
go along with the customs imposed on them. When this happens, some might feel like rebelling
and breaking away from that culture. Yet, no matter where they go or what they do, there will
always be a connection between them and their home country and culture that their new home
cannot replace. In the poem, “Lost Sister”, the author, Cathy Song, reveals to the reader the story
of a woman from China who attempts to escape her heritage. Through the use of symbolism,
simile, and apostrophe, Song allows the reader to understand the struggle of losing one’s cultural
identity.
The speaker begins the poem with symbolism that explains the Chinese tradition of naming a
firstborn daughter Jade. By describing Jade as a “stone that in the far fields/could moisten the dry
season,/could make men move mountains/for the healing green of the inner hills/glistening like
slices of winter melon” (5-9) the author is setting up Jade to symbolize the Chinese values of
beauty and loyalty. Loyalty is greatly valued in China and this is reflected in the account of Jade
“[moistening] the dry season” (6) which would help the people of China avoid starvation. While
beauty is emphasized by having Jade be so beautiful that it could “make men move mountains”
(7).When the speaker explains to the reader that the daughters would learn “to stretch the family
rice,/to quiet the demons,/the hungry stomachs” (23-25), the author conveys to the audience that
the daughters are expected to uphold these values. This then ties these culturally important traits
to the daughters which sets them as symbols for the old Chinese culture.

The cherished Chinese value of loyalty is then broken when the speaker states that “There is a
sister/across the ocean,/who relinquished her name,/diluting jade green/with the blue of the
Pacific” (26-30). The mixing of the jade green and the blue of the Pacific symbolizes her
rebellion. As she leaves her home behind, she is casting aside all of the rules and traditions she
was made to follow in China . This “lost sister” is relinquishing the expectations that came with
having the name Jade. A tone of disgust is revealed here as the author describes the sister as
“Rising with a tide of locusts” (31). It is clear that the author doesn’t approve of this woman’s
actions as she is comparing her, and the others aboard the ship, to an insect whose infestation has
been called a plague. Near the end of the poem, it is stated that the sister brought “fermented
seeds, Mah-Jong tiles and firecrackers” (43) with her. These are all objects that are prevalent
throughout Chinese culture and they symbolize the woman’s cultural identity as shown when
they are called “The meager provisions and sentiments/of once belonging”. Even though she has
these things to remind her of China, they do nothing against the “flimsy household/...Dough-
faced landlords” (44-48) and the “loneliness,/[that] can strangulate like jungle vines” (39-40) in
America. At this moment, the sister realizes that she does not belong in America. She finds that
she needs China, her “one fragile identification” (54). The speaker states that there is “a jade
link/handcuffed to [her] wrist” (55-56). The author uses the jade link to symbolize the tie with
China that the “lost sister” will always have through her name, Jade.

Song explains the burden of having the name Jade and further emphasizes the lost
sister’s need for China through the use of similes. When the speaker explains the “glistening” (9)
of Jade to be “like slices of winter melon” (9), she, again, highlights the cultural importance of
Jade by making it seem even more beautiful and a permanent part of the land. She also
underlines the beauty and reveals her own positive, personal opinion of China, which later
contrasts the uglier descriptions of America. A few lines after, the speaker states that the sisters
back in China were “as dormant as the rooted willow/ as redundant as the farmyard hens” (19-
20). These two similes describe the old Chinese practice of foot binding which did not allow the
women to move around due to their misshapen feet, hence the comparison. This is later
contrasted to the “many roads/[on which] women can stride along with men” (35-36) in
America. However, it also becomes obvious to the reader that although the lost sister knows that
traditions such as the foot binding are wrong, she still yearns for what she used to know and
where she use to belong. It also proves that even though, in America, men and women can walk
the same roads, she still feels lonely and out of place.
 Apostrophe is used in order to emphasize a change in tone from the previous sections.
Throughout most of the poem, the speaker addresses the subject as “sister”. Suddenly, the
subject is addressed by the pronoun “you” as written in the line, “of laundry lines and restaurant
chains./You find you need China:” (52-53). This shift represents a change in the tone of the
poem. By addressing the sister in the second person, Song makes it seem as though she is
addressing the reader instead. This makes it seem much more urgent and personal to the reader.
It also seems as though Song is addressing herself, as if she were recalling a memory, which
makes the reader feel that it is also personal to the author. This creates a sense of connection
between the reader and the author. The urgency and personal aspects to this change also create a
more intimate and almost accusing tone.
After moving to America, the sister lost her cultural identity and suffered through all of the
loneliness that comes with moving away from a place you know and long for. However, she
avoided the demanding values of the Chinese culture. Using symbolism, similes, and assonance
to explain Chinese traditions and contrast the customs and lifestyles of people in America and
China, Song teaches the readers that culture is important and that losing cultural identity
coincides with losing part of oneself.

