Marchella Prado
English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)
Essay 3 (First Page)
May 8, 2020
Ethics and Character Decisions

In Ha Jin’s short story “A Good Fall,” important scenes occur where characters such as Ganchin and Master Zong follow an ethical code during moments of problematic times. Master Zong was head of the temple that Ganchin was a monk/kung fu teacher in. Ganchin’s visa expired which led him to be an illegal alien. Master Zong wanted to send Ganchin back to China so he kidnapped Ganchin. Ganchin escaped the airport and eventually found a building to attempt suicide. The author, Ha Jin explores the experience of Chinese immigrants and the challenges they face in the United States. Holley E. Martin’s Article “Falling Into America: The Downside of Transnational Identities in Ha Jin’s A Good Fall,” explores the idea of “transmigrants” being tied to China and exiled to having an American identity. In another article “An Interview with Ha Jin” by Jerry A. Varsava explores Ha Jin’s writing which elaborates the moral behind “A Good Fall.” While Varsava’s article focuses on Ha Jin’s writing and him as a whole, I think Martin’s article will be a better claim with the fact that it focuses on how the characters being tied to China has impacted them and the ethical choices they make throughout the short story. In order to show this, I will first explore the actions made by Master Zong. Lastly, I will explore the actions made by Ganchin.