Prairie Lotus

“You questioning my decision?”

The author reveals Papa’s true character indirectly in the first several chapters. He is unsympathetic toward Hanna and keeps any exuberant or loving emotions under check, choosing instead to speak in gruff, bitter, brief phrases and sentences to her. He is quick to snap at her in this moment when she asks about the lot he purchased (as opposed to renting the way they did in the past on their long three-year sojourn). In his efforts to secure a place for his family to live in safety, he takes Hanna’s questions personally, though she does not mean them that way.

“The quick glance, the even quicker looking away, unspoken curiosity clouding the air. Hanna hadn’t made up her mind if this was better or worse than when people just plain stared at her.”

Mr. Harris is guilty of glancing, then looking quickly away from Hanna when he comes to call. His reaction reminds Hanna that very few white people accepted her without condition in the past. This touches on a key theme in the novel: “The Struggle for Acceptance and Inclusivity in a Small Town.”

“The trick was to keep her own conclusions light—never giving them too much weight, in case it turned out they were just plain wrong.”

Hanna is sometimes guilty of passing judgment and jumping to conclusions about others, as we see here from her own self-analysis in the third-person limited narrative. This minor character flaw, though, is juxtaposed against the harsher judgments of others whom she recalls from Los Angeles, like the mothers who crossed streets to avoid her and covered their mouths as if she might breathe disease into them. In this moment, Hanna refers to her seatmate Dolly, who wears a turned-out dressed and is quiet and reserved.

“I’m half-half too. Just like you.”

Hanna remembers Mama’s revelation a few weeks before she passed away. She told Hanna that her father was from Korea, not China. Korea is a “secret place” to Americans, according to Mama. Mama used her own background to show Hanna that they had something in common and to teach Hanna that coming from two different backgrounds is nothing to mourn. Mama is indirectly characterized here as a kind, patient, open, and accepting individual with sophisticated parenting skills; her manner with her daughter juxtaposes strongly against Papa’s manner with regard to parenting.

“Tell us something about California, Hanna.”

Thanks to Miss Walters, who effectively shows all the students of LaForge their common ground—that no one is “from” the new town, but all hailed from somewhere else—Hanna has the chance to fit in and share a piece of her background. This line symbolizes Hanna’s hope that school will be an untroubled and enjoyable success for her, and in fact, the students are eager to hear about California and the oranges Hanna ate daily. The next day, however, their parents’ bigoted views are evident in the students’ cruel behavior.

“So Hanna was quietly making plans for a future that would see her dependent on no one except herself. Graduation. Then a shop as a seamstress, first with Papa, and someday on her own.”

This description in the narrative explains that Hanna, always full of forethought, realizes and accepts that she will remain unmarried, as she and Papa are far from the Chinese populations of western cities like Los Angeles, and marrying outside of her race is illegal. The lines show Hanna’s fortitude, but they also broach concerns in the reader’s mind about Hanna’s loneliness.

“Guess I better get to the lumberyard. Gonna need more wood for a double door.”

Papa’s words symbolize a rare victory for Hanna: She suggests a doorway wide enough for women’s hoop skirts, and Papa agrees. The line indirectly shows Papa’s inclination to listen to Hanna’s advice and concerns, although most of the time he grumpily refuses her requests. The line and Papa’s giving in bolster Hanna’s hope that her ideas might eventually give way to Papa’s permission for her to sew as the shop’s dressmaker.

“Oh, now. […] I won’t bite, I promise!”

Ironically, Dolly does bite quite soon after uttering these words—figuratively speaking. She brazenly and insensitively asks Hanna if Hanna has trouble seeing because her eyes are “smaller” than others.’ Hanna is weary when she hears the question and wearier still when Dolly does not seem to follow her logic about the comparative sizes of eyes of boys in the class. The line also foreshadows Dolly’s father’s actions later in the story when he accosts Hanna.

