A Fortune
How would you define wealth? Is it when you have a lot of money stored in the bank? Or is when you a feeling of joy in your stomach every time you see you family and friends. Are such famous quotations as “enough is as good as a feast” true or just empty word for those who aren’t that fortunate? This large debate, provide a basis for the short story “A fortune” by Joy Monica T. Sakaguchi. In the short story we meet a young man, who lives on pickpocketing. Mainly because he grew up in a less fortunate environment, with a dad who wasn’t caring, and a mother who only focused on the problems and worst things in life. But after all the times the father had let his boy down, the boy still came to him every time, he had snatched a wallet. This was a boy who was seeking the feeling of presence and love from his parents, this might be the the reason why he started pickpocketing for his father; because when he did that he felt like he had something in common with his father, and by doing it he (sometimes) made his father glad. But he was still worried about his father’s view on him; this is obvious where he thinks ”I should have counted the money I just didn’t want to know how much Pop thought I was worth” (p. 1 l.13) The mothers influence on this kid has not been much better, I guess that it must have been more depressing to have a mother, who doesn’t do much more that sitting down crying over all the things, in life that had, and could go wrong. But on the other hand she tries to give the boy a proper childhood: “My ma tried to raise me well. I have to give her credit for trying to make an honest boy.”(p.1 l. 15-16) But with this in mind she end up confusing the boy about how to be: “I never could figure out who she wanted me to turn out like.”(p. 1 l. 20-21) And after all her tears about the boys future, he still end up almost like his father. But luckily he doesn’t end up as the exact same person. The title “A fortune” leads to the discussion about the valuable things in life, and that is one of the oldest but still modern discussions. The title also relate to the fortune cookies which are mentioned a lot in the text. The fact that the narrator never had that many money, or great family life makes you wonder which of the two subjects he will focus most on. Will he ignore all relationships and focus on earning money? Or will he put everything behind him, and start a new life with a family and joy through relationships? In the end although he has a thing with this random boy, he doesn’t commit himself to this friendship with the boy. He just follows the boy home, and leaves him to his family who obvious don’t see how fortunate they are, to have son. There are some clues in the story up to the meeting with the other boy, fx. after the narrator has eaten on a Chinese restaurant, he reads in his fortune cookie “A change in you daily routine will lead you to treasure” (p.2 l. 39) And even though it is his day of, he follow the rich man and pick his pocket. These Fortune cookies play a big role in the story, because it is said that they reveal what the future might hold. These cookies are the thing that the two boys have in common; they both seek something better in the future because they aren’t satisfied with their life in the present. ”He loved the fortunes. We spend half the night cracking up over them. The kid was great... Like me he seemed to enjoy reading them out loud”(p. 3 l. 106-109) And in the last cookie we here about says: “Time is of the essence use it wisely” predicting their time together is limited, so they might consider getting the best out of it. The story plan to make us wonder how we humans are, to each other and to ourselves as a reader you feel terrible. The fact that a father makes his boy steal, and if that wasn’t bad enough he takes the profit as well. One of the worst things is when you follow this boys search for a relation to somebody or something. And this search is very emotional:”I looked at him with his clean hair and clothes and his lopsided smile and I wanted to cry. I never cried, not even when my old man left.” (p. 3 l. 111-112) I would in this occasion say that the main theme is: appreciate your values and money as friends and family. Because as it is said in the last lines of the text you don’t really know what fortunes you have.