"Handstand" by Mo Yan

The second assignment of Zhuo Academy: Choose a short story, outline its plot, and sort out the cause and effect relationships.

I chose Mo Yan’s Handstand. When I read it for the first time, I felt like I was eating. How to find the cause and effect? I calmed down and read it a second time, and my experience became a little clearer.

From the perspective of the protagonist, me, Mo Yan's "Handstand" tells the story of Wei Dazhao (me), a bicycle repairman, who was unexpectedly invited to a high-end hotel to attend a meeting where he had just been promoted to deputy director of the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee. The minister's old classmate Sun Dasheng organized a class reunion.

So there is the reason laid out at the beginning of the whole article. I, a man repairing bicycles on the road, suddenly put on a suit and tie and came to the west of a luxury hotel that was incompatible with my identity. Dining room.

Then the novel begins to unfold, gradually answering this reason.

What was I doing when I learned that I was invited? Who told me? Where did the person who told me learn about it? Why did I need to go there so seriously? feast.

Half of the novel describes the process of receiving the invitation, interspersed with some short stories. The daily banter between me and Lao Qin, the conversations with my wife, and a series of incidents such as the local underworld and counterfeit money that I occasionally encounter in my daily car repair work. As well as the sneaky things that Sun Dasheng did when he was a child, it serves as a foreshadowing, highlighting the huge disparity in status between me and Sun Dasheng who will appear later.

The second half of the novel is all about the plot in hotels and dinners, which to a certain extent is also a progressive answer to this cause.

First, a detailed description of the hotel environment, from the ground, corridors, decorations, statues, and my psychological state when seeing these luxury goods.

Then there is the description of the characters, from the polite and handsome young man in a suit to the appearances of old classmates one by one, including Director of the Grain Bureau Dong Liangqing, Deputy Director of the Transportation Bureau Zhang Fafa, Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee Sang Zilan, Xiao Maofang, deputy manager of Xinhua Bookstore, nicknamed "Little Thatched Room", and his wife Xie Lanying, the only lady, the former school beauty goddess, and Sun Dasheng who arrived before anyone else arrived at the end.

Finally, it is at the dinner party, from the dialogue to the description of the action. It shows a very ironic battle between power, status and identity. The ugly faces of several old classmates who follow others' influence are vividly shown.

The reason why this novel is called "Handstand" is because it was originally written by Xie Lanying, the only female character who was once the dream lover pursued by everyone. She was as beautiful as a school belle and performed a handstand show in the school propaganda team. , so that people will never forget it.

However, after more than 20 years of life changes, she is no longer the graceful girl she was before. However, she performed a "handstand" for everyone amidst the booing led by Sun Dasheng. Hence the ugly glance: "The skirt on her legs slid down like a peeled banana peel, covering her upper body, revealing her two plump thighs and bright red shorts."

As everyone applauded "enthusiastically", Xie Lanying immediately realized the situation. She stood up in a hurry, covered her face with her hands, and ran out of the room crookedly.

In this novel, Mo Yan's description of the environment, characters, actions, psychology, etc. is extremely delicate. During the reading process, from time to time, I would feel an extreme disgust for this kind of official behavior, which should be the reason why this novel is very successful.

Postscript:

Because I don’t read many novels, I chose one from the reference given by the teacher. In addition to Mo Yan's "Handstand", I also read Han Shaogong's "The Angry Eyes King Kong".

But I really don’t have much interest in rural themes because I am very unfamiliar with them. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had the experience of living in a rural area since I was a child. I am a farmer-illiterate who doesn’t distinguish between grains and grains, and I can’t find a sense of identity and a sense of belonging.

For me who have not read many books, I cherish the articles recommended by teachers very much. It’s a pity that I couldn’t find the works of Dong Dong, Chi Zijian and Wang Xiaobo in WeChat Reading. Therefore, it is a pity that I could not understand the contents of the following three articles.

3. Dongxi's "Why I Don't Have Xiaomi"; 4. Chi Zijian's "The Soul of West Street"; 5. Wang Xiaobo's "The Green-haired Water Monster"