Sijie uses the symbol of movies in this book to represent and symbolize love, wonder, and civilization. First, the movies represent civilization in the deserted and unsophisticated world Luo and the narrator are stuck in. The movies are something viewed by people in the cities and the mountain villages; they are a connector between rural and urban. In this way, they symbolize civilization. The second combination of related concepts they represent are love and wonder. The love and maturity of the people in the movies is reflected in the Little Seamstress, Luo, and the narrator, helping them to come of age. The movies help them grow up by showing them idealized adults.
‘“As for us, we were content to watch her lovely face bathed in the luminous colours bouncing off the screen. Now and then everything would go dark and her eyes would shine like spots of phosphorus in the gloom. Then suddenly, when the scene changed, her face would light up, flush with colour, and blossom in wonder.” (81-82)
‘Her words pierced my heart. “It’s so much better when it’s you telling the story.”’ (82)
Sijie uses the symbol of the suitcase to represent mystery and the knowledge of the books. The mystery in the books helps them accept that there are some things they may never understand. Additionally, it represents the Westernized world that they so miss. When one starts growing up, they start to experience different things in their life. We see mysterious things that change our point of view in the world. For some people they see positive changes and others see things as negative. We start to see beyond one person and the little things that make them special to us. As we grow up we can discover ourselves and start learning what is important to us.
“Four-Eyes had a secret suitcase, which he kept carefully hidden.” (45).
“The heightened vigilance, and distrust shown by Four-Eyes, in spite of the friendship between us, seemed to substantiate Luo’s theory, and we grew convinced that the suitcase was indeed filled with banned books.”(50).
‘Luo broke silence the silence.“I expect they’re books,” he said. “The way you keep your suitcase locked up and hidden away is enough to betray your secret: you’ve got a stash of forbidden books”’ (49).
Physical Representations:
Your analysis of the symbols are well thought out and make sense. I also like your images.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought of the movies representing love and wonder before, and how the characters in the movies help the main characters come of age. It's a really unique yet great idea.
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