Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress Analysis

In the book Balzac and the Little Seamstress, by Dai Sijie, A re-education process is taking place. Children are being sent away from home for extended periods of time to be re-educated to the government's standards. The main characters, Lou and the Narrator have been sent to live in a mountain village to complete this process. While they are there, they go and meet an old friend of theirs who has something they desire, books. In order to receive these books they decide to run an errand for their friend, Four Eyes. After running his errand, Four Eyes is granted his completion of his re-education process and his village is preparing a celebration for his completion of the process. In this passage, on pages 100-101, Four Eye’s ceremony has

(2) The narrator knows does not know very much about what is happening because in the story it states in paragraph one sentence one " It looked like a good thing: but wait till i tell you". When i read this I realized that the narrator could

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Die Sijie contains many prominent themes, such as the effect and influence of literature on the characters, friendship and loyalty, coming of age, and the power of knowledge. However, one significant, underlying theme appearing throughout the novel is feminism. Feminism is defined as the acnowledgement that women and men are equal socially as well as in intellegence, and that both deserve to have equal rights to freedom and be treated as such in society. Sijie uses this theme to track the Little Seamstress’ development throughout the novel, showing how at first she believes in society's definition of what it means to be civilized, but as she reads literature and begins to think about for

Stories give people new ideas and experiences along with lessons that they are unable to realize in their own lives. The narrator feels as though he is in the land of Balzac’s Ursule Mirouёt even though he has never before seen France. He is so fascinated with the story that he does not put the book down until he has finished the last page (Sijie 57). This allows him to experience life in an entirely different manner from which he is accustomed. From these stories, the boys gain insights into thoughts and emotions that are completely foreign to them. While Luo visits the Little Seamstress telling her of the stories he as read, the narrator feels one of these unfamiliar emotions. He states, “Suddenly I felt a stab of jealousy, a bitter wrenching emotion I had never felt before” (58). Although jealousy is not usually seen as a good feature and while this emotional awakening may seem like a negative effect of storytelling to some readers, it is actually an amazing accomplishment. Stories provide their readers with a new perception of life. They are able to feel what they have never felt, to see what they have never seen, and to be what they have never been. While these experiences may not be the most enjoyable, all experiences leave people with a more extensive idea of what life really is.

The concept of revenge is one very known to human nature. Most people are familiar with the desire to get payback, though often individuals choose not to act on it as it is often a more fleeting emotion than lasting fascination. Being such a relatable and commonplace affliction, this feeling is also central in many works of fiction. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas both share a common plotline as they explore themes of betrayal, deception, and revenge. The protagonists, Montresor and Edmond respectively, both set out to seek revenge against those who they feel have done them wrong. The writing styles share a similar dark tone as the ideas of justice and deservingness are challenged through the characters’ actions.

The shocked and flabbergasted diction of this section lends itself to a similar purpose. The surprise that the narrator shows when Luo initially begins the procedure is indicative to the fear within the protagonists and the absurdity of the situation as a whole. When the narrator says: “what the devil had got into him?” (Sijie 142) it shows the reader that the strangeness of the scene had not escaped the notice of those involved. The befuddled diction continues when the narrator says: “even today it confounds me” (Sijie 142) showing that the situation his oddness was not reduced with time. Overall, this section sets the scene for an intense and decisively odd situation.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress tells the story of two boys being re-educated during the Cultural Revolution in China. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is inspired by the author, Daj Sijie's experience with being sent to a re-education camp in Rural Sichuan from 1971 to 1974 due to him being born and raised into an educated family. The process and experience of China re-educating their citizens is called the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution lasted from 1966 to 1976. The Cultural Revolution started because Mao Zedong wanted to change China and reassert his control over the country and its government. Mao Zedong believed that the Communist leaders of China were taking the country in the wrong way. Luo and the Little

