老陳的blog~

We go through an essay in the class which symbolizes the characters with three color- red, black and white. This is quiet an unique idea to use colors imply to different characters.

red is the color of Fusang for her clothes are constantly reddish.

The lost daughter of happiness is a story about a Chinese prostitute, Fusang, who was kidnapped from her in-laws from China to San Francisco, struggles to face the cruel reality in a foreign country. There she meets a white boy names Chris, who is crazed about her exotic face and manner; another man in her life is Ah Ding, a strong and tough gangster who often changes his name after he had committed crimes. Fusang decided to marry Ah Ding in the end when she found out that he is the man she was originally engaged to at China.

I found everybody's thought interesting, though some of the classmates didn't present anything because they didn't do their work. still,  I found pleasure from other's present and also see the different version of  interpretations about the story in the epilogue.

one opinion is that the sea reprsent the patriarchal power Mulberry/Peach was trying to resist, and the bird is Peach who trying  to fight back by carrying pebbles to the sea.

would you split yourself into half when facing an unbearable reality?

I started to think about this question after we finished reading the story in our class.

In today's class, I learn lots of background of Bone, including the author, the china town of San francisco and there even were information of a interview between the author and a journalist discussing the concept of the book. (what people can find in the Internet is incredible!!)  

I was particular interesting about the reason Ona chose to suicide. The book didn't give reader the answer of this question, maybe the author thinks it was clear enough in the book. was it the identity of chinese immigrant ? The pressure from Mah? why didn't Ona try to look for help while she had boyfriend and sister around her?  

I was happy that 泊蓉 shared her little advanture to Japan with us in the class. Of course I think it was brave to go abroad right before the midtern week, maybe it was a good oppotunity to go away and take a short break from the stressful atmosphere here.

However, the pictures of geisha I saw  were pretty different from what I imagine, the geishas in reality are not so perfect and elegance as those in the movie; they seem more lively when posing for tourists even with the "YA" guesture. Wonder what''s really behind their white faces, wouldn't it be nice if I can speak japanese and to have undertsand their life style more.

After today's discussion in class, I found most of the classmates have the same feeling as I do toward Hsu Chi-mo, most of us thinks he should take more responsibility as the man of the family and the husband of Yu-i. (since third-fourths of the students in the class are girls) Though I understand his dilemma that he must marry the girl his parents picked for him, still, Hsu Chi-mo can at least treat Yu-i fairly without discrimonation. After all, leave one's pregnant wife alone at a foreign country and then go pursuit another woman is not a very nice thing to do. 

While most of us showed our sympathy to Yu-i, one of the male student shared his point of view to us " I think this is just what happened under that kind of circumstances and it has already happened; there is nothing more we can say, not even mention to judge who has done the right thing and who has not."  this opinion sounds rational, right?! Could it be an excuse made up to protect his male fellow? XD  OH~ I really don't know.

This work " Bound feet and Western dress" written by Pang-Mei Natasha Chang who was related to Yu-i Chang. Yu-i Chang, as the first wife of the famous chinese poet:Chi-mo Hsu, was a legend herself.

I have seen the TV series 人間四月天 with my family when I was a kid. This TV series was based on the life of Hsu Chi-mo(whether it's true or not ), the   program was mostly centering on the complex relationships between Hsu Chi-mo and the three women in his life, Chang yu-i, Lin Hui-yin and Lu Hsiao-man. It was this TV program that raised the curiosity in me to study Hsu Chi-mo's poems; those poems were hard for me to really understand the imagery behind them since I was only ten or eleven. Still, astonished by the beautiful lines of Hsu Chi-mo's poems I latter on studies some of his famous verse and poems on both junior high school and high school text books.

There're something different I found in the class today; there are students from mainland China at my class!! I relaized this because both of them had to say something about their assignments in the class. Although I only see one of them, but I can tell by the accent that there are definitely TWO China students!

now back to the book Crossings; I found something strange about the story (it was told by teacher today) The fourth Jane was angry about her father's acceptance of fifth James' caucasian wife when she gives a birth to a child in the hospital, the grandson (granddaughter) of the family. Forth Jane thinks that it is unfair that her father chooses to accept the caucasian daughter-in-law but refuse to accpet her french lover.

