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Impact of the cultural revolution in china
Impact of the cultural revolution in china
Impact of the cultural revolution in china
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Ha Jin’s “Saboteur” is about Mr. Chiu, a man who’s traveling home with his bride from their honeymoon. While waiting for their train, the couple has tea dumped on their feet by a police officer. Mr. Chiu confronts the police officer and gets arrested. During his time at the station, Mr. Chiu is interrogated by the chief who insists he take blame for the incident. While Mr. Chiu is being interrogated, his bride sends over Fenjin to get him out of jail. Fenjin however, is immediately captured and tortured. Initially, Mr. Chiu refuses to take responsibility for causing the incident, however after witnessing Fenjin’s torture and his own mistreatment he accepts the blame in exchange for their release. Seeking revenge for his mistreatment, Mr. Chiu …show more content…
The story takes in Muji where Mr. Chiu and his bride were on their honeymoon as stated by the narrator, “Mr. Chiu and his bride were having lunch in the square before Muji Train Station… he was glad the honeymoon was over” (660). The mention of a time after the Cultural Revolution also suggests a period when society was transitioning into a new cultural system. This setting is important because it provides a basis for the struggle Mr. Chiu faces. While the Cultural Revolution was over, propagation of the idea that all citizens are equal before the law had not disseminated in this area. Although Mr. Chiu is in a region that hasn’t fully accepted this ideology, he still expects to be treated equal, as shown when the narrator says, “he wasn’t afraid… as long as he remained coolheaded and reasoned with them, they probably wouldn’t harm him” (661). However, because “Mr. Chiu was suspected as part of the already condemned military group The Red Guards” his placement in the post-Cultural Revolution proves to be a problem (The Importance). Also, through the setting, we experience the passage of time, as shown when the narrator says “Mr. Chiu and his bride were having lunch,” “late in the afternoon he was taken to the Interrogation Bureau,” and “when he woke up on Monday morning” (660-664). This passage of time gives significance to the story through its emphasis on the fact that although it’s been a short while, a lot of things has
“So don't let your mind dwell on just one thought, that what you say is right and nothing else.” (lines 799-800) These were just some of the many words from Haemon to his father (Creon) describing the action that he isn't taking. Haemon's contrasting ideas led to the development of Creon as a tragic hero while also advancing the plot and developing the theme.
Steven Alper’s life started out completely normal. Steven starts out as your average teenage middle school boy; skinny, wears glasses, has braces, and last but not least, invisible to the hottest girl in 8th grade, Renee Albert. Besides being a complete geek, Steven excels at playing the drums; even making into the All-City Jazz Band. But after troubling times come after attempting to make “moatmeal” for his younger brother Jeffery, Steven’s world gets turned completely upside down; changing and challenging the rest of his 8th grade year.
Chapter one, The Observers, in the Death of Woman Wang demonstrates the accuracy of the local historian; Feng K'o-ts'an, who compiled The Local History of T'an-ch'eng in 1673. The descriptive context of the Local History helps the reader to understand and literally penetrate into people's lives. The use of records of the earthquake of 1668, the White Lotus rising of 1622 and rebels rising vividly described by Feng the extent of suffering the people of T'an-ch'eng went through. Jonathan Spence stresses on how miserable the two-quarter of the seventeen-century were to the diminishing population of the county. The earthquake claimed the lives of nine thousand people, many others died in the White lotus rising, hunger, sickness and banditry. P'u Sung-ling's stories convey that after the loss of the wheat crops there were cases of cannibalism. On top of all of this came the slaughtering of the entire family lines by the bandits. The incredible records of women like Yao and Sun in the Local History present the reader the magnitude of savagery the bandits possessed. All of these factors led to the rise of suicides. The clarity of events Spence given to the reader is overwhelming.
