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History 175 (2008)
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History 175 (2008)
Book Quiz #2 Study Guide: Family
Ba Jin's Family
Instructions: The Book Quiz will be comprised of two sections: matching and a short essay (with the answer limited to one side of a page). The matching terms will come from the list below. The quiz's essay question will be a modified version of one of the following. The strongest essays will include precise and pointed examples from the book to support your answer.
Matching Terms (30 pts): Ten terms from the following list will be selected and appear on the quiz.
Important Terms in the Story Family Members
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Characters (pinyin romanization)Chengtu (Chengdu) KAO (GAO) Family Kuomintang (Guomindang) Yeh-yeh (paternal grandfather)
May Fourth Movement Chueh-hsin (Juexin)
paihua (baihua) (p. 35) Chueh-min (Juemin)
West Szechuan Mercantile Corporation Chueh-hui (Juehui)
New Youth Chueh-ying (Jueying)
Chueh-jen (Jueren)
Shu-ying (Shuying)
Shu-hwa (Shuhua)
Shu-chen (Shuzhen)
Shu-fen (Shufen)
Ke-ming (Keming)
Ke-an (Ke'an)
Ke-ting (Keding)
Chien-ju (Jianru)
Chien-yun (Jianyun)
Jui Chueh (Ruijue) Cousin Chin (Jin) Mei Mingfeng
Essay Question (45 pts):
The actual in-class essay will be a modified version of one of the following. As always the strongest essays will include precise and pointed examples from the book.
Warm –up questions:
• When was this novel written?
• How do these characters see themselves and their place in the world?
• How does the intellectual climate affect their day-to-day lives?
• How do the students in the family see their role in society and what do they do about it?
• To what degree is the constant presence of death normal and in what ways is it specific to this time and context in China’s past?
- Ba Jin (or Pa Chin) intended Family to be an indictment of the traditional Confucian family, but how traditional is the family he portrays? Are all of the problems experienced by the characters the result of Confucianism or are some of the result of modernization? Does Ba Jin inadvertently also reveal some of the strengths of the family system he is criticizing? What, exactly, are Ba Jin’s complaints about this system?
- Ba Jin’s family consists of women as well as men. How does Ba Jin feel about traditional views of women? Does he emphasize the lower position of the female characters? Just how weak are they in this patriarchal society and how much are their problems due to gender?
- Although Family focuses on an upper class family, lower classes are also portrayed. Is Ba Jin really as sympathetic and understanding of the lower classes as he would like to be? How much understanding does he reveal of their lives and what does he overlook? How does he regard the role of the upper classes in the oppression of the lower?
- How does Ba Jin portray the changing standards of personal morality especially with regard to love, sex, and social responsibility? Is personal integrity good enough? How do the moral codes of the older generation compare to those of the younger? Are they better, worse, or just different? Are there some ways in which they are not different?
- Ba Jin is not complaining about an oppressive political system enforced by law, but a social one. How much difference does that make? What persuades most of the characters to conform despite their personal unhappiness? How do affection and social pressure create their own imperatives to conform? Why is it so difficult for his characters to break free? Do you think they lose as well as gain if they do break free?
ROMANIZATION NOTE: The names in this book are romanized (spelled) according to an older system different than the one we've used in class, in the textbook, and in our readings. The author's name, 巴金, is romanized in the book as Pa Chin (using the Wade Giles system), but as Ba Jin in the more common pinyin system. I would prefer that you spell it according to this more modern system, though you can spell the names as you prefer.
Helpful Links: Family Tree for the relatives in Family