Some useful vocabulary:

Glistening: to reflect a sparkling light or a faint intermittent glow.

Luxury: a condition of abundance or great ease and comfort.
Dormant: represented on a coat of arms in a lying position with the head on the forepaws.

Guided Questions:
1. How many characters are introduced first?
2. What is the setting?
3. What is the Plot?
4. Who is the speaker?
5. What is the conflict?

Probable answers to the questions:

1. Jade plays a very significant role in Chinese culture. Jade is a precious stone that can be found
in China and Burma.
2. The setting for the first half of the poem Lost Sister is in ancient China. The second half of the
poem takes us overseas to modern America. Cathy Song again hints at an ambiguous wilderness
where “loneliness can strangulate like jungle vines.
3. The plot of the poem is about two Chinese women who are sisters, one have immigrated to
America and feels out of place, much like any foreigner who feels stuck between feelings of no
longer inhabiting one’s native country versus being in a new country.
4. The speaker is an outsider looking in at these two similar conflicts arising in the lives of the
two Chinese women.
5. The central conflict of the story is that both the women face degrees of isolation, helplessness
and discrimination in their two different worlds. The Chinese woman is filled with sorrow and
helplessness because in ancient China women’s lives were already predetermined from birth.
From peasant women to the rich elite, women were just secondary characters in their own stories
and lives. From the ancient cultural tradition of binding women and girls’ feet in shoes the sizes
of teacups to the manual laboring on the rice fields, traditional Chinese women weren’t expected
to do much other than menial work and mother-wifely duties. On the other hand, the other
Chinese sister is a foreigner in America, a place she feels she do not belong and cannot
completely assimilate into. These women both suffer from a sense of loss of their own individual
identity.
 " Karanasan sa Pag-ibig "
(tekstong naratibo)

Minsan, may isang tao sa ating buhay na nagpapakita ng kakaibang klase ng

pagmamahal. Pagmamahal na ipaparamdam sayo na mahalaga ka sa buhay ng
isang tao. Pagmamahal na nagbibigay ng kakaibang pag-aalaga sayo. Pagmamahal
na nagbibigay ng inspirasyon upang magawa ang mga bagay na sa tingin mo ay
imposible hanggang sa dumating ang pagkakataon na ang taong nagpaparamdam
sayo ng kakaibang pagmamahal, ay hindi mo na rin kayang bitawan.

Itago mo ako sa pangalang Angel. Ako po ay isang lalaki, nag-aaral bilang isang
Animation at Computer Progamming sa paaralan ng Brokenshire College Toril sa
baitang 11. Ako'y labin-walong gulang. Sa haba ng karanasan ko sa pagmamahal,
minsan tumatakbo na sa isip na tumigil nalang dahil sa paulit-ulit na sakit na aking
nararamdaman. Dahil sa hindi mawala saking isipan ang kasabihan na, " Feelings
are not permanent ". Yung tipong mamahalin ka sa simula, at kapag lumaon na'y
iiwan ka sa hindi maipaliwanag na dahilan. Itago niyo siya pangalang Rouge. Ang
babaeng nagpabago sa buhay ko. Mula sa madilim na karanasan, binigyan niya ng
liwanag ang aking daan. Mula sa isang binatang walang plano at pamamaraan sa
buhay, tinuruan niya ako kung paano bigyan ng halaga ang pag-aaral. Mula sa isang
binatang ayaw nang magmahal, ngayon, tinuruan niya akong kung paano ulit
mahal.
Vennie-cer
Madami na kaming pinagdaanan sa buhay. Naging lovers kami ngunit walang lebel
sa sitwasyon ng pagmamahalan. Ang alam lang namin ay merong ako, at merong
ikaw, pero walang kami. Alam namin saming sarili na mahal namin ang isa't - isa.
Marami na kaming pinagdaan na mga pabsubok sa buhay, lalong - lalo na sa aming
pagmamahalan. Ngunit hindi namin ito nagawang sukoan. Marami narin kaming
naranasan na kasiyahan at kalungkutan sa buhay. Alam ko sa sarilo ko, na mahal
niya ako, kaya sa huling pagkakataong ito, mananatili akong tapat sa
pagmamahalan naming iyon. Tumatak na sa isipan ko na hindi ako susuko at
maghihintay ako sa tamang panahon na maririnig ko sa kanya harap - harapan ang
salitang, " OO ". Niligawan ko siya sa pamamarang gusto ko at gusto ng pamilya
niya. Hindi ko aiya pinabayan na maging malungkot araw-araw. Hanggang sa
dumalas na ang pag-aaway, pagsisigawan at di pagkakaintindihan.
Vennie-cer
Dumating na ang panahon na kung saan madalas na kaming nag-aaway dahil sa
selos, di mapaliwanag na dahilan at dahil sa pride. Dito ko na naisip at naramdaman
na unti-unti nang nawawala ang pagmamahal niya na pinaramdam sakin. Takot
akong mawala pa siya sa buhay ko, pero hindi naman natin mapipilit ang isang tao
na mahalin tayo. Ngunit handa ka ba kung sakaling mangyari ito sa buhay mo na
isang araw, yung taong nagturo sayo kung paano magmahal ulit, siya pa yung
mawawala nang hindi mo malaman-laman ang tunay na dahilan.

