“The White Umbrella” In the short story “The White Umbrella” it illustrates this image of a young Chinese girl who wants to live this American dream but cannot because of money and racial issues. The author of this story Gish Jen provides an idea or theme that tells, “you should show love for what you already have before it’s too late.” The author conveys the theme through the use of repetition, imagery, and the actions of the main character. Generally the author conveys the theme using repetition. Throughout this whole short story the narrator is always thinking or looking at this White Umbrella she wants, and it shows that she isn’t thinking about stuff she already has which conveys the theme “ you should show love for what you have before it’s too late” in a very creative way, it demonstrates that she is wanting and paying attention to this umbrella instead of something that actually means something to her and that has sentimental value. For example when the narrator told the piano teacher that “I wish you were my mother”. This shows that the narrator didn’t want her own mom anymore she wanted a new one. In addition the author also uses imagery to convey the theme.The author will explain how things look and act using imagery.This theme is conveyed in a very creative …show more content…
The author does this by showing how the characters react to certain things, for example when the narrator threw the umbrella in the sewer. She did this because she has better things than this stupid umbrella, plus it has caused a lot of problems, this proves the theme that ¨ you should show love for what you have before it's too late¨. For another example, when the narrator says ¨I wish you were my mother¨ to the piano teacher as she gave her the white umbrella, then she says ¨ right away I felt bad¨ these examples show that she is slowly realizing she already has all that she needs and she doesn't want anything