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
When he descends from the train, Wei wonders if he looks as exhausted as he feels. He must step aside from the late afternoon crowds to catch his breath. But he feels more like himself the closer he gets to home. When he pushes the gate open, the sight of Kai Ying by the kapok tree fills him with both relief and fear. As she moves toward him, he quickly assures her that Sheng is alive and well. He explains why the letters stopped. But, he says, he has brought one directly to her. When she turns to take it from his hand, he pulls her into an embrace. After a moment, her stiff body relaxes, and she whispers “Thank you” into his ear.
Wei demonstrates how much he has grown and changed when he successfully navigates the crowded city streets. He’s still the same, retiring man he’s always been, but he no longer hides from difficult things. He approaches Kai Ying with caution because he knows that he cannot demand her forgiveness. But much as his journey told Sheng of his love, it also told Kai Ying how much he values his family and how much he will do for them. Thus, she forgives him.
Themes
Later that evening, Wei knocks on Tao’s door. Looking at him, Wei wonders how Sheng will feel when he returns home to find his little child turned into a boy. He regretfully considers that he’ll never get to see Tao as a man, even though he can see his character beginning to grow. He hopes someday Tao will understand how important these months have been for Wei, how much they helped him grow. He steps into the room. Tao makes Wei promise never to leave again without warning. Then, he asks to hear the story of Huoyi and Chang’e. Wei looks out the window where the kapok tree stands silhouetted against a moonless sky. He notes that there’s no moon tonight, but Tao says, “There’s still the story.”
Before his trip, Wei thought about events mostly as they affected him—how Sheng’s absence or Tao’s fall amplified his feelings of guilt, for example. But as he’s grown into an attitude of greater responsibility in his family relationships, he has developed more empathy, too. Now he can think about how Tao’s life intersects with his own, feeling regret that he will not know his grandson as a grown man, while also considering how these months of absence and growth will affect Sheng. Tao proves the resilience of family relationships when he welcomes Wei back gladly, all anger and momentary hatred forgotten. Tao asking for Chang’e and Huoyi’s story suggests that like these two characters, the family will eventually be reunited.
Themes
