Mining For Meaning

Prose Exercise 4

1) The tangerine symbolizes good luck for the chinese during Chinese New Year. Nick, who bought the bag of tangerines from the girl, was in a way helping and wishing the girl good luck because he wanted to help out the girl, probably to help her get something for herself to eat, to fill up her stomach. At that instance, it was the only way he could help her, by buying the bag of tangerines from her. Similarly, by buying the bag of tangerines, it was Nick's way to wish the girl good luck.

2) The writer gives his / her own opinions regarding the events happening in the story and thus, making it easier for us to imagine the actions and nature of the narrator's character. Similarly, the style of narration of the story is second-hand because it was not a first hand experience given by Nick himself.

3) The conflicts present in this extract are internal in which Nick has with himself. The conflicts were cause by Nick himself, probably because he grew up ruthlessly efficient, organized and prepared for the most of things that he would come across. However, there was something left suppressed, and it was pity that he could not feel for others around him. All these caused him the lost of many things, such as, his friends, closeness with his councillors, the closeness with his family and the closeness with his hall friends. The value of "pity" wasn't present in Nick himself, and thus this made him to not being able to connect with people which he eventually lost everyone. Through his experience back in Vietnam, he was able to display the value of "pity" by buying that bag of tangerines from the girl, to help her, because at that point of time, it was for the girl's well being and therefore, the internal conflict that he has with himself, is resolved in the end.