Ben Tuval > Recent Status Updates

'Come with me. We're going to have a talk in the Public Security Office at the commune headquarters'...the name of the Security Office alone was enough to bring visions of torture and hell for any class enemy" (128). I'm worried for the narrator's fate. The Security Office is such a broad term that it is hard to comprehend what occurs there. I hope for the best. The Chinese govt. is so strict.

'Come with me. We're going to have a talk in the Public Security Office at the commune headquarters'...the name of the Security Office alone was enough to bring visions of torture and hell for any class enemy" (128). I'm worried for the narrator's fate. The Security Office is such a broad term that it is hard to comprehend what occurs there. I hope for the best. The Chinese govt. is so strict.

"'Me too. Loathing for everyone who kept these books from us.' Hearing myself utter this last sentence frightened me, as if there might be an eavesdropper hidden somewhere in the room. Such a remark, casually dropped, could cost several years in prison" (100). It's unbelievable that these are the circumstances in which the Chinese are left in. People must fear for their thoughts. Good thing no one else was there.

"We had been so unlucky. By the time we had finally learnt to read properly, there was nothing left for us to read" (51). This is sad to see that the children who were born around the time of the Cultural Revolution really had no access to literature, similar to in Persepolis, when old books were confiscated and burnt. It is interesting to hear a fictional story of the effects of the Cultural Revolution, as seen here

"Still, the magic was not the same as when Luo took the lead" (39)...
I enjoy the realistic relationships between the characters, and clearly you can see the love that the narrator has for Luo as a friend. However, this changes, of course, as the narrator experiences some jealousy when the narrator believes that "I thought I saw the Little Seamstress lift one corner of the net and bend over Luo...for a kiss" (40).

I enjoy Luo's relationship with the narrator. They count on one another to entertain one another in the difficult work on the mountain. Without the other, I don't think the two would have had as pleasant a time working on "Phoenix of the Sky."
Also
"Between the ages of twelve and fourteen we had been obliged to wait for the Cultural Revolution to calm down before school reopened" (8). This reminds me of Persepolis

"And then he was on Leila, pummeling her chest, her head, her billy with fists, tearing at her hair, throwing her to the wall. Aziza was shrieking, pulling at his shirt... 'I swear you're going to make me kill you, Laila' he said, panting. Then he stormed out of the house" (305). I understand Rasheed has been fired from two jobs and his financial situation is not at its best, yet violence is never the answer.

"She saw Rasheed leading Mariam across the yard by the nape of her neck. Mariam was barefoot and doubled over. There was blood on his hands, blood on Mariam's face, her hair, down her neck and back. Her shirt had been ripped down the front" (269). Such behavior by Rasheed is never appropriate, is it not? Violence is never the answer and Rasheed's behavior is disturbing. Mariam has always been under Rasheed's control.