User:Lucy's stories/Pearl of China

Plot Summary

The book Pearl of China is about two girls, Willow and Pearl. Willow is a Chinese girl growing up in a small Chinese village in the late 1800’s. Her family becomes increasingly poor as she grows older, and before long Willow is helping her father to steal things in order to make a living. Pearl, on the other hand, is the daughter of American missionaries Absalom and Carie. Willow and Pearl soon become good friends that share everything together. Willow’s father also attached himself to Absalom’s church and soon becomes a convert of Christian. Willow and Pearl spend most of their childhood together. But as they both come of age, their peaceful life before begins to change. Willow is forced to marry a man much older than her, while Pearl leaves Chin-Kiang to study in Shanghai and America. Pearl returns to China married to Lossing Buck, and Pearl and Willow both struggles with unpleasant marriage. Through Pearl’s marriage with Lossing, she discovers the only thing that she truly enjoys is writing, and she is determined to bring the western Earth the cultures of the East. Pearl’s writing is unsuccessful before she meets Hsu Chih-mo, a famous Chinese poet. They involved into a romantic relationship, but it ended early and tragically. As Communism takes over China, Pearl is forced to leave the country for America, and never again comes back. Willow later marries Dick, an important member of the Communist Party and close friend with Mao. She pays much prize in order to keep in contact with her friend Pearl, but she always remains true to this friendship, until the end of the book.