Chinese Modernist fiction Essay Example for Free

Chinese Modernist fiction Essay Chinese Modernist fiction is very complicated in terms of imagery and literary expression used by the author, as well as in terms of dual or multiple meanings of the works, but in general they express the mood of the epoch. Mu’s stories are to great extent experimental and vary between purely proletarian fiction and ‘dialect’ writings that express really deep thoughts through internal monologues and the use of dialogue as a tool of changing the characters’ self-perception or their impressions about their environment (MacDonald, 2004). Mu Shiying’s prose is often called â€Å"New Sensationist† (Xin ganjuepai) style of writing short stories whose plot often develops rapidly, whereas the picture the author has drawn at first remains unchengeable(MacDonald, 2004). â€Å"The name â€Å"New Sensationist† was derived from the Shinkankahu ha, a group of Japanese avant-garde writers from the 1920s and 1930s. However, the evidence is against the actual existence of a group of writers who called themselves â€Å"New Sensationist† in China† (MacDonald, 2004, p. 797). Nevertheless, Mu’s short story entitled â€Å"Five in a Nightclub† gives a number of sensational experiences, which this essay is designed to discuss. The first scene of the short story describes the intrinsic human need for material resources, the main drive of the business world: â€Å"Men with blood-shot eyes milled about the gold exchange. [†¦] The speculators devolved into brutes. The wind blew the reason from their minds and the steel from their nerves† (Shiying, 1992, p. 5), so that the first perception of Shanghai refers to the psychological tension between the people, who have suffered a lot from the adversities, brought about by life. The first episode represents the pace of Shanghai life: a person can lose their fortune or become rich in one moment, so the description of instability and nervousness refers to the lack of control over the situation, as if the participants were obedient marionettes in the hands of the powerful and malicious force. The second scene, depicting a young man, scornfully rejected by the girl he loves, also refers to the whims of fortune and more precisely –explains the sensation of hope; this feeling appears hovering or hanging over the place where Zheng Ping is waiting for his darling. The words he sent to the girl yesterday are, as he realizes, written to describe his today’s situation: â€Å"Stranger, O stranger! / Yesterday I was your slave. Today you say I’m a stranger†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Shiying, 1992, p. 6). Importantly, there is a notable contrast between the first paragraphs, in which the author describes the character’s romantic thought, his illusionary closeness to the object of his strong feeling, and his disappointment and sorrow at the end, when â€Å"Zheng Ping’s hair turned white† (Shiying, 1992, p. 7). Fragments rapidly change one another. The short passage about a young woman, who has lost her beauty over the recent years, points to the perception of human body as machine that can be used: â€Å"Youth A – â€Å"Isn’t it Daisy Huang? She was the toast of the town five years ago! † Youth B – â€Å"Amen. She was quite a dish! †Ã¢â‚¬  (Shiying, 1992, p. 8). Accordingly, human beings do not belong completely to themselves, as they should always try hard to meet the requirements, imposed by society, especially those related to appearance and beauty. Ji Jie, the character, described in the next episode, is also lost in his self-identity and self-perception, so that he even fails to comprehend his real nature and the sense of his being in this world. Another character, battered cruelly by life, is Miao Zongdan, a clerk, who has been working hard for his career development and who receives a letter of dismissal. This episode is very similar to the first one, in which the sudden turning-point can ultimately change the individual’s life, destroy their desires, aspirations, ambitions – just like a high wave of tsunami that covers the person’s life. The first chapter of the short story therefore provides an overview of the psychological lives of certain dwellers of Shanghai, whereas the other people, surrounding them, remain indifferent, so that the average inhabitant of Shanghai is a ‘small person’, incapable of managing their fate. On the other hand, they should cope with their problems without any support from outside. The second chapter narrates about a typical Saturday night in Shanghai, or the bright underground life, heated by neon, alcohol and cigarettes: â€Å"Red streets, green streets, blue streets, purple streets†¦ City clad in strong colours! Dancing neon light – multi-coloured waves, scintillating waves, colourless waves – a sky filled with colour. The sky now had everything: wine, cigarettes, high-heels, clock-towers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Shiying, 1992, p. 10). Human mores become increasingly more relaxed at this time, and people are about to do unusual things, as such conducts are not likely to happen in the daylight. In the third chapter, Shanghai is described in merely two colors: black and white, that symbolize purity and dust, but flow together into a single glamour of the night club. In addition, one can note a mixture of different cultures in nightclub settings: the club itself is designed in European style, as the idea of night amusements in such settings derives from this continent, whereas the customers are Chinese; and the dancers who entertain the visitors are â€Å"Russian princesses† (Shiying, 1992, p. 11). This pre-arranged chaos influences the characters almost magically: their dreams seem to come true. The idea of saving night resembles the fairy tale theme: at daytime, the characters remain ugly beasts, whereas at night they