world lit 1 final

8/13/2019 World Lit 1 Final

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Kwan-young Kim

Mrs. Sutterfield

IB English 3

12/28/2010

World Literature Essay 1

A common theme in almost all classical books, that appears is the influence of family

in the course of events, or as some call it, plot. Whether it be a book about The Sorrow of War,

or a book portraying a sad life in Love in the Time of Cholera, family always has an impact on

the plot of the novel. In some instances, the family might seem to have a huge influence; in other

cases, the family seems to have little impact as in The Sorrow of War and Love in the Time

Cholera. However, without a doubt, both books are affected by family.

The plot of Love in the Time of Cholera is more influenced by family than in The

Sorrow of War. From the very beginning of the flashback of Love in the Time of Cholera, family

reaches out and strokes the plot. In both novels, family members influence the plot of the book

through their impact on the protagonists. In Love in the Time of Cholera, both Fermina Daza and

Florentino Ariza are affected directly by their respective family members. After Florentino fell in

love with Fermina, Florentino confided in his mother, Transito Ariza, to help. Effectively

fulfilling her role as a mother, Transito told her son to make her aware of his interest so that his

declaration would not take her so much by surprise and she would have time to think (Marquez

57). Although this advice was in vain, Transitos caring dialogue influenced Florentino in

kindling his everlasting journey for Fermina. On the side of Florentino, Ferminas motherly role


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was taken by her aunt, Escolastica. As the motherly role in Ferminas childhood, Aunt

Escolastica guided Fermina in ways such as to teach her to communicate in sign language, an

indispensable strategy in forbidden love (Marquez 58). In addition, Transitos role in initializing

the motif of flowers in this book is significant. Through her advice, this motif is initialized and

continued till the end of the book. Flowers are used as an indirect reference to the theme of love

in this book. Although there are obvious ones such as the exchange of flowers between

Florentino and Fermina, Florentino gives special meaning to flowers through his acts of love

which once again, are influenced by his mother, Transito. An example is when Florentino gives

his letter to Fermina and Then he offered her the camellia he wore inhis lapel. She refused: it

is a flower of promises (Marquez 61). Transito Ariza acted as an initiator of Florentinos actions

which in turn affected the plot of the novel.

The Sorrow of War is a novel that does not have a consistent influence of family on the

plot of the story. Traces of family influence however, can be found within its pages. Although it

is not Kiens blood relative, Mother Lanh can be said to be a part of Kiens family. Like almost

every family relative in The Sorrow of War, she contributes to the motif of death and sorrow in

the book, which unlike the lives of these precious people, is consistent throughout the whole

book and its plot. As Lanhs daughter tells Kien her story of loss, the motif of death is once again

portrayed. First my brothers, then my mother, then my husband, then my son. No wonder I

feel a little weaker every year (Ninh 54). As in this case, throughout most of the book, family

can be said to contribute to the book through its contribution to the motif of death.

Despite the overall negative connotation the word family has in The Sorrow of War,

there are positive ways that family influences the plot of the book. When thinking of his


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childhood or his father, Kien becomes depressed. He feels that as a son he had not sufficiently

loved or respected his father. He had not understood his fathers life and remembered almost

nothing about his family tragedy. He still doesnt know why his parents separated and knows

even less about his mother (Ninh 57). Like in this part of the book, the book makes continuous

references to Kiens biological father as a symbol of regret till the very end. Whenever he went

into his fathers attic studio Kiens heart ached and he choked with compassion. The old mans

paintings, seen dimly through the blue cigarette smoke, were diabolic. The smell of alcohol was

permanent (Ninh 124). Here, Kiens passion for his senile father is shown. This negative image

of Kiens father is important due to the contrast to the relationship Kien has with his stepfather.

Kiens stepfather acts as a father figure in Kiens life although he never had the chance to get to

know him. Through Kiens stepfathers wise dialogues to Kien, Kiens stepfather became a

source for an epiphany in Kiens life and a symbol for hope throughout the decade Kien spent in

the Vietnam War. Surprised, and far from agreeing with him, Kien nevertheless trusted his

stepfathers words, feeling an affinity with his sentiments (Ninh 59). In this quote, however, it

is revealed that Kien had a degree of separation in terms of feelings from his stepfather that was

never portrayed in his relationship with his biological father. Kien feels regret and therefore care

for his father that he never felt for his stepfather. Through the irony of caring more for his

fathers feelings than for his wise, caring stepfather, Ninh portrays one of the books main

themes: nostalgia.

The portrayal of family in Love in the Time of Cholera and The Sorrow of War are in

most ways, completely the opposite. Love in the Time of Cholera portrays family as an

enthusiastic initiator of the plot of the novel while The Sorrow of War used family to contribute


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to the theme of sorrow which is consistent throughout the novel. In addition, the tone of the

author is reflective of how family is used in each respective novel. This relationship of the tone

and how family is portrayed in each respective book is significant as it affects how the author of

each book writes the plot of each novel. In this regard, the two novels are similar. Additionally,

the way each author uses family as an indirect influence on the protagonists of each respective

novel is the same. In Love in the Time of Cholera, characters such as Transito Ariza, Lorenzo

Daza, Aunt Escolastica, and Hildebranda Sanchez, act as minor characters who influence the

course of events in an indirect way. In a similar, yet different, way, The Sorrow of War uses

family such as Kiens father and mother to contribute to the plot in an indirect way such as when

Kien recalls when Phuongs mother persisted [to continue to pressure Phuong into practicing],

complaining to Kien, Shes just like her father, a perfectionist Shed rather listen to your

father. It frightens me that she is attracted by his frightful paintings and his disrespectful opinions

(Ninh 201). In this quote, Kiens father, along with Phuongs mother, is indirectly used to

portray two of the repetitive themes of the book: nostalgia and regret. Kien recalls the past in a

fond way through his family, but at the same time, regrets two things. One is the regret he feels

for his father and the other is the regret he feels at himself for not continuing the love between

himself and Phuong.

Without a doubt, family has a significant influence in both Love in the Time of Cholera

and The Sorrow of War. Although the two books are different in tone and therefore, plot, the use

of family for both authors in each of their respective books is very similar. Both authors use

family in an indirect way to influence the plot. Both authors use family to characterize the traits

of the protagonists in each book. Finally, both authors use family to set the themes of each


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respective book. At first, the two books might seem very different, and in fact, they are. However,

in terms of developing the key parts of each of their books, Bao Ninh and Gabriel Garcia

Marquez are very similar despite their extremely different cultural backgrounds.


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Works Cited

Marquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. Trans. Edith Grossman. New York:

Vintage Books, 2003.

Ninh, Bao. The Sorrow of War. Trans. Phan Thanh Hao. New York: Riverhead Books,

1996.

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