John Pomfret Chinese Lessons Analysis

Every time I heard or read the words “communism” and “socialism”, I cannot avoid to think about my beautiful country Cuba and how it fixed some broken things, but at the same it destroyed so many others, where the Cubans had no other option than to abandon their families and emigrate searching for a better future. As I was reading the extracts from John Pomfret, Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China, I kept coming back to the same memories from my childhood in Cuba and the feelings of living under a communist country. Although, I can relate to the stories shared by Pomfret in his book, it is still heartbreaking to find how other people in different parts of the world lived the same and even worse experiences for the …show more content…
His father, the one that “believed communism offered the brightest future for China … and above all his faith in Chairman Mao were unshakable”. However, there he was, being accused by his own wife and sons. They had no other option in order for them to be safe and not be dragged up by the red wave that only had one objective in mind, to find traitors even if they were not. The sad part came when Old Wu was invited to join the Communist Party and looking out for a better life, he did not hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity. Even though, those people and their beliefs killed his parents, he submitted the application and lied about his family and how his parents died. There was only one thing clear for Old Wu that “principles didn’t matter. Survival was the key” meaning that many people in China at that time had to do unimaginable and horrible things that were against their will just to stay safe and …show more content…
Every single person that was against the revolution or Castro was persecuted, discriminated, and forced to leave the island. Just like in China, families were destroyed and obligated to betray one another leaving no room for pardon or reconciliation. Although, China has developed and become a different nation from those times when Chairman Mao was in power, the past is still there reminding us what happened, where we come from, and how we got to where we are