By Tim Erasmi
The Little Seamstress sent Luo a letter asking for him and Ma to come to their village to tell a story. She even has the Headman of her village send two workers in order to take their place for the two days that they will need to go to the city and watch the movie. The Little Seamstress obviously shows feelings for Luo when she says that she has her fingers crossed that the caves will not cave in and he will be safe and the fact that she wanted to go and tell him the news herself.
Luo has malaria at this time but he is determined to fufill the Little Seamstress’s request. The Narrator and Luo travel to her village and all the way Luo’s condition is only getting worse as he continues his struggle with malaria. When they get to the Little Seamstress she immediately cancels the plans to have them tell a story and allows Luo to stay in her bed for the night. She gives him a special natural medicine only found near her village and ties it to his wrist. Then she has sorceresses come over in order to fight away evil spirits. The Sorceresses bring bows and arrows to fight the demons but they soon become overcome with boredom and begin to fall asleep.
The Narrator is then forced to tell a story in order to keep them all awake. Usually Luo is the story teller but Ma tells the story this time and Luo occasionally gives words of encouragement in order to keep him going. It works as the Sorceresses stay awake. Luo and Ma personally do not believe in them but the Little Seamstress does. At one point during the story the Little Seamstress kisses Luo. There is obviously some sort of attraction there. In the morning Luo and Ma leave the Little Seamstress feeling defeated as they failed to go to the movies and tell the village a story but Luo feels like he has succeeded at strengthening his bond with the Little Seamstress.
Monday, September 27, 2010
A Thousand and One Nights
By Tim Erasmi
A Thousand and One Nights is a compilation of oral stories from the Middle East by al-Jahshiyari. These oral stories were not written down until A Thousand and One Nights because most people were illiterate. Because people were illiterate oral stories were one of the popular forms of entertainment. Often times storytellers would add their own personal portion to a story in order to make their account more original. When A Thousand and One Nights was first published many Eastern scholars criticized it for its unoriginality and plainness although it is one of the few Eastern works that has become famous in the West.
The First time the story was translated in the West was in the 18th century France by Antoine Galland. Galland’s style rubbed off onto his translation as he modified the story to make it flow better. He corrected the mistakes that had made original less desirable and his translation became a success. He also added some of the most popular stories such as Alladin which is the inspiration for one of the most popular Disney movies.
A Thousand and One Nights represented Eastern culture in the West because it was one of the few popular Eastern works. It stood as a reference to Eastern Literature and was an inspiration in the West during the 18th and 19th centuries in a period when Eastern culture was extremely popular. Some of the stories of A Thousand and One Nights are borderline pornographic. Although they are usually referred to as children stories not all of the contents of the book are appropriate. Some Arab and Western versions have been modified to not include the “risky” material. A Thousand and One Nights has been a timeless classic throughout all cultures. Although it has many critics, it has become a household name and is undeniably a classic story.
A Thousand and One Nights is a compilation of oral stories from the Middle East by al-Jahshiyari. These oral stories were not written down until A Thousand and One Nights because most people were illiterate. Because people were illiterate oral stories were one of the popular forms of entertainment. Often times storytellers would add their own personal portion to a story in order to make their account more original. When A Thousand and One Nights was first published many Eastern scholars criticized it for its unoriginality and plainness although it is one of the few Eastern works that has become famous in the West.
The First time the story was translated in the West was in the 18th century France by Antoine Galland. Galland’s style rubbed off onto his translation as he modified the story to make it flow better. He corrected the mistakes that had made original less desirable and his translation became a success. He also added some of the most popular stories such as Alladin which is the inspiration for one of the most popular Disney movies.
A Thousand and One Nights represented Eastern culture in the West because it was one of the few popular Eastern works. It stood as a reference to Eastern Literature and was an inspiration in the West during the 18th and 19th centuries in a period when Eastern culture was extremely popular. Some of the stories of A Thousand and One Nights are borderline pornographic. Although they are usually referred to as children stories not all of the contents of the book are appropriate. Some Arab and Western versions have been modified to not include the “risky” material. A Thousand and One Nights has been a timeless classic throughout all cultures. Although it has many critics, it has become a household name and is undeniably a classic story.
