Sunday, 22 May 2011

Red Thread Maiden: Character

     In the story "Red Thread Maiden", Yuan Chiao shows three characters, General Hsueh Sung, Red Thread Maiden, and General Tien, to the readers by describing the main conflict between them. I think it is very obvious that Red Thread Maiden is the protagonist in the story while it is hard to say that General Hsueh Sung and General Tien are the antagonists or foils. We can say General Tien might be the antagonist or foil, but it is not clear not only if he considered Red Thread Maiden as an enemy but also if Red Thread Maiden really wants to be against him; because she seems that she doesn't want to kill him or harm him. However, General Tien can be the antagonist to be reckoned with at some point because he is an evident antagonist of General Hsueh Sung and Red Thread Maiden is on General Hsueh Sung's side and wants to help General Hsueh Sung by stealing General Tien's golden box. Meanwhile, Red Thread Maiden and General Tien have something in common; they are both round and dynamic whereas General Hsueh Sung is flat and static; they are both active and "clever". It had better describe them as the clever than the wise because what they have done doesn't harm anything-at least life-but they already know what they can get from others. It seems that they know what they are doing and they predict what is going on next.
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3 comments:

  1. Xiaoyue24 May 2011 at 08:52

    I think you did very well.
    One thing that I want to say is that it would be much better if you pay more attention on the organization of the paragraph.

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  2. Nathan24 May 2011 at 08:53

    This is a very good effort, Hee-Jung! In terms of who the protagonist is, I think it's Gen. Sung because the story seems to be told from his point of view. For example, the narrator tells us what Gen. Sung did while Red Thread went to Gen. Tien's palace, but it is Red Thread herself who describes in dialogue what that experience was like. If Gen. Sung is indeed the protagonist, then Gen. Tien would seem to be an, if not, the, antagonist. But Red Thread is a major character, the most important character in the story. Perhaps we can say that she is sometimes an antagonist and sometimes a protagonist. Your post made me think about this particular aspect of the story, and I will need some time to consider it more. Very well done!

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  3. Hee-Jung24 May 2011 at 09:15

    Thank you for giving me an advice! I will consier it more, too!:)

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