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Tandy Su
Dr. Thongthiraj
English 1B
5 October 2015
The Way of Endurance
Tolerance is required within peoples nature, who desire to live their lives with ease, for
many situations in life. Suppose an Olympic athlete is constantly training for a specific sport that
he excels at. It is inevitable that he will feel as if the training is too difficult and he decides to
give up. However, if he is determined to bear the present hardships and continue with the
training, he will be able to achieve a gold medal in the end as a result of his persistence. The
short story Saboteur by Ha Jin, includes many teachings about endurance that are able to help
and guide us to the path of success. Jin astutely uses Mr. Chius hepatitis, the setting of the
prison, and his character to convey the message of perseverance to the readers. In Saboteur, Jin
incorporates symbolism, setting, and character to depict that when we endure present sufferings
with a proper psyche, we will be able to accomplish anything.
Jin symbolizes Mr. Chius hepatitis to embody tolerance. In the beginning of the short
story, Mr. Chiu noticed the two policemen glancing in his direction. However, it did not bother
Mr. Chiu when he and his wife were enjoying their lunch pleasantly. He did not experience any
severe symptoms (Jin 1). The word severe means something bad, undesirable, intense or
great. In this context, Jin is trying to explain to the readers that Mr. Chius hepatitis was not
developed well enough to harm his body. His hepatitis represents his tenacity. Therefore, Mr.
Chius perseverance was very weak in the beginning and not intense. Symptoms is defined as a
physical or mental feature that is regarded as indicating a condition or disease. Jin points out that

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Mr. Chius hepatitis had no severe symptoms. In other words, Jin notes that Mr. Chiu is not
really able to endure at the moment because he shows no intense signs of tolerance. This is
justified by the fact that Mr. Chiu acted out by defying the authority of the policemen and he was
not able to endure when he was scorned and ridiculed. However, as Mr. Chiu is sent to the
prison, he started to feel irritated and frustrated because the policemen accused him of something
he had not done. This caused something [to stir] in Mr. Chius stomach, a pain rising to his ribs
(Jin 4). The term stir means to cause something to move after being still. Jin uses stir to
illustrate that Mr. Chius endurance has become awakened after being dormant. It started to
become active once Mr. Chiu had to go through suffering and pain because of the policemens
ignorance of his innocence. Pain is the cause of mental or physical pain. The pain described
in this phrase signifies the ignorant policemen, causing Mr. Chiu to have to endure it. Towards
the end of the story, Mr. Chius disease grew more powerful. Eventually, he felt a swoon [sway
him] Anger was flaming up in his chest; his throat was tight and clogged (Jin 8). Swoon is
to faint from extreme emotion. In this scene, Mr. Chiu was feeling extreme pain to the point of
losing consciousness. Again, Jin uses pain to symbolize how terribly wicked the policemen were
to the point that Mr. Chiu was unable to remain in his right mind. Anger began to flame in his
chest, feeling a rush of intense irritation. Flaming is used to represent annoyance. Jin applies
flaming to show how much Mr. Chiu must have suffered in prison with these prodigal
policemen. Additionally, Jin adds that his throat was tight and clogged. Tight means that it is
difficult or hard to move something, and clogged is to have an obstructed passage. When Jin
comments that Mr. Chius throat is tight and clogged, he is implying that Mr. Chiu has
achieved full endurance. He was able to endure the painful suffering and did not speak his

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feelings. There was something he wanted to exclaim, but because he was able to tolerate the
words were hard to move and its passage was obstructed.
Jin uses setting to display the harsh circumstances of Mr. Chiu during his stay in the
prison. The prison that confined Mr. Chiu was illustrated as an unpleasant location to be in. It
was illogical that Mr. Chiu slept quite well though the light had been on all time, and the
straw mattress was hard and infested with fleas (Jin 6). The term illogical is to mean a lacking
sense or clear reasoning. Therefore, it was not sensible for Mr. Chiu being able to sleep well at
night because of the difficult situation he was in. The light had been on all time, which
indicates that something was trying to disturb his sleep. A light is a bright agent and its purpose
is to stimulate sight or senses. The policemen left the light on to watch over him or to just disturb
him. But, he was able to endure once again and slept through the bright night. Furthermore, Mr.
Chiu was given a straw mattress to sleep on. Straw is a dried stalk of grain. So Jin uses
straw to describe how uncomfortable his bed might have been. Jin continues to detail the straw
mattress as hard, which means that it is not easily broken. Usually, beds should be sunk in and
broken into when someone lays down on it. However, Mr. Chiu had to sleep on such an annoying
mattress that was infested with fleas. Infested means that there are insects present to do
harm. Mr. Chius circumstances were completely undesirable; however, he endured all these
things to accomplish his goal of seeking revenge. Jin also observes the setting of the weather.
The weather condition when Mr. Chiu was held in prison was going to be a scorcher. He could
see purple steam shimmering and rising from the ground among the pines (Jin 7). Jin uses the
word scorcher to describe the intense heat of the weather. Scorcher is a period of extreme
hot weather. From the term scorcher alone, Jin was able to help the readers understand how hot
Mr. Chiu must have felt when he was caged. Jin continues to describe the heat by emphasizing

