"'Me too. Loathing for everyone who kept these books from us.' Hearing myself utter this last sentence frightened me... Such a remark, casually dropped, could cost several years in prison" (99.)
Sijie uses this symbol of a locked suitcase to illustrate the nature of concealment and a repressive environment as well as hope for the future. The hidden books became a source of hope for Four-Eyes; they allowed him to take an opportunity to escape, but he had to conceal them to keep that hope and opportunity alive. When they read the books, Luo and the narrator grow angry at those who concealed the books from them, but they're not angry at Four-Eyes; they're angry at the government officials who burned and confiscated the world of literature from the eyes of the people.
I like how you used the old miller, a less talked about character, in relating to your topic.
ReplyDeleteThis connects to Coming of Age. When we realize the hidden sources of hope, that moves us forward.
ReplyDeleteReading this book, we understand that the biggest theme throughout the story is the influence of western literature on Luo, the narrator, and the Little Seamstress, and using the the locked suitcase to represent literature not being accessible to the people of China was a smart way of sharing and seeing the bigger picture.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you connected the symbol to hope and opportunity. Why does literature have such a profound effect on the characters in this novel?
ReplyDeleteWhy does the suitcase show hope for the future?
ReplyDeleteThis relates to Western culture, and if the narrator and Luo had never found these books, they never would have matured into the people we see at the end of the novel. Even though Four Eyes was not present throughout the entire novel, he played a huge role in the lives of the narrator and Luo.
I like the idea that because of the Cultural Revolution, Mao is quite literally "locking away" all of the Western knowledge, and similarly, it is locked in this suitcase. This also represents coming of age because it shows how the narrator and Luo change and mature because of their new knowledge. Why do you think Luo and the narrator weren't angry at Four Eyes for hiding the books from them? What made Four Eyes not want to share the books, while as soon as Luo and the narrator read them, they wanted to share them?
ReplyDeleteWhy was the suitcase so sought after by Luo and the narrator in the first place? The quality of these stories is highlighted when Luo and the narrator travel to the Miller, and listen to his sotries.
ReplyDelete