The Forbidden Books
Ma (the narrator) and Luo return to Four Eyes after visiting the miller and hearing and recording his mountain songs. All three of them are excited, Four Eyes because these songs could be his way off of the mountain and Luo and Ma because they are going to gain access to Four Eyes collection of books. When Four Eyes reads the songs however this mood changes, Four Eyes becomes angry because these songs are the kind of thing that could get you thrown in jail. Four Eyes then refuses to give Luo and Ma the book he promised them.
The three boys are standing in Four Eyes’ kitchen and Four Eyes is scolding them for bringing him useless drivel. When Luo and Ma are told to leave, they for the books they were promised and as Four Eyes tells them he won’t give them any books, he suddenly realizes something. He realizes that he could reword and alter these smutty songs into something of use and he becomes happy again as he realizes that these stories are again his ticket off of the mountain. As Four Eyes reads his reworded version of one of the miller’s songs Ma lunges at him trying to grab for the paper and in the process punches Four Eyes in the face. This meant that they would not be rewarded with books for their work.
This scene from the book shows how the one book that Four Eyes let them borrow, gave them an unquenchable thirst for these forbidden books. After reading Balzac they could not stop they wanted to read more of these western authors. Their love for books is an important part of the plot as it fuels the main conflict of the book.
Four Eyes' Departure
By Dan Callahan
After writing an article for a literary journal it was deemed that Four Eyes’ time on Phoenix Mountain was over. His reeducation was complete and his mother had come to take him back to the city. His article about traditional mountain songs had shown his devotion to chairman Mao. An event was planned the day of his departure, September 4. This event would be held in the village and all the villagers would be invited. This party was so important they were even slaughtering a buffalo. The purpose of the event was to Four Eyes completion of the reeducation and to pray for his safe travel back to the city.
Four Eyes was very excited. Before being offered the opportunity of writing the article he had thought he would stay on the mountain forever, because the chances of him leaving were three in a thousand. He was very lucky to be leaving because he was in that category of those whose parents had been considered enemies of the state, which meant his chances of leaving were three in a thousand.
The day before the event on September 3, Four Eyes pushed a buffalo of a cliff to disguise its death as an accident, because killing a working animal was illegal. A crowd then gathered to watch the buffalo be killed as it had not died from the fall. Four Eyes gathered some of the buffalo’s blood waited for it to congeal and drank it. This was a ritual to gain courage.
The next day was the event. All the villagers came and celebrated. The village brought sorceresses to perform a ritual of good fortune for Four Eyes. During the celebration He felt sick and went back to his hut with his mother, who had arrived to take him home, and found the package he kept his secret books was open. His mother scolded him for not keeping it wrapped up but he could have sworn that he had closed it. They then left and went back to the party.
After writing an article for a literary journal it was deemed that Four Eyes’ time on Phoenix Mountain was over. His reeducation was complete and his mother had come to take him back to the city. His article about traditional mountain songs had shown his devotion to chairman Mao. An event was planned the day of his departure, September 4. This event would be held in the village and all the villagers would be invited. This party was so important they were even slaughtering a buffalo. The purpose of the event was to Four Eyes completion of the reeducation and to pray for his safe travel back to the city.
Four Eyes was very excited. Before being offered the opportunity of writing the article he had thought he would stay on the mountain forever, because the chances of him leaving were three in a thousand. He was very lucky to be leaving because he was in that category of those whose parents had been considered enemies of the state, which meant his chances of leaving were three in a thousand.
The day before the event on September 3, Four Eyes pushed a buffalo of a cliff to disguise its death as an accident, because killing a working animal was illegal. A crowd then gathered to watch the buffalo be killed as it had not died from the fall. Four Eyes gathered some of the buffalo’s blood waited for it to congeal and drank it. This was a ritual to gain courage.
