T'ien-Hsin, Impersonal, Sudden Death is Best

 

Chu T’ien Hsin is a Taiwanese author  whose main topic of writing is what it means to be Taiwanese, “gradually moving from an emphasis on Chinese identity, expressing a nostalgic longing for a lost homeland”(Puchner, 1742).  In her story, “Man of La Mancha” however, she focuses on the idea that a sudden death is best if it happens in an impersonal and indescript manner.  This is the best way to avoid the shame that can come upon a person if they do not have their affairs in order when death come knocking at their door.  To further our understanding of her theme, T’ien Hsin writes on first person narrative from the perspective of a gay man, who shares with us his recent near death experience that causes him to revise his appearance.

The story begins where our narrator is working in a chain coffee shop on an essay he must compose for his work.  After he finishes, he realizes that he has way too many cups of coffee and the caffeine is doing a number on his heart.  He begins to feel the frightening and paralyzing “chill from my internal organs spreading out to my flesh and skin”(T’ien Hsin, 1744).  After our narrator manages to get himself to a doctor’s office for some IV fluids, he realizes how close he came to collapsing and public.  He begins to obsess over what would have happened if passer-bys  had to search his pockets, or see his underwear in the commotion that would follow an unplanned demise.  The results of his newfound obsession may seem ridiculous but they bring to light the fear of dying suddenly and embarrassing yourself by leaving behind secrets, whether they are dirty underwear or an untidy and boring wallet.

Although the story’s author is a woman, the narrator of the story drops hints that he is a gay man with a significant other through the subtle description of a fight they had over his new undergarments he purchased in case he were to drop dead in the middle of the street and someone had to see his underwear, “my significant other was all but convinced I had a new love interest, and we had a big fight over that”(T’ien-Hsin, 1749).  Is our narrator’s sexuality a secret in the sometimes stringent culture of the East?  Or is his lover the person he is trying to protect if he should die in a way that is embarrassing?

The author’s use of first person narrative serves her purpose of having us contemplate the narrator’s fear by putting us in his shoes.  How do we, as the reader, feel about the prospect of leaving behind our lives exposed to be judged by our survivors whether they be loved ones or family?  Is it better to leave behind an impersonal legacy instead of embarrassing ourselves?  The narrator purports at the conclusion of the story “death only visits us once in our lifetime, so we should make preparations for its arrival”(T’ien-Hsin, 1750).   However, the obsession with that preparation could rob us of a life worth living if we constantly worry about the legacy we are leaving behind.

Works Cited:

Ed. Pucher, Martin. "Chu T'ien-Hsin, born 1958." The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 1650 to Present. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 1742-1744. Print.

T'ien-Hsin, Chu. "Man of La Mancha." Ed. Pucher, Martin. The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 1650 to Present. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 1744-1750. Print.