The Joy Luck Club

The film of Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club shows us that what the mother love is, when I finished reading, I noticed that mother love doesn't just mean mother gives everything what we need, but also includes mother's advises and reproach. We need understand them. Between mothers and daughters, there isn't just mother love, also have daughter's love. Why I like this book, because this book makes me know that. As a daughter, I should pay more attention to my mother, she is becoming older and older, I should take care of her, make her happy and let her proud of me.

     In The Joy Luck Club, Lindo is my favorite character.

     Lindo is a over-confident person in the story, she was showing off about her daughter all the time. But, she had horrible experiences in China when she was a little girl. Sha had to marry a man who she didn't know when she was 15. She had to listen to her mother, also the marriage made by the matchmaker. Then she had to keep her promise for her mother and family, also she had to think about herself, because her mother-in-law treat her poorly. She had to think about how can she deal with her life. So, the plan came out which about jumping out of this terrible marriage. Finally, Huang-tai-tai got grandson, the servant girl got marriage, she got freedom.

  At the first paragraph of the story tells us the theme of the density of Lindo. She said that her life is just for her parents. She doesn't have any choice about her life, that's all because she live in China that day. There is the most different point between America and China. All of us know that the American always be a separate individual life in the world. And the American nation is the nation which thinks the individual is the most important character for the people, they do their lives for theirselves. And nobody can change this opinion. So they really can't realize Chinese people, including why their lives for their parents or families. Why the most important density of the Chinese is controlled by other people. Why they have no choice about their own happiness. It is the most different between American culture and Chinese culture. However, it is the truth in China. There are a lot of Chinese children meet this question, their life just for their family, their weddings always have no choice for themselves, it always be linked in rights, power, money or business. So you can meet a lot of unhappiness weddings in China that period.

   There are too many symbols in China. Such as the most popular place is Beijing, cause Beijing is the capital city and there are full of power and rights. even today, too many Chinese want to live or work in Beijing. And the other one is the gold, she sad her rings is the 24 golden, the yellow gold always be the power and money in ancient and modern China. And their is a classical sentence in China that is the girl likes the water that be pulled. A majority of Chinese in that period all believe this sentence is the truth. And she said she didn't meet her husband when she was 8 or 9 years old. A part of ladies in China just like her, they didn't know their husbands until they married.

   People don't have their own spaces in a family. 20 people live in a house, they are family, so they do have no choice to live together. There are a lot of classical Chinese culture in that period, when we read this book, we do feel the differences between Chinese culture and American culture. The family and individual have many differences.

     Otherwise, in the movie, we can see something really happen poorly for her, such as her mother-in-law treat her really poorly, she was in that family as a servant. Then she got the plan which is a lie for the whole Huang family, she told them that she saw the ancestor of Huang. Luckily, they believed her then let her go. We can see that she was so smart, she didn't lose the personality of a young girl, this is the reason I liked about the movie. Because when I read this part at the first time, I was so confused about that, because I didn't understand it, I can not image that a young girl can play such a big a joke for Huang-tai-tai. Because when she was in the book, it is pretty hard to understand how she did that, while she was playing this, I can understand it perfectly. I also can see that she was so smart in the movie, I can feel it. About the movie, I liked it pretty much. I think movie is more interesting, because Lindo has strong mind and she wants to control everything. Just like she wanted to control her daughter Wavely. These kind of issues, it is hard to be seen in the book, I am really poor at imagination. So I prefer to watch the movie than to read the book. Actually I think it is a challenge for me to understand her. First of all, I was so shame about this mother who is showing off her daughter all the time. Secondly, I understand that she had really tough time in China, she had to do the things that her parents told her. Thirdly, she love her daughter so much, just like every mother like their own daughters, this is a kind of nature skill for a mother. It doesn't need to be trained.

