The book Beijing Coma by Ma Jian is one of very important events surrounding the ways government has affected the country of China over the years. It follows the story of Dai Wei, a pro-democracy protestor who was shot in the head at the riots at Tiananmen Square in 1989, and is in a coma. He is telling his story starting from his childhood, and I presume he will continue all the way up to the current day events. One thing that confuses me is how he is able to tell stories while he is in a coma, and how he can sometimes hear what people are saying around him. I comend Ma Jian for this intriguing way to tell a very important story. Dai Wei starts his life story when he was just a young boy, and his father had just come back from a work camp to try convert his liberal political views into a more socialist mindset. The day he returns, the father feels like he's been at home for years. After talking to his sons, the mother tells him, "Don't corrupt your sons with your liberal thoughts, Dai Changjie. All the activists involved in that Democracy Wall Movement last year are now in jail" (7). I believe this really epitomizes the fear the people in China had in that period in history, and also shows how the mother does not want her sons to get into trouble through their differing politics.
As the book continues, the family starts talking more about their plans for the future. The father tells them about how he had almost moved to America before the Communists had taken over China, and how he wanted to move their as soon as possible. Although the mother agrees with the father that it would be in their best interest to move to America, she tells him, "Don't praise foreign countries in front of the children. Now that you're back, you'll have to read the papers every day and make sure you keep up with the changing political climate. We can't let our family be torn apart again" (9). This really shows how conservative the mother wants the family to be, and how she is still living in fear that the 'Party' will take one of the family members away. With the knowledge that Dai Wei becomes pro-democratic later in his life, one can really see where he gets all of his controversial views, which is from his father. It seems that everyone in their village calls Dai Wei's father a bourgeois rightist, as if he's a villain, when all he wants is the freedom that many people in the world take for granted.
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3 comments:
This seems like it would make a good read. The alternative way of presenting the story seems like it could be interesting if done well. The setting definitely seems like it would be good for creating suspense, but also that it would give a good way to learn about China.
This story seems very exiting. I can understand how you would find that confusing because if your in a coma you usually can't speak. However, his story seems one of lots of excitement and adventure. His family seems very traditional and I wonder how that will affect him later in the book.
I agree about what you said about the mom no wanting the childern to have the same ideas as their father so they can stay together and not get separated. I think that the father is just showing a different idea to their childern toshow that other places are different from china. I thnk im ahead of you and so far it's really good I like how they tell the story from inside his head and it fells like your in the coma with him.
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