Chairman Mao and his oppressive communist government; the village headman Point of View: In the time leading up to her departure, she cut her hair into a bob, asked the tailor to buy her white shoes, and altered a jacket for herself.
When the Little Seamstress leaves the mountain for the city Antagonist: The Little Seamstress buys tangerines for the preacher, who died days earlier, and puts them on his grave. He possesses a suitcase full of forbidden "reactionary" Western novels that the Narrator and Luo covet and eventually steal.
Luo spends his days visiting the Little Seamstress and reading to her. The narrator learns that the preacher is in the hospital. Within months, schools were closed and students at Tsinghua University Middle School formed the first Red Guard group in support of Mao and his goals.
Luo, the narrator, and the Little Seamstress go to Yong Jing to see a film. Cite This Page Choose citation style: The novel focuses and "accents on a soft center rather than With this final act, the author illustrates that the power of literature is stronger than even he imagined at the time.
The seamstress gets up and resumes her march down the mountain. Historical Context of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Chairman Mao Zedong began the Cultural Revolution in with the intent to assert communism as the primary ideology of China, while doing away with anything western or traditional.
She calls four sorceresses to keep a vigil around Luo. The Miller narrates one part of the novel and provides songs to the boys, who then relate them to Four-Eyes. The novel switches to passages of narration by other characters. Then Luo narrates, saying he taught the Little Seamstress how to dive, and how she loved to dive for his key ring.
One snowy day in spring, Luo and the narrator go to see Four-Eyes, who has recently lost his glasses but is still attempting to work. Luo is so enamored with the work that he sneaks off to the village to tell the story to the Little Seamstress.
The novel ends with Luo, out of grief, burning all the books responsible for her transformation. The Little Seamstress is the "princess" of the mountain. On the third, the narrator is interrupted by the headman, who accuses him of spreading reactionary trash.
When they present their work to Four-Eyes, Four-Eyes deems the songs "smutty rhymes. Retrieved September 11, First person, narrated by the unnamed narrator. He offers the gynecologist a novel by Balzac in exchange for the abortion. Once the operation is performed and it is clear that it has gone successfully, the narrator gives him Jean-Christophe, his favorite, in addition to the Balzac novel promised in the original arrangement.
Friendship and lost innocence[ edit ] The major themes of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress include friendship and lost innocence.
It is seen by some as "a wonderfully human tale" and relatable. The narrator and Luo are sent to work in the extremely dangerous coal mine for two months. She eventually leaves the mountain and everything that she has known without saying goodbye, to start a new life in the city.
Luo and the narrator run down the mountain in pursuit of the Little Seamstress. Dai chose to participate, however, and he cites the allure of rigorous training as his reasoning.
The narrator goes to Yong Jing to try to get help from the gynecology department at the hospital. The narrator calls after her, but she keeps running.Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Dai Sijie's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: Introduction A concise biography of Dai Sijie plus historical and. Relationship In the novel Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress by Dai Sijie, I can relate my relationship with Diego, and Lou and the little seamstress's relationship because we have numerous things in common.
We both try and keep our sexual relationship a secret. SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
This one-page guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie. Set against the backdrop of the Chinese. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (French: Balzac et la petite tailleuse chinoise) is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Dai Sijie, and published in in French and in English in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress study guide contains a biography of Dai Sijie, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
About Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie List Price: $ Pages: Format: Paperback ISBN: Publisher: Anchor Books About This Book Inas Mao's Cultural Revolution swept over China, shutting down.Download