    In my opinion, the theme about Lindo is talking about the mother whenever or whatever doesn't matter with how tough she is. In the movie, I could see her listen to her mother everything, never go the opposite way from her mother. I really think she was a good girl for the family. When she got older, she treat her daughter toughly, she just had one wish which is keep the promise for the parents. She loves her daughter in Chinese way. But Wavely grew up in the USA, that's the reason that she didn't understand why Lindo did something. Such as to be serious for Wavely's husband or boyfriend. It is just about the different culture. I still think Lindo is a really good mother.

     I would recommend this story for you, because it really teaches me something, that I can not really learn from my age. Because, these are the things that we have to take our time slowly to understand it. Absolutely, I need to learn how to be nice to my mother. I will try to understand her as well. I feel that if both of us, my mother and I read this book, we will make a really good connection. That's all my thoughts from The Joy Luck Club.

Last Samurai Ⅱ

After The Last Samurai Film

Concept4:  Algren came to a silived in a Japanese woman's house whose husband was killed by him on the war. One day, When Algren saw her holding a bucket to move the water, he took the barrel and help her get into the room, she told to him: "In Japan, a man can not do these." He immediately replied: "I am not Japanese." By a simple dialogue, it reflecting the different human rights between the two countries. In Japan, women must be at home and take care of husbands and children, their home position is the lowest . The man should not do any houseworks, just need to work, and the woman cleaning, takes care of the family, waiting for her husband come home. In Japanese’s sights , the men who work to earn money, the women take care of their obligations of wifes. Because the men are very hard to earn money to support their families. But Americans focus on equality for everyone, they advocate protect women, respect for women, and women have the freedom. This is Japan and the United States the biggest difference on human rights. In fact, more than Japan, as well as many countries have failed to do the emancipation of women, those women are still the lowest level in life.

     Concept5: From a captive until become the partner with samurai, Captain Algren did not only learn about the Japanese culture, but also feel about the spirit of Samurai. He thought about what it means to be Samurai, “To devote yourself utterly to a set of moral principles to seek a stillness of your mind? And to master the way of the sword. ” This is his confusion as an American who had never approached the Samurai before. The spirit of Samurai has much different from American warriors. That is one of the reasons that why Algren would be willing to battle with Samurai cause he really admired the Samurai and the spirit of Samurai. 

     I know that Algren is the last Samurai and one of the most brave samurai that I had a very deep impression. He was an American samurai. I can say the story with a satisfied ending, but the Samurai failed and they died. I want to say the story has a bad result, but the Emperor has woke up and became powerful. It is the story’s ending with happy and sorrow in my mind. 

Last Samurai Ⅰ

After The Last Samurai Film

That was a very troublous period.  That was a terrible time that full of wars and bloods.

 The story started since the contradictory period. At that time, the Emperor in Japan “is mad for all things western and the Samurai believe it’s changing too fast.” I think the sentence of the translator told to Captain Algren is a symbol to describe the situation of Japan appropriately; “the ancient and the modern are at war for the soul of Japan.” It is the beginning of the story.

Concept1: When Captain Algren met translator, the translator let him meet the Japanese emperor. He told him the ritual to meet the Japanese emperor that represents respect. “For 2000 years, no emperor was even by a commoner. You may look at him,but do not speak unless spoken to. If he stands, you must bow. If he bows, you must bow lower.” This is the only ceremony in Japan for the Japanese emperor is supreme. The man who emperor meets the Emperor will feel very honored, the ritual is very important. It represents the respect and faith to the emperor. In American’s sights, there is no ritual to presidents and citizens. So Algren didn’t know the ritual to meet the Japanese emperor, this is the reason why the translator teach Algren step by step. Such as”step back, step back and turn.”

