Previous
Michael
Alice’s grandfather, Kuan’s father, and Huyen Thai’s husband. An is a school teacher in Cambodia, and he already has a wife and two daughters when he meets Huyen Thai. Despite not being able to afford it, An marries Huyen Thai anyway because he loves her, but he is further disappointed when his new wife gives birth to two daughters as well. An prefers only sons, and as such, he is symbolic of the sexist nature of traditional Chinese culture. He doesn’t celebrate when his daughters are born, and when his first two daughters as just toddlers, An barely seems to notice. He does go on to be the proud father of five sons, plus two more daughters, and he loves Huyen Thai even though she frequently does “crazy things.” An gives Huyen Thai’s sixth son to his first wife to take away some of Huyen Thai’s power, and she agrees to leave the boy behind. An dies of starvation during the reign of Pol Pot, and Kuan keeps his picture on a Buddha shrine in their house. When Huyen Thai dies, the children put a picture of An on her grave to “remember him.”
An Pung Quotes in Unpolished Gem
The Unpolished Gem quotes below are all either spoken by An Pung or refer to An Pung. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1
Quotes
When it came down to childrearing, they were her children, he had nothing to do with such prosaic things. Fathers were only there to plant the seeds, it was mothers who did the watering and the fertilizing. Of course, the paternal influence would occasionally return to lop off a few leaves for good measure, and smirk for photographs in front of his prize garden, but he made sure to leave immediately afterwards in case the cumquats only glowed orange but were black inside. It was never the pa’s fault if the kids went bad.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“If you could give me sons, then I wouldn’t need to go over there!”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2
Quotes
“She’s built like a boy,” said my grandfather, “and now you’ve given her that terrible name. She’s going to grow up like a boy if you’re not careful, and then no one will want her. Who wants a girl always running about this way and that? Keep that child still, and stop calling her Little Brother! What do you think it is—some kind of joke? Do you think it’s funny hah?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Unpolished Gem LitChart as a printable PDF.
An Pung Quotes in Unpolished Gem
The Unpolished Gem quotes below are all either spoken by An Pung or refer to An Pung. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1
Quotes
When it came down to childrearing, they were her children, he had nothing to do with such prosaic things. Fathers were only there to plant the seeds, it was mothers who did the watering and the fertilizing. Of course, the paternal influence would occasionally return to lop off a few leaves for good measure, and smirk for photographs in front of his prize garden, but he made sure to leave immediately afterwards in case the cumquats only glowed orange but were black inside. It was never the pa’s fault if the kids went bad.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“If you could give me sons, then I wouldn’t need to go over there!”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2
Quotes
“She’s built like a boy,” said my grandfather, “and now you’ve given her that terrible name. She’s going to grow up like a boy if you’re not careful, and then no one will want her. Who wants a girl always running about this way and that? Keep that child still, and stop calling her Little Brother! What do you think it is—some kind of joke? Do you think it’s funny hah?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
