Philosophy of Life in Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the different ways that a philosophy of life is used by the authors of 'The Man from a Peddlers Family,' Lu Wenfu and 'The Interview,' Ruth Prawar Jhabvala, to structure their stories. In order to do this, the paper describes the protagonists in the stories and compares their philosophies as they are described in the two novels.

From the Paper:

"Even though Zu Yuanda worked hard all his life, selling his wontons, shrimps and various other foods that kept the public content all those years, when the state ideology turned to communism people turned against his philosophy of work. The public then scorned upon the peddler, who had served a purpose for so long. Accused of being a social loafer, for not working in accordance with the state ideology, Zu and his family are sent to the country to work in state-run factories."
"The wonton pole is symbolic of Zu's philosophy of life. It represents his ability to survive in all circumstances. When the wonton pole is crushed, so too is the peddler's illegitimate business. But since the pole also represents Zu's strength in character, his ability to battle on and handle whatever life throws at him, he manages to move on with his life and work for a state-run factory sweeping up iron filings."

More papers on Philosophy of Life in Literature:

• Research Paper # 103963 : "The Meaning of Life"
• Analytical Essay # 90517 : "The Victim Role of Racism in Works by James Baldwin"
• Analytical Essay # 28935 : "What is Literature" and "A Farewell to Arms"

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