This week I will be doing a close reading of "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger". The passage that stood out to me the most was when Du
Tenth said
, “
My love, can you really not come up with even a single coin? What is to become of the plan for my future?” The young master just wept, unable to answer a single word. Around the fifth watch, it gradually grew light. Tenth said, “The padded quilt I sleep on contains a hundred fifty taels in odd change. This is my private savings. My love, you may take it. I will take care of half of the three hundred, and you can take care of the other
half"
(p. 505). This talks about the plan that Du tenth and master Li had made to get Du tenth out of the whore house. So they made a deal with madam who was in charge of the the whore house to let Du tenth go free so she can marry master Li. The amount he needed to pay was 300 hundred silver taels within ten days or he will have to leave and never come back again. So three days have passed and Li hasn't accomplished anything so Du tenth helps by giving him what she save which was half of the amount that was asked for. In this Du tenth use the phrase my future which make me think that she is in it for herself and not with master Li. Also the tone she has through this passage and story shows she has a leadership role when it comes to her and master Li. This also shows that master Li is kind of a weak person who is easily influenced by what others say. My first thought were they are both trying to do this together but the more I thought about it it seemed more one sided in who is putting in more effort. Based on they are acting now foreshadow how they would respond to later events in the story. This is a rising issue that later builds up to the climax of the story. The raise an issue that all women during older asian culture were just there to look pretty and be a stay at home women, while men are suppose to be smart and manly. This story was the very opposite when it came to this culture norms. My new these is no matter your gender or background you are going to be you FENG MENGLONG. the norton Anthology of World Literature, Third Edition - Vol. 2. W.W. Norton, 1996.
Hey Timothy, nice analysis. I like how you started your analysis with a quote. I think the quote you used was good because it helps set up foundation to the story and for those who have not read the story yet. The only thing I think this analysis needs is a few sentences being re-worded along with some grammar corrections. Possibly also fix the structure of the intro because it positioned differently from the rest of your analysis. Nice job on the analysis and I look forward to reading your future work.
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