Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Grade 11 short stories analysis
Grade 11 short stories analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Grade 11 short stories analysis
Comparatively to the narrator in the story, both Lu Zongzhen and Wu Cuiyuan experience change in character as they realize the life they are living is not what they actually want. However, while being temporarily apparent to both characters that change is necessary, only one of them chooses a different path. While their self analysis is correct, their realization is temporary and not feasible in their actual lives due to the pressure of maintaining a good image in society. However Wu Cuiyuan does realize this, to Lu ZongZhen everything on the tram was a non-occurrence. Being sealed off on a tram from the rest of the world gives the people inside a chance to stop and think about their deeper issues - at first many seem to be opposed to that …show more content…
Her appearance is "utterly banal", as if not to attract any attention. Lu notices that she looks like "squeezed out toothpaste" and originally is not attracted to her appearance. Her face lacks definition, and is a good reflection on her bland character. Wu had spent her life following her modern parents dream of getting an education and a good job, yet now regrets her choice as she sees that they are no longer happy and wished she had found a husband. Both her and her parents indecisive characters clash and put immense pressure on Wu as she struggles to find happiness in her life. Furthermore, things are not going so well in school, and she feels like she gets no respect not at home or at work. She tries to find something 'real ', and the little tiger shoe works as a metaphor for the real that is alive and there in the present, and that makes her happy. Lu Zong Zhen is something real that she finds comfort in. She realizes that the good decisions are not what makes someone happy, yet instead someone who acts on their real emotions are what makes her happy, and the type of person she resolves to be. By having a relationship with Lu Zongzhen she proves to herself and to her family that she is no longer following the typical good path they had set her up on, while at the same time getting revenge for their …show more content…
While the narrator in Walker Brothers Cowboy does realize that her father is not all he seems, the father himself does not realize to which extent his actions are causing harm, and goes about his life normally. A similar thing happens to Lu ZongZhen, who realizes the extent of the damage between him and his wife, and how he does not like living the life he is living anymore, yet is too pressured by others perception to actually make a change, highlighting the fact that to him, the miniature world in the tram-car was a non-occurrence. On the other hand, Wu Cuiyuan does go through a change, although her plan for the revenge of her parents does not go through. She realizes that what happened was a non-occurrence, however hopes that maybe Lu will call her back, meaning that she was forever changed by sorting out her emotions on the tramcar. Finally, the main character John in The Tryst does not realize the importance of taking his life into another direction, and only realizes that he is not who he actually thinks he is at the end of the story, which suggests that there is a possibility that he can break away from his life which was previously spiraling out of control. Comparatively, while there are certain circumstances that prompt people to change their course of action in their lives, not every person realizes the opportunity, or
Liang's main interests consist of movies, stories, tap-dancing, and imitating Shirley Temple. Wong-Suk buys her expensive, beautiful ribbon one day for her second hand tap shoes and Poh-Poh helps her tie them into fancy flowers. -- This is where we learn a bunch about Poh-Poh's childhood. She was born in China and so it was already too bad that she had be born a girl child. But further more she was sort of disfigured. Her forehead was sloppy and mis-shapen and immediately everyone told her mother she was the ugliest baby ever. Her mother sold her to a wealthy family; where she was a servant. The concubine would beat her and their other servants with a rod-- as if they were oxen. Poh-Poh had to learn to do things quickly and flawlessly or she would be beaten. Her fingers would bleed because she was practicing tying these intricet(abc?) patterns. She of course grew out of her 'deformity' and was quite a pretty lady.
In the epilogue to The Death of Woman Wang, we see several ways in which Chinese culture determined the sentence meted out to the Jens by Huang. False accusation of innocent persons was a capital crime in 17th century China, punishable by death. The Jens, however, were not executed. The largest factor in sparing the younger Jen, was based around the cultural importance placed on continuation of family lines and the strict ways in which this could acceptably happen.
“The Death of Woman Wang”, written by Chinese historian Jonathan Spence, is a book recounting the harsh realities facing citizens of Tancheng country, Shandong Province, Qing controlled China in the late 17th century. Using various primary sources, Spence describes some of the hardships and sorrow that the people of Tancheng faced. From natural disasters, poor leadership, banditry, and invasions, the citizens of Tancheng struggled to survive in a devastated and changing world around them. On its own, “Woman Wang” is an insightful snapshot of one of the worst-off counties in imperial Qing China, however when taking a step back and weaving in an understanding of long held Chinese traditions, there is a greater understanding what happened in
To improve one’s understanding of how the narrator changes, one must first be acquainted with the situation: Doodle is born with a heart condition. Therefore, he will not be competent to do what ordinary kids could be capable of. No one anticipated for him to live very long. The reality that Doodle will not be able to do normal activities makes his brother, the narrator, miserable. How or why? The narrator has always sought after a brother whom to play, run, and box with.
Jonathan D. Spence weaves together fact and fiction in his book The Death of Woman Wang. Approaching history through the eyes of those who lived it, he tells a story of those affected by history rather than solely recounting the historical events themselves. By incorporating factual evidence, contextualizing the scene, and introducing individual accounts, he chronicles events and experiences in a person’s life rather than episodes in history. Spence pulls together the narrative from a factual local history of T’an-ch’eng by scholar Fenge K’o-ts’an, the memoir of magistrate Huang Liu-hung, and fictional stories by writer P’u Sung-ling. The book closely resembles an historical fiction while still maintaining the integrity of an historical reconstruction.
