Munching on Words

Munching on Words: Celeste Ng's Character Lydia Lee

         Isn’t it wonderful after a tedious at school, when go back to your house, flop onto the sofa, taking out a freshly baked piece of cake. You first admire it’s beauty, soon wrapping your tongue  around a layer of cream cheese frosting tucked between the red velvet blankets. A symphony of euphoria blooms as you lie down on the couch full of satisfaction. Similarly in literature, effective writing can bring a character to life and manifest in the reader’s heart. In “Everything I Never Told You,” Celeste Ng pieces together a delectable recipe narrating an interracial family, in America in the 1970s, trying to uncover the cause of its daughter’s sudden death. Ng, as a literary baker, brings the protagonist, Lydia Lee, to life with two tablespoons of physical traits, four cups of maternal influences and ten minutes under high heat of secrets. 

Digging that fork into that moist dense cake

1). Add two tablespoons of Physical Characteristics.
    
             A person’s physical characteristic hints his or her inner personality. Ng’s description of Lydia’s physical appearance is like the sugar and butter, giving the cake its delectable flavors. When Lydia’s family looked through its family album, they saw a photo of Lydia that “her eyes are like dark holes in the shiny paper.” Ng describes Lydia as gloomy, sinister and lifeless. Contrastly, in the next photo, “she looks like a model in a magazine ad, lips dark and sharp, a plate of perfectly frosted cake poised on a delicate hand.” The choice of diction, “delicate,” implies she’s fragile- needing care and attention. The facade of Lydia’s flawless, almost unnatural image, foreshadows Lydia’s lies to pretend to be the perfect daughter.

            Moreover, Ng uses sensory imagery to develop Lydia as a convincing character. In Lydia’s bedroom, her mother smells “not just the powdery flowers of her perfume, or the clean scent of shampoo on her pillow- case, or the trace of cigarette smoke… she can smell Lydia herself under all those surface layers, the sour- sweet smell of her skin.” Lydia’s natural citrus aroma suggest she is a pure sweet girl; however, the layers of perfume, shampoo and cigarette smoke symbolizes her attempt to conceal her true- self because of her insecurities.

         Furthermore, the physical similarities between Lydia and her mother helps the reader to understand Lydia based on the actions and thoughts of her mother. They had “the same elfish chin and high cheek- bones and left- cheek dimple, the same thin- shouldered build. Only the hair color is different, Lydia’s ink- black instead of their mother’s honey- blond.” The similarities emphasizes the strong influence the mother had, hence her mother’s past and may supply hints for the cause of Lydia’s death. Therefore, describing her physical characteristics helps the reader to visualize Lydia, giving more appeal to her “taste.” The sugar, enhances the taste of the cake, and the butter, harmonizes the other ingredients Likewise, the description of physical traits and amplifies the techniques Ng uses to characterize Lydia, giving Lydia more spice and character.

Addicting sugar

Step 2: Mix with four cups of family.

           “Like mother like daughter,” Lydia’s family shapes her personality from the moment she was born. Her mother, Marilyn Lee, sets the foundation of her behavior and temperament, like the flour to the cake. When Lydia was five, Marilyn left her family because of her fear of living an empty meaningless life. Marilyn saw herself in her mother as she “planned on a golden, vanilla scented life but ended up like a fly in this small and sad and empty house, this small and sad empty life, her daughter gone, no trace of herself left except these pencil marked dreams.” Marilyn was a smart student at the top of her class while breaking gender stereotypes. She imagined to be a doctor and resented her mother’s dreams of her finding a “Harvard man” and becoming a housewife.

           To Marilyn’s disappointment, she became exactly who her mother wished her to be. With her deserted dreams, she pinned her expectations on Lydia since “she’s their mother’s favorite.” In Lydia’s room, “the bookshelf is so full of books that some are crammed in sideways at the top: A Brief History of Medicine, she reads upside down. Rosalind Franklin and DNA. All the books Marilyn had given her over the years to inspire her.” Pinning incredible expectations on Lydia suggests she’s an obedient girl under a lot of pressure trying to live up to it. Like the flour, Marilyn provides the structure of Lydia’s life and her mother’s suffering also inflicts on the Lydia herself, setting up a base for her unhappiness and possibly also her death. 

Constructing the perfect recipe

Step 3: Bake in oven at 175 degrees for 45 minutes. 
                   