The novel begins by “Abena, my mother, was raped by an English Sailor on the deck of Christ the King one day in the year 16** while the ship was sailing for Barbados. I was born from this act of aggression. From this act of hatred and contempt,” (Condé 1). Her mother Abena was a slave and Tituba was born into slavery. Tituba was concemption is due to a white sailor raping her mother, an example of a white man dominating a black woman. The hierarchy is clearly established between the black people like Abena and Tituba, and the white slave owners. The policing of this hierarchy causes Tituba to see the very dramatic deaths of her mother Abena and a father like figure in Yao. Tituba’s early life experiences is only the beginning of despicable acts done to her and the people she cares
The lack of communication between two cultures explains the lack of understanding and knowledge one has of another culture. When Marguerite first arrives at the house, “it [takes] [her] a week to learn the difference between a salad plate, a bread plate and a dessert plate”. In white culture, this would not have even been a question, but merely common knowledge. However, because Marguerite comes from a different background, the life she lived before working at the house suggests she had a life of simplicity at home. By learning the differences between each type of plate, Marguerite “gains entrance into the assumptive world of another culture”. Dean Barnlund suggests people remain outsiders if they do not become open-minded toward another culture. If there were no communication at all between Marguerite and Mrs. Cullinan, Marguerite would not have been able to learn about white culture, and each type of plate. Miss Glory, who represents a more traditional side of a slave having worked for Mrs. Cullinan for 20 years, has a lot of previous knowledge and does not let Marguerite “say a thing against her mistress”. In this case, Miss Glory knows to keep quiet and not talk about anyone who is white, a more superior race than her own. Miss Glory believes it is okay to order Marguerite because she only has age superiority over her. However, they still come from the same cultural background, and thus, they are placed on the same level on the social pyramid. This is seen when Marguerite describes how her glass “[sits] with Miss Glory’s on a separate shelf from the others”. Angelou suggests that people with opposite backgrounds are inferior of each other, and the traditional Miss Glory feels that she has power over the “new girl” Marguerite. Marguerite also knows to “[think] privately” about her opinion towards Mrs.
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.... ...
The story of the first brother, Chueh-hsin, is unquestionably the most upsetting and saddest in this novel. Cheuh-hsin has lived his entire life in reverence and constant conformity with his elders. Although he is an "enlightened" person and does not unconditionally agree with many of the Confucian values, which he follows, he feels that his position in the social hierarchy of the family leaves him no other choice. As the "first son of the first son" he is the head of his household. As a result, he is forced to take on responsibilities he does not want. For this very reason, his two younger brothers, Cheuh-min and Cheuh-hui, scorn him. Chueh-hsin has lived his entire life following a non-resistant strategy. At an early age, he was prohibited from his dreams, by being forced into an arranged marriage, although his heart belonged to another woman, Cousin Mei. Although he comes to l...
The fact that the fictional mothers and daughters of the story have unhappy marriages creates a common ground on which they can relate. However, marriage has different meanings for each generation in this book. In the mothers’ perspective, marriage is permanent and not always based on love. Especially with their marriages in China, which was a social necessity that they must secretly endure in order to be happ...
During the Ming and Qing Dynasty, under the circumstance of which the absolute monarchy reached its peak progressively, two trends of thoughts appeared in China:
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.
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.
Kingston uses the story of her aunt to show the gender roles in China. Women had to take and respect gender roles that they were given. Women roles they had to follow were getting married, obey men, be a mother, and provide food. Women had to get married. Kingston states, “When the family found a young man in the next village to be her husband…she would be the first wife, an advantage secure now” (623). This quote shows how women had to get married, which is a role women in China had to follow. Moreover, marriage is a very important step in women lives. The marriage of a couple in the village where Kingston’s aunt lived was very important because any thing an individual would do would affect the village and create social disorder. Men dominated women physically and mentally. In paragraph eighteen, “they both gav...
The family's personal encounters with the destructive nature of the traditional family have forced them to think in modern ways so they will not follow the same destructive path that they've seen so many before they get lost. In this new age struggle for happiness within the Kao family, a cultural barrier is constructed between the modern youth and the traditional adults, with Chueh-hsin teeter tottering on the edge, lost between them both. While the traditional family seems to be cracking and falling apart much like an iceberg in warm ocean waters, the bond between Chueh-min, Chueh-hui, Chin and their friends becomes as strong as the ocean itself. While traditional Confucianism plays a large role in the problems faced by the Kao family, it is the combination of both Confucianism and modernization that brings the family to its knees. Chueh-hsin is a huge factor in the novel for many reasons.
Mulan is a young girl in China, who is trying to honor her family and ancestors by finding a husband. She was expects to be delicate, quiet, obedient, graceful, polite, and poised, none of which Mulan displayed. She showed up late to the meeting with the woman, “The Match Maker”, who picked whom Mulan would one day marry. Although they expect women in China to have a tiny waist, too small of a waist, which Mulan had, was no good. She would not be great at baring children. Mulan could not pour the tea right for the woman either. She missed the cup, spilling the tea on the table. She was not very graceful and upset “The Match Maker”, who believed Mulan would never honor her family. Mulan did not display the characteristics that the Chinese society expected a woman to have and was looked at as dishonorable to outsiders.
However, the focus here will be on the lives of the courtesans. The Genji Monogatari provides us with an unrivalled look into the inner workings of Confucianism and court life in the Heian period. Song Geng, in his discourse on power and masculinity in China, claims that Confucianism gives rise to what he calls the “fragile scholar” or caizi() as it is referred to as in traditional Chinese literature.5 The so-called fragile scholar is a common character archetype seen throughout Chinese literature and, not surprisingly, also in the Genji Monogatari.... ... middle of paper ...