Written by Dai Sijie, and published in English in 2001, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is a contemporary piece with a classic story. The book is about a boy, known to us as “The Narrator,” and his friend Luo. It takes place in communist China. Luo is the son of a well known dentist, while the Narrator is the son of a lung specialist and a consultant in parasitic disease. Due to their parents’ education and status, the boys are sent to a mountain village to be re-educated. While there, the boys live in treacherous conditions and live life, similar to that of Sisyphus, but instead of a boulder, they carry sewage. The Narrator possesses the skill of playing the violin beautifully, while Luo was graced with a story telling ability. While being re-educated, they become acquaintances with The Little Seamstress, eventually becoming more. They begin to read her stories, which they steal, and begin to put their lives in danger. By then, it gets interesting. One major scene that showcases their actions is when Luo has to tend to his sick mother, pages 158 to 160, leaving the Narrator watching over the Little Seamstress. Within this passage, the Narrator’s usual tone drastically changes into a militaristic attitude which reveals that when he is put into a position of power, he conforms to the idea that he should be emotionless and straightforward, in order to hide his true desires.

Fear, suspense, and the upcoming revenge can be seen on the first line of the story when Montresor says, "The thousand injuries I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge." This line prepares the reader for the whole development of the story; it gives the reader a sense of fear, tells him that there is going to be revenge, but keeps him wanting to know

The tailor finds another way to escape the controlling grip of Mao. On his customary tour of the villages before the New Year, the tailor decides to stay with Luo and the narrator while working in their village. The two are baffled upon the

George Washington, one of the Founding Fathers of our country and our first President once wrote, “Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.” He demonstrates how newfound liberty will ingrain itself in individual's lives and spread quickly through a community. Intellectual freedom has a similar impact of the city youth and multiple characters throughout the novel, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie. Over the course of the re education during the Cultural Revolution in China, the two boys are introduced to many different characters such as the Little Chinese Seamstress. They experience the harsh environment and struggles of reeducation along with some excitement along the way.

Love can immensely impact a person so much, entirely changing their character. In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, the theme of love blossoms throughout the story. In the novel, two teenage boys are sent to be re-educated during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Lou, an exceptional storyteller and the unnamed narrator, a talented musician, meet “the region’s reigning beauty”: the Little Seamstress. Both fall in love with the illiterate girl, however Lou has won the Seamstress’ heart. Through the Seamstress’ relationship with Luo, she has revealed a deep fascination for the outside world, developing characteristics such as being curious and outgoing.

The story, “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress”, sets place during the Cultural Revolution in China from 1966 to 1976. During this time period, China was more or less divided into two groups, the rich and the poor. With the Little Seamstress leaving Luo and the narrator at the end of the story, she leaves with a quote saying “She said she had learnt one thing from Balzac: that a woman’s beauty is a treasure beyond price.” I believe that women should not be judged by their physical appearance. The circumstances that stand today will be a good example.

People are the sum of their different traits, but too often, we tend to define each other by one specific quality. Dai Sijie’s 2001 publication Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress demonstrates this in the form of two young men and how they consider their female companion. The Narrator and his friend Luo are being reeducated in a village in Communist China. Along the way, they both become captivated by the tailor’s daughter, the Seamstress. However, they only see her for her physical beauty, and for her potential to become “civilized”. By the novel’s end, the boys are forced to reassess their narrow views and come to recognize the Seamstress as her own multifaceted person.

In the beginning of the novel, Luo is performing as a high-caliber kind of individual towards his best friend, the Narrator. He is acting like he is superior over the Seamstress, saying things like, “She isn’t civilized, at least not enough for me” (29). Luo doesn’t believe that the Seamstress is that important of a figure, at least not considerable enough to be in his life at this point and time. All that he believes that she is to him is a little seamstress girl that he can read books to. Nothing more than that. The a Seamstress isn't as polite and courteous, as so he thinks. Despite his “uncivilized” feelings about her, he still reads books of reeducation to her and goes by her every chance he gets, which conveys that there is something there that he may be trying to hide, such as his underlying feelings for her. The Narrator noticed that Luo had been “following her every move”(29) and “taking his time to reply”(28). This specific action that Luo tried to hide wasn’t hidden enough for the Narrator to pick up on. Luo doesn’t want to admit that there may be some