In the book “To Live” the lamb is the manifestation of the kindness and innocence of Youqing and also an attack on communism in the novel. The sheep appear three times in the novel. It appears when they are a peasant, during the great leap forward and the slaughterhouse. Yu Hua contrasts communism and the relationship between Youqing and the lambs to illustrate the affectionate and emotional moments of the story. In the novel there are three events that are really striking; they are the great leap forward, the great famine and the Cultural Revolution. These events are developed to illustrate the cruelty of communism. Youqing is characterized as a static character and a foil character that played an important role in affecting the reader’s …show more content…
The interpretation of the lamb is described as kindness, innocence and purity in the Bible. “At first Youqing was reluctant to get up of bed to go cut the grass, however, if he doesn’t cut the grass the lamb would starve to death. Youqing was only ten years old, yet every day he had to run over fifty li to school and back”. (pg. 98) Youqing is an adolescent boy showing his empathy towards the lambs becomes a driving force for him to start feeding the lambs. Nevertheless, as time goes by Youqing have built up an intimate relationship with the lamb. His actions have evidently shown the characteristics of a lamb. His kindness toward the lambs is clearly illustrated through his actions, he is willing to sacrifice his time to feed the lambs and run to school even though it is fifty li away from his house. Furthermore in the novel, as lambs grew older they become more valuable and they will eventually be sold by Fugui to feed his family in such harsh condition. Youqing is being described as a character with similar characteristics of a lamb. This is because Youqing has the ability to show sympathy towards the lambs and act on his own kindness by feeding those lambs with grasses. Youqing has neither intention nor motives of getting anything in return by feeding the lambs. “Who knew how many pairs of …show more content…
“Dad, please don’t sell her to the slaughterhouse.”(pg. 130) Throughout the novel, Youqing do not have a significant change in his personality. However, he began to mature and realise what the important things are in his life. Realising that his family is suffering from poverty he is willing to trade his lambs for some rice. Even though he is willing to sell them, his personality causes him to become reluctant and plead his dad to not sell the lambs too. “The lamb was practically human. She knew that it was Youqing who fed her grass every day, so she was affectionate to him.”(pg. 134) Yu Hua denotes humans as lambs metaphorically. However, the trait of the lambs contradicts the way people act during the Great Famine. “Clearly it was Fengxia who dug up that sweet potato, but Wang Si took advantage of the fact that she was mute.”(pg. 139) During the Great Famine, hunger has pushed everyone to the edge where they are willing to use all kinds of unscrupulous methods to get what they need. When everyone in the village is on the verge of death, traits such as kindness and innocence no longer
The Cultural Revolution in China was led by Mao Zedong, due to this Liang and many others faced overwhelming obstacles in many aspects of their life such as work, family and everyday encounters, if affected everyone’s families life and education, Liang lets us experience his everyday struggles during this era, where the government determined almost every aspect of life. The beginning of the book starts out with Liang’s typical life, which seems normal, he has a family which consists of three children, two older sisters and him the youngest, his two sister’s reside in Changsha 1. his father has an everyday occupation working as a journalist at a local newspaper. Things start to take a turn early in life for Liang Heng, his family politics were always questioned, the mistake made by one of his family members would impact his entire family and it would be something they would have to suffer through, it was impossible for them to live down such a sin.... ...
Youqing first makes considerable sacrifices for his family by caring for their lambs. In the novel, his father Fugui explains how the “family’s two lambs relied entirely upon Youqing to feed them. Doing such hard work at home took away from Youqing’s time, so he always had to run to school…One time it snowed but he still ran to school barefoot in the snow” (99-100). In his care of the lambs, Youqing makes a physical sacrifice by running barefoot through the snow. He also sacrifices his time and energy, which is particularly notable because he is just a ten-year-old child. Even Fugui notices and shows concern for his child when he notes, “he looked pathetic, being just that age when kids never want to get up” (98). Still, Youqing does what he knows is necessary for the survival of his family. At the same time, Fugui grows as a father by showing concern for his son’s
There is no better way to learn about China's communist revolution than to live it through the eyes of an innocent child whose experiences were based on the author's first-hand experience. Readers learn how every aspect of an individual's life was changed, mostly for the worst during this time. You will also learn why and how Chairman Mao launched the revolution initially, to maintain the communist system he worked hard to create in the 1950's. As the story of Ling unfolded, I realized how it boiled down to people's struggle for existence and survival during Mao's reign, and how lucky we are to have freedom and justice in the United States; values no one should ever take for
As Wang Lung gains his wealth, through hard work of the land, he becomes increasingly dissatisfied. Whereas before Wang Lung is happy to h...
