Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Hundred Flowers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Redemption
Journeys and Growth
Suffering, Strength, and Resilience
Home and Family
The Promises and Failures of Communism
Summary
Analysis
Wei and Tian share a bittersweet breakfast, promising to meet again in Guangzhou. Wei finds himself surprised at how hard he finds saying goodbye to a man he’s known for less than a week. Tian turns back to wave before boarding the train car, and Wei watches through the window as he chooses a quiet seat near the back. When the train pulls away, Wei can no longer see Tian at the window, but he waves anyway.
When Tian left Ai-li at the Luoyang train station years earlier, her failure to look back and wave goodbye signaled the end of their relationship. Wei and Tian have known each other for far less time, but forged a more resilient bond, based on their shared experience of suffering and their willingness to offer each other. Wei waves even though he doesn’t know if Tian sees him, determined to show how much he cherishes his friend.
Themes
