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New Year’s Sacrifice

New Year’s Sacrifice is a novel written by one of the most famous writers from China– Lu Xun.  He has made great contributions in many fields such as literary creation, literary criticism, ideological research, translation and so on in his life.  The story New Year’s Sacrifice describes a sad story of a woman who suffered so much in her life and shows how the experiences affect the thoughts in her later years and the views on the afterlife of her.

We call her Hsiang Lin’s Wife.  When she was young, her husband died, and she didn’t want to remarry, so she run out to Luchen to work here without telling her mother-in-law.  After a year, she was taken back by her mother-in-law and sold into the mountains. The widow remarried, which was not very glorious thing at the time.  That is the reason why Hsiang Lin was unpopular.  Fortunately, the new husband is more capable so that their days are not bad.  But things change, her second husband died as well. Fortunately, this time she had a son. They will hold on even though a widowed mother and a little son will live very hard.  However, her little son was eaten by a wolf when he walked into the mountain alone while Hsiang Lin’s Wife was doing some homework.  After that, Hsiang Lin’s had to return to Luchen to work. However, because she was widowed twice, and her child died. She was considered to be an ominous thing and deeply disgusted by people. Hsiang Lin’s was afraid of sin after her death, so she donated the money that she saved from her two years of work to the temple to redeem the sin.  However, things are going worse, she was kicked out from Luchen, she lost the job and had to beg for food on the street.  Finally, she died on a very cold New Year’s Eve.

This is a sad story, but the thing that makes me feel bad is from one paragraph: “However, she had changed a great deal. She had not been there more than three days before her master and mistress realized that she was not as quick as before. Since her memory was much worse, and her impassive face never showed the least trace of a smile, my aunt already expressed herself very far from satisfied. When the woman first arrived, although my uncle frowned as before, because they invariably had such difficulty in finding servants he did not object very strongly, only secretly warned my aunt that while such people may seem very pitiful they exert a bad moral influence. Thus although it would be all right for her to do ordinary work she must not join in the preparations for sacrifice; they would have to prepare all the dishes themselves, for otherwise they would be unclean and the ancestors would not accept them.” This is what happened before Hsiang Lin’s Wife was kicked out from Luchen.  Obviously, after a series of things happened, Hsiang Lin’s Wife changed a lot.  Her transformation seems to be human nature, I think no one can survive after so many life experiences.  This state is already bad enough, but she has to suffer further pressure from the external environment. Just like the paragraph describes above:” Thus although it would be all right for her to do ordinary work she must not join in the preparations for sacrifice; they would have to prepare all the dishes themselves, for otherwise they would be unclean and the ancestors would not accept them”.  They think Hsiang Lin’s Wife was an ominous thing and deprived her right to work.  In the past, sacrifice is her busiest time, maybe for Hsiang Lin’s Wife, it is not important to be able to participate in the sacrifices, but the symbolic meaning of not being able to participate is more important–all this reminds Hsiang Lin’s Wife that she is a bad and ominous woman, she is a woman who is not accepted by society, and she may not be able to rest after her death.  Thus, after the sacrifice, Hsiang Lin’s Wife changed her mind of looking herself because of them, and eventually cause the death of her.

Hsiang Lin’s Wife, the main character in Lu Xun’s novel ” New Year’s Sacrifice “, was an old rural labor woman in China, is hardworking, kind, simple, and tenacious, but she was eventually persecuted and ruined by feudal ethics. The cruelty of history to them is that such women like Hsiang Lin’s Wife are required to be widowed but the society is unable to provide a good environment that allows them to be free and widowed, forcing them to remarriage but not allowing them to relive after the remarriage, and these causes them to suffer a double blow in the cracks.

 

Frankenstien

Scientist Frankenstein obtained organs and tissues of different human bodies from the morgue and other places, and combined it into a human body, and using lightning to make the human body have life. Although the geek is kind, longing for good, longing for feelings，however, because of the ugly appearance, the society is regarded as a monster, as a huge threat, nowhere to go. He asked Frankenstein to make a spouse for himself and promised to stay away from the world afterwards. Frankenstein originally promised the monster, but at the time of his success, he worried that the monster race would harm the society, so he ruined the female monster. The monster was angry when he knew, and killed a few relatives of Frankenstein, such as his fiancée. Frankenstein swear to ruin his work, tracked the monster all the way to the Arctic, but he died during the tracking, and the monster died by himself.

