The Gift of the Honeymoon. People think that we live our lives separately from each other, never thinking that part, of who we are as individuals, comes from our close personal relationships. Grandparents, parents, friends, and even complete strangers all help to contribute in the decisions we make, as well as help shape the reality in which we live in on a daily basis. Gao Xingjian, author of “The Temple”, takes us on a journey in understanding the desire for personal growth, freedom and fulfillment. Sometimes the author leaves us guessing, giving us the opportunity to deduct what was going on based on our own knowledge. The author knows that we may not know much about the topic but he believes that we will make the right assumption.
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Going up that mountain is also like looking into their own future, it is very interesting that during their path they try to not mention their past, they want to focus on their honeymoon and not spoil what it brings them. The denying of the past seems to be coming up a lot in this story, as narrator once mentions “We recalled years we had spent shoveling…those difficult times tickled away…leaving some sadness…”, the narrator could say much more about that, but decides to leave it out, because what’s present, is more important than the past. Going in up to the mountain is a tough journey where they have to go through a lot of obstacles, but they know that the end result is worth it. On the way to the top they get this pain in the feet, which I believe symbolizes the hardships China had to go through during the Cultural Revolution, it shows that there were tough times but people managed to get through …show more content…
There is a social exchange between these two groups of individuals, where not only a sharing of food is evident, but also a sharing of thoughts. The couple pertains to be free in life, but in fact places restrictions upon not only themselves but also other people. Fangfang asks if the young boy is the man’s son, and then continues, “What about your wife?” A projection of how things are supposed to be is happening within this conversation, upholding to the image of perfect, and a perfect world with father and son, husband and wife relationships. The man and boy show that even though their lives aren’t perfect as this young couple may think they have enough love to be happy and content. The little boy has the cage with grasshoppers symbolizes people of China, who are locked in their thoughts and who have no idea how the world lives. When the man gets up and leaves the conversation being held by them, life intervenes and suddenly the control that they tried to have gets taken away, and “We felt the chill of the mountain air.” (p15) Their perfect ideology of what perfect is, gets a concept of reality placed upon it, and changes the entire illusion that they live in, as life starts to breathe in over them.
The Temple of Perfect Benevolence connects the story to ancient China helping to see the influence of past generations, and the long
In the metaphoric sense they endured the travel from their homeland to the unknown, which was brave of them. Mother to Son starts off with the mother referencing to the past by saying “Well son, I’ll tell you:/ Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” She is alluding to her past and how it has been tumultuous, but she is still
There are different types of parent and child relationships. There are relationships based on structure, rules, and family hierarchy. While others are based on understanding, communication, trust, and support. Both may be full of love and good intentions but, it is unmistakable to see the impact each distinct relationship plays in the transformation of a person. In Chang’s story, “The Unforgetting”, and Lagerkvist’s story, “Father and I”, two different father and son relationships are portrayed. “The Unforgetting” interprets Ming and Charles Hwangs’ exchange as very apathetic, detached, and a disinterested. In contrast, the relationship illustrated in the “Father and I” is one of trust, guidance, and security. In comparing and contrasting the two stories, there are distinct differences as well as similarities of their portrayal of a father and son relationship in addition to a tie that influences a child’s rebellion or path in life.
In her book, The House of Lim, author Margery Wolf observes the Lims, a large Chinese family living in a small village in Taiwan in the early 1960s (Wolf iv). She utilizes her book to portray the Lim family through multiple generations. She provides audiences with a firsthand account of the family life and structure within this specific region and offers information on various customs that the Lims and other families participate in. She particularly mentions and explains the marriage customs that are the norm within the society. Through Wolf’s ethnography it can be argued that parents should not dec5pide whom their children marry. This argument is obvious through the decline in marriage to simpua, or little girls taken in and raised as future daughter-in-laws, and the influence parents have over their children (Freedman xi).
Chua believes that Chinese parents force their children to be academically successful in order to reach “higher” goals in life. She emphasizes this when she states “…Chinese parents have … higher dreams for their children…” (Chua 8). Although Amy set higher s...
