Sam Read
American Lit
12/16/07
Comparisons of Greed and Caring
Chee’s Daughter is a tale about two relatives and their different ways of surviving. The relatives are two men, Chee and Old Man Fat, who not only dislike each other but also each other’s way of living. Chee and Old Man Fat are at opposing ends when it comes to their views on life. For example, they differ in how strong their connection is to the land, in their care for the little girl, called Little One, and in each’s work ethic. These differences are some reasons why Chee and Old Man Fat dislike each other.
The way each of these men treat the land reflects their personalities. Chee who takes very good care of his land and is proud of it is a generous and kind person. “Take care of the land and it will take care of you (p.79).” Chee believes that by treating the land with great care during the seasons in which he does not grow crops then the land will produce excellent food that he and his family can live off in the following year. “The land had not failed him.”(p.80). The land did not fail Chee when he needed it most. His plan to get his daughter back from his relatives by using the crops which he had grown in the summer depended on growing an abundance of crops during the summer. Chee knew that his wife’s parents would not turn down this free food. He hoped they would see the Little One as another mouth to feed and Chee would be able to bring her home. Chee succeeds in his plan because the land provided him with many crops. Chee’s belief in the land insured the land would in return look after him. “He no longer was tied to the land (p.78).” On the other hand Old Man Fat wants nothing to do with the land and uses his greediness to make money in other ways. Chee can see that Old Man Fat has lost all connection to the land through selling and trading goods at the trading post. Old Man Fat doesn’t need the land for he makes money at the trading post which allows him to...