Concept2: In Japanese war, the Japanese soldiers were honor to fight enemy and their shoulders have mission. If they were defeated, they would feel very ashamed. The soldiers loyalty for their emperor, they will laparotomy himself the to express their loyalty to the emperor. But in the United States, the soldiers beat the war is a common thing, they would practice harder and  won the war. So American don’t understand why the Japanese soldiers when defeated the war were going to commit suicide behavior. This is the reason from different values of the Japanese soldiers and American soldiers. Japanese soldiers pursuit of honor and allegiance to the emperor, they think their death is their value, while the American soldiers think the war are winners and losers, as long as they are doing the best they can reflect their value.

Concept3: Later, Algren came to a village where lived samurais. The samurais holding samurai swords to defeat the enemy is very heroic. When he first came here, the people who lived in village didn’t care for him,because the villagers didn’t speak English. It can not communicate. Language and food is his greatest difficulties, he was very lonely, so he decided to learn Japanese and get along with the villagers. Gradually, he began to have dinner with Japanese, he try to join their lives. One day, he spoke Japanese to villagers when they ate together, everyone was shocked and excited. From that, the villagers began to make friends with him ,they teach him Japanese and customs, even bushido. When Algren start to wear Japanese clothes, the old man told to him:"I know you are angry, you angry that they make you wear dress". Then he quickly adapted to the Japanese lifestyle. This is a coculture. The man who lived in different country he would face different people and culture,it different from his own country. He should learn a new culture and try to adapt to new life. 

Lu Xun Short Stories

After reading Lu Xun Short Stories

I have chosen Lu Xun's "The dairy of a madman" to think and talk about. This article showed readers an obvious resist emotion. From a normal people and a small environment, I can see the real background and most people like at that time. The article can be said that it was a critical essay, it exposed many problems of the feudal system and moral codes. Through a small potato, the author told the story to us by the first person and showed very crazy thoughts and behaviour of this person in order to demonstrate the innate character of feudal problem. 

In the article, the most important problem is showing the strong spirit of rebellion and change under the control of feudal system and oppression. Face to the problem of traditional thoughts that have been continued and kept for over thousands years, there existed an query--whether it is true. This kind of voice implied the people's progress of thoughts and resist. As a crazy men ,he could think of many crazy thoughts and have many mad behavior, but actually he stood at the front of everyone. He was a really beginner of against feudalism and the feudal family system. He doubted, he judged, he feared, and  he rejected. "Eat" is a symbol, it also can be treated as a evidence of feudal problem. "Maybe there are still some infants that have not yet eaten men. Save, save the infants..." This sentence existed at the end in the article, and it demonstrated the crazy man's wish to the future and his planning to the following society. He hoped that there won't be "eaten" more. The men in reality, the men in culture, they are all guilty but only infants, they are pure, they have not contaminated by the "eating men", there's only one future and in order to have a good future, the only way is to save children, to protect children.

I think the article implied another problem--how to save the children. But there is no doubt that the answer is obvious and direct. To save children, to have a good future, it needs to take off the coat of feudal system, to change people's traditional wrong thoughts. That's what the reading raised that I want to talk further. At that time, the society was under control of traditional feudalism and too many ignorant people still believe in the old and traditional ethnical rules like Confucian ideology, just a little people understood that the most important thing was to overthrow the traditional feudalism and also were willing to stood up to support  change and improve country dark and feudal situation. Before children were not controlled and influenced by feudal ideology, teach them the newest thoughts and knowledge. 

Childhood Scars

Childhood scars

                                                            - After Reading"Childhood" 

Suffering  Long years, it has come to naught. After suffering, it is a fire burned everywhere.
The scars became embellishment. 

