The Three Blood Spots

”The headman held the violin upright and peered into the black interior of the body, like an officious customs officer searching for drugs. I noticed three blood spots in his left eye, one large and two small, all the same shade of bright red.” (3)

“The headman’s breath smelt of decay. His small eyes, one of them marked as always by three blood spots, fixed me in a savage stare.” (129)

Throughout Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, the narrator pays particular attention to the three blood spots in the village headman’s eye. In particular, these spots come up whenever the headman is being threatening or aggressive towards the boys. This is because the spots represent the peasants’ lack of education or proper access to medical facilities. When they’re first seen in the story, the headman is deciding whether the narrator can keep his violin, his only prized possession. The narrator notices the three spots, “all the same shade of bright red.” Later in the story, when the headman is trying to arrest the narrator, he gets fixed “in a savage stare” and the spots are mentioned again. These spots could be a representation of the fact that the less wealthy and educated peasants who don’t even have access to doctors are now put in a position of power over the boys and, while in the city the spots may have been ridiculed, in the village they strike fear into the narrator’s heart.

Dreams of a Suitcase or Dreams in a Suitcase?

I feel that the suitcase symbol represents many things, the most important one being the temptation to take risks. One example of hope tieing into the suitcase can be seen when the seamstress is with Luo and the narrator and poses the question, "What if we stole them(the books)".(89) This represents risks because it shows the length that the characters are willing to go in the hopes of finding something to entertain them. Breaking into someone's house is by no means a minor offense, but the characters are willing to do it because they aspire to find something to quench their thirst for knowledge and suppress the boredom of their lives. Another quote that contributes to the idea that the suitcase represents risks is when the narrator is contemplating whether he should write the contents of one of the books on his sheepskin coat, The narrator exclaims, " Writing on the skin of an old mountain sheep was not easy: the surface was rough and creased and, in order to squeeze as much text as possible into the available space..."(59) This represents risks because the narrator is choosing to enlarge the chance of him being caught with western literature, despite the fact that he could be punished. He does this simply because of the sheer love he as for the books. Sijie most definitely uses the symbol of the suitcase to hint towards the temptations of risks that are waiting to be taken. On a limb, I feel that the risk aspect can somewhat connect to that of hope, The characters are constantly taking risks with these books and the suitcase itself because they see the contents as hope for a brighter, more accepting future, much like the ones that they read about. This symbol might connect to the movie watching because both things contain wester influences that stress freedom.

The Undulating Stomach and Hope

“Our attention was immediately drawn to the contortions of his stomach, the sight of which was so extraordinary as to obliterate his voice, the tune and everything else from our consciousness” (73)

“When he began to sing the wrinkles billowed out, forming little waves that rippled across his tanned and gleaming body” (73)
Sijie uses the symbol of the Old Storyteller’s stomach to illustrate the hope of the two boys. The storyteller’s stomach captivated the attention of the boys so that they were engaged in the ripples and nothing else. The Storyteller’s stomach would seem like a trivial detail to most people, but to the boys, they held on to that detail and focused on it, nothing else seemed important to pay attention to. That idea of holding on to an idea or detail and focusing on it seems to be similar to what people do when they have hope, they hold on to it and let it consume their thoughts. The sight of the ripples in the stomach seemed to be almost magical and surreal to the boys, as hope can often be when one lets it engross them. The Old Storyteller’s stomach can connect to the hope the boys have of getting more books from Four-Eyes, and of the new ideas and stories to come for them in the future. Since they were promised more of the forbidden books by Balzac in return for collecting authentic mountain songs from the miller, once the Old Storyteller started singing, the ripples and undulation of his stomach represented that they were one step closer to obtaining those books. The boys seemed obsessed with the extraordinary rippling and how it seemed magical, like how they were almost obsessed with the thought of new stories for them to imbibe.

The Undercurrent Passion

Sijie utilizes the symbol of the narrator’s sheep coat to illustrates the importance of literature by demonstrating how it’s used to help expand intellectual liberty.

