The Tone

In Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress I believe the tone of the book was playful, dangerous at points, and also rather romantic. Overall, the tone was light and happy.

I found the tone to be playful a lot throughout the book because some pretty humorous things happened sometimes. I found it somewhat amusing when the two boys visited the elderly miller to collect stories from him. I don’t know why it made me smile but it did.

Also, though, the point had a somewhat dangerous tone at some parts of the novel. The book had me on the edge of my seat, especially when they were stealing the books from four eyes. I was so sure that they were going to get caught and I could not put the book down. The rocky terrain also provided some exciting moments; I feel as though anything frightful heightened the plot. Lastly, I found the novel to have a romantic attitude. The entire book was mostly focused on the relationships of the little seamstress and Luo and the little seamstress and the narrator. It was cute the way the narrator described the seamstress for you could see his devoted affection for her. The romance was one of the best aspects of the book for me and it was that feature that made the book the best.

I also found the tone to be sad, but mostly only at the end when the seamstress left. I felt awful for the narrator and Luo. I could literally feel the sadness being omitted from the pages as I read. While speaking of people leaving, I was not, however, saddened by the departure of four eyes. After his mother had that talk with the narrator I was repulsed by his presence in the book and could not wait for him to leave. I believe that he was a greedy, sneaky brat and frankly, I was so glad when they stole his books right out from under his nose because he did not deserve them.

Overall, I liked that the mood was light but had unexpected spurts of other tones that made  the book come alive for me right before my eyes.

 

“How to Analyze Tone in Literature.” wikihow.com. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.wikihow.com/Analyze-Tone-in-Literature&gt;

“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Summary.” Gradesaver.com.
Web. 31 Oct. 2013. <http://www.gradesaver.com/
balzac-and-the-little-chinese-seamstress/study-guide/short-summary/>.

Conflicts

There are many conflicts represented in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, but I feel the main conflict revolves around the underlying jealousy between the narrator and Luo. It was clear when the narrator saw the little seamstress that he was in love. But she did no go for the narrator and instead she went for Luo, who didn’t find her civilized at a first glance. Though I believe that was the most prominent conflict, the littler conflicts present in the book brought a more real tone to the point of view.

For example, another large played conflict was the books. The books, being banned, was risky, but overall was worth it. Being re-educated should not have been solely relying on manual labor. Reading the books would have actually helped the people there, would have made them smarter and not have been a waste of time. While saying this, I also consider the fact that stealing the chest of books from Four-Eyes was stupid but also clever. Those these terms are contradicting, I very much stand behind that they are very much true. It was stupid, very stupid because they could have gotten in a lot of trouble. But the books became very useful when other situations arose, like the little seamstress’s abortion.

Less important conflicts included the seamstress being pregnant, which ended up requiring the narrator to relinquish one of his most favorite books to pay the gynecologist to do the abortion. The last conflict presented in the book was when the little Chinese seamstress left, and unfortunately it was never resolved.

When looking back at all the conflicts shown in the book, I realized a pattern. I recognized that most of the conflicts, big or small, revolved or were cause by the little Chinese seamstress. The seamstress herself could be called a conflict because of all the drama and trouble she caused. All of the things she did were mostly harmful in one way or another to the boys.

Overall, many conflicts arose in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress that heightened the excitement and brought more to the story as a whole.

 

Blazer, Alex E. “Strategies for Reading, Analyzing, and Writing about Fiction.”
gcsu.edu. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://faculty.gcsu.edu/
webdav/alex_blazer/Supporting/OSU/Analysis.htm>.

“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Summary.” Gradesaver.com.
Web. 31 Oct. 2013. <http://www.gradesaver.com/
balzac-and-the-little-chinese-seamstress/study-guide/short-summary/>.

The Lesson I Learned

I think many themes are evident when reading Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, but I believe the main one shown is that “Friendship is more important than anything”.

During the book, the narrator and Luo’s friendship was tested many times. The most prominent time was with the little seamstress. Though Luo ended up being her “boyfriend”, the narrator was also very much in love with her. This obviously created some tension between the two friends, because naturally this would happen when there are two boys and one girl. One would get here and one would not. The difference, though, between what usually happens and this story is that they stayed friends and did not become enemies. They knew that they’re friendship was more important than any girl. They stuck together, proving how much they meant to each other.

I thought that was sweet, considering that several times in the book, I thought that jealousy would get the best of the narrator and he would simply crack, or that Luo would find out how much the narrator cared about the little seamstress.

This posed another intriguing question. I wondered if Luo really knew how much the narrator loved the seamstress. The narrator loved her as much, if not more than Luo. Chunks of the chapters were devoted to what he thought of her and how he felt. It was incredibly obvious, at least I believed so. But I now come to believe that the narrator hid it rather well, because, after all, the story was told from the narrator’s point of view. But still, did Luo know? I think he did, and that he decided  not to say anything because that’s what friends do.

Clearly stated, the theme is “Friends are more important that anything” If Luo would have “unfriended” the narrator for the little seamstress, he would have ended up alone and sad when she left. But he kept his friends, his best friend, the closest because he knew that was the thing that mattered most.