The text I choose: Had I right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations? I had before been moved by the sophisms of the being I had created; I had been struck senseless by his fiendish threats; but now, for the first time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me; I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishness had not hesitated to buy its own peace at the price, perhaps, of the existence of the whole human race.

I like this part because it makes me think a lot.  Since we have created artificial people and given them all kinds of human feelings, why can’t we live in harmony with them? I think the monster is not a bad person, because of human beings hate him, and abandoned him to do bad things, and because people see people by appearance, how can he abandon him because of his ugliness? Although he is a artificial person, but he still has emotions and lives.

Oroonoko

In the African country Coramantien, a young prince Oroonoko falls in love with Imoinda who is a beautiful daughter of a general who has sacrificed his own life in battle to save Oroonoko’s.  However, his old grandfather, king of Coramantien, decides to make Imoinda his wife.  But Imoinda loves Oroonoko so they meet each other secretly.  Then his old grandfather found out what happened and sell Imoinda into slavery.  Oroonoko quit from the military leader until an attacking force endangers the country.  He once again leads his country win the war.  However, he is enslaved by an evil English captain to Surinam.  When he reaches the plantation, Oroonoko discovers that Imoinda is living on the same plantation.  And Imoinda tells him that she is going to have his baby.  Oroonoko wants freedom for his baby so that he persuades other slaves to run with him by night into the jungle.  But they failed and when they were about to get caught.  Oroonoko kills Imoinda to prevent her from being raped by the victors. Oroonoko is finally captured and decapitated.

The text I choose: All that love could say in such cases being ended, and all the intermitting irresolutions being adjusted, the lovely, young, and adored victim lays herself down before the sacrificer; while he, with a hand resolved, and a heart breaking within, gave the fatal stroke, first cutting her throat, and then severing her yet smiling face from that delicate body, pregnant as it was with the fruits of tenderest love. As soon as he had done, he laid the body decently on leaves and flowers, of which he made a bed, and concealed it under the same cover-lid of Nature; only her face he left yet bare to look on: but when he found she was dead, and past all retrieve, never more to bless him with her eyes and soft language, his grief swelled up to rage; he tore, he raved, he roared like some monster of the wood, calling on the loved name of Imoinda. I like this part because it shocked me a lot.

Oroonoko and Imoinda were a couple, they were separated by his grandfather’s prevention, but a strange combination of circumstances made them once again meet.  It  to be a good ending if they are normal people.  However, they were sold as slaves.  So, as slaves, their children will be slaved, so Oroonoko wanted freedom for his unborn child, he run out, but he eventually failed, when he knew that he will never get what he wants, he killed his lover to prevent her from being raped by the victors.  He loved Imoinda, but he had to kill her by himself.  What a sad story, what a human tragedy!

 

 

The Metamorphosis

This is a story about a human translate to a “bug”.  In the first part of The Metamorphosis, Gregory found himself change to a “huge beetle”, panic and melancholy.  His father was furious after discovering and drove him back to his bedroom.  In the second part, Gregory changed and developed the living habit of the beetle but retained the consciousness of the human.  He was unemployed and still cares about how to pay off his father’s debts and send his sister to the music school.  However, a month later, he became the burden of the whole family.  His father, mother, and sister changed their attitude toward him.  In the third part, in order to survive, the family had to work to earn money, and could not take care of Gregor.  The sister finally proposed to take Gregory away.  Gregory was hungry and sick, and fell into despair.  After that, he died, and the family began to live their own new life.

The following paragraph makes me feel a lot: (“He must go,” cried Gregor’s sister, “that’s the only solution, Father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we’ve believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble. But how can it be Gregor? If this were Gregor, he would have realized long ago that human beings can’t live with such a creature, and he’d have gone away on his own accord. Then we wouldn’t have any brother, but we’d be able to go on living and keep his memory in honor. As it is, this creature persecutes us, drives away our lodgers, obviously wants the whole apartment to himself and would have us all sleep in the gutter. Just look, Father,” she shrieked all at once, “he’s at it again!” And in an access of panic that was quite incomprehensible to Gregor she even quitted her mother, literally thrusting the chair from her as if she would rather sacrifice her mother than stay so near to Gregor, and rushed behind her father, who also rose up, being simply upset by her agitation, and half-spread his arms out as if to protect her.)

