Tricks Grow Old With You

“I was convinced that the real reason behind his liberal attitude was the irresistible attraction of our alarm clock, with its proud peacock-feathered rooster: our ex-opium grower turned Communist was besotted with it. The only way he could have it all to himself, even for a short time, was to dispatch us to Yong Jing. During the four days it took us to get there, see the film and return to our village, he would be lord and master of the clock”(80).

“The least sign of slackness was enough to incense him this time, ao for a while Luo and I set off dutifully each morning to work in the fields. We didn’t even risk changing the time on our little magic alarm clock”(119).

The alarm clock symbolizes coming of age because the boys start out self-centered and immature about changing the clock so that it works to their advantage. The headman relies on it with a lot of passion and admiration and never realizes the change because the clock could never be wrong. Even while knowing that, the boys continuously trick him without really feeling bad about it. While they are gone, the headman is the “master” of the clock and the power over it makes him feel even more powerful than he already is. When the headman leaves, the boys fool around and miss out on work, Luo leaving everyday to see the Little Chinese Seamstress. When the headman gets back from his conference, they get back to their usual hard and vigorous labor. Since the headman has a toothache from getting his tooth pulled out, he is in a bad mood and makes sure that everything is running orderly. The boys don’t dare trick him again because they are scared of the consequences and also because they feel bad. This shows how they have matured, maybe the old and practical trick, now old enough.