Characterisation of Zhang

The main character in the story “Gon-do-la” by Annemarie Neary is Zhang. Several other characters are mentioned: her sons, the foreman in the factory, office workers, the guava girls, etc., but they are not very relevant for the way in which the story develops. They simply function as elements which are part of Zhang’s life and which help us get a better view of Zhang’s personality and interactions with others.

Outer characterisation

Her outer characterisation shows that she is a Chinese woman who has been working in a Chinese production factory for forty years: “There was only one possible explanation: she was about to be awarded a Distinguished Employee Award to mark her forty years of service.” (ll. 96-97)

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Inner characterisation

Zhang’s inner characterisation is presented in connection with her relationship to her surroundings, the people in her life and her life during the rule of Mao Zedong. First, we find out that Zhang is very critical of her fellow workers, which she calls the “guava girls” (l. 40), and who are probably from South America:

Zhang examined her comrades, standing at the fire exit with the door propped open, sucking deep on their cigarettes. She despaired of their ridiculous hair, styled into stiff peaks, their dangling earphones. Dim, she thought. Useless. Nothing between their ears but guava-scented mousse and loud music. (ll. 6-9)

She dislikes the way the girls dress and talk and, although not directly stated, she despises their behaviour in front of men: “The guava girls put their fingers in their lips and blew a catcall while the first office worker held the familiar black and gold model up above his head and performed what might be called a twirl.” (ll. 60-62)

Then, Zhang reveals that she is not very cultured, as she has no idea about Italy, the city of Venice or the use of gondolas:

Although Zhang had heard of Italy, she wasn’t exactly sure where it was. Normally, she would have asked her sons, who seemed to know where most places were. But the sons didn’t come to eat with her that evening, so Zhang consulted the kitchen wall instead. (ll. 42-45)

We also learn that her sons have probably tried to make her aware of the world by buying a world map and placing it in the woman’s house. Once assigned to work on the Exquisite model of gondolas, Zhang comes across as imaginative and prone to dreaming:

Zhang was put to work on Exquisite, gluing in a boatman and two tiny guilao lovers. She sang to herself, gave the little people their very own names. Spaghetti, Margherita, Mafia. As the moulding machines spat out the parts, Zhang glued on trim and sealed the hull. She imagined dramas for the little pale-faced lovers. Plastic-coated desires. (ll. 80-83)

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