Family is a very important part of daily life in both books. Although both are set in a Communist era a common theme was that Communism did not help them the way they needed. This caused both families, in the books, to have to look out for themselves. Like selling blood or getting back the land the family once owned. Instead of hoping the Communist Party would provide for them. In Paradise of the Blind Hang’s family plays an important role in shaping her. Tan, her father, is French educated a product of French colonial education system,, but didn’t go to France. Since Tam is French education he is seen as the enemy to the revolution since the teaching contradicts with the Marxist philosophy. French teaching like democratic and capitalist economy …show more content…
Uncle Chinh takes her land away in order for it to be redistributed by the Marxist to non-land holding families. Land reform took and split up the land among peasants. This was done by taking away land form landholders or rich people and redistributing it to peasants that did not own land. However, family spirits were considered to be living in on the land families own. Without the land the family spirits don’t have a home. When Aunt Tam reconstitutes the land the spirits get their land back and their home. Reconstitute the land the spirits get their land back and it is also helping her Aunt Tam ends up leaving the land and other possession to Hang. During the Communist revolution families that owned their own property or had access to property, like landholders, were frowned upon. The Communist Party would want the land to be given up for the betterment of the community to be partitioned out. Hang’s family at one point did give up the land, but when the Communist Party continued to not be very helpful they took it back to help their own needs. Later landholders such as Aunt Tam got their land back and used it as profit again. She does it for Hang so, she can show her the importance of family. Aunt Tam also does it a bit for Hang’s …show more content…
There was also a push to get re-educated in rural areas by doing physical labor and learning rural ways of life. Which Sanguan’s sons later have to go through. The lack of proper precautions taken by the Communist cause his son, Yile, to get sick with hepatitis and almost die. Under the communist people are supposed to get money and have their necessities taken care of, like food and medical expenses, this does not relay happen though. There were lots of food shortages during this time. Many people had to eat gruel because of the lack of food and money. Sanguan’s had to sell his blood in order to feed his family. Work camps were young people were sent to work, were often unsafe places that were not well taken care of. When Yile gets sick he gives blood again in order to pay for the expenses to make him healthy. Reflection of communist rule and Chinese society that is critiqued is that these people are not being paid enough to live properly, and that they government is not providing health care. Cultural Revolution and its aftermath caused many young people to have lost out on an education. Many people died because
“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
...d for you to sign and the land will be yours... no-one will bother you on your land” (pg.105). This incident leads to a long chain of corrupt acts. All community members signed, rather, finger printed the document and we’re assured “they could rely on this paper as it is the title to the land” (pg. 105). Two years passed and they returned with the document in hand, claiming the land was no longer theirs to live off of. The signed document was in truth an agreement to live on the land for a mere two years and a promise to uproot once the two years expired. In conjunction with the Labour Unions, Rigoberta’s father fights this upheaval, however the landowners bribe the judges lawyers and interpretors involved in the crooked legal battles, twisting the communities stance says the landowners offered a great deal of money to the judge through -machines/market/lawyers
The town believed that they had to make a human sacrifice to the land in order to have
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.
In a village left behind as the rest of the China is progressing, the fate of women remains in the hands of men. Old customs and traditions reign supreme, not because it is believed such ways of life are best, but rather because they have worked for many years despite harsh conditions. In response to Brother Gu’s suggestion of joining communist South China’s progress, Cuiqiao’s widower father put it best: “Farmer’s have their own rules.”
By comparing The God of Small Things and Paradise of the Blind, explore the concept of classism and how it affects our place in the world and contributes to our development as moral and ethical beings.
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
"Mama," Wangro said sweet as a bird. "Can I have these old quilts?" Mama replied, "Why don 't you take one or two of the others?” "These old things was just done by me and Big Dee from some tops your grandma pieced before she died." Dee still would ask for it again. Mama remembers the promise that she had made to Maggie. "The truth is," I said, "I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she marrys John Thomas." This proves that Mama is always fair and keeps her promises. Mama understands what family heritage is important so she would be give the quilts to
The early part of the novel shows women’s place in Chinese culture. Women had no say or position in society. They were viewed as objects, and were used as concubines and treated with disparagement in society. The status of women’s social rank in the 20th century in China is a definite positive change. As the development of Communism continued, women were allowed to be involved in not only protests, but attended universities and more opportunities outside “house” work. Communism established gender equality and legimated free marriage, instead of concunbinage. Mao’s slogan, “Women hold half of the sky”, became extremely popular. Women did almost any job a man performed. Women were victims by being compared to objects and treated as sex slaves. This was compared to the human acts right, because it was an issue of inhumane treatment.
