Little Chinese Seamstress

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

Throughout his novel Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie illustrates the powerful influence that books have on their readers. Through his narrative, he establishes his stance on the controversial issue of whether or not storytelling is good. He combines countless events and feelings to create a novel that demonstrates the good of storytelling and the iniquity of book banning and burning. In the end, Sijie portrays storytelling as a means of good entertainment, enlightening experience and positive encouragement.

This novel is a classic example of many people's lives, which includes fear, jealousy, pride and their insecurities to name a few. The transformation of the narrator from before his reincarnation until afterwards is filled with tragedy and grief, but it is through the sacrifice of his own life that he is permanently freed from his jealousy and egotism. His "punishment" or his purgatory seemed to prove how good of a person he was all

In communist, Mao-ruled China, children were ripped from their families to be “reeducated” to have individual intellect snuffed out and made to better fit the mold of the ideal communist. Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Seamstress tells the story of two boys subjected to this practice. A boy named Luo and an unnamed narrator who are put through the difficulties of being forced into another way of life. . In pages 142-144 the headman of the village the protagonists are staying in comes to arrest the narrator for telling forbidden western tales. To avoid this arrest the protagonists decided to help the headman with a tooth decay. While the narrator controls the speed of the makeshift drill, he starts to slow down the rotation speed to

In any great work of literature, each action and thought should contribute to the underlying meaning of the entire work. No action should exist for its own sake; it must instead advance the plot and reinforce the symbolism of both the characters’ actions as well as the truth of what the composer or author is trying to convey. This is especially true of acts of violence; great literature must carefully articulate the violence into a logical meaning. Most importantly, violence and acts of extreme passion work best when communicating a character’s inner-struggles as they relate to the motive and effect of each scene and action.

To truly understand a great novel and its author, the reader must dig deep inside the life

People experience different emotions that can drastically change within seconds and, cannot remain controlled. During the course of “The Most Dangerous Game”, “Scarlet Ibis” and “The Use of Force”, the author demonstrates how a person can change from calm and collected to an assailant. Sickness comes in many forms, both physical and mental. Together both can affect emotions, actions which those two then lead into flaws and faults being revealed. All humans have flaws and the authors are attempting to aid the reader in understanding flaws and that can be embraced or overpower a person. The narrators and characters of these stories have many flaws these faults which are both extremely subtle and obvious.

“The Book Thief” presented a story filled with various themes that comprised a powerful plot line. Although there were many themes in the story, there was one that stood out to me more than others. In the process of reading the book, the theme of suffering affected me the most. The definition of the word suffer is to experience or be subjected to something bad or unpleasant. Different characters within the story are subjected to dreadful feelings and are therefore suffering. Through my analyzation, I observed the three different types of suffering that the characters experienced: guilt, feelings of emptiness, and anxiety. The characters of “The Book Thief” experience these three types of suffering in different ways.

“It was not easy to live in Shanghai” (Anyi 137). This line, echoed throughout Wang Anyi 's short piece “The Destination” is the glowing heartbeat of the story. A refrain filled with both longing and sadness, it hints at the many struggles faced by thousands upon thousands trying to get by in the city of Shanghai. One of these lost souls, the protagonist, Chen Xin, was one of the many youths taken from his family and sent to live the in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. Ten years after the fact, Chen Xin views the repercussions of the Cultural Revolution internally and externally as he processes the changes that both he, and his hometown have over-gone in the past ten years. Devastatingly, he comes to the conclusion that there is no going back to the time of his childhood, and his fond memories of Shanghai exist solely in memory. This is in large part is due to the changes brought on by the Cultural Revolution. These effects of the Cultural Revolution are a central theme to the story; with repercussions seen on a cultural level, as well as a personal one.

These journeys vary in nature, traveling though the more pessimistic, cynical, and sometimes even nihilistic parts of the intellect, to traveling through the optimistic peaks of higher human ideas. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Hawthorne has shown that we all hide secrets; in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe has shown the strength of fear over each individual; and in “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau revealed the power of one to govern oneself. The vast range of knowledge that these insights present is great, but they all accomplish the same thing: providing a glimpse into the complex working of the human mind. This goal is not an easy one to accomplish, but throughout the history of Romanticism, Gothicism, and Transcendentalism, it was done time and time again. One can begin reading a story from one of these periods in the name of pleasure without any intent of gaining knowledge, but upon finishing the text the reader will certainly know his or herself at a much more intimate and personal

Storytelling can be found in every corner of the world. It is used to pass the time, tell of past or current events, and is the way that we communicate with each other. In Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie, storytelling occurs during times of hopelessness when life seems hard and allows the characters to live vicariously through the tales told. The narrator and Luo use storytelling as an escape from reality in times of desperation. The tailor is influenced by the stories to the point where he changes the style of clothing he creates to escape the boundaries of Mao approved clothing. The importance of storytelling to the little seamstress is that she learns the importance of beauty, and is able to leave the current life

The novel of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress written by Dai Sijie is a story set during the historical period of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. During this time, the civilians are forced to endure the harsh conditions of reeducation. Dai includes very vivid details that exemplify how terrible the situation was for the characters and exemplify the severity of the tasks they had to complete such as carrying their waste up a mountain and working in dangerous coal mines. The narrator’s friend Luo is even infected with malaria and he is whipped for a long duration of time in hope that the disease will leave his body. One fundamental aspect of reeducation is that Western literature is strictly banned, but the narrator and Luo go past these boundaries and find themselves becoming addicted towards Western novels. Throughout the book, the devotion for Western literature motivates the characters to make extremely controversial decisions which lead them to high risk situations that would have been easily avoidable.

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.

Although it seems like a heartless and ridiculous response to the subject matter, Meursault's existentialistic honesty makes him heroic. In a way, Meursault loves Marie, but his problem with communication is one of the root cause for his alienation because his response never satisfies the society.

Luo finds himself caught between attractions of The Seamstress and feelings of superiority towards her. In the novel, Balzac and The Little Seamstress, written by Dai Sijie, one of the main character’s, Luo, finds himself evaluating the same lack of awareness. Throughout the novel, Luo often treats the Seamstress as if she is not something of importance, resulting him to act as a more superior figure than her.