On the Road
China
February 12, 2009
I used to like stories with a happy ending, especially love stories;and I guess many people, especially kids and yong people like stories with a happy ending.
About two years ago I watched a movie called Training Day with my friends. When it was over, I thought to myself,'Is there any such happy ending in real life? Yes, there is, but sometimes(maybe often) in real life bad guys like the corrupt cop in the movie would win and take the money and those who were bullied would be in frustrated and disappointing.
I had the same thought after I watched the movie again this winter break. But I was still glad with the ending, which was encouraging.
After I read the novel 'The Lord of Flies', I felt relaxed when I read that a captain appeared so that the boy who was being chased could be safe. But later I thought to myself, 'What if the Capitain didn't appear?'
After I read Wuthering Heights(a great novel), I felt comfortable with the happy ending. But after a while I thought to myself, 'what if it had an unhappy ending?'
I am not pessimistic. Actually I was encouraged and I felt comfortable when I finished the movie and the stories above. The movie and the novels with the happy endings(and they are good endings), to some extent,encourage people and let people see the lights of hope.
I asked myself 'what if...' just because I thought there were many possibilities in life and you never know whether you would have a happy ending with your own story.
About two years ago I watched a movie called Training Day with my friends. When it was over, I thought to myself,'Is there any such happy ending in real life? Yes, there is, but sometimes(maybe often) in real life bad guys like the corrupt cop in the movie would win and take the money and those who were bullied would be in frustrated and disappointing.
I had the same thought after I watched the movie again this winter break. But I was still glad with the ending, which was encouraging.
After I read the novel 'The Lord of Flies', I felt relaxed when I read that a captain appeared so that the boy who was being chased could be safe. But later I thought to myself, 'What if the Capitain didn't appear?'
After I read Wuthering Heights(a great novel), I felt comfortable with the happy ending. But after a while I thought to myself, 'what if it had an unhappy ending?'
I am not pessimistic. Actually I was encouraged and I felt comfortable when I finished the movie and the stories above. The movie and the novels with the happy endings(and they are good endings), to some extent,encourage people and let people see the lights of hope.
I asked myself 'what if...' just because I thought there were many possibilities in life and you never know whether you would have a happy ending with your own story.
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06:52 AM Feb 17 2009 |
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Mapleleaf Man
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February 12, 2009
When Drew said to me, 'Merry Christmas' on the phone, I thought to myself: 'Well, well...'. and then replied him by saying 'Merry Christmas to you too.' I thought to myself: I don't need Christmas. The only holiday that I care is Chinese new year(some peope call it Spring Festival).
I was wrong--I was not excited when Chinese new year came. I felt that it was a normal day, nothing special.
Actually, I rarely care about any holiday, mid-fall day, Chinese new year, yuan xiao jie, whatever. What makes me glad about those holidays is that you have free time for your family and friend and so that you can hang out with them.
Traditonally, Chinese people eat mooncakes on mid-fall day, eat yuan xiao on yuan xiao jie and like that. I don't care about that.
Maybe some Chinese people would say I don't value my own culture according to that, but I would say, Chinese culture lies in the words of Confucius and the way Chinese people understand family, life and such, rather than lies in some holiday activities.
Most of the time I stayed in my town and in my village(Oh, what a prison it was!), having nothing exciting to do and staying bored. Oh, I know,it is not life itself boring, it is people feel bored. But if you come to my hometown, even during Chinese new year, you may feel dead bored.
It was novels that saved me. Here are some novels I read during the winter break:
1. The British Flag(written by Kertesz Imre， a Hungarian auther). I only read some parts of it. He said that very soon he realized that he was not interested in the questions of 'for whom do you write' and 'why do you write' at all and he was only interested in one question: What can I do about literature?
I felt the same way. Nor I am interested in the two questions(and I didn't know that before).
2. On The Road(by Jack Kerouac). FINALLY, I got it!! It is sad when you have to wait and search for the book you have been wanting to read for YEARS! I guess the reason why some Chinese students, me included of course, is that life is too depressive for many Chinese students, especially for high school students and they desire to breath some air of freedom. A car or a motorcycle can be a great answer
to it.
While reading the book, I was reminded of my trip to Hangzhou last september and of some crazy and funny things I did while I was wandering aroud the streets in the evening with my friend. Yes, a person may find himself in reading.
After I had finished half of the book, I found it was tiring to read, as it seemed that the people got on the road again and again and did similar things endlessly and it made me think that maybe the rest of the book was similar to the half I had finished. But anyway I finished it after I stopped to read another book and then got back to it. It is a good book.
3.尘埃落定 written by a Tibetan writer and it is a story about how the 土司（an landlord who keeps slaves and controls his commoners) system falls. The novel contains history, love, heroes and such. Maybe it is the most interesting Chinese novel I have read in years.
4. The desert of love（This is what I translate. I guess the English title should be so) written Franois Mauriac, a french writer. The greatest novel I have read in years.
I played ping pong with my brothers and some friends and that was great fun.
I was wrong--I was not excited when Chinese new year came. I felt that it was a normal day, nothing special.
Actually, I rarely care about any holiday, mid-fall day, Chinese new year, yuan xiao jie, whatever. What makes me glad about those holidays is that you have free time for your family and friend and so that you can hang out with them.
Traditonally, Chinese people eat mooncakes on mid-fall day, eat yuan xiao on yuan xiao jie and like that. I don't care about that.
Maybe some Chinese people would say I don't value my own culture according to that, but I would say, Chinese culture lies in the words of Confucius and the way Chinese people understand family, life and such, rather than lies in some holiday activities.
Most of the time I stayed in my town and in my village(Oh, what a prison it was!), having nothing exciting to do and staying bored. Oh, I know,it is not life itself boring, it is people feel bored. But if you come to my hometown, even during Chinese new year, you may feel dead bored.
It was novels that saved me. Here are some novels I read during the winter break:
1. The British Flag(written by Kertesz Imre， a Hungarian auther). I only read some parts of it. He said that very soon he realized that he was not interested in the questions of 'for whom do you write' and 'why do you write' at all and he was only interested in one question: What can I do about literature?
I felt the same way. Nor I am interested in the two questions(and I didn't know that before).
2. On The Road(by Jack Kerouac). FINALLY, I got it!! It is sad when you have to wait and search for the book you have been wanting to read for YEARS! I guess the reason why some Chinese students, me included of course, is that life is too depressive for many Chinese students, especially for high school students and they desire to breath some air of freedom. A car or a motorcycle can be a great answer
to it.
While reading the book, I was reminded of my trip to Hangzhou last september and of some crazy and funny things I did while I was wandering aroud the streets in the evening with my friend. Yes, a person may find himself in reading.
After I had finished half of the book, I found it was tiring to read, as it seemed that the people got on the road again and again and did similar things endlessly and it made me think that maybe the rest of the book was similar to the half I had finished. But anyway I finished it after I stopped to read another book and then got back to it. It is a good book.
3.尘埃落定 written by a Tibetan writer and it is a story about how the 土司（an landlord who keeps slaves and controls his commoners) system falls. The novel contains history, love, heroes and such. Maybe it is the most interesting Chinese novel I have read in years.
4. The desert of love（This is what I translate. I guess the English title should be so) written Franois Mauriac, a french writer. The greatest novel I have read in years.
I played ping pong with my brothers and some friends and that was great fun.
