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
Tao cannot sleep because of his excitement about returning to school in the morning. He breathes deeply, remembering Sheng’s claim that if he paid attention, he could smell the changing seasons. He wonders what his father can smell where he is. Finally, Tao gets out of bed. His injured leg remains weak and unsteady, but he refuses to use his crutches anymore. He’s tired of waiting for it to strengthen. Slowly and painfully, Tao paces between his bedroom door and his window. He remembers how Sheng would pace the courtyard when he was worried or upset. Tao wishes that his limp would go away; he doesn’t want people to look down on him for his limp. He doesn’t want to be behind. He’s been studying diligently from the homework Little Shan brings him, and he intends to reclaim his second student spot as soon as possible. Suddenly, he feels tired.
Tao may be tired of waiting for his leg to recover, but there’s no way to skip this painful healing process. But instead of taking the possibly easier and slower path and using his crutches, Tao chooses to face the challenge head on, limping across the room unsupported. In doing so, he follows in Sheng’s footsteps—the footsteps of someone who isn’t afraid to face adversity. And Tao differentiates himself from Wei, whose self-imposed isolation keeps him stuck in pain and regret. Still, Tao’s injury, like everything else that happens to him, will change him in irrevocable ways.
Themes
Tao woke up every time the baby cried last night. He isn’t sure how he feels about Suyin and her sudden arrival in his home. It’s strange to think about her sleeping in the next room, which used to belong to his great-grandfather’s second wife. His room was wife number three’s. When he once asked Kai Ying why his great-grandfather had so many wives, she said that if he hadn’t had so many wives, neither Wei nor Sheng nor Tao himself would exist.
Initially, Tao resents the arrival of Suyin and Meizhen, who take some of the space and attention that he himself used to enjoy. His reflection on his grandfather’s family shows that the idea of “family” changes over time, foreshadowing how Tao’s family will continue to grow and change in the coming months.
Themes
Tao hears the baby fussing. Kai Ying told him that Suyin is too weak to provide the kind of full-time care babies need. Tao proudly tells himself that he isn’t a crying little baby needing full-time care. When Kai Ying appears in the door, he says he got up early to exercise. She embraces her “little man” with pride, then disappears to answer the baby’s urgent cries.
At just seven years old, Tao still needs care, love, and attention from his family. But, by acting like a “little man” and facing adversities on his own two feet—both literally and figuratively—he takes strides toward growth and maturity.
Themes
