Literary Analytical Essay

The short story “Rain” by Christina Chiu is about a 17 year old chinese girl (narrator) who is talking about her sister Rain. When they were young, they were inseperable They shared everything together. As they grew older and went through middle school, Rain was always the one getting straight A’s while the narrator was not. This caused the twins to grow apart and to stop talking altogether. Their parents were very strict about grades and boys and getting into college. They gave Rain an ice cream every time she got straight A’s on her report card. The narrator was furious with her parents and decided to rebel by getting a boyfried who she sneaks out to every night and stop caring about her grades in school. It seemed so easy for Rain to do well in school. She got a scholarship to college. Her only friend was her best friend Jade with whom she went every where.
One night, the narrator was sneaking out as usual and when she was outside, she saw Rain kissing someone in a baseball cap. The narrator was so shocked by this at first but then was even more stunned by the fact that this boy she was kissing was actually Rain’s friend jade. That whole night, while the narrator was with her boyfriend, she was thinking about why Rain hadn’t just told her about it. Not only was she surprised that Rain was a lesbian, but she was also confused why Rain wouldn’t tell her. She understood why Rain wouldn’t tell their parents. They were conservative chinese people who weren’t even okay with them having boyfriends. The narrator became disappointed in herself because she thought that it was something she did that caused Rain to keep it a secret.
This connects to the gay and lesbian issue for the obvious reason but also because it talks about the idea of having to keep one’s identity a secret in fear of not being accepted in society. Rain was so ashamed of who she was that it meant having to live a completely separate life, away from her family. This adds a personal viewpoint on the issue because for someone who didn’t go through that, they might not understand why gays and lesbians feel invisible all the time or why there is a day of silence every year. This story teaches that this issue is something that affects society as a whole but also effects individuals on a very intimate level. This story also connects to the idea of being the perfect child. Rain was expected to be the perfect student and get a scholarship to college. There was so much pressure from her parents and her teachers that she felt they wouldn’t unerstand her lesbianism or maybe not even care. This shows that being a lesbian doesn’t define a person. She was still a good student and a good person but was ashamed of that part of her because of the standards people set.