                                                                                                                            --Inscription

The author Gorky was born in a family of woodworking Russia. When he was a young, his father was death, living with his grandfather home. At his eleven years old, he went to find a work, tasted the bitterness of life. The "Childhood" was based on his childhood and written,it also can be said to an autobiographical novel and reflection of the social life horrors.
In his life, often beaten brutally by selfish grandfather, Allyson grandfather is also a cruel exploitation of workers. From Alyosha grandfather various misdemeanors, I read a stingy, greedy, tyrannical, brutal life that really experience the prevailing mood of Alesha.The Grandfather left heavy scars in Allyson's childhood.Similarly in Allyson's life, make him fully fear other two people - his two uncles Mikhail and Yakov,they selfish and cruel, but also fight against each other. When Alyosha's father, Mali Hamm still alive, two of them had been framed, and  killed compassionate gypsy. Living in such an environment, Allyson filled with repression and fear, but also desire for human love and warmth.
Reading this book, I could not help produce unpleasant and sympathy for the tragic Allyson childhood and wiping away his tears, for those innocent lives lost and sad. However, God closes a door for you, be sure to open a window for you, so Allyson Allyson life will have to bring joy and warmth grandmother; teach him to be an upright person old permanent; there are simple optimistic, compassionate gypsy.Allyson confidence and strength, let Allyson no longer alone and lonely. After reading this book, I know that when people in the dark river at the end, there must be something called a light shine waiting for you. Just across this thrilling river, flashing light will certainly hope that we will be fingertips.

 

The Red and the Black

 After Reading The Red and the Black

The famous French writer Stendhal, through the hero's experience shows the restoration of the French dynasty many acute social problems.
The book's three main roles:

1. The son of a carpenter, looks handsome, bent into the upper class.2. Mrs. Mayor, looks dignified and beautiful. When she saw the young Julien after being attracted to him, unconsciously in love with him. Later, things to be noticed, they had to leave, but she still bent thought Julien. Then the priest forced her to write a letter of defamation in connection with the letter, destroyed Julien marriage.
3. Miss Mathilde: Paris a very forces of the Marquis's daughter, looks reigning beauty she later fell in love with Julien, and despite her father's objections, insisted on marrying him.

Eighteen Julien has handsome appearance, although born in  poor faimaly but proud and arrogant. He was eager to squeeze into high society. In France, he  was tutor in the eyes of high society is the servant of the same level, and can not even eat the owner at the same table. Cause very eager to squeeze into high society, very dear to the mayor the opportunity to do at home tutor,  he would prefer to continue to do even a carpenter to flee their homes and can not tolerate insults servant dinner together. After protest an exception was only allowed to eat at the same table with the owner.  
Mrs. Raynaldo have a good impression because of his age, small, smart, clean, and just as important to her as the life of three children.
During that period, he has an ambiguous relationship occurred with Mrs. Raynaldo , mostly in order to resist and retaliate for his abuse of the aristocracy.
After entering seminary,  he became pawns faithful restoration of the dynasty. Just to even one step toward his longing for "light", because of the shooting and Mrs. Reynaldo completely ruin their future.
As a critical realist novel, the author has given the hero even in his deepest sympathy to the people through the pursuit and the pursuit of desire not to criticize the pain of that particular era of social reality. 

The Great Classical Novels Ⅱ

  

Journey To The West

　Journey to the West is a mythological novel based on many centuries of popular tradition. It was probably put into its present form in the 1570 by Wu Cheng’en (1500-82). This lively fantasy relates the amazing adventures of the priest San-zang as he travels west in search of Buddhist sutras with his three disciples, the irreverent and capable Monkey, greedy Pig, and Friar Sand. The opening chapters recount the earlier exploits of Monkey, culminating in his rebellion against Heaven. We then learn how Sanzang became a monk and was sent on his pilgrimage by the Tang emperor who had escaped death with the help of an Underworld official.
　　The main story, the journey, takes the priest through all kinds of entertaining trials and tribulations, mainly at thehands of monsters and spirits who want to eat him. Only the courage and powers of his disciples, especially Monkey, save him from death. Monkey is the hero of the fantasy, and the reader will soon learn why he has long been so loved in China. Will the pilgrims reach the Vulture Peak and obtain the Scriptures? The answer will only be found at the end of the l00-chapter novel.
　　The story is as full of imagination as Monkey can do magic, and travel with clouds and has down-to-earth humors. The illustrations are from the 19th-century Chinese edition. This is the first of the three volumes of the novel.