turn into young and attractive princes and princesses, who become rich and are as a result surrounded by their admirers. In this sense, night is remedy against all daily troubles, as they all are resolved or fixed very quickly and naturally, as if the natural force that throws the characters into the depth of adversity and misfortune calms down at night – this magic conversion can be compared to black and white colors, which seem to be the major imagery in this place: â€Å"By the white tablecloths sit men dressed in formal evening attire: layers of black and white: black hair, white faces, black eyes, white collars, black ties, white starched shirts, black jackets, white waistcoats, black pants†¦black and white†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Shiying, 1992, p. 10). The author seems to recognize only extremes, rather than the â€Å"golden middle† that balances the positive and negative forces and protects human psyche from excessively strong feelings and emotions. The city, in turn, also experiences a kind of transformation: whereas at daytime it looks like a huge technocratic monster that has only concrete and asphalt inside and is inhabited by people, who hurt each other with their apathy and indifference; at night it alters into a real paradise, filled with the radiance of happiness, kindness and friendliness. Noticeably, the characters in the night club interact with one another very dynamically and seem united by this atmosphere of common joy and relaxation. Nevertheless, this illusion of amusement seems unrealistic after the events, which took place in the afternoon; in spite of the miraculous healing of all human hardships, it contains the after-pains, which give the idea of the possible return of all daily problems once this wonderful night comes to its logical end. The depiction of the common excitement only reinforces the reader’s expectation of the future negative events, which will take place in the following morning or afternoon and shatter this positive emotional atmosphere. As for the characters in the nightclub settings, they are described as fragments, successfully integrated in an entity, as all of them manifest their self-confidence in almost the same way. For instance, Daisy re-gains her youth and beauty, so that nobody recognizes her, except her companion, Junyi, a gold baron: â€Å"†I’ve never been more sane in my life! † said Daisy, who had regained her composure. Suddenly she laughed again: â€Å"I will always be young. Oh, Junyi, let’s make a real night of it! † Daisy pulled Hu Junyi out onto the dance floor† (Shiying, 1992, p. 12). Later, Zheng Ping enters the club, looking drunk and happy because this time he has another girlfriend and therefore seems protected from the negative remembrances, which can be caused by Nina’s presence. Similarly to Daisy’s case, Zheng experiences a very short loss of nerves, but finally retakes self-control and focuses on his new girlfriend. Although Miao’s problem is not solved yet, he also joins the party and soon becomes drunk and happy. Whereas at first, Daisy and Hu’s joy seems natural, later the company is gradually falling into absolutely inhuman and unexplainable ecstasy that can be caused only by the overuse of spirits: â€Å"Everyone laughed with her – open mouths, open mouths, open mouth†¦ gaping holes that with every passing moment seemed less human† ((Shiying, 1992, p. 14). The characters have already joined to the nightclub atmosphere, primarily – because all of them have come with partners, so that they are no loner lonely and miserable. Ji Jie, despite the demonstrative happiness of the other four persons, is slowly sinking in the marsh of his own thoughts, in his hard mental work. Nevertheless, he is no longer depressed, as his visit to the club will probably allows him to find his identity and understand himself better. Moreover, he is described by the customers as a happy person: â€Å"Customer D – â€Å"He who has nothing to do after dinner and who can come here to break matchsticks is a happy man†. Customer C – â€Å" Even the drunkard with him is happy! He’s the guy who spilled the drink after badging in here. A while ago he was picking fights, now he’s telling jokes! † (Shiying, 1992, p. 18). Towards the end of the night the delight of the five characters begins to disappear, and the sensation of this night never seems to come again, as the problems, experienced by the five persons at daytime, are becoming more real. The sixth character, Jonny, later gets to know that her wife and newborn son are dead, but he is not allowed to leave the work and must continue entertaining the visitors with his music. The five personalities, who seemed cheerful to craze in the evening, are now described as â€Å"popped balloons† (Shiying, 1992, p. 20). All the characters later reconcile themselves to the fact that they are losers in this life, only Hu Junyi kills himself. His death is a milestone, after which the other characters open their true faces and confess to their tiredness of living. The night was nothing more than an attempt to repair the shattered lives, whose pieces turned out so small that it was impossible to paste them together. To sum up, the new perception of Shanghai is presented as never-ending rolling down, a journey through the severe daily reality and exaggeratedly euphoric night parties, which, however, quicken human degradation. Whiteness and blackness are never to mix together in Shanghai, so that its dwellers are fated to swinging between the two extremes, which are pain and delight. Either sooner, or later, the life of this small person will be shattered by the large city, as the short story narrates. Works cited MacDonald, S. The Shanghai Foxtrot by: Introduction. Modernism/modernity, Vol. 11 (4): pp. 797-807 Shiying, Mu. Five in a Nightclub, Renditions Spring 1992, pp. 5-22.

