Alive is story, by Ha Jin, that talks about the life of a man named Guhan. Guhan is sent to Taifu City, for business, and there he experiences a bad earthquake. After the earthquake, he suffers minor physical injuries but “lost his mind”, not being able to remember anything about himself.
He’s then sent to an army-based hospital where they gave him the name Sweet Apple since that’s all he said when he got there. Guhan, or Sweet Apple, then lived a cyclical life, gaining weight from having an abundance of food, and working taking the trash out, until the hospital was ordered to give aid to another city. Then, he’s handed over to the Administration of Taifu City where he found work copying bills and numbers. He eventually finds a new wife named Liu Shan, and the two take in a 4 yr old boy named Mo, who was also displaced during the earthquake.
Straight away, Shan and Guhan’s marriage is not a happy marriage and one that isn’t very close. The attention is eventually focused on the kid, Mo, and he soon becomes the focus of the relationship. Mo sees Shan as his mother but initially thinks of Guhan as an uncle. Guhan eventually becomes close with Mo, as Mo slowly starts looking at him as more of a father figure.
When passing by a dumpling spot, Guhan’s finally reminded of who he was. The aroma had reminded him of the time his family had made dumplings and soon began to remember more and more of his family and his past, even remembering his name was Guhan. He decides to then leave his new family and travel back to his original family.
Once he arrives and reconnects with his old family, he tries to go back to his old job to try to get it back, as well as some new housing for his family. He finds out the company has no job for him and can’t offer him any new housing. Guhan then must take what little money they’ll give him for “retiring”, and ultimately be displaced into his brother-in-laws house, with his wife, looking for new housing and jobs for themselves. His final thought is about whether going back with old wife was the better decision than instead staying with his new wife.
I feel like this reflects Chinese culture and marriage quite well, especially in the middle and towards the end. Often, marriage in Chinese culture, can be emotionally unpresent or soley about the family’s well-being. When Guhan married the second time, his marriage eventually became focused on the well-being of Mo, with Shan being unable to connect emotionally with Guhan. Then in the end Guhan evaluates the choice he made, of returning home, based on the circumstances he was in and not the emotional connection or people he has around.