Although ignorance is bliss, there is nothing more dangerous than a closed mind. Therefore, it is only bliss for those who choose to remain ignorant, not for the ones who suffer because of that ignorance. In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, this historical, fable novel and love story tells of a moving testament to the transformative power of literature. It follows two “city-youths,” the narrator and Luo who are exiled from their hometown, Chengdu to a mountain village in the countryside for “re-education” in the midst of Mao’s Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1971 for being sons of doctors. While working among the peasants of Phoenix Mountain, the two ingeniously conceal their forbidden treasure, a hidden stash of Western …show more content…
classics in Chinese translation that allows them to find transit to world they thought had lost forever. But when Luo falls in love with the beautiful Little Seamstress, life and literature come together in a passionate romance. Thus like in all societies, there is a hierarchy between the authorities and cities, who often times want to keep knowledge away to keep others ignorant and uneducated. Many books are banned by authorities because they believe that the knowledge one gains from the books will lead to one challenging their authority. The narrator and his best friend, Luo along with the Little Seamstress figure out how to steal Four-Eye’s, “their friend’s,” suitcase of forbidden books. Once they successfully steal the suitcase, the narrator fills with rage and envy after seeing what the authorities are hiding from them: “‘So are you wearing tears of joy?’ I said. ‘No. All I feel is loathing. Me too. Loathing for everyone who kept these books from us’” (Sijie 99). When the boys find these books, they have a better sense of how repressed they are under Mao, allowing them to encounter the possibilities ingrained in freedom. But it also causes them to be more resentful of the society that prohibits it. Because the Communist government banned the books, this suggests that education is crucial towards revealing to people what life can be like. However, it is because the government feels obliged to limit education, by banning books, in order to reinforce their control over the public. Therefore, authoritative figures will ban certain objects or activities in fear of people questioning their authority and to maintain their influence over the public. Furthermore, authorities many times are seen dismissing ideals that they do not understand rather than embracing it it panic that others will surpass them socially.
When Luo first meets the Little Seamstress, he believes that she is not civilized like him and the narrator because she is from the city. Little does Luo know that he had been so successful educating her that she will leave him: “‘She’s not civilised, at least not enough for me!’ … ‘This fellow Balzac is a wizard,’ he went on. ‘He touched the head of a mountain girl with an invisible finger and she was transformed, carried away in a dream.’ … ‘She said having Balzac’s words next to her skin made her feel good, and also more intelligent’” (27, 62). After Luo becomes romantically involved with the Little Seamstress, he focuses on teaching her things he believes will “civilize” her. Though his affection with her is undoubtedly genuine, he instinctively patronized her in his efforts, revealing a classist attitude. As the lessons continue, the Little Seamstress’s progress suggests that she is incapable of thinking critically about the texts in the way that Luo and the narrator can. But because she has experienced a more practical, real-world education, she is able to show a more extreme response. Hence, she is able to show more appreciation for the possibilities of individual freedom. Therefore, authorities will try to dismiss ideas that they often times are afraid of due to the fact that they do not know the potential
consequences. Subsequently, in order for people to remain ignorant and naive, people in leadership with high jurisdiction are able to forcefully influence others by keeping knowledge away. The banishment of objects are usually orchestrated by those in power in trepidation of individuals questioning them. In addition, uncertainty leads to people acting rash and doing things that deem as unreasonable. Thus, knowledge is power that allows for individuals to think outside the box, but the ignorant should not make others suffer because of their ignorance.
The idea that resulted in the Little Seamstress leaving the mountain maybe viewed as ironic by the reader. The ideas of being different and individual, that Lou held and put to practice were what communist Leader Chair man Mao Zedong originally feared. This was why the texts were originally banned in the first place, and viewed as revolutionary trash. As it was thought that they may result in an u...
The plot of this novel is set in the city of Chengdu in the providence of Sichuan, located in central China. The book itself was written in 1931 and by this time, the Chinese communist party was well established and fighting battles with the Japanese and Chiang Kai-shek and spreading influence in south and central China. (Chin, 1931) This story is about the rich, aristocratic Kao Family, who live in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan. The story has some very interesting characters but for the most part, mainly focuses on the three brothers and their very interesting and downright depressing lives.
In his poem, “Notes from the City of the Sun”, Bei Dao utilizes obscure imagery consistent with the Misty Poets and veiled political references to illustrate the struggles in Chinese society during the Cultural Revolution. The poem is sectioned into fourteen short stanzas containing imagery that are symbolic of the cultural hegemony in China under the rule of Mao Zedong. Bei Dao, born Zhao Zhen-kai, is an anti-revolutionary poet and one of the founders of a group known as the Misty Poets. The Misty Poets wrote poems that protested the Cultural Revolution led by Mao Zedong. Therefore, a lot of Bei Dao’s poems speak out against the Cultural Revolution and the restrictions that it placed on any form of art. Bei Dao’s poetry is categorized as “misty” because of the ambiguity in its references to Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. An obscure imagery that occurs twice in “Notes” is the sun imagery. Another imagery that depicts the injustice of the Cultural Revolution is the description of freedom as scraps of paper. In the poem, Bei Dao also equates faith to sheep falling into a ditch; this is a depiction blind faith during the Cultural Revolution. The purpose of this essay is to analyze how Bei Dao’s use of the Misty Poet’s ambiguous imagery and implicit political context in the poem “Notes from the City of the Sun” to illustrate the cultural hegemony in China under Mao.