 Dream of the red chamber

A wide branched scholarship does not agree about the main theme of this novel, should it be a novel of sentiment, of social observation, of the decay of an aristocratic families, or even a veiled attack on Manchu rule. The frame of the novel is the contest of a Buddhist and a Daoist priest who make be born a young noble boy called Baoyu Jia and his girl cousin Daiyu Lin. With a loving detail describing the life of the two cousins in a huge noble mansion, between gardens and palaces, the symbolist of the triangular love between Baoyu, Daiyu and a second girl cousin called Baochai Xue that is of more plumper character than the ever sick Daiyu. Switching between their life, the divine world and dreams, Baoyu becomes deranged after the disappearance of a stone (the origin of the second title) he had in his mouth when he was born. Not knowing, his love Daiyu died, he is tricked to marrying Baochai. Becoming aware of being tricked, Baoyu leaves the world of the "red dust" and becomes a monk.
　　With hundreds of persons and their stories, paralleling the life and feelings of servants to the life of the main persons, the story is very complex and full of symbolisms. But it remains very interesting and convincing for its encyclopedic character, depicting the life of a noble family in the 18th century of China.
   These works are great value not only in the past, nor in the present but also in the future. Anyhow, a majority of us today are still enjoying them and drawing lessons from the incidents told on each page of them, deeply and gratefully.

The Great Classical Novels

The Great Classical Novels     

     
Do you know the great classical novels of Chinese literature? They are "Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, “Journey to the West”, “Dream of the Red Chamber”. These four novels are commonly regarded by scholars to be the greatest and most influential of pre-modern Chinese fiction.

The Water Margin

One knows the North Song Dynasty (14th Century) lived its apogee and declined, a victim of corruption and decadence. One knows this story is based on real facts and has inspired many storytellers. One finds historical traces of outlaws who challenged the imperial authority and died under the executioner's blade. At last, as anyone knows today Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey, no one doubts anymore that a man called Shi Nai-an wrote during the 14th century the novel, Outlaws of the Marsh that reached us. Everyone recognizes that Jin Sheng-tan, during the 14thth century, published what is now as famous as the original version of a novel that obtained the interest and infatuation of successive generations.

Water Margin or Outlaws of the Marsh is an immortal novel because its tale is universal: it speaks of beings (outlaws but also nobles, strong muscled heroes but also intellectuals, anarchists but also philosophers.) who cannot bear injustice nor abuse nor arbitrariness. The universality is the reason novels are immortal and their popularity has lasted for centuries. Discover the 108 heroes,  the episodes,  the paper-cuts representing them, the Beijing operas their fighting exploits inspired. 

Romance of The Three Kingdoms

Romance of The Three Kingdoms is one of the great Chinese classics and was compiled into a semi-fictional literary masterpiece during the Ming Dynasty by Luo Guanzhong. The novel comprises around 70% fact and 20% fiction. Some issues such as Guan Yu's weapon weighing around 40kilograms, the capabilities of Lu Bu, Liu Bei's horses as well as the existence of the Hill of the Fallen Phoenix and some others are probably fictional.
That period in history can be referred as the golden age of chivalry and although it happened more than 1700 years ago, characters such as Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang have become household names among the Chinese. Tales of their exploits, courage, adventures and many more are told in the novel Romance of The Three Kingdoms.
This novel portrays is one of the most turbulent periods in China's history taking place toward the end of the Han Dynasty where corruption is rampant in the imperial court due to a eunuch’s holding power. Coupled with natural disasters such as floods, plague and locust swarms devouring the crops grown by the peasants, hunger and dissatisfactory among the peasants soon escalated rapidly until a major rebellion known as the "Yellow Scarves Rebellion" led by Zhang Jiao broke out. Initially just a small band of rebels, but due to widespread hunger and ill-sentiment among the populace, swarms of common folks joined in the rebellion across many parts of the country.