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the color of the heat. He explains that Mr. Chiu was able to see purple steam. The color
purple is the most powerful wavelength of the rainbow. Jin introduces the color purple to
indicate that the weather was the most powerful Mr. Chiu has ever felt. Jin notes that Mr. Chiu
could see steam. Steam appears when water turns to vapor when heated to a hundred degrees
Celsius, which is about two hundred and twelve degrees Fahrenheit. Jin uses these scientific
explanations to imply that the weather condition at the time Mr. Chiu was held prisoner was
completely unbearable to the point that he must have felt as if he was literally boiling. Moreover,
shimmering was added as an adjective to describe the steam. Shimmering is to shine with a
shaking light. When Jin describes the steam was shimmering, he was explaining how the water
was evaporating and quivering. The heat was so intense and severe that it was shaking the water
that was evaporating from the pines. Jin uses many details to emphasize how terrible the case of
Mr. Chiu was. However, Mr. Chiu was patient and tolerant in his hardships. He did not complain
or grumble, but instead endured until the end.
Jin also uses character to teach the readers what kind of mindset is required when we
persevere. Specifically, Jin presented two different attitudes of Mr. Chiu throughout the short
story. When Mr. Chiu eagerly wanted to leave the prison no matter what the consequence was, he
was forced to sign the false confession. Before he signed it, although he was in crucifying pain
due to his disease, he questioned the policemen, If I sign this, will you release both my lawyer
and me? (Jin 8). From this quote, we can already understand the sincere consideration of Mr.
Chiu for his lawyer, Fenjin. He confirmed with the policemen that they would let both Fenjin and
himself leave the prison once he signed the false statement. Mr. Chiu did not have to ask whether
his lawyer would also be freed or not. Mr. Chiu could have left him in the prison. But, because of
his genuine concern for Fenjins safety, Mr. Chiu went out of the way to assure his freedom. Mr.

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Chiu was in immense agony, yet he was still thinking of his old student and not worried about his
own health. This is the kind of beautiful mindset that Jin was trying to convey to the readers. Mr.
Chiu did not endure for selfish reasons, otherwise he would have grown weary and given up.
Instead, he tolerated for both parties and was motivated till the end. Jin wants to reveal to us the
hearts and minds of those that are able to overcome any trials in their lives, so that we can also
acquire the same attitude as we meet any obstacles in our life. On the other hand, Jin revealed a
contrast of the correct mindset that we should have. Once they left the prison, Mr. Chius nature
had changed. In the perspective of Fenjin, he looked ferocious and muttered to himself
mysteriously, and whose jaundiced face was covered with dark puckers. For the first time Fenjin
thought of Mr. Chiu as an ugly man (Jin 9). Jin gives horrifying descriptions of Mr. Chiu when
he was full of the thought of vengeance. He describes him as ferocious and mysterious from
the view of Fenjin. Ferocious is characterized by aggression, bitterness, and determination. Jin
exposes the thoughts of Mr. Chiu by telling us that he has anger and bitterness in him. Although
Mr. Chiu had already been freed, he felt as if he did not want to forgive the policemen for
mistreating him. Therefore, his personality became ferocious and he has a feeling of
resentment inside of him. Mysterious is defined as difficult to understand. When Mr. Chiu was
muttering mysteriously to himself, Fenjin was unable to understand him. Fenjin could not
empathize Mr. Chius feelings of ferociousness towards the policemen. He did not understand
why Mr. Chius personality had changed completely into someone whom he has never met
before. Additionally, Mr. Chius face had become jaundiced. To be jaundiced is to be
affected by bitterness, resentment, or envy. When Jin detailed Mr. Chius face as jaundiced he
is trying to explain that Mr. Chiu was filled with bitterness and resentment. His nature was
different from when he was in prison, because Mr. Chiu had the wrong intention that motivated

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him to conform to the patterns of the prison so that he could be released. He only desired revenge
against the policemen, causing him to bottle up his negative and dark emotions. Fenjin also
viewed Mr. Chius face as puckered. The term pucker is used in reference to a persons face
when it tightly contracts into wrinkles. When peoples face gathers into wrinkles, it is caused by
them frowning in frustration. Therefore, when Jin outlines that Mr. Chius face had puckered, he
is explaining that Mr. Chius bitterness and anger can be seen on his face. Both inwardly and
outwardly, Mr. Chius disgusting nature is unveiled in front of Fenjin. Jin also labels Mr. Chiu as
an ugly man. Ugly is an adjective to depict a person as being unpleasant and repulsive in
appearance. When Fenjin perceives Mr. Chiu as an ugly man, he was able to notice the dark
essence of Mr. Chiu hidden deep down inside of his physical flesh. Once he was put in a
unfavorable condition, Mr. Chius true character is revealed as an ugly personality. The
message that Jin is trying to convey to the readers is that when we do things with a negative
motivational factor, our loathsome quality comes out of us. Although we may be able to achieve
our goals, there will be more negative consequences than accomplishments.
Jin adopts symbolism, setting, and character to transmit the concept that when we obtain
the perfect durability in life, we can live with pleasure and ease. In the short story Saboteur, Jin
manipulates Mr. Chius hepatitis disease to signify endurance. He also employs the setting of the
prison to symbolize the difficult situations and trials that we must go through in life. The prison
epitomizes a process of refinement that we all have to go through in our lives to attain the ideal
fortitude we need to live healthily. Furthermore, Jin cleverly includes two different mentalities
that we should or should not inscribe into our identity. The overall theme that is being sent to the
readers by Jin is that enduring and overcoming in our lives leads to much better results. Just like
Mr. Chiu tolerated the accusations of the policemen and finally sought freedom, we too should

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persevere until the end and we will be able to accomplish our goals, whether we are pursuing
Olympic dreams or spiritual enlightenment.