Self-Rated Competency Essay -- Language

As of 2000, 96% of Hmong households reported Hmong (L1) as the primary spoken language at home with English (L2) not being introduced to a child until later in their development (Reeves & Bennett, 2004). Upon entering school, Hmong children progress into sequential bilingual speakers where L2 is introduced after L1 is already well established. Bilingualism is frequently stated as the use of two or more languages by an individual (ASHA, 2004). Two of the most common types of bilingualism include simultaneous bilingualism (acquisition of both languages occur early on from birth) and sequential bilingualism (exposure to the second language occurs after the first language is already established, usually after 3 years of age). A potential consequence of second-language acquisition is a process called language loss or language attrition. Language attrition is defined as a process where â€Å"a person may loose his/her ability to speak, write, read, and/or understand a particular language or dialect due to a lack of use or exposure† (ASHA, 2004). Studies that involve young immigrants in the United States found that younger immigrants were more likely to switch language dominance for L1 to L2 and were more likely to rate L2 fluency higher (Jia et al, 2002; Shi, 2011). Several studies have demonstrated that sequential bilingual speakers can provide valid self-ratings of competency in L2 and the variables or factors that could affect L2 competency (Shi, 2011; Westermeyer & Her, 1996; Jia et al, 2002). The following three studies provide further evidence of the correlation of using subjective (self-rating) and objective measures to examine receptive and expressive competency in L1 and L2. Westermeyer and Her (1996) conducted a longit... ...istically appropriate services [Knowledge and Skills]. Available from www.asha.org/policy. Jia, G., Aaronson, D., & Wu, Y. (2002). Long-term language attainment of bilingual immigrants: Predicative variables and language group differences. Applied Psycholinguistics, 23, 599 – 621. Reeves, T. J. & Bennett, C. E. (2004). We the people: Asians in the United States. United States Consensus 2000. Shi, L. (2011). How â€Å"proficient† is proficient? Subjective proficiency as a predictor of bilingual listeners’ recognition of English words. American Journal of Audiology [serial online]. June 2011; 20(1): 19 – 32. Available from: Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson), Ipswich, MA. Westermeyer, J., & Her, C. (1996). Predictors of English fluency among Hmong refugees in Minnesota: A longitudinal study. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 2(2), 125 – 132.

