1. Character Development
The first character of interest was Little Bao. He is excited and curious for the beginning of spring and the operas coming. Honestly, I had never heard of a small child wanting to listen to an opera. Little Bao can be characterized as a round character and at the beginning of a journey. I want to focus on using the archetypal and deconstruction lens for his character. Little Bao's idol is Tu Di Gong. He is the local Earth god of the village. Little Bao is fascinated by the opera singers, they stay with him as he works the fields with his family and as he sleeps. Little Bao also looks up to his father and even more so when his father stands up for Grandma Crooked.
Little Bao had to grow up quickly, while his world rapidly changes around him. He is mostly disregarded by his brothers, Little Bao is impacted by the changes in his village and his father's near death. The world he knows is threatened and his father is forever changed. Lao Bao knows that everything is different.
2. Historical/Cultural Contexts
Reading the story of Little Bao from his perspective brought colonialism into light. It was difficult seeing the brazenness of the stranger that first visited his village and then the foreigner. There was no respect for the people present and their beliefs. Smashing the idol of Tu Di Gong since it clashed with the idea of Christianity and a one god belief, was shocking. From Little Bao's perspective, he did not know why his idol was being destroyed and what this foreigner's beliefs were. It was intrusive and had to have been scary.
3. Symbols
At the end of the chapter, there was a new statue of Tu Di Gong. The new statue was poorly made, slanted, and the mouth was slack jawed. The new Tu Di Gong seemed to collectively represent was the village was feeling. Little Bao described his world as "just isn't the same" (30). The previous statue was happy and cheerful, as life had been before. Life for the village and Little Bao was not the same, and they were all left with many questions. It was as if the newer statue had woken up from a long nap and did not recognize the world he once knew.
4. Language (visual and verbal)
Little Bao is very much a child in the beginning of the story. He enjoys the market and opera. He is picked on by his older brothers. Little Bao has a defined sense of right and wrong. Little Bao must hid away and observe the what happens in the village, feeding into his sense of justice and wanting to help. The panes from the beginning so Little Bao as a joyous child watching the opera and carried away with his imagination. The worries of the world around him are minimal. It's not until the statue of Tu Di Gong is smashed and his father is killed, that his world becomes starkly different and not so childlike.
5. Theme
I believe that the first chapter addresses the change or shift that is occurring. The oppression of the Chinese people was only beginning to come to light in this chapter. The village only became aware after the visit from the foreigner and how serious the threat was when Little Bao's father returned near death. It was then that the village began realize that their way of life was being threatened and there was a shift to adapt to a new set of beliefs. Those set forth by the pale skinned guy with the hairy hands. Everything that Little Bao loved in the beginning of the story has changed in some way.
6. My Thoughts
Spring was a renewal for Little Bao is a different way. Spring was the time for Little Bao to stop being a little boy and let go of his childish ways. It became time for him to stop day dreaming about the opera singers. He nearly lost his father and had to begin to define his sense of justice. His village was beginning to crumble and become something he no longer knew.
The first character of interest was Little Bao. He is excited and curious for the beginning of spring and the operas coming. Honestly, I had never heard of a small child wanting to listen to an opera. Little Bao can be characterized as a round character and at the beginning of a journey. I want to focus on using the archetypal and deconstruction lens for his character. Little Bao's idol is Tu Di Gong. He is the local Earth god of the village. Little Bao is fascinated by the opera singers, they stay with him as he works the fields with his family and as he sleeps. Little Bao also looks up to his father and even more so when his father stands up for Grandma Crooked.
Little Bao had to grow up quickly, while his world rapidly changes around him. He is mostly disregarded by his brothers, Little Bao is impacted by the changes in his village and his father's near death. The world he knows is threatened and his father is forever changed. Lao Bao knows that everything is different.
2. Historical/Cultural Contexts
Reading the story of Little Bao from his perspective brought colonialism into light. It was difficult seeing the brazenness of the stranger that first visited his village and then the foreigner. There was no respect for the people present and their beliefs. Smashing the idol of Tu Di Gong since it clashed with the idea of Christianity and a one god belief, was shocking. From Little Bao's perspective, he did not know why his idol was being destroyed and what this foreigner's beliefs were. It was intrusive and had to have been scary.
3. Symbols
At the end of the chapter, there was a new statue of Tu Di Gong. The new statue was poorly made, slanted, and the mouth was slack jawed. The new Tu Di Gong seemed to collectively represent was the village was feeling. Little Bao described his world as "just isn't the same" (30). The previous statue was happy and cheerful, as life had been before. Life for the village and Little Bao was not the same, and they were all left with many questions. It was as if the newer statue had woken up from a long nap and did not recognize the world he once knew.
4. Language (visual and verbal)
Little Bao is very much a child in the beginning of the story. He enjoys the market and opera. He is picked on by his older brothers. Little Bao has a defined sense of right and wrong. Little Bao must hid away and observe the what happens in the village, feeding into his sense of justice and wanting to help. The panes from the beginning so Little Bao as a joyous child watching the opera and carried away with his imagination. The worries of the world around him are minimal. It's not until the statue of Tu Di Gong is smashed and his father is killed, that his world becomes starkly different and not so childlike.
5. Theme
I believe that the first chapter addresses the change or shift that is occurring. The oppression of the Chinese people was only beginning to come to light in this chapter. The village only became aware after the visit from the foreigner and how serious the threat was when Little Bao's father returned near death. It was then that the village began realize that their way of life was being threatened and there was a shift to adapt to a new set of beliefs. Those set forth by the pale skinned guy with the hairy hands. Everything that Little Bao loved in the beginning of the story has changed in some way.
6. My Thoughts
Spring was a renewal for Little Bao is a different way. Spring was the time for Little Bao to stop being a little boy and let go of his childish ways. It became time for him to stop day dreaming about the opera singers. He nearly lost his father and had to begin to define his sense of justice. His village was beginning to crumble and become something he no longer knew.
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