Journal 6 – “A Good Fall”

Marchella Prado
English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)
Journal 6
April 25, 2020
“A Good Fall”
In the short story, “A Good Fall” the characters that are mentioned are Ganchin, Master Zong, Cindy, Fanku, Ganping, Amy, and Jon. Each character had their own importance in the story. Ganchin, who is the main character of the short story, does change towards the end. He was an ill man who was working for Master Zong that laid him off and he eventually attempted suicide. When his suicide attempt didn’t go as planned, he ended up at the hospital and was talked into his options to what he can do for his life. Ganchin was a chinese immigrant and in the story it shows how that impacted his life. Coming to New York only to live better but only feeling exiled. This takes place in NYC and this shows already that it’s not easy, Ganchin was not making the money he was promised and couldn’t afford to live. We all know how expensive living in the city is. The short story starts off with Master Zong laying Ganchin off. Master Zong had kept Ganchin’s passport so he wouldn’t think about fleeing but of course only on Master Zong’s terms. Ganchin has no place to stay and eventually moves in with Fanku, who is someone he met at a Spring Festival one time. Fanku ends up backstabbing Ganchin by telling Master Zong his whereabouts. They snatch him and end up taking him to the airport to send him back home. Ganchin waits for an opportunity to escape in which he does. Ends up finding a stranger who he called “Uncle” that fed him and gave him some advice. He told him to think of all good things in life. Later, Ganchin found a building to jump off of, and when he did, his martial arts came into effect and he landed on his feet. The narration of this short story is third person. The theme in this short story is good and evil and another theme portrayed is the will to survive.