Red Sweater at the Beginning

Red Sweater

At the beginning of the story, the narrator mentioned of a gift that she had chosen for her sister, Lisa. The narrator described the red sweater mostly in terms of characteristics applied by the Chinese - red for luck, happiness, and perfection. The reason why the narrator described the red sweater this way is because she belongs to a Chinese clan.

Reading through the story, the red sweater was mentioned only in the first part and in the last part. However, it is from the red sweater where the entire story revolved. To be able to represent the meaning and worth of the red sweater in the story, and for the narrator and to Lisa as well, the author, Fae Myenne Ng, had to tell some description on how the narrator's life and her family's life went about.

A reader might wonder regarding the twist from the first part of the story, which tells of luck and happiness as represented by the red sweater, and the next parts, which tells of nothing but sadness and misfortunes. In this way, however, Fae Myenne Ng effectively pointed out the true meaning of the red sweater which was made obvious at the last part of the story. The red sweater represents all the good things that the narrator wishes for her sister. Although the red sweater had cost the narrator quite an amount of money, two weeks' pay as described, which represents that the sweater costs the narrator with "time" for working hard for that two weeks to buy the sweater, the narrator still bought it because she wishes time for her sister. As quoted in the story,

The sweater cost two weeks' pay. Like the forty-cent birds that are now a delicacy, this is a special treat. The money doesn't mean anything. It is, if anything, time. Time is what I would like to give her.

Lisa had been a good to sister to the narrator, as well as to the rest of the siblings. No matter how costly the red sweater had been to the narrator, she still bought it. This symbolizes how Lisa lived a pure life for her family. Because of this, the narrator wishes all the good things for her sister. Hence, she chose the red sweater because for the Chinese, red means happiness and luck. Once again, as indicated in the story,

Red. Lucky. Wear it. Find that man. The new one. Wrap yourself around him. Feel the pulsing between you. ***** him and think about it. One hundred percent. Hand wash only. Worn once.