Social Acceptance in China The Chinese culture is constantly striving for an ideal society. They seek for a structured population that expects the people to fit their image of perfection. As a reader, one can see that the author, Ha Jin, has written about the strict conditions the Chinese people are facing. The characters have been stripped of any individualistic freedoms that one may acquire in other nations, such as the United States. This story displays the realistic battles that the Chinese must endure to maintain acceptance in their social class. The Bridegroom highlights some of the issues in a controlling social class. Jin chose to have two of the main characters be outcasts among their peers to illustrate the hardship they had to go through as citizens. The marriage of Benia and Baowen was an act to try and conform to be what everyone wanted them to be. They married to fit in, not out of love. Homosexuality was forbidden, and Baowen was guilty of hiding his true sexuality. This didn’t bother Benia however, because no one else would've married her, for she had unpleasant features. The author evokes sympathy from his readers by relating these characters to modern day people. No one can chose the way they look or their sexual preference, therefore they shouldn’t be …show more content…
“Homosexualitiy originated from Western capitalism and bourgeois lifestyle. According to our law it’s dealt with as a kind of hooliganism.” (pg 233) This quote portrays that they are unwilling to accept this behavior and they won't admit there may be “faults” in their community. They blame other nations and areas for this crime to avoid any responsibility of their own citizens. Because they are ashamed of having people with this characteristic, they place them in jail to separate them from the rest of the world. The Chinese believed that they will either be punished, or they will fix them of this