Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

1) How is the power of imagination a major theme of the story?

In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Luo and the narrator live in the country side during an era known as the Cultural Revolution where the communist Chinese officials prohibit reading any materials except the "Little Red Book" written by Mao Zedong. In the village, Luo and the narrator had to be "re-educated by the poor peasants" (Sijie 6). They believed that "it all came down to Mao's hatred of intellectuals" for them to live in such a constricted society. Because of their hardships during their stay in Phoenix mountain, their only way to conquer their harsh life was through stories, stories from movies and stories from books that were banned. The power of imagination allowed the characters in the story to conquer the hardships created by the environment they lived in, and through the stories they read, the characters feel more open to the possibility of the world.

Imagination gave Luo and the narrator some hope during their stay. From the beginning, Luo was known as the story teller. "The only thing Luo was really good at was telling stories (18). Although such talent had "little future in it" (18), his story-telling abilities impressed the headman of the village. Because of his liking with story-telling, Luo and the narrator "got two days off for the journey to town and two for the return" (19). In return, they had to "relate the film from beginning to end to the headman and everyone else" (19). The power of imagination, as depicted in this scene, is universal, for the story-telling not only impressed the headman but also the villagers. From story-telling, Luo and the narrator received what they considered a "welcome change" (20) and eventually, a life-changing moment.

When the two read the books from Four Eyes, the power of imagination captured their minds. From there, they became obsessed with Western literature. Primarily, the narrator used the books to apart himself from the harsh reality and escape into his own fantasy world. Notably, he fell in love with Jean-Christophe's book. "To me, it was the ultimate book: once you had read it, neither your own life nor the world you lived in would ever look the same" (111). From the book, the narrator learns the value of life. "After all, how could I die now, without having known love or sex, without having taken free individual action against the whole world, as he had?" (114). The power of imagination allowed them to cover their feelings of the communistic society that they lived in, and gave them an imaginary escape path to freedom.

Out of all the characters in the story, perhaps, the Little Seamstress benefitted the most from the power of imagination. She changed her lifestyle accordingly to the stories she heard from Luo. Luo wanted her to love a civilized girl, so he read her books from Balzac. "With these books I shall transform the Little Seamstress. She'll never be a simple mountain girl again" (100). Ironically, this led to the ending of the Little Seamstress running away from her limited life. The image of her "mannish jacket, bobbed hair and white shoes" (182) depicts her changed life style, new image of herself, and her willingness for the new city-life. In the end, she realized the most important lesson from the stories she heard, "that a woman's beauty is a treasure beyond price" (184).

Imagination can change one's life dramatically. Imagination gives hope. The characters in the story learn from Western literature, where their characters have their own freedom. Because of this opposite view from their world they live in, they become more relaxed about their lifestyle. They gain knowledge of the possibilities in their life, and they feel more independent in their limited society.

Othello Essay

In Othello, the intellectual choices serve most of the tragic vision of the story. The "Moor" made intellectual choices throughout the story, but tragically, Iago, the witted and the wicked, used Othello as a puppet for the drama that he created. Similarly to Oedipus, Othello made every intellectual choice as a hero, but as a tragic hero, his doom could not be avoided. The audience realizes that Othello was doomed when Iago authored his evil scheme. Another element of tragedy, the fall of the good, also contributed to the tragic vision of the story. The innocent characters expanded the tragic vision of the play but also caused themselves to fall as the victims of tragedy.

Iago plotted his evil schemes to destroy Othello's life, as if he had planned to shoot an arrow in Othello's thigh, disabling him from walking his path of happiness. Othello had a good life as a respected leader and a romantic warrior. Othello and Desdemona madly loved each other, and Desdemona even preferred Othello over her father. "I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my husband,/And so much duty as my mother show'd/To you, preferring you before her father,/So much I challenge that I may profess/Due to the Moor my lord" (Act I Scene III). But out of all the joy of life, came the villain. Because Iago believed that Othello had slept with his wife, although not the only reason, Iago decided to take revenge on Othello. "And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets/He has done my office" (Act I Scene III). Iago then created Othello as an instrument of the suffering of the others. Othello's friends and loved ones suffered through him despite the fact that Iago was ultimately, the one causing the pain.

Desdemona suffers the most through the evil actions. Desdemona was a sweet, loyal, and innocent wife who had been faithful to Othello throughout the play. These elements created the tragedy of her death. Iago beguiled Othello into thinking that Desdemona was unfaithful. As a passionate lover that Othello was, he could not handle such character from Desdemona. Because of Iago's evil soul and cunning nature, he created the death of the innocent, which was something he did not even want from Desdemona. She did not deserve to die. Indeed, when Desdemona said "I have not deserved this" (Act IV Scene I) after Othello struck her and called her a "Devil!," Shakespeare intended to mean more than the mere physical pain and the hatred Othello had toward her. The quote foreshadowed her death. Since Iago tricked Othello into convincing himself of the infidelity of Desdemona, Desdemona became inevitable as a victim of the tragic vision.

Minor but important characters such as Roderigo and Emilia also deepen the tragic vision of the story. All Roderigo wanted was Desdemona, but as an idiot that he was, he cooperated with the wrong man. He cooperated with the villain who did not care about anyone but himself. As a result, Iago turned against Roderigo and stabbed him to death. Like Roderigo, Emilia had only one objective. She only cared to please her husband, not knowing the evilly selfish nature of Iago and the terrible fate the handkerchief could bring. "And give't Iago: what he will do with it/Heaven knows, not I;/I nothing but to please his fantasy" (Act III Scene III). The handkerchief served as a catalyst to the downfall of Othello and Desdemona. Roderigo and Emilia's life ended tragically because they did not know that the person they trusted so much could end up as their murderer.

In Othello, the characters' innocent choices that fed to the evilness of Iago created the tragic vision in the story. All the uncorrupted characters, Othello, Desdemona, Roderigo, and Emilia fell into the devilish hands of Iago. They all trusted the "honest" Iago, until they realized near their death that he was in fact, a wicked person. Like all tragedies, the ending of Othello was not a happy one. Shakespeare killed Iago in order to show that no one felt happy in the end; the lamentable ending served as the last tragic vision of the story.