Katherine Harrison
Mrs. Pasic
Language and Literature 7B
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Chu Ju’s House – Connector
My group and I started reading Chu Ju’s House, a novel
written by Gloria Whelan. My job is to find connections between the book and
the outside world.
The book depicts life in China, in the eighties. It is a
true picture of the rural China, the society and the strict rules imposed by
the authoritarian regime, the people, their ignorance and prejudices. The life
of the main character Chu Ju and her family in the book, mirrors the life of
the Chinese people in those days. The socioeconomic and political background of
depicted in the book is the one of the real China.
Further, the story shows an outstanding character, a heroine
Chu Ju. Even though she is only 14 years old, she is more mature and advanced in
her thinking than adults she is surrounded with. The girl is a heroine, she can
think with her mind and see injustice imposed by the one-child policy. She has
understanding and does not judge her family when they make such a horrible
decision to send the sister away to the orphanage, in order to make room for
the boy.
Although devastated she does not give up, but goes into
voluntary exile to help her family and to show the effects of not following the
rules imposed by the Chinese Government. As a result of her actions, her sister
stays with the family and another baby sister is born. This time, her parents accept the second girl
and leave her with the family.
She is a fighter, she brings about the change. She believes in
and uses education to fight for a better life. She is not only the
representative of a different China, but also a symbol of progressive way of
thinking needed to combat illiteracy and authoritarian regimes in many other
parts of the world. We can easily imagine Chan Ju in many African countries
that do not have democracy and where females are considered as human beings of
no value.