A gift from the villagers from the boys’ arrival, the sheep coat is highly valued like any other clothing the tailor makes. The coat is small and can fit a limited amount of passages. It had a wide range of textures and consisted of a rawhide interior. The narrator replicated his favorite passage of Balzac’s Ursule Mirouët. As he copies down the chapter where Ursule somnambulates, he states that “I longed to be like her: to be where Ursule somnambulates. I longed to be like her: to be able, while I lay asleep on my bed, to see what my mother was doing in our apartment five hundred kilometers away, to watch my parents having supper, to observe their gestures, the dishes on the table, the colour of the crockery, to sniff the aroma of their food, to hear their conversation... Better still, like Ursule, I would visit, in my dreams, places I had never set eyes on before…” (58-59). He becomes hopeful to fulfill his unquenchable desire for learning and experiencing the western literature. The narrator fills that literature and his newfound intellectual liberty will only be exacerbated by future encounters with Western literature, as he keeps it close to him on the sheepskin coat.

The next morning, Luo borrows the narrator’s sheep coat on a trip to see the Little Seamstress. When Luo returns, he briefs the Narrator on the Little Seamstress reaction to his writing. She was overwhelmed with knowledge, as “[his] coat was resting on her hands, the way a sacred object lies in the palms of the pious”(62) in silence. The Little Seamstress’s reaction reinforces the narrator’s sense of enthusiasm towards the transformative literature. The analogy comparing the coat to “a sacred objects” shows that it is delicate and inspiring to those who are fortunate enough to read western literature. The word “pious” indicates that the narrator and the Little seamstress were believers in the limited liberal arts hidden from them as the result of the cultural revolution.

The Mystery of the Three Blood Spots

Sophie, Neil, Noora, Allan

P2

“His small eyes, one of them marked as always by three blood spots, fixed me in a savage state. For a moment I thought he was going to grab me by the collar and hurl me down the ladder. But he just stood there, rooted to the spot.” (129)
“The headman held the violin upright and peered into the black interior of the body, like an officious customs officer searching for drugs. I noticed three blood spots in his left eye, one large and two small, all the same shade of red” (3)
Sijie uses the symbol of the blood in the headman’s eye to convey a sense of hostility due to his fidelity towards Mao as well as a tone of mystery in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. There are three bright red blood spots on the headman's left eye, and in both of these quotes, it is associated with the headman’s duty to propagate the ideas of communism and the Cultural Revolution. The other aspect touched on is a sense of mystery as no one knows the headman's background. The three blood spots can help the reader infer what his life has been like. Additionally, a sense of fear is also associated with the blood spots as the boys seem to become tense when in his presence.

The Underlying Power of Movies

Sijie uses the symbol of the movies to show how the narrator and Luo working to creates a feeling of unity within the village and young intellectuals, thus furthering their hope of acceptance and returning home. The narrator and Luo begin to retell a film to the village. As they conclude the enticing tale, the villagers are moved by the unique story. The narrator observes that “The effect had been as grandiose as that of the screen version. The whole audience wept, even the village headman, who, for all his harshness, couldn’t hold back the tears pouring hotly from his left eye...” (Sijie 35). Luo and the narrator are able to reach out and connect to every single villager through these reenacted movies. Not only can the simple act of coming together once a month to watch these performances bring the village together, but the overwhelming shared emotion brought upon each and every villager bring a sense of unity. Having a purpose in the village, and being the ones to be responsible for this unity in the village can further bring a sense of hope and purpose to both Luo and the narrator. Additionally, After the narrator and Luo had taken several trips to the town, the narrator feels grateful for the opportunity of leaving the grueling work. He expresses his gratitude, thinking, “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that our visits to town had become an obsession but at least having to trudge across the mountain to see a film meant getting four days off from labouring in the fields…”(Sijie 81). The films gave a sense of refuge for the two youth. Rather than being forced to spend their entire time in the desolate fields working, the narrator and Luo are given a chance to travel. This provides hope for them to get through the strenuous re-education since they have journeys to look forward to. Therefore, the films unite the villagers through emotional affect, and at the same time give hope to the youth.

The Death of a Buffalo

Dai Sijie uses the symbol of the buffalo to demonstrate Four-Eyes’ coming of age. The symbol, buffalo, is an animal. Earlier in the book, Four-Eyes is portrayed to be below the status of the buffalo. Even though Four-Eyes is supposed to be the master of the buffalo, the buffalo seemed “determined to splatter its timid, inexperienced master with as much filth as possible…. One split second of inattention was enough for Four Eyes to receive a blow to the face from the buffalo’s tail, which sent his spectacles hurtling through the air… The creature halted, then heaved from side to side, trampling the muddy bed with vigor, as though intent upon crushing the submerged spectacle with its hooves…” (47). Four-Eyes, as described in the quote is “timid” and “inexperienced.” He lets the buffalo tread over him, unable to control his charge. At the same time, the buffalo is a symbol of everything going wrong in Four-Eyes life. He makes working in the fields hard for Four-Eyes and breaks a large part of his identity, his glasses, a symbol for his intellect.
Later in the book, Four-Eyes kills the buffalo, a symbol representing weaknesses and vulnerability. To prove his growth and coming of age, “the event, which would be attended by all the villagers, called for the slaughter of a buffalo.” Four-Eyes moved past his struggles of re-education and returned to society by destroying what was holding him back. He slaughtered the buffalo and drank its blood as a symbol of a restart and reentrance into society.

