In Lu Xun’s story My Old Home, Lu Xun showed us the cruel suffering of the lower-class people under the Confucianism. This story was written in 1921, which is ten years after the Revolution of 1911. At that time, the lower-class people are very poor and hard to survive. They were controlled by upper class people and go through strictly to the Confucianism. Runtu is one of the examples of the lower-class people at that time.
In the first time Lu Xun recalled Runtu is “… golden moon…midnight blue sky… a silver chain around his neck and a pitchfork in his hand”. All of these words should use Runtu was a very outgoing and kindness boy. He told Lu Xun how to get birds, how to collect shells and how to guard melons to not be eaten by zha. At that time, Lu Xun stayed at home every day and read books. He could not image the beautiful and freedom life which Runtu has. However, later in the story, Lu Xun and Runtu met again in the same place. However, in this time, everything changed. Runtu’s “round, sun-burnt face” changed to “sallow grey”. His eye was puffy and red-rimmed. Also, when Lu Xun called “Runtu” with a very excited voice, Runtu stood there straightly and said “Sir”. This showed us that people follow the Feudalism and Confucianism strictly. People are not equal. The strict hierarchy rules controlled every people at that time. Lu Xun showed us that the Feudalism “eat” people mentally, especially people stay in lower-class.
Through Lu Xun’s experience after he went back home, Lu Xun used his own story showed readers the weakness of the Feudalism and the Confucianism. Lu Xun wanted to tell people to change and quit the strict hierarchy rule in China. Then he mentioned in the end of the story:” a path that exists only where others have already passed.”
Question:
1. What do you think the last sentence:” a path that exists only where others have already passed” means in the real life?
2. When Lu Xun wrote about Runtu and him met, Lu Xun also talked about his nephew Hong’er and Runtu’s fifth son Shuisheng. Why Lu Xun write them in the same time? What may happens if Hong’er and Shuisheng’s met thirty years after?