What Is Self-Sacrifice In A Little Ball Launch By Dwarf

Reading: Cho Se-hui A Little Ball Launched by a Dwarf
Cho Se-hui’s A Little Ball Launched by a Dwarf, is a story that in some ways is all about sacrifice and utility. In the eyes of the two sons, they see all the sacrifices their father has made for their family; by working various jobs and becoming physically worn down. They acknowledge their mother’s hard work as well but, it isn’t focused on as much as their father’s sacrifice. The family’s existence in itself seems to be wrapped up in self-sacrifice dating back to before the children’s grandparents and great-grandparent’s time. However, it seems that no matter how hard this family works they cannot escape the “gray world” that entrapped them. In terms of utilitarian idealism, this family would be an …show more content…
Even though five adults are working full time in the family, they still cannot afford meat or move to a different house without borrowing deposit money from a family friend. The most interesting point about this text is that in the end, it is the daughter who demonstrates the most self-sacrifice for her family. While her brothers are more educated and have many ideas on what the construct of society should be, they can never get their plans into motion and fail to actualize what they want to achieve. They seek reform for their poor working conditions but, their plans fail prematurely when they are fired. When their house is about to be confiscated by the state with little compensation, they concede under pressure of real estate brokers and convince their parents to sell the titles for the house instead of rebelling against the system as they desired. I feel like this point in the story highlights the struggle that the majority of working-middle class in Korea faced: they sought out change, but because of their oppression by the upper class and government they had no opportunity to go against and resist their oppression because