10.8 In Class

The theme of parents and children relationships are well discussed in the first four stories. Although different stories started from different stages and different angles to discuss or to illustrate the theme, one thing is always presented in these stories: scarification. Taking A Wall of Fire Rising and Night Woman as examples, both parents in the stories sacrificed themselves for their children. In the Night Woman, the mother sacrifices her future, selling her body, for her son. To keep the painful reality away from her son, she also keeps secret and pretends life is wonderful in front of her son. Although the narrator in night woman is a single mother, she is as devoting to her child as the Guy and Lili’s in the A Wall of Fire Rising.

In the A Wall of Fire Rising, although Guy chooses freedom at the end, the parents have a agreement of sacrificing themselves for little Guy in the middle of the story. Besides the conversations Guy has with Lili at night, arguing what they can do for their son’s future, there are some details in the story show how much the parents have sacrificed. “After the day he’d had at the factory, he wanted to sit under a tree and have a leisurely smoke, but he did not want to set a bad example for his son by indulging his very small pleasures.” The quote shows Guy, not only will to give up his dream of freedom for his son, but also the smallest wills. He gives up smoking for his son just don’t want him to learn the bad example. The action of giving up one of the small elements in his old daily routine shows Guy’s determination of giving up every bit of his life. He made a decision of sacrificing himself so he will fulfill his determination in every action. Same as Lili, too. She gives up thinking of freedom and new life for little Guy. The two family put chains on their neck by their wills. Although Guy later add his chain on Lili, there is a time when they are both working together for their son.