The Good Deed

The Good Deed and Other Stories of Asia, Past and Present / (Originally published, New York: Day, 1969). [Index of sories]: The courtyards of peace. / Letter home. / Dagger in the drak. / The green sari. / The sacred skull. / Sunrise at Juhu. / The cockfight. / Duet in Asia. / Going home. / The good deed. |...| -- In Pearl S. Buck’s short story, “The Good Deed”, the elderly character, Mrs. Pan, was moved from her ancestral village in the province of Szechuen in China to New York by her son, Mr. Pan. On entry to this foreign and new world she feels lonely, isolated by language, distanced by culture; her nostalgia for China consuming her thoughts. When Mrs. Pan decides to arrange a marriage for Lili she obtains a solid sense of usefulness and blossoms into a friendly and outgoing person. Mrs. Pan began to participate in her new world and by doing this she began to leap the culture barrier. Upon Mrs. Pan entering her son’s house she began to feel lonely. Her aloof nature is revealed near the beginning of the story, she “felt lonely and there was no one who understood the things she felt” (342). Mrs. Pan has a revelation on the fact that in America, Chinese do not act the same as in China and does not understand why they can’t just stay in the same city, each preserving their separate way of life. Another incident describing her lonesomeness occurs during a conversation between Mr. Pan and his wife, where he asks, “Is there no woman who can speak Chinese with her? … She cannot talk to you … you can only speak English” (342). The isolating wall of different languages surrounding Mrs. Pan is shown through this exchange. This barrier only helps her seclusion. Mrs. Pan is nostalgic about her former home. For instance, Mrs. Pan tries to ask her daughter-in-law, “Do you remember how the willows grew over the gate” (341), but can’t because the young Mrs. Pan has no such memories. This shows that the elder Mrs. Pan is reminiscing about her prior residence in Szechuen, China. When Lili Yang visits the Pan Family’s home to talk with Mrs. Pan, Mrs. Pan “was delighted. She smoothed the gray satin of her coat as it lay on her knees and she began” (343). The detail Buck put into the beginning of this discussion shows that Mrs. Pan was very excited by being able to talk to someone about China. The conversation following the introduction of the two began with the descriptions of the old village and Mrs. Pan’s old house. Mrs. Pan’s dialogue with Lili gave Mrs. Pan a purpose, she became useful. Mrs. Pan was aghast at the concept that a 27 year old woman was not married yet. She decided something must be done, “Do not grieve, I will arrange [your marriage]; I will do it” (345). In deciding this, Mrs. Pan became useful; she began to participate in the new culture; she began to blend her traditional Chinese concepts with the life of America. In order to wed Lili, Mrs. Pan must find a male for her. Which is exactly what she did, “she got up and tided her hair and tottered on her small feet over to the window and opening the curtains … she gazed into the street really for the first time since she came” (348). The symbolism of her looking out the window is that Mrs. Pan is beginning to accept her new surroundings. Nearing summer she found a nice man who worked at a china shop across the street, someone possibly fitting for Lili. In order to meet this man and see if he is truly fitting for Lili, Mrs. Pan must venture out of the building; she had to become outgoing and benevolent. So, “… she crept downstairs with much effort to the sidewalk where her grandson was playing marbles” (350). She goes out further into the new light surrounding her. After crossing the street, the young man from the shop comes out and helps her in. In the shop the two Chinese discuss China and Mrs. Pan eventually brings up Lili. Eventually, Lili is brought back to the Pan’s where “… old Mrs. Pan greeted her with smiles. She seized Lili’s hand” (351). The actions that Mrs. Pan takes here are actions of friendliness. This attitude is necessary from Mrs. Pan in order to get Lili to the china shop where she will meet the young man. In conclusion, the writer suggests, through the dynamic personality of Mrs. Pan, that in order to make changing cultures easy the person changing must participate in their new environment. In participating you begin to learn the different aspects of the surrounding culture. You might also incorporate unique features of your prior society to augment the nearby environment. For instance, America has allowed immigration ever since it’s founding. All of these immigrants bring with them their own culture and through interaction between them and other people, and because of this America has become one of the most diverse and culturally rich countries in the World.