      Lydia’s secrets are like an oven, , Ng’s final procedure give depth to the character, giving a reason for the readers to be interested in Lydia’s story. The objective of the book is to investigate the reason of Lydia’s death, presented in the first sentence, “Lydia’s dead. But they don’t know this yet.” Despite her family sees her as a sweet daughter with good grades, loyal friends and a positive attitude, in reality she is depressed and friendless. Nath Lee, Lydia’s brother, discovers her secrets: “Once, he stayed on the phone line after Lydia picked up and heard not gossip, but his sister’s voice duly rattling off assignments- read Act I of Othello, do the odd- numbered problems in Section 5- then quiet after the hang- up click. The next day, while Lydia was curled on the window seat, phone pressed to her ear, he’d picked up the extension in the kitchen and heard only the low drone of the dial tone… If her father says, “Lydia, how’s Pam doing?” Lydia says, “Oh, she’s great, she just made the pep squad.” The contrast of expectation and reality sets Lydia as a multifaceted character. Lydia is secretive and wants to maintain her perfect image to her family. However, her parents’ oblivion to her situation discredits their knowledge of Lydia, complicating the investigation of her death.

Ng continuously introduces obstacles- in her autopsy, “it tells him that there were no intoxicants in her blood, that there were no signs of foul play or sexual trauma, but that suicide, homicide, or accident could not yet be determined.” The continuous lack of evidence sets a mysterious tone and paints Lydia’s death as abnormal and perplexing. This sets the reader a challenge that intensifies the desire of learning the cause of Lydia’s death. Therefore, just like an oven induces chemical reactions, the mysteries of Lydia uses the existing facts to give a reason for the audience to be interested.

Ta- Daaaaaaa!!!! 

The way Ng brought Lydia to life by portraying her physical features, mother daughter relationship and perplexing secrets is like a dense, moist cake to the brain. Like a cake, the ingredients created a delicious dessert with flavorful taste and fluffy texture. Next time, analyze a character by comparing him or her to a delectable cake to be your own literary chef!

Isn't that just so visually satisfying.....

The Power of a Good Storyteller

The Power of a Good Storyteller

Max Patel

Stories are only as great as their tellers. When the life of a cat-in-a-hat’s story is being told, one would much rather that story teller by Dr. Seuss than a paralegal. Besides imagining an intricate plot where one doesn’t exist (as he does in describing the life of a cat-in-a-hat), Dr. Seuss is famous for bringing a unique style and tone to his writing. People aren’t interested in a person-like-creature who doesn’t like green eggs and ham. They are interested in the wonky world that Dr. Suess fabricates through his rhymes and unique tone and style. Similarly, the novel Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng is told through a graceful and intentional narration. While the plot of Ng’s story is shiny enough to draw in readers, it is the way it is told that makes it stand out among others. Ng imparts a narrative that is smooth like silk, and opens its reader to the entire world within the book. She does not limit the depth or authenticity of her characters. She does this by using mechanisms. Mechanisms can be a large variety of things: literary tools such as repetition and alliteration, small subtleties in the arrangement of a paragraph, or even larger choices regarding voice and style. Mechanisms are basically arrangement-related choices that serve functions. In fact, it is a combination of mechanisms that make the writing of Dr. Seuss's storytelling different from the narration of a realistic fiction novel. If it is storytellers that determine the value of stories, and mechanisms that determine the value of storytellers, than ultimately, it is mechanisms that determine the worth of a story! The mechanisms within Ng’s narration develop her writing through creating changes in voice, and differences in descriptions and opinions when the narrator shifts between character views.

Firstly, Ng changes the voice of her narration to fit the character view it is speaking from, which not only builds character, but also offers the reader a fuller understanding of the relationships he/she has with other characters. The most powerful tool in the arsenal of Ng’s narration is the ability to travel between the minds of different characters. Within the span of a chapter, the narrator usually focuses on one or two character views while momentarily gauging the thoughts of a good few others as well. :0

This is the proficiency of the omniscient narrator. However, what is unique about Ng’s narration is that it does not simply describe the story from different points of view; it lives it. When it projects the inner workings of a character, the style of writing adjusts. It becomes as if the character in question is actually speaking to her/himself. For example, when the narration is speaking from James, the diction and style is generally fatherly and formal. This can be seen when the narrator describes James watching his reluctant son chill by the poolside, “The confident young man in his imagination dwindled to a nervous little boy: skinny, small, hunched so deeply that his chest was concave.” (88) The narrators description of Nath is complex with strong and concise diction. This matches the tone James would likely use, being the history nerd that he is. This also fits to a tee the thought process of a disappointed father.The phrase “confident young man” is commonly associated with parents and teachers in reference to  their children or students.

