Essay Instructions: you have to write a minimum of THREE postings. Choose one topic from topics 1-3 (topics on "A Madman's Diary") and write a response. And choose another topic from topics 4-6 (topics on "New Year's Sacrifice") and write your second response. your responses definitely have to cover two texts. Each response has to be a paragraph of 300 words or more.
The third posting has to be a response to one of reponse what other person said about . This third positing also needs to have a minimum of 250 words with quotations.
In your response, you are required to incorporate solid textual evidence (quotations) to support your ideas.
These are the topics
(1)
In this topic, you have to examine the characterization of the madman and the metaphorical meanings embodied in the illness of madness.
Here are a few questions for you to start thinking about this topic:
1. Is the madman really insane? Is he perhaps saner than those around him? What is sanity? What is madness? Who decides? How does the first "I-narrator" present the madman? What is the attitude of the first "I-narrator" toward the madman? Why does this narrator mean that the madman suffers from a "persecution complex"?
2. How does the madman see other people? How does he describe them? Does he see something others can't? According to the madman, what lies behind the smiles and façades of courtesy and civilization?
3. The first entry in the diary reads, "Tonight the moon is very bright. … I begin to realize that during the past thirty-odd years I have been in the dark." What is the significance of the moon image? Does it occur elsewhere in the story? What does it suggest or stand for? What is the madman able to see under the moonlight? Does the moon have anything to do with his "madness"? What is hidden in the darkness? Why is daylight, when there is no moon, depressing to the madman?
You do NOT have to answer all questions. But be sure to include quotations and a solid analysis of 300 words.
(2)
In this topic, you have to discuss the theme of cannibalism and the imagery of animals in "A Madman's Diary." And if you are familiar with evolutionary theory, you can examine the function of the "evolutionary motif" in the story.
Here are a few questions for you think about:
1. What is the significance of the animal imagery in the story? What sorts of animals are alluded to? Where? Why? What animal is referred to in Section 1 of the story? In Section 3, what is the name of the village suffering from famine? What did the villagers there do? Is that somehow connected to the name of the village? Do you find animal references anywhere else in the story? Is there an increased use of animal imagery and references as the story progresses? In Section 6, an enigmatic series of phrases is suddenly inserted: "the fierceness of a lion, the timidity of a rabbit, the craftiness of a fox." What is intended by this? Does it sound like an epigram encapsulating the meaning of the whole story? What might Lu Xun be trying to express through these phrases?
2.What suggests to the diarist that people around him are cannibals? How does he interpret the Confucian words "benevolence, righteousness, and morality"? What does he claim is hiding under those words? How do such references address the problems of Confucianism?
3. Lu Xun was influenced by Darwin and Thomas H. Huxley's ideas on evolution. Are there references to such ideas in the story? Is that connected to the animal imagery? How does Lu Xun apply the notions of evolution to the understanding of the human condition? What changes does he believe human beings must undergo? Why? What is the significance of the concern with the diarist's younger sister? What does it mean to suggest she was eaten? In what way could the madman himself be a cannibal?
4. Who will "Save the children"? From what? What does it mean to be saved? In light of the theory of evolution, is it even possible to be saved? In the introduction, the elder brother said his younger brother "had long since become sound" and was in line for a "substantive official appointment." If that is the case, what does it say about the diarist? What else may have happened to him? Explain how he would "be eaten" either way.
These questions are just "starters"--you do not need to answer all of them. You can also formulate your inquiries surrounding these topics. You have to include quotations and do a solid analysis of 300 words minimum.
(3)
For the participants of this thread, you need to read the Lecture Notes first. Then, you are required to examine the relationship between tradition and modernity in "A Madman's Diary." You can discuss how the relationship of the tradition and the modern unfolds in the theme, the narrative technique, the use of language, and the ending. Can we really break away from the modern? Does the story offer an optimistic ending?
Here are questions for you think about. But you are welcome to formulate your own set of inquiries, as long as it is relevant to this topic.
1. How is this story connected to the historical situation of Lu Xun's time? What was going on in China during this time period? What sorts of social, economic, or political practices may be associated with cannibalism? In Lu Xun's eyes, how is traditional Chinese society cannibalistic? Is modern capitalism any better? What about the experience of Chinese and Russian communism? What sort of a society was Lu Xun striving to bring about? How is it possible to "save the children"?
2. Even if you do not know anything about the difference between Classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese, you can sense the difference in the mode of discourse between the first "I-narrator" and the diarist, the madman. What are the differences and how do these differences correspond to the overall theme of challenging the Confucian tradition? What does it mean when the first I-narrator, writing in classic Chinese, framed the story of a madman as an interesting case for "medical research"?
3. What does the madman learn by reading history books? What does he find there? How does he interpret the words "benevolence, righteousness, and morality"? What does he claim is hiding under those words? How do such references address the problems of Confucianism? Are there other situations in the story referring to Confucianism and its problem?
4. In Section 9, what makes people reluctant to take "that one little step"? What is the symbolic meaning of that step? What does Lu Xun want for people to do? What prevents them from doing it? What does Elder Brother fail to do in Section 10 that upsets the madman? What is it that Elder Brother claims can't be done? How does that explain the meaning of cannibalism? What is the significance of the madman's question in Section 8, "Is this business of eating people right?" (This question alone is very similar to the topic #2. However, since you are answering topic 3, you should use the motif "tradition vs. modernity" to analyze the relationship between three sections).