I believe as a family, all members should love for each other, help for each other.  However, Gregor’s family thought that Gregor could no longer support the family, regarded him as a burden, and eventually abandoned him.  After that, Gregory died, but his family did not grieve and sad.  I feel this is a sad world after I read this paragraph.  In that period of capitalist society, under the high pressure of machine production and survival competition, people gradually become non-human, people’s nature is lost, and even going to the opposite side, people can’t accept the real world, and the real world can’t accommodate people.  This story is about a human become to a bug, and this is exactly a Symbol of a change, it symbolizes the change of human beings, the change of human nature, and the change of interpersonal relationships under the money or wealth.  For example, Gregory’s sister, she used to like her brother, but she changed to hate him at the end when her brother is a burden

 

 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-hD-6Qxj_E

 

Text: http://www.zwyx.org/portal/kafka/kafka_metamorphosis.html.

Bartleby, the scrivener

This short novel tells a story about Bartleby.  He is a small scrivener who is responsible for copying some legal documents.  At the beginning, Bartleby worked very hard, did a lot of work every day, until one time the boss asked Bartleby to help him proofread the documents, but Bartleby said :”I prefer not to.  After that, Bartleby refused the boss’s request until he finally decided not to write.  Later, the boss found a new place for his office and fired Bartleby.  However, Bartleby still stayed in the original place and refused to leave, and then he was eventually arrested in prison and died later.

The following is the text I choose:

“Why， how now？ what next？” exclaimed I， “do no more writing？”

“No more.”

“And what is the reason？”

“Do you not see the reason for yourself，” he indifferently replied.

I looked steadfastly at him， and perceived that his eyes looked dull and glazed. Instantly it occurred to me， that his unexampled diligence in copying by his dim window for the first few weeks of his stay with me might have temporarily impaired his vision

I like this scene because this part inspired me. Before I read this part, I thought this story just about an employee who dared to say no to the boss, but after reading it, I realized that I might have lost something.  So I went back to the beginning.  Then I found out that as lawyers, their main job is to deal with things like bonds, mortgages, title deeds and so on of rich people.  This reminds me of why Bartleby has been saying no to the boss.  I think he knows that their work is essentially helping the rich to encroach on the property of others, which makes many people homeless.  So he always said “prefer not to” to refuse anything that is unjust for him.  But the lawyer believes that Bartleby only accuses him of ignoring the health of his eyes.  Bartleby did this in order to resist the unfair system of society at the time.  The system is unfair, but we cannot get rid of or oppose the social system in which we live.  Bartleby, who didn’t know how to fight against the unjust system, so he was only negative (say no to his boss), but it turned out that this what he had done was useless, but it led to his self-destruction.

 

start at10:40

Song of myself

Walt Whitman was a great American poet.  He spent his entire life to create “Leaves of Grass” which Contains the magnificent society and abundance thoughts of the United States at the time.  “Leaves of Grass” was first time published in 1855. It included over 300 poems, and the longest poem “Song of Myself” was a micro version of “Leaves of Grass” The content of “Song of Myself” almost contains the main ideas of the author, Reflected the reality of life of American, praised American democracy and the American people in that era.

“Song of Myself” has 52 sections, I think all of the sections are great, but I like section 6 most because it makes feel a lot. Below is original text of section 6:

A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;

How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,

A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt,

Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say Whose?

Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of the vegetation.

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,

And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones,

Growing among black folks as among white,

Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same.

And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.

Tenderly will I use you curling grass,

It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,

It may be if I had known them I would have loved them,

It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken soon out of their mothers’ laps,

And here you are the mothers’ laps.

This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old mothers,

Darker than the colorless beards of old men,

Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.

O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues,

And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths for nothing.

I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men and women,

And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring taken soon out of their laps.

What do you think has become of the young and old men?

And what do you think has become of the women and children?

They are alive and well somewhere,

The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,

And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it,

And ceas’d the moment life appear’d.

All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,

And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.

