Chapter Seven: Half and Half--> Rose Hsu Jordan Term--> Rhetorical Question

The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates

Rose is debating how she will break the news to her mother that her and Ted are getting a divorce. She recalls when she first met Ted and they began dating. She remembers that neither of their mother's approved, but they became inseparable. Ted always made the decisions. After they were married, Ted lost a malpractice lawsuit and lost his confidence in himself, so he started pushing Rose to make decisions. She feels that she can no longer win with Ted. She then tells the story of how her mother lost her faith. When her family went on vacation she was put in charge of watching her younger brothers. When two of her brothers are fighting she is told to break them up and takes her eye off Bing. Bing then is lost in the sea and was never to be found.

"On the page before the New Testament begins, there's a section called 'Deaths,' and that's where she wrote 'Bing Hsu' lightly, in erasable pencil" (131).
When someone dies, especially a child or a sibling, its hard to realize that they are truly gone. An-mei writing her sons name in erasable pencil symbolizes that when someone passes away we don't want to think of them as being permanently gone. We hope that they will remain in our lives.

"So what can you do to stop yourself from tilting and falling over again" (121)?
This question is a rhetorical question because it does not require a response, nor is there a response in the book. This particular quote refers to her feelings about her divorce and how she is going to be able to overcome what has happened.