64 pages • 2 hours read
Gail TsukiyamaA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Autumn: September 15, 1937-Autumn: September 29, 1937
Autumn: October 5, 1937-Autumn: October 29, 1937
Autumn: October 30, 1937-Autumn: November 30, 1937
Autumn: December 1, 1937-Winter: December 7, 1937
Winter: December 21, 1937-Winter: February 4, 1938
Winter: February 5, 1938- Winter: March 14, 1938
Spring: March 28, 1938-Spring: May 30, 1938
Summer: June 6, 1938-Summer: July 5, 1938
Summer: July 9, 1938-Summer: August 16, 1938
Summer: August 17, 1938-Autumn: September 23, 1938
Autumn: September 28, 1938-Autumn: October 19
Autumn: October 20, 1938-Autumn: October 26, 1938
Autumn: October 27, 1938-Autumn: October 29, 1938
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Ba-Ba, Stephen’s father, has arrived unexpectedly from Kobe the day before, surprising Stephen and Matsu at the house. Ba-Ba appraises Stephen’s recovery as Stephen revels in having someone with whom to talk. As they eat dinner and Ba-Ba drinks sake, Stephen confides in his father that he is lonely. Ba-Ba reassures him. Stephen is struck by how close he feels to his father in Tarumi without the distractions of family and business. He wonders if his father has the same feeling, “as if the world were concentrated into just these small rooms” (20).
Stephen and his father visit the beach together. Stephen swims and learns that his father is a non-swimmer. In this relaxed atmosphere, Stephen thinks of his father in a new way – almost as an acquaintance – and feels loneliness hovering when he remembers that soon he will return to his business in Kobe.
When Stephen asks about the situation in Shanghai, his father fills him in on the destruction moving south – bombing and fires – and speculates that the Japanese may reach Hong Kong.