A Madman's Diary

I have became a stronger women over the years. My little Pearl is now seven years old. Time sure does go by fast. Nowadays the townspeople are now respecting me for what I do so I have respected my role in the community. When the disease struck through the town, no one was more dedicated to the sick than me. The scarlet letter became the symbol of my calling. I was so helpful to others with so much power to aid, that many people refused to recognize the letter ‘A’ for its original meaning. They said it stood for “able”. I feel like I should be able to do more things and my reputation shouldn’t stop me from doing things in my life. I told my Pearl to run down

The novel, “Mao’s Last Dancer”, was written by Li Cunxin. It tells his riveting tale of growing up in a poor family of six boys, living in a village in China under Mao’s reign. It goes on to share his eventual defection to the United States as an artistic dancer. His childhood was filled with both hardships and joys. But both helped him to grow as a resilient person to achieve once-thought impossible goals.

It is disgusting that people left Valley Forge on such short notice and be so selfish as to go because they don’t want to be hurt! Valley Forge would have needed all the help they could get. Take the diary of Dr. Albigence Waldo (Document D) for instance, Waldo tells us about the many hardships the soldiers went through in Valley Forge. They struggled with things like slim to non food, and all around just a terrible lifestyle. People were getting sick very very easily and most of them that caught any sickness, died from it. The passage The American Crisis (Document D) also informs us about thing such as honorability. If I were to die, I would want to die honorably, in battle and fighting for my country, were as if I were to leave I would most

On Tuesday, December 6, I wore my scarlet letter to school. Many different feelings were felt throughout the day. Although many people knew why some students were wearing this bright and big letter on their shirts. There was many others who had no idea why. So in human nature, there was many people that simply asked, “why?” I was prepared to answer these questions though. I knew as a student if I saw a bunch of people walking around with a big letter pinned onto them, I would also want to question why they are wearing that, and what it means.

The book is a written as conversational memoir between two women, Ye Weili and Ma Xiaodong about their experience during the first three decades of Mao’s era. The two women had gone through almost similar position and situations in their life, faced equivalent hardships, their approach or attitude towards those experiences in a completely different manner. This book is meticulous in its historical detail, making it a standout among similar memoirs of twentieth-century China. It also tries to add another dimension of the general perspective of historic events. The events are described in a chronological sequence and with the right amount of proper relevant information so the reader can understand the conversation.

In Ken Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Kesey shows the reader the idea of sanity versus insanity. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is about the struggle between chaos and order. There is no freedom without a little chaos, yet to maintain the order there must be oppression. McMurphy upsets the routine of the ward by asking for schedule changes and aspiring resistance during therapy sessions. He teaches his fellow inmates to have fun, and encourages them to embrace their human desires. He does this by convincing them that not only are they sane, but they are man (real people), in contrast nurse Ratched as an authoritarian. He soon discovers due to this that he is not only trapped behind physical walls but mental ones as well. Many patients

Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus is chiefly considered to be a horror novel. The books author, Mary Shelley, masterfully weaves a story that has petrified audiences for centuries with its grotesque nature and disturbing events. However it is clear that both the characterization of Victor Frankenstein and his fallen angel, the Monster, portray an additional frightening aspect of the story; their mutual descent into hysteric madness.With a deft hand, Mary Shelley successfully conveys the gradual downfall of both her protagonist and his spawn.

Imagine a pitch black room set during the Spanish Inquisition. The room is rather small and in the middle lies a pit. A prisoner lays strapped to a table in one part of the room as a large pendulum swings back and forth across the prisoner’s heart. The pendulum slowly moves closer and closer to his chest, slow enough to drive him insane, only he was insane to start. In Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum,” the narrator shows many signs of insanity which enhances the story’s literary effect.

There are many steps in order to live authentically, which leads to living a good life. For example, when staying authentic to ourselves, we’re helping others. Living authentically also includes doing what we love and not lying to ourselves. Doing these things help us live good lives and be ourselves. The novel, The Fall by Albert Camus, shows the opposite of living authentically. The video, Honest Liars from TEDx, talks about how often, we don’t live authentically. Another video, How to Find a Job you Love, is how we all choose jobs for money, not enjoyment. Lastly, the poem, The Madman by Khalil Gibran, shows how often we lie to ourselves.

The madman that speaks through the entire story talks in an unreliable first person view. Because of the man?s obvious

Like any piece of good literature, “Diary of a Madman” does not just apply to the time it was written. It can also be seen as a critique on the world today. However, the relation between the story and the modern world is not easily visible on the surface. One must dig deeper in order to see the parallels. Once one examines the symbolism that is used, it is clear that the story is relevant to today’s world just as much as it was to the world in which Lu Xun wrote it. There are many parallels between the story and our society, so many that this story could just as easily be a critique of our society as a critique of China in 1918.

Lu Xun was one of the first prominent writers of modern china. He uses an ironic technique in the preface by writing in classical Chinese language to suggest a false, friendly world made exclusively by social appearances. The traditional Chinese text is typically seen as superior, and as per the Chinese traditions the modern language is seen as an intruder. The author’s use of the style was a way of making a point. “Diary of a Madman” is a short story written by Lu Xun and was published in the new youth magazine in 1918 (231). The story demonstrates his discontent with traditional Chinese culture, not only by the fact that it clearly addresses the horror of cannibalism that is believed to have occurred but he is also trying to point out the oppressive nature of Confucian principles. In the short novel, the madman has the ability to recognize the cruel elements of Chinese Confucian culture that serves to mock established but out-dated traditional scholarship.

For the bulk of the mid- to late-20th Century, Eileen Chang’s name and literary prowess fell into obscurity as a result of events related to the Cultural Revolution and her own reclusion. In C.T. Hsia’s A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, he praised Chang for her use of "rich imagery" and "profound exploration of human nature.” In his book, he also claimed Chang to be “the best and most important writer” of mid-twentieth century China. Hsia’s remarks and Ang Lee’s film adaptation of her novella, Lust, Caution, have helped to bring Chang’s name back onto the literary scene.

Lu Xun’s story “Diary of a Madman” serves to demonstrate his discontent with traditional Chinese cultural, not only by the fact that it clearly addresses the incidence of cannibalism that is believed to have occurred but also symbolizes the oppressive nature of Confucian principles.Lu Xun’s madman has the ability to recognize the oppressive elements of Chinese Confucian culture serves to mock established but out-dated traditional scholarship and symbolizes the greater wisdom of cultural reform, especially as it is advanced by modern intellectuals of the period.

Family loyalty in China has had a tumultuous past filled with fluctuation between remaining loyal to the state, yet also remaining loyal to blood relatives. In the autobiography that also serves as a biography, Wild Swans, by Jung Chang, this is seen. The book, which outlines the biographies of the author’s grandmother and mother, as well as her own autobiography, gives an interesting look into the lives of the Chinese throughout the 20th century. This book is beyond eye opening, and is truly a raw glimpse into the daily lives of women throughout China, struggling with situations that no human should ever be thrown into. I loved this book and was truly scared about the world that it opened me up to. The book does many things well, but also has its faults. The author consistently and clearly exemplifies the social hierarchy that consumes China, as well as its obsession with cultural stagnancy. The author also gives intense imagery that thrusts the reader into the scene, and creates a new reality showcasing the truths of China. Although both of those things take main stage in the book, there are a few weaknesses in the book. One, asking the question of how she had such clear anecdotes on her grandmother and mother’s life, how did she have such intimate details? The second shortcoming that Jung Chang had a subjective view of China, partly being that she loves China despite the cards it has dealt her. Her life was not short of hardships, but her family was typically