He Desire to Change the Subservient Role Essay

The Desire to Change the Subservient Role of Women in Old Chinese Society Chinese women stayed in an unequal status with men in old Chinese Society. Shen Congwens Xiao Xiao and Ding lings When I Was in Xia Village are two stories ab issue crossroads womens proceeds during modern date in China. The stories in some(prenominal) of these works present an important traditional Chinese belief that it is profitable to raise geese than to raise daughter.In Xiao Xiao, she is a twelve-year-old girlfriend who is married with a two-year-old economize, Chunguan, and as his care filmr in her youth. While When I was in Xia Village is a period when narrator spends his/her clock time in Xia resolution and make friends with a hamlet girl Zhenzhen. She is sent to Japan to spy Nipp singlenessse government after she is raped by Japanese soldiers. When she goes back village due to her disease, tribe cheek down upon her and laugh at her. Finally she runs a right smart from Xiao Dabaos propose and seeks for a fresh tone in city.Xiaoxiao and Zhenzhen declare something in common that they are both independent-minded woman also they are from village and ever desired to live in city to discover juvenile life and to aim culture they live under the tradition of gender discrimination in old China. While their experiences are dissimilar, and, at the end, Zhenzhen is seeking for her naked as a jaybird life in an different place, yet we see Xiaoxiao and her husbands family is lighten within traditions in their small village.In mens world, women are like a appliance which they can hire to make their life good, but we see some of women pay desire to wobble their subservient role to be bed independent in Chinese society. Xiaoxiao and Zhenzhen are independent-minded women compared to other women at that time in Chinese society. They are non afraid of break down the present life and live in their owns. When Xiaoxiaos grandpa and other relatives make joke on her about figur ing out her should become a coed when she grows up.Then she has thinking that how coeds life is, she felt vague stirrings of unrest, and took to imagining herself as a coed. Would she brook like the coed Grandfather talked about? In whatever case, there was nothing frightful about these coeds and so these notions began to occupy this smile girls thoughts for the first time (Shen 86). Although the author does not mention Xiaoxiaos desire to become a coed directly in the story, I feel that Xiaoxiao wants to have a different life from her present life as a caretaker in village. She is young and hopes her life to be one-sided and meaningful.After her stomach encounters bigger, she wants to have a new life in city, After a while, Xiaoxiao would riff her snakelike black braid, and, thinking of life in the city, she said crony Motley, why dont we go where we can be free in the city and find work there? What do you say? (Shen 91). She knows if she keeps financial backing with her hu sbands family, she would go to dead. No more clearly than herself that she knows her situation is worse. If she elopes with Brother Motley, she could be same as those coeds in the school and live her own life with a everyday jointure.Obviously, Xiaoxiao has her idea what her life she wants. In When I was in Xia Village, Zhenzhen is an independent-mind woman as well. withal though she has been raped and treated unrespectable. Zhenzhen does not care about surrounding peoples misunderstandings. For others sneer, she thinks she need to find another life but not surrender to marry Xiao Dabao, so she said to narrator I feel that living among strangers and keeping busy would be better than living at home where people know me Its better for each of us to go our own separate ways than it is to have everyone stay together in one place.Im doing this for myself, but Im doing it for the others (Ding 146). right like Xiaoxiao, Zhenzhen wants a new life in city and to start over. She hopes in a new place where not many people know her, so she could start over, A persons life is not just for ones father and mother, or even for oneself. Some have called me young, inexperienced, and bad-tempered. I dont dispute it. There are some things that I just have to keep to myself (Ding 146). From these two stories, Xiaoxiao and Zhenzhen are two women who have their own thought instead of under checker of traditions.Xiaoxiao and Zhenzhen have the same desire which moving from village to city. On one hand, Xiaoxiao wants to escape from her outence, on the other hand, she has desire to have sex with a real man, she cannot wait her little husband to grow up when she is twenty years old. So she cheats on her little husband involuntarily on surface. In addition, her husbands families take her in but she never drops the idea to be like a coed, maven day, word spread that the coeds were back again.When Xiaoxiaoheard this, she eyes stared out unseeing, as if in a daze, her gaze immovabl e on the eastern horizon for some time (Shen 93). She bent on joining the coeds on their way to the big city in search of freedom, unfortunately she is discovered. I guess Xiaoxiao does not have any ideas about having education in the city she just has to get away from village. However, from her grandpas definition on coed, she is interested in coeds life and she thinks if she becomes a member of coed, she has holidays and does not need to do farm works. Zhenzhen is different.Although she is from village too, she has live in Japan many years. So she knows she goes to city because she wants a intense future and escape the sad village then to be educated in order to get a job with other communists, What I do feel is that after I go to Yanan, Ill be in a new situation. I will be in a new situation. I will be able to start life fresh (Ding 146). Their movements illustrate that new Chinese women are changing peoples views and have sense of education is more and more important. life hi story in city is realistic and bright for them.Gender roles is very similar between Xiaoxiao and When I Was in Xia Village, they both present that women stand subservient role in society. Starting from Xiaoxiaos marriage, her marriage is arranged by her uncle when she is only twelve. People at that time set this tradition because they think girl is useless because daughters will be others sooner or later, so it is better to send her earlier to alleviate familys food. To the brides family, accept a girl into their family is not only a way to take care of children, but also add a worker to help farming as a free labor.Thats why to be contrast with other female students in town, Xiaoxiao is adulterer. To punish Xiaoxiaos cheating on her husband and families, Xiaoxiao is arranged to wait for her second marriage but no one come. Nevertheless, Xiaoxiao is lucky that her child turns out is a boy she does not have to be married pip after all. This tradition does not change after Xiaoxiao, then her son who is ten-year-old and have his wedding ceremony. Women in tradition could not hold any position of power. In the other story, people in Xia village are uneducated, so when Zhenzhen came back from Japan, they laughed at her and think she is dirty.Women have physical disadvantage than man, therefore, chastity becomes highly crucial especially at that time. People in the village can not understand her grievance, this is one of the reason why Zhenzhen wants to go to Xian where most people are educated, at least not so care about her background. No matter from which aspect, Xiaoxiao and Zhenzhen seems like a tool in men rule the world. Xiaoxiao is portrayed as object sold from a place to another. She could not have her own ecstasy because she belongs to her husbands family.Zhenzhen looks like more freedom than Xiaoxiao physically, but in fact, she is slaved by internal. Something she cannot shake off is her hatred and interiority, in a very calm voice, she said, I cant say that I hate him. I just feel now that Im someone whos diseased. Its a fact that I was abused by a large number of Jap devils. I dont remember that exact number. In any case, Im unclean, and with such a black mark I dont expect any good fortune to come my way (Ding 146). Zhenzhen is used to her reputation and body to help Chinese government but at the end, she could not get any sympathy.These things always happened to women, but not men. In conclusion, Xiaoxiao and Zhenzhen are two uneducated women living in old Chinese society where unbalanced gender roles and old traditions exist. They both from village and dreaming to move to city meanwhile they have sins could not be excused. Through their different experience, they have similarities that they both independent-minded to change their lives to take education in big city. The ending of stories are different that Zhenzhens disregarding of objection enable her goes to city as she wants, but Xiaoxiao still stays in village and ke eps her original life.In old Chinese society, woman is absolutely not profitable than men. So people use women like a functional object to help working or take care of family. I think women are living a hard life and very powerless in society. Even thought they want to take education to change their lives, reality makes them difficult. However, women play many different roles which cannot be ignored. The authors express their thought and show the current situation through these good works.