Dai Sijies book Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Essay Example for Free

Dai Sijies book Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Essay In Dai Sijies book, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, the two main characters are brought together to experience the hardships of re-education but even then they manage to stay hopeful. Dai Sijie focuses on the survival and the power of human spirit and imagination to endure of Luo and the narrator, Ma. The boys stay hopeful by finding solutions to their problems during the re-education. Luo feels physically tired and so turns back the hands of the clock to get some extra sleep so he can get through the day. The Little Chinese Seamstress tries and cures Luo of his disease even though she doesnt have the proper medical equipment. Four-Eyes on the other hand continues to try and impress the peasants by risking the chance of getting caught with all the banned books by leaving his door open just to display his trust in the peasants and by hiding away meat and pretending that he doesnt eat meat to please them. The boys can be viewed as hopeful in the ways in which they adapt to and find solutions to the hardships of re-education such as manipulating the start of the working day with the alarm clock. The boys confess a few days after getting to the mountain and carrying the buckets of shit up and down the mountain, in the end we had changed the position of the hands so many times we had no idea what the time really was. The boys take advantage of the peasants ignorance of technology to cheat the village of their labor. But they are only doing this because of the harshness of re-education that led them to be this physically drained out. They were being forced to turn into cheaters but for them this wasnt deceiving, it was merely how they believed they could bring their bodies back to normal and start adapting to the change. By saying losing track of what the time really was, Dai Sijie also symbolizes their fear of never returning to their families and leading their old lives. Besides Luo finding a solution to the hard working conditions during the re-education, the Little Chinese Seamstress found a solution to curing Luos malaria and stayed hopeful. Although during the time of the re-education, there were no proper medical care and due to that Luo may have suffered from malaria for a long time. On the way to the Little Chinese Seamstresss house for the oral cinema in her town, another attack struck Luo and when they arrived at, Luo looked really sick so the Little Chinese Seamstress used a natural medicine on him and hoped that it worked. She didnt panic and act irrationally. The remedy that used was a natural paste made of the leaves of a plant called Broken-bowl-shards. This shows that the Seamstress believes in nature and tries her luck wherever she can. She says In my opinion you cant believe in them totally, but you cant deny them either. This just proves that whether or not the results are going to be as desired, it is definitely worth a shot. Four-Eyes is a representation of a character who would do anything to escape re-education and his continuous tries are what make him seem hopeful that one day he will succeed. Ever since he has been living on the mountain, he doesnt lock the doors of his house. When the readers first hear from him about this he claims that he is so anxious to demonstrate his trust in the revolutionary peasants that he never used to lock his doors. This just proves how desperate he is for their trust. He leaves his door unlocked even though he has a hidden suitcase of books that if found, can get him into serious troubles but he is willing to take that risk. He is also abstaining from meat. He would spring to his feet, quickly hide the pan in a corner as if it were contraband, and put out a dish of marinated vegetables. This not only portrays his fear, but the use of the word contraband by Dai Sijie is interesting as it brings up other suggestions. Contrabands are illegally smuggled goods and the comparison between the meat and the contraband shows how scared Four-Eyes is. To Four-Eyes, eating meat struck him a crime typical of the bourgeois class to which his family belonged so he decided to sacrifice eating meat. Four-Eyes stops at nothing to gain his pleasures. This single-mindedness in the face of adversity (when he breaks his glasses and the boys find him trying to carry the rice sacks alone) could be viewed as a form of hopefulness. To conclude, I have to say that the boys need to be credited for having dealt with their situations so optimistically. They only had a three in a thousand chance of returning home but even then they have stayed hopeful through the novel and took things as they came their way. I believe that the characters main way of staying hopeful is by finding solutions to the problems and hardships of their life currently during the re-education at the Phoenix Mountain. What the two boys have taken from this experience definitely has been the ability to be independent and solve situations they are faced with and most importantly learnt that success can be achieved by staying hopeful. Also the books and their passion for literature has indeed played a part in this as the books is what has kept them going for this long and they work so hard all day only knowing that later at night they have the book to go back to and relax. Their hope to keep them going through the day is the thought of knowing that this means they can go home to reading. Four-Eyes on the other hand has this obsessive pursuit of freedom and his hope is what is keeping that driving force in him going but in this battle, he has lost his temper and feels agitated as his results are not coming out positive.

