Emulate Style

Celeste Ng is known to use topics such as hidden tension, family dynamics, and hinting at the emotions of the characters versus just saying how they feel. Her stories focus on what’s under the surface rather than automatically being able to understand the emotions of the characters, in order to explain how people feel without saying anything. In my story I chose to use these 3 topics because in every one of her books they are a common theme. I decided to use quiet or hidden tension because instead of having major fights or conflicts she builds up the tension through either silence or multiple small moments. I like that she indicates this topic because many families don't publicly argue or go through hard moments. The problems exist regardless but they act like everything is fine until they get home and work it out. I know that I have personally experienced this and it has been perfectly represented by Celeste Ng. Another topic that Celeste Ng incorporates in her book frequently is family dynamics. She uses family dynamics to prove who people become. She represents parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, and so many more. Expectations, pressure, and misunderstandings are frequent reasons that cause the complicated family dynamics. She shows how love and anger can coexist. It helps make her stories relatable and meaningful to readers because they are able to relate and find themselves within the book. Lastly, she uses emotional subtext to help describe how the characters feel without the character saying exactly what they feel. The meaning of the emotion is revealed through actions, silence, or even small details. This encourages the reader to try and connect the dots and finish the story without being handed the answers. In her book, Everything I never told you, Little Fires Everywhere, and Our Missing Hearts are three of Celeste Ng’s books that all highlight the topics hidden tension, family dynamics, and emotional subtext.

 I decided to write my piece based on a night in the life of a family going through a rocky time. The tension starts immediately and doesn’t ever end. There is tension between the mother and Lucy then further in the writing there is tension between the father and the mother. The hidden tension is hidden by the silence between the characters. I have also highlighted the family dynamics topic in this writing. It shows a world where all three family members are separated from one another. Not physically but mentally and emotionally. They don’t want to talk to each other, be around each other, or even act as if they love each other. Lastly, I highlighted the third and final topic, emotional subtext. I used this by showing that Lucy feels alone from the beginning without ever saying “I feel alone”. I showed how the mother is fighting personal battles but having her be constantly silent and hyperfixating on cleaning an already clean counter. Another example of it is the emotional subtext of the mother and father. The reader is unable to know if there is a conversation of divorce, if there are work issues, personal issues, etc. Throughout the writing there are multiple moments that represent the way Celeste Ng writes. 

“The house always felt quiet after dinner, as if there was a tension around the room. Dishes sat in the sink, covered in food, no conversation was being held, although it should have been. It was just Lucy and her mother. Lucy’s father was working late tonight, which has become an every night thing. Lucy was sitting, waiting for anything to break the tension. Anticipating conversation to spark, but it didn’t. Amanda, Lucy's mother, stood back turned, spraying a bottle and wiping the clean counter over and over again. Lucy knew the tension wasn’t momentary; she knew it was the things they never said or the things that hung over them. Her mother finally said, “You should finish your homework”. “I will,” Lucy said but without moving a muscle. She was waiting for more, more questions a mother should ask. The words she wanted stayed hidden somewhere deep in her mother. So instead of sitting and waiting, she slowly put her dishes in the sink, pushed in her chair, and went into her room to do her homework. For a short amount of time, Lucy and her mother were side to side. She thought of turning and hugging her but ultimately swallowed the urge and walked away. Lucy couldn't focus on her homework, she was preoccupied wondering if this is how their relationship would always be. Each moment of silence pushes them further and further away from each other. She thought about all the things she meant to say or all the moments she could have said things that would have prevented this. But now, every question felt impossible to ask, as if speaking would create an outbreak. Outside of her bedroom door, the house was still silent. She heard doors open, bags drop, dog bark, but still there was no normalcy. Lucy could only assume her father was home. She heard her dads footstep veer off to the left while the sound of the spray bottle went silent and another pair of feet walked to the right side of the house. In the silence of the house, Lucy felt alone even though her mom was just outside of the door.”