Today in class, we studied a new novel "Crossings" by Chuang Hua. This book is a semi-autobiograophical novel of Chuang Hua herself; what I  thought interesting is that the author even use her name to name the heroine. Does this suggest that the story is a journal of Chaung Hua herself? , For me, the author herself was kind mystery, she was the first modernist to address the Asia American experience; she was a great writer.However, Chaung Hua lived a very private and reclusive life, she never went on a interview or public recognition.  she died about ten years ago, leaving her life a secret for the readers.

I found myself intrugued in the story because I have never read a novel full of so much contradiction. The heroine's life was pretty much a huge dliemma; her love to her dyaday and the only man in her life- the french journalist, her different values toward her brother, James, and her love affair. 

Today during the class we discussed about our own reflection of The memoirs of geisha. Some of my classmates have very interesting point of view in

our discussion. For example, someone doubt the relationship between the geisha and her danna is the same as a prostitute and his/her pimp. In some

The memoirs of a Geisha was a memoir of a Geisha named Sayuri(Chiyo). The story started with her being a little girl was sold to Kyoto with her sister.

luckier than her sister, she was sent into a Geisha house as a servant girl. In the beginning she all her want was to escape to find her sister, but soon

在上了一整個學期的英美小說後，最後一節課是以The Art of Loving 作為結束，這本書還蠻有意思的~分析出人的愛是有很多不同的種類，這學期偏重的是Erotic Love 也就是情欲肉體上的愛，這似乎是真正愛情中不可或缺的一部分-和另一半結合成一為一個個體。上課時也有同學提出真正的愛不一定需要肉體上的結合，可以是一種精神上的愛，一種單純的喜歡。如果真的有這種關係存在的話我覺得還蠻有趣的，會想要想了解這兩種愛(精神上和肉體上)的不同，真不知道哪天才可以親眼了解呀XD~

在這學期英美小說讀的書裡面，我第二喜歡的就是The Lover 了(第一名是 The bridges to Madison County) 詳細的理由我自己也說不出為什麼~說不定是因為這本小說的女主角跟我們的年紀比較相近吧，和家人在異鄉生活一定很苦，尤其是在家庭不溫暖的狀況下，沒有辦法在自己最親近的人身上得到依靠~所以我可以諒解她為什麼會和這個中國男人牽連，雖然這個男人沒有辦法給她任何承諾，但至少他可以提供這少女暫時的溫暖以及庇護，如果我是主角的話，說不定我也會做一樣的事

上完了色戒這本書讓人覺得很想去看李安拍的電影版，尤其Mr. Yee是梁朝偉飾演的讓人更覺得這部電影有可看性~雖然劇情裡面的女主角去色誘後來卻愛上男主角有點老套，不過還蠻好奇為什麼王佳芝會愛上易先生，他好像就是個中年的男人呀，有什麼理由讓年輕的女學生傾心呢?

很好奇呢!!!!!!!

1. what is Zhenbao's patriarchal ideology,i.e., his social standards on men and women, his different standard on male and female sexuality and his own double standards of true self?

Zhenbao thinks woman should obey the rule which was given by her husband; though he loves Jiaorui, she was too wild and not a ideal wife for the social standard  "martal wife".

Disscuss Industrial Revolution,Classes different, the matter of children and love in the book " Lady Chatterley's Lover"

Industrial Revolution affects both Clifford and Mellors, Clifford is a capitalist who approves of industrialize; he gains his power through industrialization and looks down on those who works for him. On the other hand, Mellors is a man against the industrialize, he thinks industrial revolution makes British society a worse place for next gerneration, like what he had said to Connie, he is unwilling to bring a child to such a rotten society.

1. what are the advantages and disadvantages on equality of marriage? How to maintain the married life in terms of inequality of marriage?

If the husband and wife possess the same status in their marriage, things are more likely to go smooth since their values might be the same and the way they deal a thing would be similiar.

Ethan Forme is a story mainly about a man- Ethan Forma's life and the affair he had with Mattie, his wife's cousin.