 

“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Summary.” Gradesaver.com.
Web. 31 Oct. 2013. <http://www.gradesaver.com/
balzac-and-the-little-chinese-seamstress/study-guide/short-summary/>

“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Themes.” Gradesaver.com. .
Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.gradesaver.com/
balzac-and-the-little-chinese-seamstress/study-guide/major-themes/>.

The Mountain they Lived on

The setting in The Little Chinese Seamstress clearly played a very large role in this book. Without the mountain, there wouldn’t have really been any plot. If this book would have taken place in a town, hypothetically it would have taken away from the powerful tone of the book and it would have ruined the whole troublesome task of climbing up and down the mountain, which became a significant part.

I personally think the setting was the most vital feature in the book. The narrator and Luo traveled down the mountain to visit Four-Eyes, when they first encountered the little seamstress. If the story hadn’t taken place on the mountain, there’s the possibility that they wouldn’t have even met the seamstress. The mountain was also extremely important when traveling down the mountain became quite hard, which I found particularly quite funny.

Besides the mountain, their shabby little hut was another important place. Although many scenes didn’t take place there, it contributed to the fact that they’re “re-education” was not meant to be fun. Every detail that the author included really allowed my mind to draw a picture about how they lived.

Honestly, there were some points I actually didn’t like the setting, I thought the mountain was confusing. I couldn’t create a visual about what it looked like because the narrator and Luo went so many different places. Sure, it was descriptive but it might have been a little too in depth. A simpler mountain would’ve served just as good. Certain parts were just not as well written as others, for example where they went to visit the man for folk songs. I didn’t think the traveling section was very good because I couldn’t tell where they were going. I knew they went a long distance but where? That part wasn’t very clear for me.

Also, the time period was a huge factor in the book. If it wasn’t for that, they might not be getting “re-educated” at all.

Overall, I believe the setting was pretty good explained and added so much more to the story. I think the setting was important mainly because it gave really life to the explanation. It made the characters seem real to me and I think it gave some culture to the book. The mountain was for re-education and that’s exactly what it portrayed to me.

 

“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Summary.” Gradesaver.com. N.p., n.d.
Web. 31 Oct. 2013. <http://www.gradesaver.com/
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Growing out of the Mountain Girl

I think the main and most important character in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is the little seamstress. Throughout the story you learn more about her as she grows out of her title “Simple Mountain Girl”. Though she is not given a formal name, I saw her character become quite alive.

In the beginning, the little seamstress was just a girl to Luo and the narrator that both of them thought very little of, or so I thought. When asked if he was in love with her for he had been flirting, Lou replied that he was not because she was “not civilized enough” for him (Page 27). I still wondered though because he acted so differently with her then I had seen previously. I had a feeling his emotions toward him would change or he had been lying about not being in love.

As it continued, I saw the plot thicken right before my eyes, when the seamstress kissed Luo on the forehead. I assumed that a flame would be kindled between the two, and that they would fall in love. This seems to happen, as I thought, very quickly. Though the seamstress and Luo were now together, I could instantly sense underlying jealousy from the narrator towards the couple. He as well thought the seamstress was beautiful. At first I thought this was normal, that the narrator only liked her because she was with Luo; Friends do that kind of thing. But I saw how much he did for her, how he spoke of her and my opinion changed greatly. I knew he liked her and I also had a fairly good idea of what she thought of him.

I think overall, the narrator was basically “friend-zoned” throughout the whole book. The narrator wanted to be more than friends with the seamstress and she wanted to just stay good friends but nothing more. I thought the narrator would react to this throughout the duration of the book and I quite often questioned if Luo realized that he had no chance with her. When the seamstress told the narrator of her pregnancy, she told him like a best friend or a brother. So he helps her like a brother protecting her very much.

Suddenly, she changed, in the blink of an eye. The whole story I imagined her and Luo getting married or least the seamstress and the narrator getting together. Other things I had thought of is that she would die or marry another but leave? No, I had never seen that coming. Then poof, she was gone, found, and then gone again to a new life, a new girl. Luo ran and ran but returned empty handed, the poor boy only wondering what he could have done wrong. All that he knew was the lesson the seamstress had learned from Balzac: a woman’s beauty has endless value.

This angered me to no end. In the beginning of the book, I was terribly jealous of her. Of her beauty, her grace, her spirit, and the fact that two boys loved her. And then, of all things, she leaves her two boys for the stupid city. She traded love for something that could have been good but there was always the possibility it wouldn’t work out and then she would have nothing. She didn’t realize how strongly the boys loved her and if she did, she didn’t care at all. Not only did the Little Seamstress change physically, she changed drastically in my eyes.

“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Characters.” Gradesaver.com.
Web. 31 Oct. 2013. <http://www.gradesaver.com/
balzac-and-the-little-chinese-seamstress/study-guide/character-list/>.

Flemming, Grace. “How to Write a Character Analysis.” About.com. Web.
31 Oct. 2013. <http://homeworktips.about.com/od/writingabookreport/a/
characteranalysis.htm>.

“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Summary.” Gradesaver.com.
Web. 31 Oct. 2013. <http://www.gradesaver.com/
balzac-and-the-little-chinese-seamstress/study-guide/short-summary/>