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| Plot Summary of The Great Wall of China |
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"This story succeeds where Kafka's 'Metamorphosis' fails. (In the more famous Metamorphosis a man, a miserable salesman, who lives the life of a work-beetle, overnight turns into a giant beetle and then lives out the rest of his miserable existence in that form: literally a mere beetle in life's great hierarchy of being. Unfortunately, within that story Kafka provides no reason whatsoever for this entomological grotesquerie, and life, not actually being that arbitrary (except on a madman's level of understanding), remains largely uncommented on. After all, the poor man might just have easily turned into unicorn or a dragon or a elf-lord and consequently lived out a thoroughly interesting life.)
But 'The Great Wall' is a polished gem. Even in translation its precision-cut thought and theme is evident. An educated man, not a labourer, but not a top architect or government mandarin, reflects on his life's work, overseeing the building of his small portions of the Great Wall. He knows his place in the great hierarchy of things. He knows that his contribution, objectively measured, is miniscule - yet also important. He understands more than the simple peasant work-ganger, and he understand something of echelons immediately above him, from whom he receives his orders. Some of the tactics of the great game he has fathomed. But the top echelon, its ultimate strategy? The real motives, and motives within motives - the knowing of all the checks and balances, the master plan of the emperor and his courtiers? Who can say. He has his place; he understands what he can and does what he can. He is content."
Michael JR Jose, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Great Wall of China |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- very sensitive (sigh)
Time/era of story
- distant past/middle ages
Life of a profession:
- blue collar worker
Inside culture (main char)
- Chinese
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- vague finding self/purpose in life (i.e. no plot to book)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- Chinese
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- engineer
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
Profession/status:
- killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- almost none
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 ()
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- China
Prairie?
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Amount of dialog
- little dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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