Sophie, Neil, Noora, Allan
P2
“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.
Although no one can know for sure, this could have a connection with loss, for the headman could have obtained those three bloodspots after a rough time in his life where something important to him was lost. Therefore, turning him into the strong and hostile man he is today, intimidating those he comes across with.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think the spots mean?
ReplyDeleteWhy does this message of them continue over and over, and how does it relate to a topic?
Red is also a significant color in Chinese culture...
ReplyDeleteCould the blood spots also represent intellectual liberty? Maybe because coming to re-education where they met the headman meant that they wouldn't be able to have intellectual liberty and would be only exposed to peasant ways?
ReplyDeleteCould the blood spots symbolize control? And control over what everyone could do, but also, Mao's control over his own ideas?
ReplyDeleteRed symbolizes hope in Chinese Culture so the fact that the headmen is being used and is representing red. This could mean that their hope has been taken away by the person that brought them there
ReplyDeleteHow can the three blood spots help the reader infer what the headman's life was like?
ReplyDeleteWow! I never say the connection between the three-red blood spots and frugality before but it's very clear now. That's so subtle too, but it makes a lot of sense why the author would want to make a symbol to encapsulate the headman's frugality. Why would the author connect frugality to blood spots in the headman's eye?
ReplyDeleteWhen the headman is having his tooth pulled out the narrator finally mentions the blood spots without the context of the cultural revolution. I think this is because the narrator has finally in his mind defeated the idea of the headman being a tyrant.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the blood spots are the first instance of the color red? I noticed that red is used very often throughout the book and am wondering if it shows the same thing as the blood spots or if they are not related.
ReplyDelete