Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress Character Analysis

Kyra Weaver

Professor Gurnee

English 091 - 11201

25 November 2014

The Influences of the World Around You

“It was a totally new experience for me” (145). Throughout Dai Sijie’s novel, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, the narrator and his companions go through new experiences and opportunities that they had never encountered before. The narrator and his closest friend, Luo, are sent to a village to become more knowledgeable and work. They encounter the tailor’s daughter, or the seamstress; with her, they discover items that were not known as illegal at the time, books. Daj Sijie conveys how influential one’s surrounding environment is through the power of friendship, literature, and happiness. The power of friendship is showed through the relationship between Luo and the Narrator, as well as the unrequited friendship of the seamstress and the narrator. The relationship between the narrator and

Even though the narrator was uncomfortable with such a task of protecting Luo’s beloved, seeing as the narrator himself was in love with her, he did so

Through the power of friendship, literature, and strive for happiness, Sijie shows how influential the world around you can be. The power of friendship is shown through the relationships between the narrator and his two friends, Luo and the seamstress. The banned books that were discovered exemplify the immense power literature can have on someone. Lastly, the power to find happiness occurs throughout the characters’ entire experiences throughout the novel. Prior to the boys relocating to the village, the characters were unaware of the impact certain aspects of their lives had on them; however, everything changed when they just opened their