The next day was the event. All the villagers came and celebrated. The village brought sorceresses to perform a ritual of good fortune for Four Eyes. During the celebration He felt sick and went back to his hut with his mother, who had arrived to take him home, and found the package he kept his secret books was open. His mother scolded him for not keeping it wrapped up but he could have sworn that he had closed it. They then left and went back to the party.
The Wise Mother
By Sam Zhang
If we have to choose a person who is the smartest and most cunning, Four-eyes’ mother is definitely that person. She helped her son to get out from the re-education, and finds him a job in the city. We can further explore this character in the novel by looking at the way she tries to help her son out.
The first time when she met Ma in the city, she was surprised and happy to see him because she thinks that Ma is Luo. Four-eyes’ mother complains about how much she hates Ma because of the suitcase. She also complains that Ma has punched her son. She is trying to worsen Ma and Luo’s friendship. She thinks that Luo could be a good friend with Four-eyes, therefore, she tries to make a good impression in front of him.
Four-eyes’ mother feels unsafe with her books, so she brings her son to the city and tries to hide the suitcase, which is full of forbidden books. When she and her son come back home from the celebration, she realizes that somebody has touched her suitcase. She firstly suspects Luo and Ma, since they always trying to borrow Four-eyes’ books. She hear some sound in the room, and soon is alerted that the suitcase might be stolen.
Lastly, Four-eyes’ mother really loves her son. She is smart person, but she was deceived by her son several times. The most significant thing is that she finds a job for Four-eyes in the city. The percentage of getting out of the village is only three out of a thousand, so we can imagine how hard it is for him to get a job. The job requires Four-eyes to write mountain poems, however, he just copies from the old miller. When Four-eyes’ mother hears that Luo punched her son, she is really angry and complains about that to Ma.
If we have to choose a person who is the smartest and most cunning, Four-eyes’ mother is definitely that person. She helped her son to get out from the re-education, and finds him a job in the city. We can further explore this character in the novel by looking at the way she tries to help her son out.
The first time when she met Ma in the city, she was surprised and happy to see him because she thinks that Ma is Luo. Four-eyes’ mother complains about how much she hates Ma because of the suitcase. She also complains that Ma has punched her son. She is trying to worsen Ma and Luo’s friendship. She thinks that Luo could be a good friend with Four-eyes, therefore, she tries to make a good impression in front of him.
Four-eyes’ mother feels unsafe with her books, so she brings her son to the city and tries to hide the suitcase, which is full of forbidden books. When she and her son come back home from the celebration, she realizes that somebody has touched her suitcase. She firstly suspects Luo and Ma, since they always trying to borrow Four-eyes’ books. She hear some sound in the room, and soon is alerted that the suitcase might be stolen.
Lastly, Four-eyes’ mother really loves her son. She is smart person, but she was deceived by her son several times. The most significant thing is that she finds a job for Four-eyes in the city. The percentage of getting out of the village is only three out of a thousand, so we can imagine how hard it is for him to get a job. The job requires Four-eyes to write mountain poems, however, he just copies from the old miller. When Four-eyes’ mother hears that Luo punched her son, she is really angry and complains about that to Ma.
The Insanity of the Red Guard
By Carl Roycroft
The Red Guard has become a feared force across the country of China today. The Red Guard is comprised of individuals generally with limited educations who have exacted a tremendous toll on the intellectual community of China. Their stated goals are to destroy all things and individuals in China that Moa considers to be Feuadal, Racial or Capitalist. As a result the Red Guard attacked has ocorstrated attacks on old religious believes by destroying temples, killing monks and destroying ancient works of art that have been determined to be of an ancient religious nature.
Spoutting "Rebellion is justified" this hoard known as the Red Guard they were know to destroy relious symbols such as churches and were people go to pray and what not. They wanted to destroy any books not having to do with Moa. Most of the people that were educated were sent to ‘reeducation.