Confident Young Man

The imagery of James seeing Nath “dwindle to a nervous little boy” perfectly describes how a disappointed father might see his son. On the other hand, when the story is told from Hannah's point of view, sentences are abbreviated, and the diction - while staying descriptive - portrays a simple understanding. An understanding that describes her and her unconfident young self. For example, when Hannah sneaks out to the lake searching for some answers, “But the boat is gone. The city, belatedly cautious, has taken it away.” (105) The short length of the sentences describes her child-like traits: confusion and fear. The second sentence describes how she is feeling --how she quietly resents the city for waiting until after her sister’s death to withdraw the boat from the dock. Another use of Ng’s narration in terms of character growth is how she can use large, descriptive words such as “belatedly cautious” to describe Hannah’s feelings instead of shorter, more simple ones that might suit her character better. The narrator serves as a proxy between Hannah herself, and her thoughts. Imagine having a little elf who knew everything you thought, and knew how to describe you better than you ever could. This is why Hannah’s point of view can be explained so elegantly and illustratively. In addition to explaining a character's thoughts through changes in voice, the narrator also builds character through actions. Later, when James and Marilyn exit after fighting, the narrator uses describes Hannah’s shy demeanor through selective diction, “Only when everything is completely quiet does she dare to crawl out from under the tablecloth, to pick the fragments of porcelain from the puddle of soapy water.” (117) Through words like “only,” “completely,” and “dare,” Ng makes it clear that Hannah is a brittle being. Like a biscuit. Other than changing writing styles between characters, Ng also uses the differing opinions and descriptions between characters to develop themes.

Secondly, Ng uses the different identities of characters to enhance the audience's understanding of certain topics or characters --describing them in different ways and contexts. With Ng’s narration, character personalities are powerfully built and refined. Although this seems to have the sole purpose of grabbing the readers attention, it also has the secondary purpose of opening pathways for new information to be introduced.

For example, one growing theme of the story is the character Jack Wolff. Although he is a character, he is introduced by Nath as a suspicious man, “Jack had humiliated him in front of the other kids, had laughed when Nath’s mother was gone, when Nath had thought she might never come back.” (16) This foreshadows a lot of information that will likely be explained in the future: about how his mother ran away, and about Jack’s role. One thing is for certain, though. Jack is introduced as a bad guy. He is inserted to the story through the viewpoint of Nath, which is the viewpoint of a brother who just lost his sister, and is looking for answers. When Jack is next elaborated on, Nath reveals suspicions, and in response, “Jack looks Nath in the face: a flash of startled blue eyes. ‘She told you?’” (63) This makes Jack even more suspicious, and leaves the reader on the edge of their seat in suspense. The next time Jack is introduced is from James’s perspective, which brings a lot of confusion:

“A figure glided toward Nath, a sandy head broke the surface: Jack. ‘Polo,’ Jack shouted. The sound echoed off the tiled walls: Polo. Polo. Polo. Giddy with relief, Nath lunged, and Jack held still, treading water, waiting, until Nath caught his shoulder. For a moment, James saw sheer joy on his son’s face, the dark furrow of frustration wiped away… Jack himself turned to Nath and grinned. To Nath it was a taunt: Joke’s on you.” (90-91)

Although it is possible that Jack had meant to taunt Nath, it is not clear-cut, as it once felt when Nath described it. Ng utilizes this tactic of corroborating growing themes through the eyes of different characters well in developing her plot.

The narration of Ng’s piece is what makes it stand out. Ng’s Everything I Never Told You is an artwork that builds its literary value off of its awesome narration. It tells an enticing story in a fluid way. Ng uses the usual sound logic, grammar, and flowing writing that is seen in most professional novels, but has added her own unique touch. Much like Dr. Suess and his aptitude for creating a wonky feel, Celeste Ng has mastered cultivating a sad and mysterious vibe. The difference here, though, is that Ng dives further. Intent on doing more than entertaining, Ng deeply develops her characters, and uses every segment of her writing to elaborate on how a character might act or think in a given situation. In addition to developing her characters, she uses them to develop themes in the story arc. It is crazy how Ng sharpens every word to simultaneously develop characters and themes. Every aspect serves a purpose. That is true art.  In famous pieces of literature, there is usually at least one aspect that sticks out among the rest, and in this one, it is the narration. Ng uses differences in voice and changes among character viewpoints to develop characters and themes.

Awful Recipes: Recipes for Disaster

Awful Recipes: Recipes for Disaster 

           The Facebook page "Awful Recipes: Recipes for Disaster" makes you appreciate the yummy Tasty videos filling the rest of your feed. Although most experiences baking and cooking recipes are good, some are negative. A recipe is a set of instructions for making something using certain ingredients. The Facebook page "Awful Recipes: Recipes for Disaster" is made up of videos of disgusting dishes showing how combining the wrong ingredients together can lead to disaster. This idea of a disastrous recipe can apply to books as well. Series of events and scenes mixed together with emotions can produce unfortunate outcomes. In Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, the combination of ingredients, scenes, and emotions, can create a recipe for disaster.