You do NOT need to answer all questions. Be sure to include quotations and a solid analysis of 300 words.
(4)
In Lu Xun's "New Year's Sacrifice," the narrator is not only a story-teller who presents the life of Sister Xianglin to the reader. On a fundamental level, the narrator probably "triggered" the death of Sister Xianglin. Examine the function of the narrator in Lu Xun's story.
Here are a few key points to pay attention to:
1. Why does the narrator go visit Fourth Uncle's house? How would you describe his relationship with Fourth Uncle? Is he intimate with any character in the story? Why does he bother to tell Sister Xianglin's life story to the reader?
2. Pay attention to the characterization of the narrator. Examine in close detail the final encounter between the narrator and Sister Xianglin? Why does the narrator feel aghast by Sister Xianglin's question? What does his answer "I can't even say for sure" say about his personality? In what specific ways is the narrator the real "target" of Lu Xun's critique?
3. Discuss the similarities and differences between the first I-narrator in "A Madman's Diary" and the narrator in "New Year's Sacrifice." Does Lu Xun's narrative technique change from "A Madman's Diary" to "New Year's Sacrifice"?
You do NOT need to answer all questions. The premise is that you include quotations to illustrate your argument. Your analysis should be a paragraph of 300 words.
(5)
Surely, Sister Xianglin is the central character of "New Year's Sacrifice." For this topic, examine the character of Sister Xianglin and analyze how her predicament is caused by her marginalized status in the social strata of gender, class, and education. In what specific ways is Sister Xianglin a victim of traditional Chinese beliefs and thinking?
Here are some key points to pay attention to:
1. For Sister Xianglin, what is the significance of coming to work at Fourth Uncle's house? What kind of "person" is Fourth Uncle and his entire family?
2. When Sister Xianglin first appeared in Fourth Uncle's household, she is said to be as strong as man. What does this description of physique say about Sister Xianglin's class roots?
3. What was the narrative purpose of giving Sister Xianglin such a tragic life? What is the question Sister Xianglin asks the narrator? Why is this question important to her? That is, why does a woman without education suddenly ask a question related to spirituality? What kind of impact does the narrator's answer create on Sister Xianglin?
4. Discuss how all other characters treat Sister Xianglin. How do they fit into the "national character" of China that Lu Xun is critical of? For instance, how would you describe the woman who claims to be a Buddhist?
In your answer, be sure to include quotations. Your posting needs to be a minimum of 300 words. Do NOT summarize the story. You need to have a major argument, a mini-thesis even in your posting.
(6)
Lu Xun's "New Year's Sacrifice" is called "The Blessing" (Zhufu) in Chinese. While the English title seems to directly suggest the tragic outcome of Sister Xianglin, the Chinese title actually preserves the ironical intention of Lu Xun. For this topic, you can start by discussing why Lu Xun gives such a title to his story and examine the irony embodied in the story. Or you can analyze and discuss Lu Xun's style in general by examining both "A Madman's Diary" and "New Year's Sacrifice."
Here are some KEY points to pay attention before you start answering this question:
1. "Sacrifice" has a heavy religious connotation in the West. However, what does "New Year's Sacrifice" refer to specifically in Lu Xun's story? The Chinese title Zhufu, which can be translated as "blessing" or "wishes," conveys the joyfulness of New Year's rituals.
2. As I indicated in the Lecture Notes and Weekly Introduction, one can see how Lu Xun's writings have an intimate connection to European literature. You can examine how Lu Xun's style and technique share similarities with certain writers you have read. However, in your analysis, your should still center on Lu Xun's works and include quotations from "Sister Xianglin."
Your analysis should be a paragraph of 300 words with quotations from "New Year's Sacrifice."
And this is what other person said about topic 2. I recommend you not to wrtie about the topic (2).
The third response is to write a reponse to what other other person said.
Early on in the madman's narrative, he sees a woman chastising her child, saying “I'm so angry I could eat you”(10). He notes that while she is saying this, she's looking not at her child, but directly at him. After that, he hears a story about a man from Wolf Cub Village who is beaten to death and eaten. While I was reading this, I had the feeling that somehow the confluence of these two events put the idea of cannibalism in his head, though there is more to it than that. Within Confucianism, the doctrine of filial piety states that if necessary, a son should cut off his own flesh to feed his parents to keep them from starving. In addition, there is clearly an idea that eating human flesh will make you more courageous. The madman's ideas are derived from the ideals of Confucianism, and the fact that although it is hazy in his mind, he recalls that “In ancient times, as I recollect, people often ate human beings” (10). Whether they did or did not is never really made clear, but by collapsing time in this way and conflating ancient times with modern times, the madman subtly implies that not everything that has always been should always be. We see this when the author is trying to look up facts about cannibalism but is unable, stating, “my history has no chronology and scrawled all over each page are the words “Confucian Virtue and Morality” (10). Confucian virtue and morality are whitewashed over everything, and have replaced the idea that time should and does, move on.
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