The novels that I have read are Joss and Gold by Shirley Lim and The Scarlett Letter by

Nathaniel Hawthorne. The two main multicultural elements that I have extracted from both of the

novels is family relationship and gender issues. The concept of a family relationship can be

analyzed through the bonding of a mother and her daughter and the upbringing of a child by his

or her parent(s) while gender issues is scrutinized by gender-based differences between men

and women.

The unconditional love a mother has for her daughter is indeed evident in both novels. In

Joss and Gold, Li Ann strived hard to provide for her daughter, Suyin. Even though she was

emotionally affected by her divorce from Henry and having to raise a child on her own, Li Ann

always made Suyin’s well-being her top priority. She knew that she needed money in order to

secure a good future for her daughter. So, she worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. Page

92 paragraph 1 line 5 to 7 states that Li-Ann was once a copyeditor for Longman before

becoming the creative director at Bates. She knew for a fact that staying in just one job for a

long time would get her nowhere. Experience is what needed the most for a higher paycheck,

hence she job-hopped frequently. On top of that, Li-Ann even gave English tuitions in the

evenings when she came back home from work. After moving to Singapore, she freelanced and

worked part-time for extra cash.

Despite being occupied with work, she still somehow managed to spend some quality

time with her daughter. After work, she doesn’t immediately sleep. Instead, she changes into

her pajamas and tuck Suyin into bed. On page 96 paragraph 2 line 2 to 4, it is written that Li-

Ann crooned a good night lullaby to Suyin before she falls asleep. She made every second

worthwhile as she only gets to see her daughter at night. Her hectic schedule also did not stop

her from providing the best education for Suyin. On page 92 paragraph 1 line 7 to 12, it is made

known that Li-Ann took her time to find the right school for her daughter even though she was

busy working different jobs. After much thought, she placed Suyin in American school where the
fees were much higher than usual. The cost did not matter as long as Suyin is safe and not

being ridiculed like how she did at her former school. The principal there had the audacity to call

Suyin a con lai which means mixed animal in Vietnamese (page 90 paragraph 3).

In The Scarlett Letter, the close connection between Hester Prynne and her daughter,

Pearl is unfathomable. They both also share a special mother-daughter relationship. Even

though Pearl is a constant reminder to Hester of the sin that she had done, she still loves her

daughter nevertheless. Pearl being born was indeed a huge blessing to Hester. Hence, she

named her Pearl which symbolically means something that is of utmost importance and

precious like a treasure. This statement is indeed evident in the first paragraph of chapter 6 line

12 to 14. Moreover, Hester is extremely devoted to her daughter. When the governor tried to

separate Pearl from her, Hester pleaded in the most touching manner as she said, “Ye shall not

take her! I will die first!’ (page 122 last line). In other words, she begged the governor to not take

away Pearl because she is just so dear to her.

We can study the differences of this particular element through the upbringing of a child.

In Joss and Gold, Chester’s parents raised him in such a way that everything he did was right.

After his sister’s death, his parents loved him so intensely till everything he thought or did was

good to their eyes. To them, Chester never did anything wrong (page 63 paragraph 2 and 3).

On the other hand, in The Scarlett Letter, Hester knows when to be stern to her daughter. After

countless time of asking the same question, Hester told Pearl that she wears the letter for "the

sake of the gold thread". However, Pearl was not satisfied with the answer and continued to bug

her mother. Hester then told Pearl to stopped asking if not she lock her in a dark closet.

In the context of gender issues, it is obvious that some of the female characters in both

novels are succumbed to certain rules and expectations that the society has set for them. In

Joss and Gold, Auntie told Li-Ann that women need to have children right after they get married

(page 29 paragraph 10 line 1). In The Scarlett Letter, however, women who lived in a Puritan
society were expected to fear God and punishments. Only then will they be deemed as a good

woman. If they were to against what was written in the Scripture and legal rules, women will be

regarded as a disgrace to the society. On page 55 paragraph 2, a woman in the crowd shouted

during Hester’s sentence that a lady such as Hester Prynne has brought shame to everyone in

the community. She disobeyed the law, in both the Bible and the statutes. Therefore, she

deserves to die instead living the rest of her life as an adulteress. Wearing the scarlett letter on

her chest cannot make up for the sin she had done.