The Capacity to Dream in The Clay Marble

��� Sometimes, if we dream hard enough, those dreams can shape our lives���
~Jantu in The Clay Marble

Some weeks ago, I did a project based on Ho Minfong���s novel, The Clay Marble; and was struck by the notion of dreams, which features prominently in it.

The novel chronicles the lives of two teenage girls, Dara and Jantu, who are caught in a civil war in Cambodia. For them, the key to transcending the senselessness and brutality of war lies in having the capacity to dream. As Jantu puts it, ���Sometimes if we dream hard enough, those dreams can shape our lives��� (Chapter 14).

In the novel, we learn about the many items that Jantu deftly makes out of scrap materials. More than mere ornaments, they are representative of her dreams and hopes for the future. The clay village and figurines of Jantu and Dara���s family, for instance, are indicative of her desire to return home and for Nea (Jantu���s cousin) and Sarun (Dara���s elder brother) to get married so that they can have a ���real family��� once again (Chapter 6). Jantu���s model of two women rhythmically pounding rice represents her longing for a return to the peaceful, predictable life of a rice-farmer. Above all, the clay marble represents both girls��� desire for miracles ��� for good things to happen and their dreams to come true.

Indeed, it is their capacity to dream that sustains them through the difficult seasons of life so that they are able to emerge ���not the victims of war but its victors��� (Preface). The fact that the girls use apparently worthless items (clay, scrap material) to fashion their models is apt, as it symbolizes the way in which we must all strive to make something ���magical��� out of the messy, fragmented fallen world we live in.