            In Everything I Never Told You, the series of events leading up to James and Marilyn's wedding creates a recipe for disaster, which affects the relationship between Marilyn and her mom. Marilyn's mom is a close minded woman, who is stubborn in her belief that there's only one way for a woman to live a proper life. She attempts to mold Marilyn, from a young age, into the perfect stereotypical girl. Despite her efforts, Marilyn ends up being the complete opposite of what she wished, creating tension between the two. Marilyn also resents her mother for trying to hold her back from breaking the stereotype, another key ingredient in this recipe.  In response to their troubled marriage, James turns to the last ingredient in this recipe for disaster: Louisa. Louisa provides an escape from James's home life, which is full of tension and sorrow. The combination of a new exciting relationship with Louisa and the other ingredients making up the recipe for disaster drive James to cheat on Marilyn.
  Recipes for disasters are created throughout the book Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng by mixing series of event and character's emotions together. In Everything I Never Told You, Ng crafts perfect examples of disaster. These examples of experience and emotions leading up to something disastrous show life through a realistic and eye-opening lens. We are surrounded by recipes for disaster in our everyday life. Although sometimes if feels like everything is going great, these is bound to be a time when if feels like anything that could go wrong does. In this book, Ng recognizes and embraces this reality. She uses if to craft example of recipes for disaster that are relatable. Ng teaches us the lesson that although disastrous outcomes are inevitable, there is often one ingredient of event leading to the end the could have saved the dish or situation. We should strive to learn from this lesson and become more aware of our mistakes or what we could have done differently so that the next time the recipe might be a little less disastrous. 

           
            The third ingredient is Marilyn's mother's stubbornness and racism. Because she is stuck in her old fashioned ways, Marilyn's mom thinks that it is "just not right" for Marilyn to marry an oriental. She thinks that the only reason he's marrying her is to get a green card. Marilyn's mom also tells Marilyn that the only thing that will come from her marriage is a feeling of not belonging, saying "Think about you children. Where will you live? You won't fit in anywhere" (Ng 54). 
            As a result of all the ingredients, the resentment and tension between Marilyn and her mother grows to such an extent that their relationship is shattered. The recipe for disaster created by the combination of a series of events and build up of emotions throughout the years generated a tragic dish: a broken relationship garnished with anger and bitterness. 

             Another example of a recipe for disaster in Everything I Never Told You is the combination of events leading up to James cheating on Marilyn. This recipe starts to form as soon as James and Marilyn exit the "honeymoon phase" of their marriage. At this point, Marilyn is dissatisfied with her life. As a solution, she runs away from James, Nath, and Lydia to complete her education and start a job, trying to make something out of herself. Although she eventually returns, new feelings of distrust and disconnect exist between Marilyn and James.

            These new feelings become blatantly obvious after Lydia dies. Although the couple wishes they could be comforted by each other, they are unable to connect or talk in this time of need. This is apparent when the narrator says, “For a moment James considers joining Marilyn in their bedroom. He’s filled with a deep longing to burrow against her, to feel her weight and warmth surrounding him, shielding him from everything else, to cling to her and feel her cling to him and let their bodies comfort each other” (Ng 68). Although James wants to be comforted by Marilyn, he can't get over their differences and initiate communication. To make matters worse, Marilyn is so stuck to her own opinion of what happened to Lydia that she ends up turning James in the bad guy, widening the space between them.

The Social Systems of "Everything I Never Told You"

https://www.gtri.gatech.edu/files/media/bmcss.jpg

A system can refer to a wide range of things: systems of government, systems of equations, operating systems, or even sewage systems. However, Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng on one type of system in particular: social systems. The novel itself discusses the effects of the sudden loss of a family member. It focuses on how each family member, the Lee family itself, and the surrounding community, as systems, are affected by the death of Lydia Lee. By showcasing the behavior of characters within each system, Ng makes it evident that the less associated with Lydia, the less affected a social system is.

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Each member of the family has their own system (personality) through which they approach problems:

• James, the father of the family, is more flexible. He knows when and when not to speak, and hides things he knows will scare his wife. For example, James hides Lydia’s autopsy report from Marilyn because he “can’t imagine telling Marilyn that these things could happen to a body they loved.” (Ng 70) He goes to work to avoid conflict in the family. However, James accidentally has an affair with Louisa, his teaching assistant. He later regrets this and tries to tell Louisa that “I love my wife. This must never happen again.” (Ng 118)
• Nathan, like his father, is submissive. He and Hannah are sometimes ignored by his parents in favor of Lydia. The two children are observant but shy. After Lydia’s death, Nathan does not tell his mother, Marilyn, about Lydia’s recent behavior. When Marilyn asks for clues, he “thinks of Jack and says no.” (Ng 16)
• Marilyn is affected the most by Lydia’s death. Before it, her goal was to get a degree and prove her mother wrong. She was a housewife but aspired to be a doctor. She was efficient. For example, when visiting her deceased mother’s home, she concludes where people went when they died: “on, away, out of your life.” (Ng 84) After Lydia’s death, she is broken. Her new goal is to find out what happened to Lydia. She remembers recent headlines about shootings and murders and assumes the worst for Lydia. She begins to act recklessly, and accuses James of “kowtow[ing] to the police.” (Ng 116)

While each individual family member’s system is differently affected by Lydia’s death, the impact on the whole family’s system is even greater.

