Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

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

Imagination plays a vital role in Balzac and the Little Chinese seamstress, especially because of the time and place in which the story is set. Imagination is a way for the narrator and Luo to escape the tyranny of the Chinese Revolution. The fact that the narrator and Luo are able to find hope through the creative outlets of literature, shows how the infinite powers of imagination helped them preserve their youth, event though they lived in a time period that did not accept their free-thinking.  "The only thing that Luo was really good at was telling stories.  A pleasing talent to be sure, but a marginal one, with little future in it."  The musical interests and abilities of the two main characters also shows how creatively inclined they are and the extent of what they will do to express their truly creative needs, because they are influenced by music that has been outlawed by the government.  Imagination is such a prevalent theme in the story because so much realism is referenced.  Because the main characters cope with the realism by reading literature, the reader gets craftily weaved into the same imaginative mindset.  "Reading aloud full pages word for word struck me as pretty boring, so I decided to take a different approach.  I would start by reading a couple of pages or a short chapter... When I felt good old Balzac was running out of steam I would contribute little inventions of my own, or even insert whole scenes from another novel."For the narrator and Luo, literature did not simply occupy them as a means of entertainment.  Literature sparked their imaginations that had been shielded from them by the government.  Literature set them free.

Othello Test

Throughout "Othello", elements of tragedy are frequently referenced. The men's jealousy of the other men surrounding Desdamona eventually accumulates to a hatred directed towards the protagonist, Othello. The pure tyranny of Iago's twisted plan is so tragic, because he is attacking characters that represent the innocence of a perfect community, and turning them against each other using the power of love and jealousy.

In the beginning of the story, Iago is the only character who shows any sign of discontent (with the exception of Roderigo). However, by the end of the story, every character, including Iago, is either physically or mentally damaged because of his actions. Othello obviously represents the instrument of the suffering of others, because he acts as Iago's puppet in the astounding transition from order to chaos. What makes the situation so tragic, is that the characters surrounding Othello put the fault upon him only until they see their own deaths awaiting.

The combination of love and jealousy drive the characters to easily fall into the game in which Iago has created. Ironically, the situations that Iago creates with love and jealousy is what leads him to his death. A perfect example of the fragile combination of love and jealousy is the character of Roderigo. Roderigo is such an essential character, because Iago is able to channel his hatred for the Moor through Iago. His easily manipulative mind is also blinded by his love for Desdamona, just like Othello. The only difference between the two characters is that Othello is driven to the extent of killing the one who matters the most to him all because of false jealousy.

The suffering of the characters surrounding Othello helps lead to the overall tragic vision of the play. Throughout the play, the men's only concern is either loving Desdamona or being jealous of the other men who love Desdamona. With the help of honest Iago, this jealousy is transformed into a hatred aimed directly towards the noble Othello, so by the end of the play the audience feels sorrow towards all of the characters' tragic circumstances.

love love love

The word love has been used so haphazardly in today's world, most of the people I know who use the word have absolutely no idea what it means. I think that often times people say that they love somebody, because everyone they see in movies and in television has this indescribable feeling of affection towards someone. Everyone wants to share that warm fuzzy feeling. I also think that people use the word love to comfort themselves, and give themselves a connection to the magnificant people they see in movies and television; when, in reality, the "love" they feel is actually infatuation. I'm not saying that love doesn't exist; I just think that people try too hard to fall in love.

One Big Happy...

The most noticeable characteristic about my family is it's overwhelming size. My parents divorced when I was seven, and have both remarried since then. Thus, I have four massive sets of various relatives. The most ridiculous part, however, is the fact that half of my grandparents have remarried as well. Therefore, I not only have two sets of step-parents, but I also have a couple of step-parents of step-parents. Whenever I talk to someone in my family there's about a 50% chance I have no idea how i'm related to them. For me, Christmas is, by far, the longest day in the entire year.

All Said and Done

After all of the discussions, readings, and movies, I think that I've walked knowing less and more at the same time. This is great, because I'm actually starting to think about some of the difficult questions I previously set aside. Some of the questions that i thought i had a set answer for were immediately disproved. For example, I originally thought that we had a choice in matter of life or death. Now, however, i have absolutely no idea whether fate controls our lives or not. I guess I've left this unit leaning towards the idea of dualism, as opposed to believing life is a set of random coencidences.

Free Will or Fate?

Life seems way too random to believe that some higher being has control over every "decision" we make. However, there are also a great number of coincidences that could prove this statement wrong. In reality, no matter how much we argue, we will never know the answer. Therefore, I, personally, don't believe in one or the other. For example, if I was walking down the sidewalk, and decided to casually step in front of a speeding car, the incident would appear random on the surface. However, if my fate was to die at age 16 via speeding car, then the incident would not seem so meaningless. And yet another way to look at it, would be to see the driver's point of view. Maybe the driver feels responsible, and starts a national anti-speeding campaign, which influences people everywhere to slow down. It doesn't matter which way you look at it, because what happened is over and done with. What's the point in arguing about a question that can't be answered?

Would You Rather...

I think that i would rather live a long and average life. when i first saw the question, i automatically thought that i would rather want to live the fast paced rockstar lifestyle, like most teenagers would probably want. however, after i thought about it for a while, i think that i would much rather be well known among a small group of people. i wouldn't want to only associate with people who simply stuck around because i was famous.

Remember When...

When I was a little kid, I had this strange obsession with spiderman. I'm not sure why i latched on to him the way that i did. I guess I really liked the idea of shooting webs and swinging through a massive city. I remember liking how many problems he had. It always seemed like he was rushing to get somewhere that could result in sudden death. This trait is what set him apart from all of the other superheros. I also remember really liking the villains. They seemed the most creative compared to all the other super villains. I mean, a mad scientist with four mechanical arms that take over his brain is pretty imaginative.

The Western World

When reading Siddhartha, it seemed like the author wanted the reader to create their own own interpretation of what the story meant. It encouraged the reader to go out and find themselves as opposed to letting someone tell you who you are. This could be the reason why it's hard for westerners to comprehend the philosophy behind the allegory. Westerners are so used to their parents, teachers, etc. telling them who they should be, and how to be successful in life, which is almost the exact opposite of what Siddhartha was trying to get across.

Quote # 2

"I live in a southern town
Where all you can do is grit your teeth
But I wouldn't have you how you want
How come you're not ashamed of what you are?"
-Elliott Smith

As someonene who has lived in the south for my entire life, i've heard some pretty hateful comments. It's very difficult to explain how upsetting it is to hear these comments, without droning on and on. That's why i like this song. It manages to say everything that needs to be said in a short and precise way.

Quote

"Oh, what did you see, my blue eyed son ?
And what did you see, my darling young one ?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin'
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin'
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall."

-Bob Dylan

I Choose this passage for three reasons. The first reason is because, I spent a good portion of my early childhood listening to Bob Dylan records for hours and hours. So, in a way, it gives me a sense of familiarity whenever i hear them again today. The second reason I choose this particular quote, is because i really like how the intense imagery makes something so deep and poetic easy to comprehend. The third, and final, reason why i choose this quote, is because i find it interesting that the same problems, such as war and poverty, are almost identical now as they were back then.