Leila
How much responsibility should any child have over their family? In "Bone," by Fae Myenne Ng, a character named Leila is born the daughter of a loving mother, Mah, and a run-out-on-the-family father whom cursed Leila with a last name Fu. As Leila said herself, "Fu in our dialect sounds like the word for bitter" (18). She became the oldest with two other sisters, Ona and Nina, whom both came from Mah's second husband, Leon. Leon loves his biological daughters like a true father should; meanwhile, Leon also loves Leila, his daughter only by marriage to Mah. Leon expresses how much he loves his daughters by saying "Five sons don't make one good daughter" (3), causing a scene in front of people who think that he is unlucky for not being blessed with a single son.
At a very young age Leila was forced to be the sister-in-charge and make decisions that a young girl twice her age would not normally be expected to produce. Mah began working as a seamstress before the girls would wake up, and continue working until after they would fall asleep. In the mean time, Leila plays the part of the mother to not only her sisters but also her mother and father as well. She keeps this position for many years, doing such things as driving around town with unwanted chores as favors. When Leila is in her car and about to drive away from Salmon Ally, "
[Mah]
leaned forward and held up a small jar. 'for Leon?'" (53), Leila is put into a situation where "no" is not a valid choice.
When Ona commits suicide by jumping off of the Nam building, Leila is the first one in the family that is told the horrible news. Leila automatically becomes responsible of telling each of the family members about her sisters death. When told about her daughter, Mah screams "My daughter, my daughter" (143). The news of Ona's death hits Mah the hardest; however, her tearless daughter Leila comforts her much like how a mother would comfort during a time of need.
After Ona's death, Leon remains married to Mah, but moves to a rundown "old-man hotel" (4) named the San Fran. Leila watches out for Leon, letting him know what is happing inside Mah's home at Salmon Alley as well as his important appointments with the family. Leila's relationship with Leon is truly unique because Leila acts as a parent to Leon. When he moves out, she visits him and keeps him company even though she hates the conditions he lives in. Such an act of kindness would also be done by a mother of a child whom seeks the freedom of his or her own residence.
Leila is blessed with the aid of Mason Louie, who she later marries. Mason is always ready to help Leila with her problems in life. Masons relationship with Leila is much like Leon's relationship with Mah, both Leila and Mah are helped by the presence of their mate, and marries to escape the past, avoiding problems that would have occurred if they had remained unwed.
In sum, Leila's order of birth, in the family she was born into, was only made tragic because of several bad fortunes that the family had to suffer. Because of Leila's father leaving Mah and Leon's unfortunate luck with a Laundromat business, the family becomes financially troubled, taking numerous jobs and leaving Leila to tend to everyone's demands. Leila is much like all of us in that we share many of the same cravings in life: love, commitment, independence, clarity and balance. However, Leila much like many of us, becomes held back from her dreams because she felt she needed to fulfil an obligation, to her family.
Works Cited:
Ng, Fae Myenne. Bone. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