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One important definition of “system” is that it is “a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, in particular.” All the traits mentioned above work as parts of a larger system, the Lee family. When one part is removed or changed, the entire system changes. When Lydia dies, it changes the attitude and function of each family member and the entire system. Before, the goal of the family was to raise successful children. Each member of the family had a job: Marilyn cooked for the family and encouraged the children, James earned money for the family, and the children went to school to receive an education. However, after Lydia’s death, the job of each family member becomes hazy. They split up and work towards their own goals:

The children split up with their parents and help to control each other. Hannah stops Nathan from attacking Jack because he “lured her, persuaded her, tempted her, disappointed her.” (Ng 121) The two understand each other because of their shared experiences of being the ‘youngest one’ of the family.

Meanwhile, Marilyn and James grow distant. Before, there was little tension between the two, except that James was afraid that Marilyn getting a job would damage his reputation. Now, Marilyn spends each day alone in the house, trying to figure out how Lydia died. Meanwhile, James keeps Lydia’s autopsy report a secret and has an affair with Louisa. He is less affected by Lydia’s death than Marilyn. This tension causes the two to fight over how James treats the investigation. However, Marilyn’s words suggest that the fight is about more than just the investigation. Marilyn accuses James of “kowtowing to the police” (Ng 116) and implying that she is “just a hysterical housewife.” (Ng 116)  This reveals Marilyn’s true frustrations: her ambitions of being a doctor and possible dissatisfaction with James. All of these factors introduced to the family negatively affect the family’s system.

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The Lee family is only a smaller system in the surrounding community. The community is a network of families who work towards the collective goal of improving the town. Since the most popular offering of the town is its news, Lydia’s death is seen as a spectacle and almost sensationalized in the media. As Nathan observes, the townspeople who arrive at the funeral “are drawn by the spectacle of the sudden death.” (Ng 59) The newspaper publishes puff-pieces about the investigation every week to capitalize off of the news: “Police still searching for Clues in Girl’s Death. Suicide Likely Possibility, Investigators Say.” (Ng 109) While this is the only real effect Lydia’s death has on the system of the town, some members outside of the family are also affected. Jack’s apologetic attitude after Lydia’s death is seen by Nathan as a sign of guilt. While most of the town was not affected by Lydia’s death, the death was used as marketing for the town.

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Out of all these systems, Lydia’s death affects the Lee family the most. While each member of the family reacts emotionally to Lydia’s death, it is the combined reaction of the whole family that is the most significant. This is likely why the book focuses on the family and each member of the family. However, we also get an idea of the community around the family, and their behavior towards the family. The community, as a system, uses this news in the media as a source of marketing for the town. This description of the surrounding community is relevant to current issues: with accusations of fake news and sensationalism in media. By exploring all of these systems together, Ng creates a fleshed-out analysis of the effects of a sudden death on different social systems.

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Interested? Purchase Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You today on Amazon!

Literary Mechanisms in "Everything I Never Told You"

When you hear the word "system," what do you think of? A system of parts? Rebelling against the system? What about a "mechanism?" Do you think of a light bulb? Or to you think of automobiles?Now, what's the difference? They seem pretty interchangeable, right? You may not know, but there is one key difference between the two.

Systems are continuous cycles that can be represented either abstractly, or more literally, such as a system of parts or going against "the system." Mechanisms, on the other hand, also take advantage of many different components working together, but their goal is to create a desired product or achieve a specific function. For example, a light bulb is considered a mechanism, as the different components of the light bulb work together to achieve a certain function: light. So, the main difference between the two is that mechanisms are working to produce a goal or product, whereas systems are a continuous cycle of different parts, without an obvious goal. Now how to this relate at all to "Everything I Never Told You," by Celeste Ng? The author's narrative in this novel uses literary mechanisms and various themes to create a final product to the reader: a novel full of many deeper meaning, emotions, and undertones.

The first way that "Everything I Never Told You" is similar to a mechanism is through the author's use of flashbacks, which flashes back to Marilyn and James' past lives, and their two different experiences: Marilyn's need to stand out, and James' desire to blend in, to be just like the rest. “Because more than anything, her mother had wanted to stand out; because more than anything, her father had wanted to blend in”(Ng 25).The flashbacks broaden the perspective of the story, allowing the reader to comprehend Marilyn and James’ mixed, complicated feelings toward one another, and to also show her their family has been influenced by their pasts. Marilyn is determined to live a richer and more productive life than her mother’s trivial one. Her primary focus will continue to affect the family and how Marilyn acts throughout the novel in the face of tough situations. Flashbacks are one of the several mechanisms Ng uses to create her final product, working hand in hand with the other literary components.

James' affair with Louisa can also be considered a literary mechanism working toward the novel's primary function. The reader can most likely predict that nothing good will come out of it and that sooner or later, someone will find out. Although James feels guilty about what he is doing, he feels as though it helps him to escape the chaos of his family life. James' affair with Louisa conveys a theme of anxiousness, since it is likely that someone will find out, but also offers an explanation of how James is affected by Lydia's death. This component of the mechanism works well alongside Lydia's death: the crux of the story's mechanism.