Creative Story: Day The World Turned Black :: essays research papers

Creative Story: Day The World Turned Black Everyday the sun would rise and the moon would set and everybody would wake up to a new morning. Today was a special day in October, for the sun did not rise and the moon did not set and everyone woke to a full moon. During the night the sun had mysteriously vanished and this inscrutable incident enervated the most brilliant of minds . This caused aberrant behavior throughout the globe. Nevertheless there were a few vivacious individuals brave enough to find out what happened. They start their adventure by taking off in a space shuttle destined for outer space. As they reach orbit they witness the most amazing thing that any of them have ever seen. They watched the sun being sucked into nothing and something pushing it in. They change their course and follow the sun. As they get there, they realize that they are also being pulled in along with the sun and that their decision is at this point irrevocable. The funny thing was that the sun emanated no heat and that the moon started to glow much brighter than normal. It turns out that the moon was now supplying the earth with the heat that was needed to keep most happy. The sun, and both ships are now closed up in the thing and are increasing their velocity as they head for some minuscule object way in the distance. The team of explorers decide to catch the other ship but it is on the opposite side of the sun. It takes them a few days but they finally reach the other ship. The only thing that they cannot figure out is how to make contact with the other ship. They have exhausted every possibility and the only thing they have done is wasted time. They are floating in nothing, the scenery looks black and the only thing that they can see are the sun, the other ship, and the thing that they are flying towards. The ship surroundings are so amazing that they would whet your imagination beyond belief. Nevertheless, they are anxious to reach it in order to find out what it is. After doing nothing for two days they finally receive some contact with the other ship via Morse code. Using this to talk, they establish audio communication. Talking for a few hours they realize that both sides have no idea where they are headed. The only instructions that the other ship had received, were to push the sun into the hole and wait till they reach the end of the tunnel.

