Bones a book by Fae Myenne Ng Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bones a book by Fae Myenne Ng - Essay Example It tells the story of the American dream seen from the perspective of a Chinese girl. As the focal point encircles around the question whether Leila is a reliable narrator or not it becomes important to understand the true meaning of reliability in literature. In literature a 'reliable narrator' is a character who presents the characterization in a manner that could be identified with. However, a 'reliable narrator' must always stick to historical facts and there should never be factual errors in that aspect. Characters can be made up but the background of the time and society should never be tampered. Leila is reliable in that context and definitely a 'reliable narrator'. Leila narrates her life with her family and about her surroundings along with a believable description of the socio cultural pressure of being successful within the parameters of the society with wider perspectives of American livelihood. The novel starts with the sentence mentioning that "we were a family of three girls. By Chinese standards, that wasn't lucky. In Chinatown, everyone knew our story. Outsiders jerked their chins, looked at us, shook their heads. We heard things." (Ng, 1) This can be enumerated as a definite example that depicts the socio cultural aspects of the Chinese born population where the society is dominated by the male heirs of the family.