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Maxine Hong Kingston

The author of the biographical text who acts as the narrator and as the re-teller of anecdotes narrated to her as a child.

Ed

This character, who studies to take the Imperial Examination and passes the assessment, is assigned to be a school teacher in his home town. He finds the job unrewarding, frustrating and difficult. He marries and has two children and then decides, in 1924, to emigrate alone to the United States of America. He is the author's father.

Bak Goong

One of the author's great grandfathers, probably the father of Ah Goong and the grandfather of Ed. He signs a contract to work for three years on a sugarcane plantation in Hawaii.

Bak Sook Goong

One of the author's great grandfathers, probably the grandfather of the author's mother. He is a minor character in the text. While working in Hawaii, he takes a...

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