Symbols If You Could See the Sun Ann Liang

The Symbolism of White Rabbit Candy in If You Could See the Sun

Introduction

In Ann Liang’s If You Could See the Sun, the humble White Rabbit milk candy appears as a small, unassuming object—yet it carries deep emotional weight. For protagonist Alice Sun, the candy becomes a vessel for nostalgia, a marker of care from her rival-turned-ally Henry Li, and a quiet reminder of the class divide she navigates. This analysis traces the candy’s literal form, its recurrences, and its shifting meaning in relation to key characters and themes.

What Is White Rabbit Candy?

White Rabbit is a well-known Chinese brand of creamy white milk candy wrapped in a thin, edible rice-paper layer. When eaten, the paper melts on the tongue, releasing a rich, mildly sweet taste. In the novel, Henry is first seen eating the candy in his dorm room, and later offers one to Alice after a stressful exam. The candy’s simplicity contrasts sharply with the lavish luxuries of Airington—such as bird’s nest soup or sea cucumber—that Alice associates with wealth.

Where the Candy Appears

The candy recurs at pivotal moments:

  • Chapter 2 (Henry’s dorm): Alice, newly invisible, sneaks into Henry’s room and watches him casually chew a White Rabbit candy while working. This first appearance establishes the candy as part of Henry’s personal habits and subtly humanises him.
  • Chapter 8 (post-exam breakdown): After Alice panics over a forgotten history test, Henry waits outside and silently hands her a White Rabbit candy. This gesture triggers a childhood memory of her grandmother, who would sneak her the same candy during summers in Beijing.
  • Later allusion: When Henry tells Alice the candy was also his mother’s comfort gift for bad days, it creates a parallel between their upbringings, bridging the economic gap between them.

How Its Meaning Evolves

Initially, the candy is a private comfort for Henry—a mundane habit. When Alice sees it in his dorm, she registers it as a small, relatable detail about her otherwise perfect rival. Later, when Henry offers it to Alice in her moment of distress, the candy transforms into a token of empathy. It connects Alice to her deceased nainai (grandmother), whose death from a preventable stroke underscores the systemic inequality that drives Alice’s desperation. The shared confession that both Alice and Henry loved the candy as children softens their rivalry. While Alice expects Henry to have grown up on expensive delicacies, his admission that he never liked sea cucumber and that his mother used the same cheap treats to cheer him up reveals a shared working-class or frugal background. The candy thus evolves from a private comfort into a symbol of common ground and quiet compassion.

Connections to Characters and Themes

Characters

  • Alice Sun: The candy embodies her lost childhood and the love of her grandmother, whose death from a treatable stroke fuels Alice’s fear of poverty and her drive to succeed. Eating the candy momentarily soothes her anxiety but also brings grief.

  • Henry Li: His choice to offer the candy—rather than a more sophisticated comfort—shows that he understands Alice’s cultural and emotional roots. It reveals a side of Henry beyond the aloof, privileged academic rival. The candy becomes a vehicle for his unspoken care.

  • Nainai (Alice’s grandmother): Though deceased, she is present through the memory. The candy represents her unconditional, secret generosity within a family that had little to spare.

Themes

  • Invisibility as Marginalization: The candy scene occurs right after Alice’s breakdown and her mistaken identity by a teacher—a moment that literalises her feeling unseen. The candy is a small act of recognition from Henry, who does see her struggle.

  • Class Privilege and Inequality: White Rabbit candy is a modest, inexpensive treat. Alice’s surprise that Henry likes it highlights the class assumptions embedded in their relationship. The candy becomes a leveler, showing that wealth does not erase all shared experiences.

  • Moral Compromise and Ethics: The comfort the candy provides contrasts with the morally dubious path Alice takes as Beijing Ghost. It grounds her in a more innocent self, reminding her of who she was before she began blackmailing her peers.

  • Family Sacrifice and Pressure: The memory of her grandmother’s preventable death, triggered by the candy, reinforces the family’s history of unspoken sacrifice and the cost of Alice’s ambition.

  • Identity and Self-Discovery: Reconnecting with the taste of her childhood helps Alice momentarily step out of her “Study Machine” persona and feel like a regular teenager.

Study Questions with Answers

1. Why does the candy trigger a memory of Alice’s grandmother, and what does that memory reveal about Alice’s motivations?

The specific taste and texture of White Rabbit candy take Alice back to long summers in Beijing before she left for America, when her grandmother would secretly buy her packets from the local grocery. The memory cuts short because her grandmother later died alone from a stroke that could have been prevented with proper medical care—money the family didn’t have. This memory directly feeds Alice’s fear of financial insecurity and her desperate need to stay at Airington, because she sees poverty as a matter of life and death.

2. How does the candy scene challenge or complicate the reader’s view of Henry Li?

Before this scene, Henry is only the perfect, wealthy rival. Offering a simple candy—and later admitting his mother used the same treat to cheer him up—shows he is not as distant or privileged as Alice assumes. He experiences bad days, his family uses inexpensive comforts, and he notices Alice’s distress even when she tries to hide it. The gesture reveals emotional intelligence and shared vulnerability, making him more sympathetic.

3. In what ways does the candy function as a symbol of both comfort and systemic inequality?

The candy comforts Alice by connecting her to happy memories, but that comfort is immediately undercut by the grief of her grandmother’s preventable death. The candy’s modest price highlights how a small, affordable treat can hold enormous emotional meaning, while the contrast with wealthy classmates who enjoy expensive delicacies underscores the economic gap. The candy thus represents both the warmth of family love and the tragedy of a system where access to healthcare depends on money.

4. What does the shared childhood memory of White Rabbit candy between Alice and Henry suggest about the possibility of bridging social divides?

Both characters reveal that they grew up eating the same inexpensive candy—Henry’s mother gave it to him after bad school days, and Alice’s grandmother gave it to her during summers. This commonality suggests that shared cultural touchstones can transcend economic differences. It hints that their relationship has a foundation beyond competition and that empathy can arise from recognising each other’s humanity, even in a setting rife with class separation.