“Always, it starts with one thing. One small thing.”

Hanna is upset when Mr. Swenson rudely pulls Dolly away and spits on the ground near Hanna, indicating that Dolly’s proximity to Hanna disgraces their family. Instead of crying, though, she hears this advice in her mind from Mama, who believed in performing kindnesses for others to take the focus from one’s own sadness and anger. The line represents Mama’s wisdom and kindness and stands as a prime example of the many adages Hanna recalls Mama using in everyday situations. Hanna’s anger and frustration with the Swensons abates, but they are replaced with the pain of missing Mama.

“For a moment, it didn’t seem to matter what she had scored on the tests. Because maybe she had made a friend.”

Hanna’s character development takes a formative step on its arc as she allows herself to trust Bess’s sincerity. The two bond over the challenge of exams as well as the unspoken significance of graduation from schooling. Hanna and Bess move gracefully from students to workers in the community, coming of age through a battery of literal and figurative tests. Holding on to her new friendship with Bess is important to Hanna throughout her conflicts.

“She’d be right proud of you.”

In a rare tender moment between Papa and Hanna, Papa’s demeanor is gentle and full of pride as he refers to Mama. Hanna surely knows that Mama would be proud of her graduation accomplishment, but Papa’s acknowledgement of Mama’s memory makes the moment even more bittersweet to her. Papa is a dynamic character in the novel with multiple layers and a thick outer shell; he is frequently rough, quick-tempered, and bitterly opposed to many of Hanna’s goals. Consequently, this moment is a clear juxtaposition in his character as his softer emotions show through.

“Papa, that’s it! We do a separate drawing for the men, and their prize is a discount!”

Hanna hits upon a key idea for the shop opening as she and Papa trade possibilities for the party and raffle. The idea will hopefully lead to the opening’s success, but on a deeper level, the moment marks a refined collaboration between Papa and Hanna. Though he disapproves of her ideas—especially where money is concerned, like needing lemons for lemonade—Papa increasingly agrees with Hanna’s suggestions. This indicates that he accepts, if not acknowledges, Hanna’s participation in their future endeavors and realizes that she is growing into a creative and skilled worker with valuable contributions.

“For a while they worked next to each other in companionable silence.”

Hanna enjoys the work of harvesting and braiding timpsina with Wichapiwin so much that she loses track of time. Her lack of inhibitions with the Indigenous women and their inherent, natural acceptance of each other contribute to the overall theme idea of acceptance in the story. Hanna feels a connection to Mama as well as she leaves the group and begins the trip home, knowing that Mama and Wichapiwin would have become close companions.

“Mama must have known what people were thinking about you and her, but she went ahead and worked in the shop anyway. I want to do the same. Please at least let me try.”

Trying several different strategies of persuasion, Hanna finally offers an idea that appeases Papa—and succeeds at getting what she wants. Her manner is markedly mature for a 14-year-old girl. She patiently handles Papa’s temper and harsh refusals with grace and resilience until he cannot argue any longer. Hanna shows the trait of empathy in these lines, as she understands and feels in herself what Mama surely felt when working for Papa, and she exemplifies a business sense that Papa, a shrewd businessperson, cannot help but respect.

“But I was only saying that to try to convince her. I’m sure I’ll like working here.”

A telling line of indirect characterization, these words from Bess refer to her mother and her mother’s unease with Bess’s working at the dress shop. That Mrs. Harris needs “convincing” underscores the woman’s first reaction to Hanna at the wagon the day before, when she ignored Hanna and rushed Bess away. The line indirectly establishes a dichotomy between how Mrs. Harris feels about Hanna and how Bess feels about her. It also hints that Bess, while demure and respectful to elders including her mother, is willing to slant conversation with her mother to get what she wants.

“Hanna relaxed a little, feeling as though she had passed her first test as a boss.”