Lord of the Flies: Close Analysis Essay

Lord of the Flies: write a close analysis, with quotations and comments, of the implications in the extract from ‘The Shell and the Glasses’, starting on p 176: ‘He’s going to beat Wilfred..’ to the end of p178: ‘Then if he comes we’ll do our, our dance again.’ During this extract from ‘The Shell and the Glasses’ we see just to what extent the balance of power on the island has shifted in Jack’s favour. We now see him enjoying himself flexing and abusing his new found power as begins to rule his own savage kingdom. To highlight this, Golding no longer calls Jack by his name but instead calls him ‘Chief’. We are shown that the main element he uses to rule his tribe is fear. He starts having boys punished for no reason. A boy named Wilfred is tied up and beaten for no apparent reason, †He’s going to beat Wilfred’ ‘What for?’ ‘I don’t know, he didn’t say†. To further establish his status as the new chief, Jack demonises Ralph and his followers claiming that they are the enemy, ‘They’ll try to spoil things we do’. This parallels the method used by many 20th century dictators of creating a ‘common enemy’ of the state instilling fear and loyalty into its population. However the main ‘common enemy’ that Jack uses to control his tribe is of course the Beast. Jack claims that Simon was the beast (disguised) which shows he is implying that the boys have a better grasp of the truth during their violent frenzied state of mind than in their calmer moments of reflection. Jack has the ability to convince the other boys that this state of bloodlust and frenzy is a legitimate way to interact with their environment which erodes their sense of morality further and allows Jack to control and manipulate them even more. It would be a major blow to Jack’s leadership if the boys got the impression that they’d already killed the beast as for him the myth (though he believes it himself) is a major source of power. Jack implies to the boys that the beast is an immortal spectre capable of disguising itself. When one of the confused boys asks Jack if they’d already killed it he replies, ‘No! How could we – kill – it?’ To further enhance the effect of this myth on the boys, Jack implies that they give the Beast offerings in order to protect themselves, ‘We’d better keep on the right side of him, anyhow. You can’t tell what he might do.’ Jack wants them to fear and worship the Beast which will make them fear and worship him.

Gender-Based Notions of Homoerotic Love Sappho and...

Gender-Based Notions of Homoerotic Love: Sappho and Plato’s Symposium The poetry of Sappho, and the speeches in Plato’s Symposium both deal primarily with homoerotic love, although Sappho, one of the only female poets in Ancient Greece, speaks from the female perspective, while Plato’s work focuses on the nature of this love between men. There are several fundamental elements that are common to both perspectives, including similar ideals of youth and beauty, and the idea of desire as integral to both views on love. Despite these similarities, however, there is an important distinction, which can be understood in terms of Pausanias’ concepts of Common versus Celestial Love, where Sappho’s view represents†¦show more content†¦Pausanias thus makes it clear that the relationship is also largely teacher/student; the convention stresses that an integral part of the arrangement is to increase goodness, in the lover, and knowledge, in the boyfriend. In Sappho’s poetry we see elements of this â€Å"pursuer/pursued† relationship as well, however Sappho names no convention stipulating who must chase and who must be chased. The roles are apparently interchangeable, [â€Å"For if she runs, she’ll soon be chasing† (1(L-P) l. 21)], which suggests an overall sense of equality between female lovers, an equality which is absent in descriptions of male homoerotic love. Sappho describes the objects of pursuit (the subjects of her poetry) in purely physical terms, indicating this through language, as she describes their physical aspects [â€Å"your supple neck† (94 (L-P) l.17), and â€Å"the shining luster of her face† (16 (L-P) l. 18)], as well as the physical effect they (the pursued) have on her (the pursuer). For example, in fragment 31 (L-P) she addresses her subject: â€Å"For when I see you even a moment/ I cant speak any longer†¦/my eyes go dark, my ears/ are roaring†¦a trembling/ seizes all my body†(ll. 7-14). In contrast to Pausanias’ speech where the goal of male homoerotic love is moral satisfaction and the acquisition of knowledge, the goal, according to Sappho’ appears to be the