Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

About the film Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Balzac Et La Petite Tailleuse Chinoise) is a story on two teenagers, Luo and Ma, who are sent to be re-educated during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. They are sent to a mountain because their doctor parents have been declared enemies of the state by the Communist state. While forced to work in coalmines and with rice crops, they fall in love with the daughter of the local tailor, the Little Seamstress. Originally written in French, the film shares adventures of the trio, intertwining love, friendship, storytelling and revolutionary constrains. Tension: Time & Space The film starts with Ma, the narrator, and Luo, being introduced to the village. It is their first night in the village…

In Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Dai Sijie's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, and Alice Munro's Boys and Girls, the young girls in each writing live in different cultures and parts of the world, but all the girls face gender discrimination in their own home or country and choose to rebel against the stereotypical norms. Marjane, The Little Seamstress, and the girl from boys and girls live in a time era and places that don't except strong, willful women. With the help of there family or…

In the book Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is about 2 teenagers named Luo and the narrator that are living in China in the 1970’s. During this time Mao and his communist party was in control of China and were trying to make China into a powerhouse like the US and Russia at the time. They were trying to get rid of the bourgeois and made going to school illegal. They would send the bourgeois kids to be re educated in the countryside. Luo and the narrator are sent to a village to be re…

The same thing applies to Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. The “Re-Education” policy of Communist China caused the narrator and Luo to be sent to the village side of Phoenix Mountain and instigated their want to read the banned, Western books. When the narrator says, “ we often discussed this between us…. speculating wildly what books that might be among them (Page 50),” shows us the mystery fuels the ambition to read these books. This Cultural Revolution was instigated in order to…

Jason Gustafson Mrs. Gauthier ELA2: Pre-AP 17 September 2015 To Stay or to Be Shortly Forgotten? Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress written by Dai Sijie should continue to be included in the tenth grade curriculum since it investigates different cultures, has realistic, well-developed characters, and features real world problems. Looking to expand the horizons of tenth graders, the novel is set in China upon a remote mountain during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and carries an…

1984 by George Orwell and Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie have been seen as controversial for many years because they feature an oppressive government. Many people believe that 1984 portrays the strength of literature on the characters more effectively because it highlights how language and literature were used in the form of slogans to control the entire society. However, readers fail to notice that 1984 lacks the effective use of literature and language. Literature and…

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sije embodies China’s revolution carried out by Mao Zedong. The harsh time period, were cruel restriction were implemented in regards to the limitations on western cultures are highlighted by the author when he adds “Balzac” to the title. Honre de Balzac, a French novelist and playwright during the French Revolution, exemplifies the restraints on Chinese society during the Chinese revolution. The fact that his work is western and he is in…

In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie writes about the relationship between two city boys and a mountain girl named the Little Seamstress. She learns more about life outside her world through these the narrator and Luo. Dai uses parts of the body to convey the Little Seamstress’s loss of innocence. Prior to her involvement with the two city boys, the Little Seamstress's features express her lack of experiences. When the narrator first meets the Little Seamstress at her house,…

Why We Shouldn't Take Our Education For Granted The First Amendment of the United States Constitution is the freedom of speech. It is an amendment all Americans exercise daily. It is very important that we as a nation, preserve, enforce and protect this right. But not all countries install these rights for their people. For example in 1970's China, many people had very little rights and freedom. A book named Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress was written 17 years ago all about the…

The Chinese Cultural Revolution in the mid 19th century brought a forced wave of reverting to traditional values, resulting in “approximately 12 million” (Allen “Dai”) people to be forced into villages. Because of the repetition aspect of history, many writers have written about concepts and ideas that people who are currently suffering will relate to. When writing about issues, authors tend to allude to other literature works. Relying on other authors to help explain characters’ desires or…