The Bitter Sea

Charles Li’s, The Bitter Sea, talks about Li’s growth in China with himself, his father, and his horizons. He grew up through the Communist takeover in China near World War II and his childhood was a tough time for him. Until he was 5, he pretty much was restrained and confined within the walls of his father’s mansion in Nanjing. He was prevented from seeing the outside world for a majority of his childhood and Li even goes to say how hating this confinement was his first childhood memory. It was a struggle living there for him because him and his father were never on the same page and much of his life circled around pleasing his father.

I think this confinement for Li is a major contributor to why that happiest time of his life was spent while living in the slums. When first forced into the slums, Li’s mother tells him and his siblings how their father constructed a sheltered world for all of them. She pretty much tells them that they were spoiled living in the mansion and now they’re getting a taste of how life really is. They’ll “have to learn to cope with squalor, poverty, and hunger.” But unlike his siblings, Li felt free for once in his life. He found happiness in the slums and that is something I truly admire about Charles Li. He made the best out of what he had. He admired the world around him and that’s all he wanted as a kid. He wanted to know what was beyond the tall brick walls of his mansion in Nanjing. I actually believe that his confinement early in life molded him into what he became later on in life. I think it made him appreciate the little things in life more and not worry about what people think of him. He always strived for his father’s approval and acceptance but I think after living in the slums and experiencing happiness, he slowly learned to accept himself and not worry about what other people thought of him.

I admire Charles Li’s outlook on the world and how he built his own life single handedly. He had a pretty miserable childhood and he worked to make a life for himself in America, eventually settling differences with his father in the end. When he steps foot on the plane to head to America, I think he reflects on the life he’s lived and the life he’s moving on to. With everything he’s gone through with his father, Communist takeover, and just his life in general, emotions set in and I think that is sort of a “bitter” feeling. Although he’s happy that he’s expanding his horizons and taking a step forward in life, I think he also feels a bit of an undying connection with China that he’s not completely ready to let go of and that he’ll miss.