Lydia's death can be looked at as the core or focal point of the novel's mechanism. Her death is the obvious conflict in the story, and the other components seem to branch off of it. Lydia's death puts a strain on the family's well-being after finding out the terrible news, and not knowing what caused it. Marilyn is especially distraught after the occurence. "What Marilyn has been doing is pacing Lydia's room, tingling with fury. It's obvious what the police think, with all their hinting. No evidence of anyone in the boat with her. Would you say Lydia was a lonely girl?(Ng 118-19). Marilyn is dumbfounded as to why Lydia is dead, and is trying to work through all the possible reasons. They're not sure whether it was due to Lydia's loneliness or caused by an outside force. Lydia's death works as the driving point of the novel's mechanics, since it causes an overall sense of bewilderment in the family, as well as affects their relationships with one another.

The flashbacks in the story, as well as Marilyn's perspective on traditional gender roles are also highlighted after Lydia's death, which illustrates the connection between flashbacks and the main conflict, showing how the mechanism uses its different parts to work together. Due to the death, James is convinced that Marilyn is driving herself insane. After the two of them argue, James says, “Because you’re acting hysterical. You hear one news report and you get all these ideas in your head. Let it go. James still hasn’t lifted his head from his hands. Marilyn, just let it go”(Ng 115). When James says this to Marilyn, she instantly defends herself, suggesting that James is also being sexist and perpetuating traditional gender roles. “So I’m just a hysterical housewife? Marilyn’s voice is cool and sharp now, like the edge of a steel bland, and under the table Hannah hold her breath”(Ng 116). The death causes a multitude of emotions for the Lee family, and brings out tensions between the parents, as well as Marilyn’s views on traditional gender roles, which she is trying to break free from.

The novel "Everything I Never Told You" closely follows a traditional model of a mechanism: a system of individual parts working together to create a product, goal, or achieve a specific function. The narrative is the result of the different literary elements working together, where interesting parallels between each component are revealed; the connection between Lydia's death, James and Marilyn's lives, as well as the cultural and gender influences that drive the novel. So next time you hear the word "mechanism," hopefully you'll think more outside the box. 

Ng's Recipe

Recipes nowadays come in all forms, “Tasty” videos, are some of these many forms. Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never told You is surprisingly similar to such videos. Although Ng’s work is a 297 paged novel and “Tasty” videos are about four minutes, both are recipes that use ingredients to lead their viewers (or readers) to a final product that leaves them entertained and satisfied. Obviously, Celeste Ng is not putting chocolate sauce as a finishing touch on her novel so the two do in fact differ a little bit when it comes to the ingredients used. Instead of eggs and flour, Celeste Ng uses narrative style, word choice and personification as her ingredients to form her recipe for an engaging and evocative read.

Ng’s strategic plot arc within Everything I Never told You is what allows her to be able to hold her

audience’s attention from start to finish.

There is an element of mystery to the novel, “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet” (Ng 1). Having the main character die within the opening lines sparks curiosity in the reader right off the bat. The key is to hold this curiosity and the attention of the reader for the next 296 pages. Ng does this by parceling out information as the novel moves forward, “ Every afternoon, practically, driving around in that Beetle of his, coming home just in time for dinner, when she pretended she’d been at school all the time” (Ng 16). This crumb of information gives readers a hint to what possibly could have happened to Lydia, but it also evokes more questions. Ng does this purposefully; she leads the audience through the novel by revealing something new so the reader has enough information to not be lost, but also not enough information to completely figure it out. She leaves her readers wanting more.
 
This choice to let information slowly drip out instead of flow all at once means that the novel unfolds as a mystery and keeps readers looking to the next page.

Ng uses third person narrative within Everything I Never told You. Because of this it can be difficult to portray how a character is feeling in a specific instance due to the fact that the readers do not have all the thoughts of that character. If the narrator was to point out every thought or feeling of all the characters the readers could easily be bored by the redundancy. Ng uses diction and personification to find a way around just this. Every word choice is methodical and many times she is able to give her readers a plethora of information by introducing just one word, “She drove into the night, homeward, her hair weeping tiny slow streams down her back” (Ng 87). Marilyn's hair obviously can not weep but Ng personifies the hair to give it human qualities and then uses the loaded word weep to portray the mood of the scene. By creating this mood, it evokes emotion from the reader and allows them to feel and connect with the piece.

Ng also uses personification to vividly describe scenery, “She passes a clump of birches, all holding their stiff arms above their heads as if in surrender” (Ng 104). No birch trees have arms, but their personified description gives the reader a clearer insight of the scenery. Personification is also used frequently by Ng to portray character's emotions, “An angry soap froth rises in the drain” (Ng 115). Marilyn and James are in the midst of a major fight and the tensions are high, rather than bluntly stating Marilyn and James’s feelings Ng personifies the soap froth to display them instead.