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than other.” is one of the most famous quotes from George Orwell’s Animal Farm. From afar, Animal Farm is a fictitious novel with no real substance, but when carefully read, it is a chilling allegory of the horrors of the Russian Revolution. Orwell stresses in the novel, the dangers that go along with a bureaucratic or totalitarian regime. The novel supports the idea that Communism is an unethical and unjust system of government and damages society. While Orwell hides the fact that the novel has information, identical to events pertaining to Russia during the 1940’s, he utilizes it in an innocent way by using simple farm animals to directly compare different events and characters of the revolution.
“‘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.
Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl, instantly grabs a reader’s attention with its grotesque title, ensuing someone’s downfall or failure. The saying “lamb to the slaughter,” usually refers to an innocent person who is ignorantly led to his or her failure. This particular short story describes a betrayal in which how a woman brutally kills her husband after he tells her that he wants a divorce. She then persuades the policemen who rush to the scene to consume the evidence. This action and Patrick’s actions show the theme of betrayal throughout the story which Roald Dahl portrays through the use of point of view, symbolism and black humor.
The concept of identity is ever-changing throughout the life of a human being. This becomes especially evident when someone is put into a position of leadership and responsibility. This facet of identity is explored in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”. The purpose of this novel is, specifically, to portray the uprising and corruption of the Communist regime in Russia, but in a broader sense, it shows how even the best-intentioned people can be overwhelmed and intoxicated by the sense and want of power. This change in attitude and identity is illustrated by Orwell’s use of the motif of the word “comrade”. At the beginning of the novel, this term is used as a sign of equality and friendship. However, through the development of the novel and the eventual dictatorship run by the Berkshire pig, Napoleon, the term seems to have almost a cynical meaning. The changing meaning of the word “comrade” throughout the novel symbolises the changing values of the Animal Farm society. For example, in the first meeting of the animals on their theory of Animalism, Old Major refers to all the animals as “c...
... while offering a critique on stalins’s Soviet Russia, and communism in general. Orwell is revolutionary in his work, as in 1945, communism was a “taboo” subject, punishable in post- war America by arrest and even death. Every aspect of context is explored in Animal Farm is an allegory of the situation at the beginning of the 1950’s and employs a third person narrator, who reports events without commenting on them directly. Animal Farm represents both the making and the breaking of communist society. The birth of the communist agenda in animal Farm is brought by the character “old major”. The conclusion is that Animal farm and Marxism have a lot in common.
...re breaking every rule that they themselves had put forth in accordance with Old Major’s revolutionary vision. Animal Farm was a mirror image of communism gone awry in the Soviet Union. It also shows Marx’s naivety of the fact that there will always be the clever that take advantage of the ignorant. By keeping the population ignorant, the clever gain even more power, which is was happened in the Soviet Union and Animal Farm. The ones that took part in the revolutions would never realize that they were holding the short end of the stick, just as they were in their previous state of affairs. They were cold, miserable, and starving. In their brainwashed state they still believed that the dismal state they were in was better than their situation before the revolution. George Orwell finished his book on a somber note, the state in which Joseph Stalin left the Soviet Union.
He earns a future, and in his final stage of transformation becomes a man equal to all. This happens after he marries Pretty Calf and understands their customs and traditions. The captive was like a horse all summer, “...docile bearer of burdens, careful and patient..” Until he earned trust that is.
George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is a political allegory based off the Russian Revolution of 1917, where the author explores the cruel dictatorship of Napoleon, and his comrade Snowballs views on Animalism. The value that both Snowball, and Napoleon share is mainly the factor of pig’s superiority, however, there are attributes they both contrast in; Snowballs goal to create egalitarian communism while Napoleon is in favor of gaining power over the animals.
Mitgang tells us that the novel is about the life of two children who live in a small town, where they deal with racism in society. Prejudice surrounds their childhood, and it lurks with them while they are playing, and even while they are in the classroom. Mitgang tells us that on top of all this, racism is conveyed in the children?s language.
Animal Farm is a fairy-tale with a much deeper topic of the Russian Revolution hidden in satires. It presents the unjust “equality” promised through communism. The book satirizes the dictatorship manipulation, and the citizen’s blatant innocent trust in their leaders. Orwell tells of communism and totalitarianism through the outside perspective, revealing the many faults of such societies.