In this section, he talks about what is the meaning of grass.  He believes the grass is the most ordinary, the humblest thing.  Grass is trampled by people, but they are full of vitality and grow everywhere.  Just like Whitman said, “it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones, Growing among black folks as among white” In addition, when he says “hopeful green stuff woven.” He uses “the flag of my disposition”,”the handkerchief of the Lord”,”uniform hieroglyphic” to explain grass has conscious and universal.  Grass has the characteristics of life and death, and move in endless cycles, symbolizes life to death to newborn, shows up the tenacious vitality of the grass, and this is exactly the quality and spirit of people.

 

Don Quixote

Don Quixote is a country gentleman, and his real name is Alonso Quijano. After reading the most popular novel of knights in the society at the time, he is so crazy for it, and he also wants to be the knights.  So, he finds a worn armor and name himself as Hidalgo Don Quixote.  After that, he rides a skinny horse and leaves home with his servant Sancho.  During his travel, he makes a lot of funny things.  Such as, he thinks of the windmill as a giant, takes the flock of sheep as an enemy and treats the hard labors as a victim of the knights and so on, that’ why he makes a lot of ridiculous things.

Here is a paragraph describes about one of the ridiculous things he did:  “So saying, and commending himself with all his heart to his lady Dulcinea, imploring her to support him in such a peril, with lance in rest and covered by his buckler, he charged at Rocinante’s fullest gallop and fell upon the first mill that stood in front of him; but as he drove his lance-point into the sail the wind whirled it round with such force that it shivered the lance to pieces, sweeping with it horse and rider, who went rolling over on the plain, in a sorry condition. Sancho hastened to his assistance as fast as his ass could go, and when he came up found him unable to move, with such a shock had Rocinante fallen with him.”

This is the most interesting part of Don Quixote for me.  Basically，when Don Quixote is the trip, he meets three or forty windmills in somewhere field, he thinks these windmills are giants and wants to fight with them.  Sancho tells him these are not giants, but Don still thinks he is right.  So, he charges toward the windmills and pierces the wings of the windmill with a lance.  Unfortunately, he is hit by a windmill and goes rolling over on the plain. I like the verbs used here.  like “charged, dorve, whirled, sweeping.”  This is the way how the author describes and breaks down his movements step by step to show us how Don attacks the “giants”, and how the “giants” defenses from him.  I think its lively.

As we can see here, he absolutely lost his mind.  He fantasized that he is a knight and he is firmly believed about it so that he wouldn’t listen to what Sancho has told him.  Finally, what he has done are not only unhelpful for people, but he also suffered from it.

 

King Lear

The old King Lear wants to give up his throne and distribute his country to his three daughters. He asks each daughter to talk about how much they love him so that he gives them a land depends on the responses.  The first daughter and second daughter, Regan and Goneril try their best to praise the king. Only the young daughter Cortilia is expelled by Lear for expressing her simple and sincere feelings.  However, she become a queen in French.  After distributing the land to two daughters, King Lear is abused and finally kicked out of the house by them.  King Lear ran out and screams in the storm, complains about his two daughter.  Cortilia is always love his father, after she knew what happened to her father, she sets up an army to England and try to save her father, but she is defeated and killed.  king Lear is die as well because he is so sad about the death of his little daughter.

The scene that impressed me the most was King screamed in the storm, he said: “Blow, winds! Blow until your cheeks crack! Rage on, blow! Let tornadoes spew water until the steeples of our churches and the weathervanes are all drowned. Let quick sulfurous lightning, strong enough to split enormous trees, singe the white hair on my head. Let thunder flatten the spherical world, crack open all the molds from which nature forms human beings, and spill all the seeds from which ungrateful humans grow!”  Look at the noun, verbs and sentence structure here. it’s very grand.  King Lear uses various disasters of nature, such as winds, tornadoes, lightning, thunder to express the feelings of anger, displeasure, despair of inside heart, and denounce the ugliness of humanity in this world.  He needs to vent, so there are three verbs “Let” in this paragraph are very appropriate. Its vent the thoughts of his heart layer by layer, like the waves, a wave higher than a wave.

This video tells us a truth: you can’t judge a person from the surface

 

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av19465507?t=4733

This is a full video, the scene I choose start around 80 mins.