​There are four important narrative choices that were made to create symbolism within the story.

 

First, the room is which the subject wakes up is described as empty with only a bed. While creating this scene, the room it takes after is the one I stayed in while at a Mental Health Center. This time in my life was full of confusion, fear, and the urge to run - from what, I'm not sure. I chose to describe the room this way because of what it represents to me and what it can represent to the reader. When thinking about this room, the reader may have many questions because of the ambiguity - Why is it empty? Where is this place? How did he end up here? Is it a jail cell or a room? Who is this man? And the list goes on. The power of ambiguity in this scene allows me to draw these questions out of the reader and allow them to apply them to the main character, since he has these questions as well. Hopefully, for the sake of the reader, these questions will be answered throughout the story. Or maybe they won't.

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Second, the ceremony itself resembles that of the original Handover ceremony in 1997. Great Britain and China had many long debates about the structure of the ceremony. Specifically, they struggled with how the flags would be displayed, changed, and positioned. The decision they finally reached was to lower the two old flags (Great Britain and the Hong Kong/British flag) at the same time that the two new flags (China and the newly created Hong Kong flag) were raised. In this story, rather than switching from one country to another, we are losing an entity's "independence" (Hong Kong), so the Chinese and Hong Kong flags are lowered at the same time the Chinese flag rises victoriously. The MC claims that this second Handover ceremony represents freedom for the newcomers at the same time they retire a flag, symbolizing the conflict between the two sides of the freedom debate.

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Third, the end of the escalator takes you to Victoria Peak which is referenced in the story as "the Peak." This is the highest hill on Hong Kong island and home to many prominent (and wealthy) political figures. As the reader learns in Chapter 2, this is the home of the new President of the Republic. This location provides a point of tension as well because Victoria Peak is named after Queen Victoria, and this story revolves around China taking Hong Kong from Britain. 

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Fourth, the reader is intentionally left in the dark and the prose slowly reveals characteristics about Kevin, the world, and his place in it. This isn't meant to overwhelm the reader with confusion, but enhance their understanding of Kevin's perspective - waking up in an unknown place, in an unknown world, and having to trust people he's never met. 

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Behind the Photos:

Chapter 1 - The image is of the Hong Kong escalators that the subject took to Victoria Peak. They are the longest continuous escalators in the world, traveling 2,625 feet through Central Hong Kong.

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Chapter 2 - The suit in this picture is not of a particular person, but in this chapter, Mr. Ling is the President of the Republic. While he is not meant to be an exact representative of Xi Jinping, his attire is inspired by the classic black suits Xi Jinping is always wearing. ​

 

Chapter 3 - Since this chapter is an integral part of learning about the world and how it's running, the picture shows the office in which Stan and Kevin have their meeting.​

 

Chapter 4 - This photo was taken during the Umbrella Movement, which occurred during the 2014 Democracy Protests in Hong Kong. The purpose of this revolution was to demand freer elections and activists were prosecuted and jailed for their participation in protest. This photo is meant to emphasize the fact that the subjects aren't necessarily free within the Republic.

 

Chapter 5 - This image is of Lin Zexu, a politician known for his role in creating the First Opium War. He was known for his competence and high moral standards, but is also blamed for the war and his failure to account for the complexities of the opium problem. After sending a strongly worded letter to Queen Elizabeth (that did not get a response), he took matters into his own hands and destroyed three million pounds of opium by dumping it into the bay. I chose this image because not only does he represent a rebellious movement, he also is known failing to see all perspectives of a problem.

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​Supplemental Background - The image is of Filipino workers gathering in the walkways in Central Hong Kong. I chose this because they create a lot of the hustle and bustle of the town in that area through their chattering and small businesses selling trinkets or giving manicures on the weekends. In the personal narrative scene in this section, we walked through the central park filled with the workers.

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Inside the Genre - This image is of construction in 1957, a time in which the city was going though many changes. Not only was there a 1.5 million people increase in population and skyscrapers began to develop, but also the time was full of political turmoil - Great Britain was determined to keep Hong Kong a capitalist state while surrounded by Communist influences. 

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Personal Decisions for Prose - This image I took of the "Big Buddha" while in Hong Kong, symbolizing reflection.

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About the Author - This image was taken of me and some other students on Kowloon Peak (commonly referred to as Suicide Peak), one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. This peak is described as Kevin's favorite in the narrative, but it is also mine.