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
Finally, a doctor arrives to take Kai Ying and Wei to Tao’s room, where the tiny, sedated boy lies in a big bed surrounded by tubes and wires. The doctor explains how lucky Tao is to have survived the fall and says that he still faces the possibility of permanent disability if the growth plates in his shattered bones fail to heal properly. As Wei thanks the doctor, Kai Ying hears the relief in his voice.
Tao’s attempt to escape the pain of his father’s absence, to try to return to a past in which he was happy has proved to be not just impossible but downright dangerous. He has brought more suffering to himself and his family. Yet, if he can survive this trial, the doctor’s words suggest that he—and they—can find healing and growth on the other side of it.
Themes
Kai Ying kisses Tao lightly on the forehead, searching his face for Sheng’s features. But at rest, he looks more like her. She feels guilty over her inability to shelter Tao completely from the endless anxiety she’s felt since Sheng’s arrest. She and Wei have kept most of the details to themselves because Tao is so young. She remembers the agony of the weeks between Sheng’s arrest and finally learning that he was sent north to a reeducation camp. She can only wait, worry, and hope that he will return. Wei stands staring out the window at the grimy brick wall of the next building. Observing that there isn’t enough sunlight in the room during the afternoon, he says he will talk to the doctor about moving Tao to a more healing room. Kai Ying agrees.
Like Tao’s attempt to climb the tree, Kai Ying’ search for Sheng’s features in Tao’s face represents an attempt to escape from a painful present into the much-missed past. The fact that she sees only herself strongly suggests the futility of this longing. Kai Ying can only rely on her own strength to carry herself and her family through this time. And although she tortures herself with a feeling of guilt over her failure to protect Tao, the circumstances strongly suggest the impossibility of this task, too. Life involves suffering, the book argues, and attempts to avoid it usually backfire and cause more pain.
Themes