...cause she had been “savin ‘em for long enough with nobody using ‘em” (12). After Dee gets the picture she walks out of the house and tells her mother “You just don’t understand. . .Your heritage. . .” (13). Dee is in fact the one who does not understand. Dee thinks of heritage to be as tangible as hanging the quilt on her wall or using the churn as a decoration for her table. Her mother, on the other hand, knows about traditions and heritage. Using the quilts would put the memories of their ancestors to everyday use.
Quilts symbolize a family’s heritage. Maggie adheres the tradition by learning how to quilt from her grandmother and by sewing her own quilts. Maggie also puts her grandmother’s quilts into everyday use. Therefore, when Dee covets the family’s heirloom, wanting to take her grandmother’s hand-stitched quilts away for decoration, Mama gives the quilts to Maggie. Mama believes that Maggie will continually engage with and build upon the family’s history by using the quilts daily rather than distance herself from
The quilts were pieced together by Mama, Grandma Dee, and Big Dee symbolizing a long line of relatives. The quilts made from scraps of dresses worn by Grandma Dee, Grandpa Jarrell’s Paisley shirts, and Great Grandpa Ezra’s Civil War uniform represented the family heritage and values, and had been promised to Mama to Maggie when she married. However, Dee does not understand the love put into the making of the quilts, neither does she understand the significance of the quilts as part of her family heritage. It is evident she does not understand the significance of the quilt, having been offered one when went away to college declaring them “as old-fashioned” and “out of style”. She does not care about the value of the quilts to her family, rather she sees it as a work of art, valuable as an African heritage but not as a family heirloom. She wants the quilts because they are handmade, not stitched with around the borders. She tells Mama, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!... She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use… But, they’re priceless!.. Maggie would put them on her the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!” (317). The quilt signifies the family pride and history, which is important to Mama. She makes the decision to give the quilt to Maggie who will appreciate it more than Dee, to whom she says, “God knows I been saving ‘em for long enough with
Both stories show the characters inequality with their lives as women bound to a society that discriminates women. The two stories were composed in different time frames of the women’s rights movement; it reveals to the readers, that society was not quite there in the fair treatment towards the mothers, daughters, and wives of United States in either era. Inequality is the antagonist that both authors created for the characters. Those experiences might have helped that change in mankind to carve a path for true equality among men and women.
The tractors hired by the bank literally tear down the bond between man and the land. Due to the eviction, the farmers are forced to move to California, where work is supposedly in demand. As each family takes off for California, it no longer feels a connection to the lands through which it is traveling. Once it reaches California, it feels no connection to its land. For the first time, it is forced to be dependent on somebody else's generosity in distributing jobs, and most importantly, somebody else's land. Thus, in California, the relationship between man and land is not as strong as it was in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The change in this relationship is due in part to the mercilessness of the bank, and in the end, man loses because its connection to the only significant thing it has ever owned is gone. Once the families travel to California, each family member's soul stays back in Oklahoma, making it difficult to adjust to working on lands that have not been cultivated by their own family for generations.
Brett Nelson Professor Jeffrey Morgan LIT221 November 16, 2014 This Side of Paradise: Literary Elements and the Path to Self-discovery F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920 novel “This Side of Paradise,” was supremely controversial for its time. The Modernism ideals presented throughout the piece, such as those of socialism and feminism, demonstrated a great deal about the time period and the rapid societal changes. Amidst the novels modernistic values however, lies the true message of the book, self-discovery. Self-discovery is a very American quality, as American’s have been trying to discovery themselves since first landing on the shores. The melting pot that is the United States has always struggled with self-identity to some extent, in part, because