The younger generation was the leaders in the Red Guard. They were the ones who were still able to be kind of brain washed by Moa’s government and would do has he and his officials said no matter what. These young kids were usually of the age of middle school kids from 12-14 were the ages which is very young for some thing like this. They have killed women and children in villages that they went though destroying everything dear to them. They were ruthless and unwilling to stop no matter what the villages do. They manly enforced the rules of the Cultural Revolution. Moa said the goal was to attack the “four olds” of Chinas culture was taken away. One was old culture which was going to be hard to break because people have done it for years which also goes along with the other one old customs their pretty much in the same. The others were old habits and old ideas which everyone knows old habits die hard. Those are the kind of people who are in the Red Guard ruthless and just overall followers of the same leader.
The Red Guard has become a feared force across the country of China today. The Red Guard is comprised of individuals generally with limited educations who have exacted a tremendous toll on the intellectual community of China. Their stated goals are to destroy all things and individuals in China that Moa considers to be Feuadal, Racial or Capitalist. As a result the Red Guard attacked has ocorstrated attacks on old religious believes by destroying temples, killing monks and destroying ancient works of art that have been determined to be of an ancient religious nature.
Spoutting "Rebellion is justified" this hoard known as the Red Guard they were know to destroy relious symbols such as churches and were people go to pray and what not. They wanted to destroy any books not having to do with Moa. Most of the people that were educated were sent to ‘reeducation.
The younger generation was the leaders in the Red Guard. They were the ones who were still able to be kind of brain washed by Moa’s government and would do has he and his officials said no matter what. These young kids were usually of the age of middle school kids from 12-14 were the ages which is very young for some thing like this. They have killed women and children in villages that they went though destroying everything dear to them. They were ruthless and unwilling to stop no matter what the villages do. They manly enforced the rules of the Cultural Revolution. Moa said the goal was to attack the “four olds” of Chinas culture was taken away. One was old culture which was going to be hard to break because people have done it for years which also goes along with the other one old customs their pretty much in the same. The others were old habits and old ideas which everyone knows old habits die hard. Those are the kind of people who are in the Red Guard ruthless and just overall followers of the same leader.
The Man on the Mountain
By Carl Roycroft
A miller from up in the mountains is the only reason for are new writer in the staff know as fours eyes. To get the job four eyes had to make a long journey to the miller’s house up in the mountains far away from their villages. The miller is an old man who does know much but what he does know is gold to the reads meaning you. He knows the songs of the mountain the songs that want to be known and are fun to sing and dance to. Four eyes has searched for these songs for a good long time before he found the miller.
The first time he went to see the miller at his house he was reluctant to part way with any of his beloved folk songs. But when he went back again with his friends the miller was a little more relaxed and laid back having drinks and eating with the boys. After a night of singing songs till it was too dark to see the miller sent the boys on their way and know they had a new friend and were welcome back anytime.
They came with the hope of getting good songs but they only left with good times, and some songs that were not what he was looking for but if not for the miller he would have nothing. For four eyes the miller made this young mans carrier and help him get back to the real world and he is now a bonus to society. Goes to show you how the most uneducated people can make a difference is anyone’s life every person can contribute to the culture. People who don’t have much can be the best people and no one would ever know.
A miller from up in the mountains is the only reason for are new writer in the staff know as fours eyes. To get the job four eyes had to make a long journey to the miller’s house up in the mountains far away from their villages. The miller is an old man who does know much but what he does know is gold to the reads meaning you. He knows the songs of the mountain the songs that want to be known and are fun to sing and dance to. Four eyes has searched for these songs for a good long time before he found the miller.
The first time he went to see the miller at his house he was reluctant to part way with any of his beloved folk songs. But when he went back again with his friends the miller was a little more relaxed and laid back having drinks and eating with the boys. After a night of singing songs till it was too dark to see the miller sent the boys on their way and know they had a new friend and were welcome back anytime.
They came with the hope of getting good songs but they only left with good times, and some songs that were not what he was looking for but if not for the miller he would have nothing. For four eyes the miller made this young mans carrier and help him get back to the real world and he is now a bonus to society. Goes to show you how the most uneducated people can make a difference is anyone’s life every person can contribute to the culture. People who don’t have much can be the best people and no one would ever know.
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