This mixture of personification, diction and narrative style cause readers to delve into the Ng's novel because they are intrigued by both the plot and the characters whom they can relate to.

Celeste Cooks Characters

Everything I Never told You by Celeste Ng is a mystery novel about how Lydia, the protagonist, died. The family slowly finds out more information about Lydia and how exactly she died in the Lake in May, 1977. The world “recipes” can relate to this novel in many different way. A recipe can be instructions to create food. It can also be the steps in order to complete something, or who a person is based off his or her past. The things that have happened in Lydia’s life have made her the way she is, the way she was brought up/stirred up creates the person she is now. At home, James and Marilyn are fighting about whether Marilyn should work and what it means to work. They are creating a recipe as to how Marilyn should live her life. Marilyn also realizes how much recipes mean to her because of her mother. There are also “recipes for disasters”, as Marilyn leaves, the Lee family is unable to live without her. Characters, events and grammar all show an aspect of how recipes relate to this novel. Recipes are the steps that lead to an objective. Recipes in Everything I Never told You reveal more about the characters, and help the readers relate to the novel better.

As the novel continues, the reader learns even more about Lydia. The reader begins to see the real personality within her, “A small tear, small enough to slip by the busy policemen, intended to escape an even sharper eye: a mother’s. Marilyn works her hand inside and pulls out an open package of Marlboros. And beneath that, she finds something else: an open box of condoms.”(120) Throughout the novel, the reader learns about Lydia. Just like a recipe, the more instructions are read, the closer a cook is to the final dish. Celeste Ng cooks up quite the storm; Lydia is one of the most complex and confusing characters in the novel. Through Marilyn and Nath’s perspectives, the reader begins to relate to Lydia more. Lydia isn’t the perfect child, nobody is, the readers gets to see a different concrete side to Lydia that is relatable.

Marilyn however, has dreams for herself. Celeste Ng creates a recipe as to who Marliyn is, but Marilyn internally realizes how she doesn’t want to be that person. “Marilyn thought uneasily of her own life, of hours spent making breakfasts, serving dinners, packing lunches into near paper bags. How was it possible to spend so many hours spreading peanut butter across bread? How was it possible to spend so many hours cooking eggs? Sunny-side up for James. Hard-boiled for Nath. Scrambled for Lydia. It behooves a good wife to know how to make an egg behave in six basic ways. Was she sad? Yes. She was sad. About the eggs. About everything.” (86) Celeste Ng reveals how unhappy Marilyn is with her life. The recipe to be a good mother, is not the one Marilyn chose to take.

Celeste Ng uses the phrase, “hunched so deeply that his chest was concave.” This image conveys not only what Nath seems like to the world, but also how James sees Nath in a negative way, almost as if he doesn’t want Nath as his son. The characterization of James is opposite to Nath. James is a rough man who wants to fit in. “At home, James did not know how to make eggs behave in any way. Each morning, he served the children cereal for breakfast and send them to school with thirty cents apiece for the lunch line.” (87) It’s interesting to see how this is James’s recipe, 30 cents for lunch. He doesn’t put the time and thought into the children as Marilyn does, and therefore, falls out of the family. Ng depicts a cold-hearted personality of James to the readers.

Overall, the recipes in Everything I Never told You reveal more about the characters, and help the readers relate to the novel better. From the characterization of Lydia and Marilyn, the reader can relate to the craziness and doubt that both these characters share. From the characterization of Nath and James, the reader is able to see the contrast between them, and how their distance from the family makes them alike. The recipes relate to the characterization, and the final dishes relate to how the novel connects the readers and the characters.

Fight the System!