Oo di siya nawala sa pisikal na antas, pero yung pagmamahal niya na dati kong
naramdaman sa kanya, tila ba parang bula na sa isang idlap ay nawala.Palagi ko pa
rin siya nakikita saming eskwelahan, ngunit ang pagpapansinan na kadalasan
naming ginawa ay naglaho naglaho nalang bigla. Pakiramdam ko, nawala na talaga
siyang nararamdaman para sakin. Kaya nagdisisyon ako na itigil na rin ang
nararamdaman ko para sa kanya at lumayo-layo para makalimut sa sakit na
nararamdaman. Ngunit ipinangako ko sa sarili ko, na siya ang kahuli-huling babae
na mamahalin ko.

Hanggang dito nalang at maraming salamat.

DROGA SA KABATAAN?
(Tekstong Argumentatibo)
ni Cristine Castillo
Isa sa pinakamalaking problemang kinakaharap ng bansa ay ang kasalukuyang
hindi maayos na gawain ng mga kabataan. Mga gawang pawing nakakasira sa
harapan ng iba katulad na lamang ng masasamang bisyo. Ang pagkalat at
pagpapabaya sa mga naiwang problema ay nagiging sanhi o mas lalo pang
nagiging malaki itong problema na siyang kakalat pa sa marami.
Marami na akong nalalaman tungkol sa masamang gawaing gawa ng mga
kabataan. dahilan na ng mga balitang naririnig ko sa telebisyon at radio. Isa na
rito ang pagkalulong sa droga. Ngunit masama ba talaga ito sa tao ?
Pagkalulong sa droga. Marami tayong nababalitaan na nangyayari na tumutukoy
sa masamang bisyong ito. Maraming namamatay araw-araw dahil sa pagpatay sa
mga lulong sa bisyong ito. Oo, at naniniwala na ako na sobrang masamang-
masama na ang naidudulot ng ilegal na droga sa kabataan ngayon ay
nakakagawa tayo ng maling gawain. Hindi maayos ang nagiging laman ng ating
isip at lalong-lalo na hindi sumasang-ayon sa tama ang tibok ng puso. Sa
katunayan,ang droga, isa na itong kadahilanan kung kaya’t hindi
nakakapagtapos ng pag-aaral ang mga bata sa bansa. Ang ilan ay nalulong na
rito at pawang dito na lamang nakatuon ang kanilang mga isip at pansin. Ang
droga ay masama dahil ginagawa niya tayong pabaya sa mga baga-bagay na
dapat nating gawin.
Ngunit mayroon nagsasabi na hindi delikado ang paggamit ng droga. Ang droga
ay nakaka adik lamang ngunit wala pang patunay na masama ito sa atin. Ang
mga sumusulpot na balitang katulad nito ay mga bagay-bagay lamang na
sadyang nagpapatunay na ito ay walang masamang epekto.
Oo, marahil isipin ng iba na magulo ang sitwasyon ngayon tungkol rito. May mga
positibo at negatibong ebidensya pero hindi pa ito maayos napapatunayan. Ang
totoong dahilan lang naman kung bakit ito ay mabuti ay nakakaadik at nagiging
masama lamang ito dahil sinasabing nakakasira ng buhay. Sabi nga nila, lahat ng
masarap ay nakakaadik at kaya sila gumagamit kasi gawi at nakasanayan na
nila ito.