Farewell My Concubine Essay

fate of the lovers will be, as well as the state of his own feelings

In the nineteenth century, the question as to the foundation and purpose of courtship and marriage emanated. The basis for this analysis was whether relationships should be navigated utilizing emotion and feeling or reason and logic. The literary work of Regency era author, Jane Austen, details such a balance, as it endeavors to convey Austen’s interpretation of true affection between couples of well-examined intrinsic morality. The characters of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice contend with the moral vices of pride and prejudice as they overcome judgements about one another and ultimately experience love.

He uses this in the poem to give it rhythm to engage the reader and

Facing death at any age is difficult, but for Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and John Sullivan, it came early, resulting in two essays retelling their experience.  In their accounts of these situations, the author can see they both want to emphasise that death can come in very unexpected situations.  To My One Love, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, begins on page 17 of 50 Essays by Samuel Cohen.  In her essay, set in present day, she has flashbacks to her relationship with a boy “from the wrong side of town” named Nnamdi.  They were in a loving relationship against their peers’ wishes.  When it came time for them to separate due to education in separate locations, they had ended the relationship, but not before Nnamdi had promised that them

The film Dangerous Liaison, directed by Stephen Frears remains just about faithful to the epistolary novel, Dangerous Liaisons, by Choderlos de Laclos. Stephen Frears does "betray" the novel towards the end of the film but, it makes the ending that much more better and enticing. The film represents what the epistolary novel only hints at us readers. The novel is composed of letters where we only get a sense of the characters thoughts and emotions. The film tries to put those words into action but only showing one version of each scene. It is different in which the writer of the novel is using words while the film maker is using pictures to describe what's happening.

Jane Austen shows the readers within the first sentence what the plot and main theme of Pride and Prejudice is and what social ideas she plans on presenting through this novel. The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice stands as one of the most famous introductory lines in literature. It states, “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen 5). This statement puts the novel in motion by showing that the novel will deal with the pursuit of single wealthy men by various female characters. By stating this, Austen reveals that the reverse is also true in the nineteenth century English society, which is that single women of

In subsequent years following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China came a revolutionary new approach to not only producing films, but also film’s very role in communist society. During this period the state gained complete control of the filmmaking industry, decreeing that the utilitarian functions of art and literature were to become a powerful weapon in serving the revolutionary struggle. In an otherwise artistically stifling period in which socialist realism pervaded all creative outlets, Xie Jin managed to retain some autonomy and emerged as one of the cleverest Chinese directors in the early 1960s. In his 1961 film Red Detachment of Women, Jin provides a classic revolutionary melodrama, yet also displays elements of formalism so that the viewer becomes conscious of the manipulations of his film technique. To analyze this film, I will use Mao Zedong’s 1942 “Talks at the Yan 'an Forum on Literature and Art,” clip #10 “Landmark 2,” and clip #6 “We are joining the red army” to elaborate on the major themes and cinematic style that distinguish Xie Jin’s work from his contemporaries.

The film, Farewell My Concubine, directed by Chen Kaige drew the attention of the western world onto Chinese Opera at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival by winning the Palme d’Or award that year. Farewell My Concubine is one of the most famous plays in Beijing Opera in which the loyalty of Yu Ji (Beauty Yu) is contested by the King of Chu when his state is defeated. The main character, Cheng Dieyi, mirrors both Mei Langfan and Yu Ji. Mei Langfan is considered the most representative artist in Beijing Opera because of his perfection as a female impersonator. Cheng Dieyi, much like Mei Langfan, is the most popular male dan(female role) at the time in the film. The most intriguing aspect of the film is the similarity between Yu Ji’s life and

“Can the past be forgiven? Can people who have been traumatized live with memory and each other again? What do they need to be healed?” (Marrus 27). In a world growing smaller each day, people cannot afford to hold onto the traumas and wrongs that have been committed unto them. At the same time, how can the world ask people who have been tortured, abused, systematically raped, and their lives forever changed to live with their aggressors once again? Can these people forgive their transgressors and come to a place of reconciliation? The steps taken by the Germany after the Second World War give one example of how to acknowledge atrocities. The Holocaust is an example of horrors on a global scale, but despite the scale or length of

vegetable in that it is not adaptable. She is the water, food, and light for

The transition from historical information to cinema is often a dangerous and controversial road, few films are able to consistently please both historians and mainstream audiences. The topic of Sino-Japanese relations and China’s anti-Japanese war is frequently explored in the medium of film. Films such as City of Life and Death, Norman Bethune: The Making of a Hero, Devils on the Doorstep, The Last Emperor, Nanking, Flowers of War and The Inn of the Sixth Happiness all seek to investigate this turbulent period in Chinese history and to reflect upon the many different perspectives involved. Although the medium of film can never accurately portray history or ever hope to achieve the detailed work of a scholarly source, it can provide an emotional understanding of some of the most chaotic periods of human history. The Second World War involved more than 100 million people from thirty different countries resulting in the deadliest conflict in human history. How can anyone make sense of that on paper other than listing the number of casualties? Film, deeply aware of its limitations has become a different form of understanding the past, capable of taking a particular event such as war and exploring universal themes. Historian Natalie Zemon Davis states that: “Historians want to chronicle what happened, to be sure, but also to explain why it happened and what difference it made…Although there is an inevitable dialogue between the past and the present, the

During the Middle Ages, Courtly love was a code which prescribed the conduct between a lady and her lover (Britannica). The relationship of courtly love was very much like the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege. The lover serves his beloved, in the manner a servant would. He owes his devotion and allegiance to her, and she inspires him to perform noble acts of valor (Schwartz). Capellanus writes, in The Art of Courtly Love, “A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved”. The stories of Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love.

Directed by Chen Kaige, a highly acclaimed fifth-generation Chinese film director, Farewell My Concubine has received many international film awards and nominations; among them are the Best Foreign Film and the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993. In the film, Cheng Dieyi, a Peking Opera actor playing the leading female characters, becomes obsessed with his role as the concubine of the King of Chu and blurs his stage role with the real life he leads. The circumstances in which one grows up in are critical factors in shaping his or her sense of self-identity. This paper attempts to explore the gender identity troubles that Cheng Dieyi has undergone in his self-identification and sexuality in the context of the environment of his

I met her two years ago and we did not have much to say at that time. Little did I know that she would later steal my heart and become an intimate part of my life. As the saying goes "there is someone for anyone at any time in this life" and I was about to find out that this saying was so true. I have had a wall built around me and my defense was as a stronghold to protect myself from all the relationships that have come and gone over the years. I thought that I was meant to be alone in this old life and happiness was forever gone from me. This wonderful woman I am speaking of is Mary Doe, and the joy she has given me has revived my hope and faith that I may have finally found love and peace within. She has made me feel like I am a child

Throughout Princess Diana’s lifetime she loved, cared, and helped others along the way. She had many accomplishments in life. Such as her children and her many organizations.