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 senses Tao’s distress before he enters the kitchen. As he enters the room, Kai Ying tries to explain what Tao heard about Sheng. Wei realizes that it’s time to tell the truth. He steadies himself against the table. Then he asks Tao to explain what happened. Tao says he hates Little Shan, and that Lai Hing told everyone that Sheng was a traitor. Wei asks if Tao thinks Sheng is a traitor, and Tao shakes his head no. Wei says that Tao is correct: Sheng did not write the letter. Then, taking a deep breath and looking to the kapok tree for strength, Wei confesses. He wrote the letter.
The only place Tao can find some source of stability and sure footing is in his broken family. But suddenly, his family doesn’t seem so reliable when Wei confesses his dreadful secret. Wei’s refusal to take responsibility damaged the family, just as Sheng’s arrest did. By acting alone, Wei hurt not just himself but everyone else. He—and the family—will find healing only when Wei addresses the damage he has done.
Themes
Wei feels a moment of exhaustion and relief before Kai Ying turns on him. She demands to know why he wrote the letter, asking why he suddenly chose to meddle in the politics he had so scrupulously avoided. Wei has no answer. Kai Ying accuses him of conceit and pride. Then she hurls a teacup against the wall, stunning him with her anger. He’s become accustomed to her being the peacemaker. He feels dizzy and breathless, and he longs for a way—any way—to earn forgiveness from her and Tao. As the baby’s cries pull Kai Ying from the kitchen, Wei turns to Tao, who stares at his grandfather and says, “I hate you.”
Wei has spent his life in the villa, surrounded by his family. But he hasn’t fully participated in it. First as a coddled only son, then later as an admired husband and feared father-in-law, he has received love and care without having to fully reciprocate. In many ways, his decision to write the letter represents the way he’s always lived his life only half connected to his family and unwilling or unable to see the way his decisions affect others. But he cannot escape the grave consequences of his actions.
Themes