...e see it daily on the news, read it in newspapers and hear it on the radio or by word of mouth. In Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie, storytelling occurs during times of hopelessness when life seems hard and allows the characters to live vicariously through the tales told. The narrator and Luo use storytelling as escape from the harsh reality of re-education and a mountain village lifestyle. The tailor uses western novels to influence the style of clothing he creates. The little seamstress escapes the reality of her lifestyle by learning the importance of beauty. Throughout the novel storytelling is used by the characters to escape reality in either a mental or physical way. The newfound lifestyles help bring each character to a new understanding of how they want to live their lives, and escaping reality helped to bring the changes in their lives.
The two short stories, “The Princess of Nebraska” and “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” by Yiyun Li, depict the lives of two people under Chinese communist control, trapped by the social restraints of their society in search of individual salvation. In “Princess of Nebraska”, a young girl (Sasha) struggles to find internal purpose and satisfaction within her life, feeling that the restraints of communist control keep her from achieving the sense of self she desires. She believes the United States is the solution to gaining her individual freedom and fantasizes the recreation of her identity and life. Similarly, “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” revolves around the same theme of social freedom vs the discovery of the individual self. Mr.Shi,
Saboteur, written by Ha Jin exposes a difficult period of China: the Cultural Revolution and its consequences on people’s life. Through the author’s skillful use of setting, symbolism and the main character’s dynamism, the reader is able to understand the theme of the story that is revenge.
Jealousy is an innate facet of humanity, an emotion universally felt during childhood. It is through this jealousy that we begin to resent the reality that we are given. In the article “Eat, Memory: Orange Crush,” Yiyun Li recalls how influential the western product “Tang” was during her childhood. Growing up, Li remembers a time where she was resentful of her lack of Tang, desiring the “Tangy” lifestyle which was symbolic of luxury and social status in China. Through the logos of Li’s father, Li’s appeal to pathos through her childhood experiences, and the disillusionment of Li’s utopian view of Tang, Li typifies the struggle a teenager undergoes as they grow up.
The Novel: Balzac and little Chinese seamstress written by Dai Siejie. Takes place during the period of Mao's Cultural Revolution in China during early 1979s. It lasted for a period of ten years when hundreds of thousands of intellectuals were sent into the country side for reeducation. Chairman Mao disliked the Soviet Union's style of Communism, and feared the existence of intellectuals, would get China to be at the same spot. Therefore Mao punished every intellectual that stud on his way. They were labeled as reactionaries.
“‘If you sell the land, it is the end.’” (360). There is absolute truth in these words, if one was in rural, turn-of-the-century China. These wise words, quoted by the main character Wang Lung, come from Pearl S. Buck’s enlightening historical fiction, The Good Earth. In the story, Wang Lung, a poor young farmer, marries a slave of the powerful Hwang family, O-lan. Together, they face hardships and triumphs, prosperity and famine, along with the birth of their three sons and two girls (the fifth child died of strangulation). Throughout Wang Lung’s life, he evolves dramatically in response to the many challenges he faces. In particular, his wealth, idea of women, and the earth itself change Wang Lung’s attitude and point of view as he rises in the social classes of China.
This novel tells the story of Wang Lung. He is a man who rises from being a poor farmer to a very wealthy man because of his faith in the good earth. In the beginning of the story Wang Lung tries to see as little water as possible because he feels safest with his land under his feet. His family is very poor so he must feed his father corn gruel and tea.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a book full of mystery, confusion, and chaos. However, beneath the surface of the story lies rich commentary on Victorian England society and the maturation process of a young girl. Carroll provides criticism on various aspects of society including the nonsensical legal system, the class system, and politics. This criticism is entwined with Alice’s relatable journey of becoming a just adult who is willing to stand up for herself, others, and the truth. “The importance of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a radical breakthrough in the history of children’s literature can hardly be over-estimated.” (Wullschlager 55) Lewis Carroll gives the reader information about Alice’s maturation and assurance that she will turn into a just adult as well as social commentary on Victorian England through the trial of the knave, the Mad Hatter, and the Caucus Race.
... dresses more since I know that from the very beginning when the cotton is ripe in the hot sun, little boys and girls must pick it for my dresses, while their backs grow tired and their heads ache”. This shows that the girl in this passage appreciates her clothes more because she knows that children are being forced to labor in the fields so that the cotton they pick can be used to make different items. With this, many children across the country are being deprived of a regular childhood and are not being allowed to do what they want as kids.
The abbreviated childhood narratives that many of the novel's characters provide support this loaded nature / nurture division, in which nature is the base and nurture is the skewed corruption of that base. The reader sympathizes with and is intrigued by the stories the characters tell of their childhoods because the stories easily explain why these people act as they do, and render excuses for them when they act maliciously. Children act according to the way they are raised so as to remedy and balance out the past, and their basic good nature only re-emerges after that task has been completed. Miss Havisham, the novel's schadenfreud terrorist, "was a spoilt child. Her mother ...
This is an odd little book, but a very important one nonetheless. The story it tells is something like an extended parablethe style is plain, the characters are nearly stick figures, the story itself is contrived. And yet ... and yet, the story is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking because the historical trend it describes is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking.
"Spring Silkworms" is about the trials and tribulations of an old farmer named Lao Tong Bao and his family during the silkworm raising season. The story raises the issue of the changes occurring to the Chinese agricultural traditions due to modern influences. It is a tale that "represents Mao Dun's historical dialectic that highlights the confrontation of modern machinery with provincial handicraftsmanship; of western know-how with native values; and of capitalist money with rural struggle for cultural and socioeconomic autonomy." (Wang xviii) In my paper I will highlight several confrontations between modernity and tradition. I will also analyze how modernity and tradition were portrayed in the story.