In the very beginning, Ji Li is confidently dedicated to the revolution, but then slowly starts to discover the despicable truth. Ji-Li thinks, " We thanked heaven that Chairman Mao had started this Cultural Revolution… otherwise we would not have even known we were in trouble. What a frightening idea." (38). This quote depicts Ji-Li's thoughts on Chairman Mao as she started off in the beginning; an exemplary student and daughter of Chairman Mao. Her first carefree opinion is quickly countered when she is told she cannot participate in the audition. "'Ji-Li, the fact is that our family will not be able to pass the investigation'…For a long time I did not speak. ‘Why?' I whispered at last." (9). When she is told at this early point in the revolution she would not pass the audition, she is only getting an insidious whiff of what is to come, but has not experienced anything that would be wrong with her family, the revolution, or otherwise the world up until then. Although small, her first glimpse at the tormenting trials that are to come start to penetrate into her oblivious mind, and make her start to think...
The novel Tangerine, written by Edward Bloor, perfectly demonstrates how a character can change their ways and learn lessons. When the protagonist, Paul Fisher, was first introduced, he was a shy, quiet kid, who never tried to change his situation. He has a terrible relationship with his brother, Erik, and is literally terrified of him and what he will do to him. In the beginning of the book, he was moving from Houston, Texas to his new home in Tangerine, Florida. In his fresh start to life in Tangerine, he learns that he shouldn’t be scared, and that he needs to start standing up for himself and letting his voice, thoughts, and opinions be heard. Even though Paul starts off scared, afraid, intimidated, and full of self doubt, he learns that he needs to change his ways and attitude towards his life, and to take action to make things right.
Freedom Crossing talks about how someone point of view can change completely. Laura went back North to live with her father and brother, Bert she had recently been living in the South with her aunt and uncle. One night she fond Bert talking to Joel (an old friend) in the middle of the night about whether or not Martin (a runaway slave) can stay with they until Joel could come back and take Martin to the place where a boat will pick Martin up and take him to The Promised Land, Laura said that she did not care if Martin stayed with them or not, even though deep down she knew it wasn’t right and that they shouldn’t do it. The day after they decided that Martin could stay Laura found out that Martin could read, but his master
The character of O-lan was twisted by the circumstances of her life. Surviving adversity made her bitter, stoic, and wise. O-lan’s wisdom was from the things she saw and heard during the tough times. Without her stoicism, she would have fallen to pieces amongst the people who used Wang Lung. She tried not to let her bitterness get in the way of serving her family because they meant everything to her. In the end, it was her pride that held her together. Her pride would not allow her to give up or show weakness. Her pride kept her mind sharp until the end. And at the end, she had a husband who mourned for her, but only after her death did others really appreciate her.
The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan Spence is an educational historical novel of northeastern China during the seventeenth century. The author's focus was to enlighten a reader on the Chinese people, culture, and traditions. Spence's use of the provoking stories of the Chinese county T'an-ch'eng, in the province of Shantung, brings the reader directly into the course of Chinese history. The use of the sources available to Spence, such as the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the scholar-official Huang Liu-hung's handbook and stories of the writer P'u Sung-Ling convey the reader directly into the lives of poor farmers, their workers and wives. The intriguing structure of The Death of Woman Wang consists on observing these people working on the land, their family structure, and their local conflicts.
(1800)Topic 2: A Literary Analysis of the Historical Differentiation of Patriarchal Culture and Female Gender Identity in the Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong and the Tale of Genji
A character can change many times throughout a novel, or film, whether it’s good or bad. It can be a character’s willingness to change or it can be a life changing journey he or she went on that made it happen. The novel, A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, talks about characters such as Grant, Jefferson, and Paul along with the life changing journey they went through in their life in Bayonne, Louisiana. In the novel, Grant said, “we are […] all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood, until we […] decide to become something else” (Gaines 193). Grant’s change of mind set, Jefferson’s ability to stand up for himself, and Paul wanting to be a part of the change, shows how they went from a drifting piece of wood to something
But for the protagonists in these stories, these forces are somewhat out of sync. Failures of individuation, and the completion of transformational journeys which lead to madness, resignation, and death point to an inability of the characters to reconcile their wants and needs with their actual lives.
The theme that comes to mind for me when I read this story is conflicting values. While growing up it was an important value to Jing-mei to be accepted for the daughter that she was. Unlike the value of her mother which was to not only become the best you can be but a prodigy, someone famous. In the way that Jing-mei's mother pushes so hard for her to become something bigger than she was it seems that Jing-mei tried her hardest not to.
Wang Lung needs a wife so saves up the little money he has and buys a woman who is a slave named O-lan. O-lan is sold to Wang Lung so she can take care of the home, cooking and bear children. Wang Lung is disappointed when he first sees O-lan because she does not have bound feet which was a desirable quality at that time but he does enjoy when O-lan has the food ready when he comes in a night from the land. Wang Lung is very proud when O-lan makes cakes that no one else in the village knows how to makes and when his family comes to feast for the new year at their house.