Have you ever felt that the odds are stacked against you? Has society ever failed to value you or your accomplishments? You may be a victim of “the system”.The system is made up of all of our actions and attitudes and actions. Sometimes, it can hurt people's lives. Celeste Ng, in her novel Everything I Never Told You, references the system a lot.
    Centered around a mixed-race family with an Asian-American dad and a white mom, Ng’s book The Lee family’s past and present is talked about throughout the novel, as are the struggles each family member, specifically Marilyn and James, struggle against the system. Marilyn has difficulty establishing herself as a female science major, given the fact that the field is male-dominated. James, as an Asian-American at a boarding school which is majority white, has trouble fitting in with his peers. Additionally, later in their lives, James and Marilyn feel alienated as a mixed race family in small-town Ohio. Celeste Ng, in Everything I Never Told You makes commentaries about the system by describing character Marilyn’s difficulties in becoming a female science major, her husband James’ experience fitting in during his youth at a boarding school, and the couple’s alienation in their small-town home.
    Ng demonstrates the harmful prejudices of the system in Everything I Never Told You is through her description of character Marilyn’s difficulty succeeding in the male-dominated field of science. Marilyn comes to Radcliffe College with the hopes of becoming a physics major, but her dreams are ignored because of her gender. Marilyn's adviser scoffs at the aspiring scientist’s decision to major in the sciences. He treats Marilyn in a way that men would never be treated. Despite Marilyn’s adviser’s blatant sexism, her good grades convince him to place her in a chemistry class. Her adviser condescendingly states, “All right then, why don't you try chemistry, if you can handle it.” (Ng 26) Marilyn continues to face sexism in the class itself, albeit on a more subtle level. The only girl in a class of fifteen men, Marilyn is constantly waited on and spoken to as if she isn't as smart as her peers. It is only through her hard work in the class that she is able to gain the respect of her fellow students and her instructor.
    Through the story of Marilyn’s victory over sexism in college, Ng is able to paint a picture of the system that was in place in 1950s America and its effects on intelligent women. Ng implies that Marilyn represented an exception to a common rule at the time- women were often forced into studying subjects such as history or English due to their perceived inability to process science, which was a man’s topic. As she writes of Marilyn's thoughts, “She held her breath, waiting, afraid he (Marilyn’s advisor) would tell her that science was too hard, that she'd better try something like English or history instead.” (Ng 26) In these ways, Ng describes the sexism Marilyn faces in college as a means to expose just one of the many problems with the system.
    Ng reveals more faults with the system by describing the difficulties that James faces fitting into boarding school.  After his father gets a job working at a prestigious boarding school, James gains the opportunity of becoming Lloyd’s first Asian- American student.  Surrounded by the children of established white American families, James is frequently left feeling out of place as the son of Asian immigrants. James’ different appearance is coupled with his parent’s status as immigrants, which limits his ability to connect with his classmates, who are all from multi-generational American families. As Ng writes, “when they (James’ classmates) did family tree projects in class, he (James) pretended to forget the assignment rather than draw his own complicated diagram.” (Ng 44) James relative poverty compared to his peers is another inhibiting factor to his failure to assimilate. James’ dad earned his son a place at boarding school through his work as the school handyman. Whilst he does recognize his father’s immense sacrifice, James is constantly embarrassed by his father’s role in the school. When his father makes trips into James’ classroom to perform electrical work or clean, James is described as being “scrunched in the back row (of his classroom).” (Ng 43) James’ father’s role in his school further prevents him from forming friendships with wealthy white Americans, who sneer at James and his father from their elitist pedestals.
    Celeste Ng describes James’ troubled childhood as a means to reference classism and racism within the system. James’ story is representative of a larger social commentary that Ng makes regarding the way through which poor members of minority groups faced systemic disadvantages. James, like other poor non-white Americans his age, has a tough time socializing with his peers, and faces regular embarrassment. Ng points to the problematic attitudes and prejudices in the system through her description of James’ failures to fit in at boarding school.
    Ng additionally examines the system is through her narration of the alienation of the Lee family in their home in small-town Ohio. The Lees, as a mixed race family in a small suburban region, are often viewed as being ‘other’, despite their children being American-born and raised. The feeling of
exclusion felt by Marilyn and James in their midlife is shared by their children. Due to their status as the only family of its kind in town, the Lees lack the approachability of their more racially homogenous neighbors, who are majority-white. Ng calls the Lees, “A family with no friends, a family of misfits.” (Ng 112)
    The treatment of the Lees is described by Ng so as to illustrate the inherent racial bias that is associated with the system in place in 1970s America. Ng suggests that, despite the government’s role in enacting racially tolerant laws, the system continues to categorize the existence of a mixed-race family as abnormal. James and Marilyn, as well as their children, are forced to live with the knowledge that many in their community disapprove of their marriage. This brings a constant feeling of anxiety into their lives, putting pressure on their children. Ng denounces the role of the system in harming the security of a well-meaning American family. The constant pressure placed by the system on the Lee family due to their racial makeup represents a critical factor in the family’s gradual collapse. In the previously mentioned ways, Ng describes the alienation felt by the Lee family in their small town home as a means to bring to light the often destructive consequences of the system.
    Celeste Ng, in Everything I Never Told You, reveals the many harmful byproducts of a flawed and oppressive system by describing Marilyn’s struggle to become a science major, her husband James’ difficulties fitting into a prestigious boarding school, and their family’s racially-motivated alienation in their small Ohio town. Sexism in the system during Marilyn’s college career makes it very difficult for her to achieve her ambitions to become a scientist due to her gender. Racism and classism in the system during James’ boarding school education prevented a young and poor Asian American from connecting with his wealthy white peers. Finally, the system in small town America of the 1970s included an inherent racial bias which resulted in the feeling of otherness and alienation in the Lee family. Despite the social progress that has occurred since the time in which Everything I Never Told You is set, a system still remains. In order to prevent the continuation of this system, individuals have to keep fighting for fair treatment. Do your part- fight the system!