Neither Bess nor Hanna wants to cut the lovely lawn fabric for the dress, so as not to make an error and waste it. Hanna realizes that as the “boss” she must be the one to make decisions when no accord occurs naturally. This line marks a small epiphany for Hanna as she notes how much she wants the arrangement, the dress, and the friendship to all work out successfully. It also marks a moment when Hanna steps further into the leadership role of dressmaker for the shop, as she takes the job and responsibility of cutting the fabric herself.

“For the person who is sour, do something sweet.”

Mama’s advice comes to Hanna again as she readies tea for Mrs. Harris’s surprise visit to the shop. Hanna does not yet know the cause of Mrs. Harris’s distress and worry regarding Bess working with Hanna. She hopes that her own kindness and politeness will go a long way toward easing the woman. What happens, however, shows Hanna that even a sweet act might have no positive effect on some people whose prejudices are long-running and deep-seated like Mrs. Harris’s. Mrs. Harris thinks nothing of suggesting her racist beliefs to Hanna. Hanna loses any shred of sweetness and explains somberly that the Chinese camps working to join ends of the westward expansion railroad were said to be cleaner and disease free in contrast to the white men’s camps.

“It still is Indian land. Stolen by white people. You steal something, that doesn’t make it yours.”

Hanna debates with herself the merits of telling Mr. Harris the truth versus hiding from him regarding Wichapiwin’s whereabouts on the day Hanna and she harvested timpsina together. Hanna feels strongly about the moral and ethical idea of ownership and Wichapiwin’s rights. But she is less confident about taking a stand and refusing to tell, as the consequence might be a contempt order and jail time. Her equivocation serves as a reader reminder that despite Hanna’s maturity, she is not an adult yet. Here, she tells the truth to Mr. Harris despite feelings of guilt for betraying the Indigenous woman.

“The both of you, and Miss Lorna, too—you knew that the law was wrong, and you did what you had to do.”

Hanna tries to get Papa to see that he himself “bent” the law in the past in a situation in which human lives and lifestyle were at stake. Hanna’s choice to support her argument to Papa about Wichapiwin shows her grit and ability to make connections. There is also a juxtaposition evident between Hanna and Papa, as Papa does not see, or refuses to acknowledge, the connection.

“Was it you who caused this ruckus?”

Mrs. Blake’s words and tone bespeak an accusatory attitude so clearly after Hanna’s traumatizing incident with Mr. Swenson that Hanna is convinced that very few others will believe her either. The connotation of the word ruckus, while suggesting a negative and confusing melee, also mostly dismisses the seriousness of Hanna’s fragile emotions and the danger that she was in with Swenson and Connors. After hearing Mrs. Blake’s question, Hannah can only say it was not her doing and escape the scene. Soon after, she refuses Bess’s repeated attempts to have Hanna tell either or both of their fathers.

“Something happened to change their minds!”

Hanna wants badly to keep the incident with Swenson a secret and hope that no other ill effects result. Here, Papa reveals that several people told him their intentions to not attend the shop opening, and Hannah knows that her plan for secrecy is not working. In keeping with her character’s consistent choice to weigh all words spoken to Papa, she still does not tell what happened, but instead insists she knows nothing.

“I didn’t say it would be easy.”

Hanna realizes that her only hope to salvage the shop opening’s success—and the life Papa wants in LaForge—is to ask for Bess’s help in sharing the truth to the ladies of the town. Bess is afraid to initiate conversation with those she does not know well. Hanna’s reaction here underscores the theme of “Persistence as a Pathway to Success.”

“I’m thinking about a visiting dress. Will you show me the poplins?”

In her role as a consistent, static ally archetype toward Hanna, Miss Walters attends the dress shop opening after helping Bess spread the truth for Hanna about the incident with Swenson. Here, she initiates a small flood of dress orders for Hanna’s new role of dressmaker. The line also serves as a way to take Hanna aside and indicate to her that sending Bess to Miss Walters was a good idea.