Traditions in Chinese culture are long-rooted and are taken very seriously from generation to generation. However, there must always be room for modern change in order for society to grow and strive across the globe. In Bound Feet and Western Dress the conflict between Chinese traditions and modern change arises. With this conflict it is important to discuss the different meanings of liberation for men and women and they way in which Chang Yu-I was able to obtain liberation throughout her life.
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.... ...
Characters like Baoyu may attempt to fight fate, but destiny cannot be defeated. Tragedy befalls those who would stand in its way. After all, “for what follows the way of Heaven prospers, and what goes against it perishes” (290).
Throughout the centuries, regardless of race or age, there have been dilemmas that identify a family’s thru union. In “Hangzhou” (1925), author Lang Samantha Chang illustrates the story of a Japanese family whose mother is trapped in her beliefs. While Alice Walker in her story “Everyday Use” (1944) presents the readers with an African American family whose dilemma is mainly revolving around Dee’s ego, the narrator’s daughter. Although exibiting different ethnicity, the reader should meditate that both families commonly share the attachment of a legacy, a tradition and the adaptation to a new generation.
"Holy Mencius (Chinese): Book 3 - Part 3." Holy Mencius (Chinese): Book 3 - Part 3. Ishwar, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. .
The overlook of society creates this division between men and women, suppressing the latter. For generations women have been oppressed and against their counterparts. This barrier deems women less superior and unequal to men, making them appear weak. Since men are seen more strong, society thinks that they should be the more dominant ones and over shadow females. Kate Atkinson and Thomas Raddall use similar elements to display this idea. In the short stories The War on Women and The Wedding Gift, Thomas Raddall and Kate Atkinson show the oppression of the women and their attempts to achieve freedom. The authors both use similar elements of location and characters.
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.
“The whole character of Chinese popular religion flows in the direction of plethora of rituals and obligations without much discernable doctrinal underpinning” (Corduan, 2012, p.410). The Chinese popular religion has gravitated away the gods of Buddha and Daoism and captured the philosophy of luck and materialism (Corduan, 2012), while it “is less concerned with philosophical issues and
...nfluence on the daily life of the Chinese people. The recollection of the ancestors, the fear of offending them or soiling their reputations, coupled with the desire to please them, are sources of inspiration, which guide the actions of the descendants. Even for a hardened sinner, to lack respect for the ancestors is the worst offense imaginable. Here is how the intimate thought of the master should be interpreted. Respectful of tradition and of rituals, he did not wish to explain himself fully on this subject. But such should be his thought. The cult of the dead is, in his eyes, the cult of memory, based upon filial piety and the thought of the continuity of the family and of the race. It is in this spirit that still being practiced by the majority of the Oriental world, for whom it is the main religion and takes the place of all preaching revealed or supernatural.
On the other hand, traditions play an entirely different role in the the Chinese society of “Plight of the Little Emperors”. Unlike the closely knit Czech family of Hampl’s account, Chinese families emphasize success rather than unity as parents “bemoan their only child’s desire for instant gratification, excessive consumption, and a life free of hardship” (Psychology Today 45) in order to complete the “parents’ own dreams [which] had been dashed during China’s Cultural Revolution” (43). Presenting the goals of Chinese society, the writers depict how the past experiences of older generations impact the expectations set in place for younger generations and the negative outcomes, such as mental crises, that result from superimposing success. In her essay “What is Poverty?”, which displays the harsh realities of an impoverished life, author Jo Parker convinces the reader of the difficulty involved in breaking out of traditional cycles established by the values of society. Parker understands that her presence in the world of poverty will
Life is said to be divided into two dominant salient phases in many cultures: in the first phase, from childhood to middle adulthood, we are becoming individuals, gaining knowledge about traditions and values of cultures and learning the ways of the world and maintaining ourselves in the demands of family, work, and society. In the second phase, which begins as Jung declared, with the midlife crisis, we begin spinning inward, reconnecting with the center of our being identifying ourselves as unique and approachable personality . In the first phase we build and develop our ego and in the second phase we transcend and surrender it (Metzner, 1998).