“When you lose your face [...], it is like dropping your necklace down a well. The only way you can get it back is to fall in after it.” These words of Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, perfectly describe Fugui’s character development throughout both the novel and the film adaptation of Yu Hua’s To Live. To Live follows the sorrowful life of Xu Fugui in a time of great change in Chinese society (the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution). Despite his character development and desire to grow, he is flawed. In both the film and the novel, Fugui has a crippling fear of losing face, which plays different roles in his life in each version of To Live.
Traditionally, it is very important in Chinese culture to ‘have face.’ Having face …show more content…
The other adults present in the dining hall viewed Youqing as out of control and Fugui was afraid that if he did not punish his son, he would be seen as a push-over and disreputable (due to the Chinese cultural rules of filial piety). In this moment, it did not even occur to him to question Youqing’s motivation because he was so focused on how others would perceive him; his reputation was at stake: “He said he (Youqing) was a saboteur! I had to.” It is clear that Fugui’s reputation is his priority. Another key event that was a major turning point in both the novel and the book was Youqing’s death. In the novel, his death was a result of the doctor’s ignorance and idiocy, whereas in the film, the blame is not so easily cast. Youqing was sleeping soundly when the team leader arrives to tell Fugui that all students must go smelt steel at school. Despite Jiazhen telling Fugui that his son needs more sleep, he refuses and ignores her and sends Youqing to school in his drowsy state. Fugui’s response to Jiazhen’s reasoning was: “Smelting steel is a duty. We can’t be politically backward. Mr. Niu praised us in front of everyone! Youqing has to go (to school).” As a result of his exhaustion, he falls asleep where he shouldn’t have and is crushed under a knocked-over wall. Fugui’s inability to put his family’s needs before his irrational fear cost him his son’s
Traditionally, it is very important in Chinese culture to ‘have face.’ Having face …show more content…
The other adults present in the dining hall viewed Youqing as out of control and Fugui was afraid that if he did not punish his son, he would be seen as a push-over and disreputable (due to the Chinese cultural rules of filial piety). In this moment, it did not even occur to him to question Youqing’s motivation because he was so focused on how others would perceive him; his reputation was at stake: “He said he (Youqing) was a saboteur! I had to.” It is clear that Fugui’s reputation is his priority. Another key event that was a major turning point in both the novel and the book was Youqing’s death. In the novel, his death was a result of the doctor’s ignorance and idiocy, whereas in the film, the blame is not so easily cast. Youqing was sleeping soundly when the team leader arrives to tell Fugui that all students must go smelt steel at school. Despite Jiazhen telling Fugui that his son needs more sleep, he refuses and ignores her and sends Youqing to school in his drowsy state. Fugui’s response to Jiazhen’s reasoning was: “Smelting steel is a duty. We can’t be politically backward. Mr. Niu praised us in front of everyone! Youqing has to go (to school).” As a result of his exhaustion, he falls asleep where he shouldn’t have and is crushed under a knocked-over wall. Fugui’s inability to put his family’s needs before his irrational fear cost him his son’s