Dramatic Importance of Similar Themes Essay

A distinct art form like a poem, novel or play, a short story is a short piece of writing, having few characters, conflicts, a theme, a setting and a point of view, usually fewer than 10,000 words. Every detail contributes to the unity of effect. Most short stories can connect if they include similar elements, characteristics or qualities including character development and themes. In the short stories: A Deal in Ostriches, The Beautiful Suit, and The Triumphs of a Taxidermist, all written by H. G. Wells, there are similar features in the way the author writes about the theme of humans going through major changes in their lifetime, which shows how important this fundamental is in the plot development of a short story. Whether the change is positive or negative; all humans go through many changes that could as well be life altering. In A Deal in Ostriches, this theme is situated to play out a role, so the main character goes through a dramatic change from start to finish, ending with a twist to show the main characters true side. In The Beautiful suit, the main character goes through his major change at the end as well, starting off as a man boy, but dying happily in the end. In The triumphs of a Taxidermist, the taxidermist starts off as a man of an unintelligent nature, but concludes in the founding of an extinct species of a New Zealand bird, showing his true identity. These factors help prove that the consistency of having the same theme, helps plot development and structure greatly in short stories. In A Deal in Ostriches, the theme is showing that the main character goes through a vivid change in his life and role as the story progress to the finish. The main character Padishah, tends to be a loyal character who needs help finding his jewel. We believe he is against Potter, who is trying to steal his jewel for his own contentment. In the end we consider the fact that Padishah changes throughout the story and turns against everyone to be on Potters side. This story concludes with a bit of a twist, â€Å"A week or so after landing I was down Regent-street doing a bit of shopping, and who should I see arm-in-arm and having a purple time of it but Padishah and Potter. †(Wells 4) This shows that even if someone is reliable or trustworthy at the start, it does not mean they will never change. Padishah is a perfect example of how life situations will always change over time. In The Beautiful Suit, the main character is a little man, who goes through a major change at the end of the story, showing the theme of how life changes can occur in very little periods of time. He starts off as a sad man because his mother would never let him wear his favourite suit, but dies happily in the end. â€Å"But his face was a face of such happiness that, had you seen it, you would have understood indeed how that he had died happy. †(Wells 4) He is the one who changes his feelings; he decides to go out and live his life the way he wanted to. One night he decided he was going to do everything he ever wished to do, including wearing his suit. We find out that his negative attitude turned into a positive one just by changing the way he felt he should be doing things. This little man starts his life in a way he did not feel was right, so he took a chance to turn his life around, and he did. He died happily, just as he wished he would. This shows the theme of human life changing noticeably, and how it can also change in an encouraging way. In The triumphs of a Taxidermist, the main character who is a taxidermist starts off hiding who he truly is, but ends up showing how truly smart and sneaky he is in the end. The taxidermist does not tell or show anyone his uniqueness until the end of the story when he reveals that he found a species of a New Zealand bird which is extinct. One man questioned â€Å"Is it one of those big birds recently extinct in New Zealand? †(Wells 2) No one truly believed that the taxidermist actually founded this spices, but life is full of unexpected surprises. If you are gentle and composed, you can always change your ways in life and become a man of great power. The taxidermist showed that humans go through major changes or chose to make those changes themselves, sometime throughout their lifetime. In conclusion all three of these well written short stories by H. G Wells, brought me to the attention that similar themes, such as the theme of humans going through major changes, is very important in plot development of a short story. These short stories all include a main character that goes through dramatic changes from start to finish presenting its similarities. Everything has something in common; you just need to be imaginative to find it out.

What Is Literature Essay - 689 Words

Charmine J. Cramales BS Math II Lit 3 10:30 – 12:00 What is Literature? Poems, novels, and stories; these are some of the things that first came to my mind upon pondering on the question What is Literature?. And just lately I have known that literature also includes songs, speeches, plays, and many others in written and spoken forms. I have also known that things that are produced out of creative imagination can be referred as literary works which are the ones that comprise literature. Considering this description of what literature is, the coverage of literature seems very puzzling. If literary works are those produced out of creative imagining, then it would directly point to fictional works. But then, there are also†¦show more content†¦Take for example the views of two individuals coming from different places on a novel based on the culture of one. It would likely be the same if their culture and beliefs are quiet related but if not, then they would surely have different understandings on certain parts of that novel. Hence, defining literatu re as those considered by people as ‘literature’ is questionable. Eagleton also associated literature as any kind of works which are valued highly by people. But then again, since people may have different perceptions on things, one may value highly a certain work while another person may consider it just as a plain writing. As stated by Ms. Pinzon, a literature professor, a personal letter can be an example of this. The recipient of the letter can be expected to really value the letter while her classmate may not. Hence, this can’t define literature as a whole. Then, what really is literature? Many great critics have tried formulating a fixed definition of literature but have failed to do so. In the rise of every possible definition of what literature is, counter arguments also rise. Literature, though it seems impossible to enumerate everything it covers, play an important role in every individuals life. One can influence using literature or be influenced by it. Examples of these are the novels made by our very own national hero, Jose Rizal – the Noli Me Tangeri and El Filibusterismo. During his time, Rizal hasShow MoreRelatedWhat Is Literature? Essay1778 Words   |  8 PagesSince the 18th century, the definition of the concept literature has become a problematic and a controversial issue among various literary schools. What is literature? What are the qualities that distinguish a literary text from a non-literary one? Does literature have any particular function in society? These are some crucial questions whose answers were supposed to limit and define the scope of literature. However, various literary and critical schools have advanced different and contradictoryRead MoreWhat Is Literature Review?3725 Words   |  15 Pages 4. What is literature review? 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