Seeing Hope

Seeing Hope





Quote #1: “‘You’re mad,’ Luo said to him. ‘Without your glasses you won’t be able to manage that mountain path.’ ‘I’ve written to my mother. She’s going to send me a new pair as soon as possible, but I can’t sit and do nothing until they arrive. I’ve got to work, that’s what I’m here for. At least that’s what the headman says.” (53)


Quote #2: “Eventually the arrival of his new glasses, sent by his mother, delivered him from his his semi-glasses, and put an end to our hopes for the time being,” (61)





Analysis:

Dai Sijie uses Four-Eyes glasses to emphasize how different people experience hope. Four-Eyes has myopia but because of his rich background, he can afford glasses, these are his mark that everyone can see. This hope of being on equal terms with everyone else is very fragile, and through his persistence to be seen as a hard-worker, a buffalo crushed his glasses.


In distress, but still persisting Four-Eyes continued to work hard, and even tried to go through with carrying a heavy load of rice over a precipice that he could not see. He fell and dropped all of his rice, but when all hope seemed lost, Luo and the narrator stepped in. Four-Eyes did not want their help, he felt he had to go through with the task on his own, but Luo and the Narrator saw their chance. They hoped that they could make a deal. To help him in exchange for a book.

Luo and the Narrator’s eyes were finally opened through this one book that they were gifted, to a new side of the world they were isolated to. They hoped that if they could continue to help Four-Eyes, now without the crutch his status allowed him to have that kept him on an equal level, they could get even more books. Once Four-Eye’s mom sent a new pair, though, they lost all of that hope, although Four-Eyes’ was restored because now he could get along on his own.

The Ray of Hope

The Ray of Hope

A. “But it was not a shoe, it was a suitcase. A ray of light bounced off the glossy lid. It was an elegant suitcase, a little worn but made of fine leather, and it gave off a whiff of civilization” (48-49).

B. “We were beside ourselves. My head reeled, as if I’d had too much to drink. I took the novels out of the suitcase one by one, opened them, studied the portraits of the authors, and passed them on to Luo. Brushing them with the tips of my fingers made me feel as if my pale hands were in touch with human lives” (99).

Sijie uses Four-Eyes’s suitcase to represent the gateway to intellectual liberty for the two re-educated boys. The suitcase, which the narrator accidentally stumbles upon in Four-Eyes’s room, is an object of mystery and wonder throughout much of the book. Ironically, the suitcase itself is never described in much detail; it’s what’s inside that the narrator and Luo really care about. The suitcase with its trove of Western literature gives the two boys hope that there is more to their situation as they’re now enabled to explore new and foreign ideas which they were never exposed to. Furthermore, the suitcase embodies the narrator and Luo’s hope for the freedom to think as independent entities, separate from the ideals of the Communist Party. Once Luo and the narrator read Ursule Mirouet by Balzac, they are unable to resist the intellectual liberty brought by the literature and therefore steal the suitcase. The suitcase, being a symbol of their aspiration for intellectual liberty shines a ray of hope into the well of their reeducation. 

How Movies Saved Luo's Life

In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Sijie uses movies to symbolize a sense of hope and purpose for our main characters. It serves as an escape from the dismal life that the villagers are forced to live in. “He was able to electrify an audience by means of a perfectly timed voice-over; even when overcome by a violent bout of malaria" (40). Luo seemed to be on his deathbed, however, because movies gave Luo purpose and a sense of enjoyment, the retelling of the movie reignited his hope. His hope pushed him to fight through the sickness, and when he came back to health, that hope stayed with him. “Next month,’ the village headman announced with an imperious smile, ‘I shall send you to another film. You will be paid the same as if you had worked in the fields. At first we thought it would just be a welcome change…”(20). Now Luo and the narrator have a sense of purpose in the village where they no longer have to constantly work in the fields. Not only do they enjoy watching movies and telling stories to the other villagers, but it gives them hope for the future because they no longer worried about the detrimental effects of being re-educated.