When the Emperor was Devine

In the book when the author put great emphasis on the killing of the dog, the giving away of the cat, and the letting go of the bird, it further emphasized the importance of animals in the Asian cultures. The fact that the mother got rid of these animals before her family was takin to the internment camp showed that she cared about them and wanted to spare them the pain and suffering of what she was about to go through. He sympathy and compashion she felt in order to save these animals could have stemed from their praising of animals in certian parts of Asia. This came to my mind when I thought about a book a read as a child called Chinese New Year that spoke about the year of the dragon. In the chinese culture they associate 12 different animals with the rotating 12 year cycle. It is said that the animal that you are associated with represents how others see you or how you are presenting yourself. One of the 12 animals is a dog which represents honosty, intellegence, and loyalty among other things. This then made me think about how the mother killed the dog before her family was taking away. The author could have put so much attention on to these animals because of the importance of animals in certain asian cultures but she could have had the dog killed for a deeper purpose. Every other pet was giving away but the dog was killed. This could have been because he was one of the special animals and it could have signified the mothers honesty and loyalty to her culture and her beliefs.