Tragic Fates and Ontological Suspense: Thing Narrative in Timothy Mo’s Sour Sweet

In Timothy Mo's Sour Sweet, things transcend their passive status as background elements to become dynamic agents entangled with the protagonists' tragic fates. Grounded in thing narrative theory and object-oriented philosophy, this paper examines things across three dimensions: as cultural symbols shaping identity, as active agents driving narrative progression, and as ontological presences constructing suspense aesthetics. Objects such as the ship and the flail materially construct Chen's cultural alienation and crisis of masculinity, while simultaneously embodying Ma's ruthlessness and authoritarianism, foreshadowing their downfalls. Crucially, objects like luxury goods exert "thing-power," reshaping relationships and triggering catastrophic decisions. Furthermore, through narrative strategies of "positive mystery-I" and "positive mystery-II," Mo utilizes objects as ontological presences to create profound suspense. This multifaceted thing narrative not only deepens the portrayal of immigrant struggles with cross-cultural adaptation but also achieves a paradigm shift in the aesthetic expression of diaspora literature.