I just finished the book, and I thought that the ending was very interesting. I was somewhat disappointed to learn that Jiang Ching's reign completely ended after the death of Mao, her husband. Although she worked very hard to gain the power that she eventually got, she ended up trying to destroy people that had once done wrong unto her, which I thought was unethical. One thing I really enjoyed about the progression of her story was the way Anchee Min told the story as if it was a play. I enjoy performing in front of audiences, and the format of the story made it seem that much more realistic and relatable to my every day life.
Another thing I liked about this novel was the changing point of view. I think it gave a more well-rounded story and a more diverse opinion of Madame Mao. She would tell her story during some points, and then a third-person omniscient narrator would continue the story without her bias in focus. I think that this helped me better understand her life story and the events that she overcame. The point of view was an integral part of the story, bringing in different perspectives about Jiang Ching.
Finally, I feel like I learned a lot about the Chinese cultural revolution through this book. As I stated before, I think that Mao is a symbol of change for the people. However, after reading more, I have realized that although many people were very supportive and even dedicated to him, he was not necessarily always right or ethical or kind to others. This can be seen perhaps most easily through his relationship with his wife. Near the end of his life, he treated her terribly and did not respect her at all, even though she tried everything she could to help him succeed by creating Communist plays and trying to destroy different government leaders to make his position easier and less burdensome. Mao Tse-tung was never willing to change his ways to make her happy and inspire her to do even more for the cultural revolution. I think that in a way, her time spent in jail symbolizes an overthrowing of old and bringing in new. These changes affected her profoundly, and she realized that she was no longer the true leader to bring about change in China. Overall, I enjoyed Becoming Madame Mao a lot and I learned many new things about the cultural revolution in China.
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As I still do not know how to post a blog, i will continue to comment and use this as my blogging area. First of all, i think Madame Mao changed her name to Lan Ping because she is just using it to play another role. She thinks it describes her, when really there is no straight way to describe her since she changes her person so much. The three words I would use if i could pick her name is Multiple Personality Disorder. That fits her better than Blue Apple or Blue Sweet or whatever her names transfers to. I also want to know what she was doing with Tang Nah. I was kind of annoyed by him. I think she fell in love with him because he was so obsessed with her that she fell in love with his flattery more than Tang Nah himself.I also think it is a little bit strange that the communist military camp thing she is currently residing in has an opera troupe... it doesn't seem to fit the army lifestyle in my book but whatever floats your boat i guess. It will give her another opportunity to show off her talent and expand on her multiple personality disorder by playing someone she's not. I also predict that she will meet Mao and fall in love with his power rather than falling in love with the actual man...this seems to be a bad habit on her part. I think she may also use him as a stepping stool to become a powerful woman and seek revenge on all the people who have ever done her wrong. This woman can hold a grudge!
ReplyDeleteAs for Farilynn, I would have punched her in the face by now if I were Lan Ping/Madame Mao/Multiple Personality Disorder because she would drive me insane. If i were her, i would get the bed and make Farilyn sleep on the floor outside in the rain until she stopped making fun of me.
And that is what i have gathered so far! i'll read more for next week.