Dream of the Red Chamber is a book that depicts the life of a Chinese aristocratic family. The novel describes the life of the women in Chinese aristocracy and their declining fortune. The story is full of dreams and begins with a myth of the stone. This story tells how the Goddess Nugua repaired the Dome of Heaven. She began with thirty six thousand five hundred and one stones, but had one left over. This stone would be reincarnated several times on earth. Pao-yu the hero of the novel is the reincarnation of the stone. He is even born with a piece of jade in his mouth. The main story is about the hero Pao-yu, and his relationship with his many pretty maids and female relatives and friends. He has a special love for his sensitive and fragile cousin Black Jade. The novel describes in detail the daily activities inside the mansion of the many family members and servants, organized into an unyielding chain of command officially controlled by the matriarch who is often manipulated by her conniving daughter-in-law Phoenix.
Dream of the Red Chamber describes the life and waning fortunes of an aristocratic Chinese family. The novel describes the dealings of the main characters as they kept up a grand appearance by spending money even while the family's financial and political fortune declined. Tzu-hsing criticizes the Chia family when he says “The whole family is accustomed to luxury and ease, but not one of them ever gives a thought to the necessity of trimming expenditures to their declining income.”(Tsao Hsueh-Chin pg.20) The aristocrats did not think about what the future might hold. When the collapse came, it was frightening and tragic. This novel is not merely a love story but details the characters personalities ...
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...ion is
“When the unreal is taken for the real, then the
real becomes unreal;
Where non-existence is taken for existence, then
existence becomes non-existence.”(pg. 7).
Pao-yu hears of Chen Pao-yu who has the same birthday of the same year and looks exactly like him. They represent the real and unreal. Although they appear alike they have very different personalities. Chen Pao-yu is very studious while Pao-yu who has recently lost his jade has no interest in his examinations and seemed to be getting sicker. Then a monk came and gave Pao-yu his jade. Pao-yu decided to study and take his examinations. After taking the exams Pao-yu disappears but surprises everyone by finishing in seventh place. Honor is restored to the family and Pao-yu disappears with the monk and the priest because his “worldly obligations have been fulfilled.”(pg. 327)
The author, Gloria Ladson-Billings, discusses in her book, "The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children," how African American students perform at lower academic levels in part due to teacher approaches and attitudes. She performed a study on eight teachers of different races and backgrounds and their approaches to teaching African American students. The purpose of the study was to identify what approaches or techniques have been most successful in helping African American students to achieve academic success. She also focuses on the idea of "culturally relevant teaching" and how it can positively impact students when teachers are aware and incorporate a student's culture and backgrounds into the classroom. Throughout the book, the
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.... ...