Farrah Lam

Professor Lisa Orta

Engl-123-5473

3 December 2019

A Cage With an Open Door

Steer Toward Rock​ by Fae Myenne Ng, presents the conflict of a mental prison created

from one’s youthful naivety and innocent character. According to the research findings of

psychologist Carl Jung, a dominant construct of personality can be represented through various

basic motivations of the human psyche, called archetypes (Golden). One character within Ng’s

novel, Veda Qwan, falls underneath the Jungian psychology archetype of The Innocent. The

Innocent is a faithful optimist who desires to find their true state of happiness, and strategizes to

achieve this goal by doing what they feel is right (Golden). Their weakness is in their naivety,

and their fear is of the consequences of doing what is wrong (Golden). A theme to be taken away

from Ng’s characterization of Veda as a naive and innocent Chinese-American woman

struggling to find the path to her happiness, is that one has the freedom to their own

happiness​—​their restrictions to happiness are only a matter of their own perception. Like a cage

with an open door, Veda has the freedom to find true happiness for herself, but only if she allows

herself to, not restricting herself because of her own guilt or the opposing opinions of others.

Veda in relation to the Innocent archetype is afraid of punishment for wrongdoing. When

Veda accidentally lets in a police cadet who rapes her best friend MiMi, Veda is overcome with

guilt and worries about how this will affect her relationship with MiMi. She goes so far as to feel

like she owes MiMi for what happened: “I know it sounds crazy, but the way I lined it up is like
this, I owed and I felt that if I could straighten your brother out, it was repayment” (p.234). MiMi

is frustrated by Veda continuing to blame herself and feel in debt to her despite her reassuring

her that it was not her fault. She believes that Veda should let go of her own feelings of guilt for

the sake of their friendship: “You don’t owe me and I don’t owe you. We’re friends because we

want to be and if we become enemies, it’ll be about something real. Not guilt, not regret”

(p.235). MiMi also notices Veda’s loyalty: “I always wanted to know, why didn’t you leave?

You could have...Thank you...” (p.235). Comforted by MiMi’s words, Veda is assured of her

innocence of the rape and that she unconsciously did the right thing by not leaving her friend

alone during the incident.

While Veda’s fears of wrongdoing in the rape incident were put to rest by MiMi, Veda’s

fear of punishment for wrongdoing relates to the weakness of her archetype, presented through

her relationship with Zhen. The primary weakness of the Innocent is being boring for their naive

innocence (Golden). Veda could be regarded as an opposite to her boyfriend Zhen who finds fun

in being a delinquent: “He had a jumpiness and I kept expecting him to bolt and then one day, he

did...Two cops in dark dense blue were starting a sweep...Around the corner, he slowed and even

though I couldn’t see his face, his stride told me he was smiling” (p.119). Zhen does not fear

punishment for his actions in the way Veda does: “His name was Zhenren Wu and the cops

ticketed him for selling without a license. I advised him to pay the ticket and then to apply for a

permit. When he gave the noncommittal, I’ll see how it goes, I was irritated...Zhen

had…cockiness, that pigheaded need to slip through, a fearlessness about living outside society

and a disregard for the law” (p.198). Veda is not the type to take risks for fun like Zhen, she

would rather keep her innocence.

 Veda’s core desire as an Innocent is to achieve paradise. For Veda, her ideal future

involves her not having children. She hesitates with this decision knowing that her boyfriend

Zhen desires a family. The motto, “free to be you and me” pertains to her, she desires to be free

to do as she wills. However, her freedom is restricted by her own fear, in this case her fear of

losing Zhen. When MiMi asks her if she would consider breaking up with Zhen, Veda replies,

“All the time, and not because I don’t love him, it’s just reflex, like my Mom...My mother was

always on the run...” (p.236). MiMi believes that Veda should confront her problems to be truly

free: “You’re always running...Face what you can do. Be honest about what you can’t

do...You’re the wrong girl. Be honest with him, be honest for yourself. Be like your mom”

(p.237). As the Innocent’s strategy is to do things right, Veda avoids an opportunity to have

children with Zhen and leaves her vacation in China trusting herself: “I knew I was right. It took

being in China for me to believe it. I did right. I knew my choice not to have children was proof

in my blood” (p.214). She further justifies her decision to not have children after observing an

adopted Chinese child on her plane flight back home: “Though I was glad for the child, glad for

the family now made complete, I was most glad I wasn’t the blood mother who gave her up, or

the de facto mother who would sacrifice as much only to stand second” (p.216). Veda is thankful

that by not being a mother, she does not have to worry about being forced to give up her own

child or adopting one and being regarded as only second to a real mother; the guilt would corrupt

her desired future. When Veda asks for Ilin’s permission for her to have a tubal ligation, a form

of birth control, Ilin understands the value of her happiness and accepts: “You are not forcing my

hand. When I lost my child and was brimming with desire to be loved in need, you were given to

me. I was your Stand-in Mother, but I will never stand in the way of your happiness. I cannot
protect you from your own youthful fearlessness” (p.239). While Ilin desired children and was

devastated by a miscarriage, she believes Veda should do what she feels is right for her own

individual happiness.

Veda strategizes doing things right to help her father achieve happiness as well. She

believes that it is right for her father to become naturalized, that in becoming a citizen he will

become happier: “I wanted my father naturalized. Naturalization felt right. Naturalization would

break the ancient old shame” (p.214). As a strength, she is able to keep faith in herself and

optimism towards her decision: “Grandmother was right. Stories became our ancestors, our Gods

of memory. These memories prepared me for taking my father to his naturalization interview.

Tomorrow, I would take my father across another river” (p.242). Taking her father’s

naturalization examination seriously, she dresses appropriately for the occasion as well: “But I

was ready for this. I wore flat shoes, monotone colors, and had tied my hair back, I could have

been going to one of my Grandmother’s wakes” (p.250). Veda did not want the shame of her

father’s illegal residence to haunt him from having a happy future, she is empathetic as she

herself is someone who is sensitive to guilt.

“When you feel regret, when you need forgiveness, know that you can give it to yourself”

(p.240). Ilin’s words of advice relate to both the theme and archetype revolving around Veda’s

narrative. Veda desires to find happiness for herself, but her actions are held back by the fear of

wrongdoing or regret. Her naivety leads her to question what is right, and if anything should take

precedence over her desires. Veda is the only one who can control her happiness. Even if she

regrets a decision, she has the power to let go of the feelings that plague her, to forgive herself.

Only when she acknowledges this, is when she is able to free herself from her own fears that
hold her back from happiness. The answer to finding her happiness is to be her own judge,

because while regrets are unavoidable, happiness is a matter of your own perception.

Works Cited

Ng, Fae Myenne. ​Steer Toward Rock​. Illustrated by Linette Lee Atar and Cassandra J. Pappas,

New York, Hyperion, 2008.

Golden, Carl. "The 12 Common Archetypes." ​SoulCraft Counseling & Coaching,​

www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html. Accessed 26 Nov. 2019.