Lu Hsun and Eileen Chang - Essay Example

Lecturer Essay # Lu Hsun and Eileen Chang Every has his or her unique way of communicating to the audience. It is common that when two or more authors are compared, similarities and differences in their style of wring emerge. In this paper, the styles of two authors are compared; Lu Hsun and Eileen Chang. By focusing on the different aspects of style, this paper will attempt to show the similarities and differences in the writing styles of these two authors. This analysis is based on the stories written by these authors. Sentence structure is one of the aspects of writing style. Whereas some authors employ short and simple sentences, others may choose to use complex and long sentences. In some cases, some authors may choose to employ the mixed style where both long and short sentences are used. Both Hsun and Chang use relatively short sentences in their writings. For instance, in Chang’s Love in a Fallen City, short sentences of five words or less are used. Examples are “Everything was going very well” and “The contrast was painfully obvious” (Chang, 124). In general, most of the sentences in Chang’s stories are composed of fifteen words on average, making them easy to understand. Similarly, in Hsun’s stories, short sentences are employed. For example, in the story A Madman’s Diary, short sentences such as “I know” (Hsun, 7) and “Just like reptiles!” (Hsun, 13) are used. By using simple and short sentence structures, the two authors make their stories easy to read and understand. The reader is not lost or confused by wording as he reads the story. It can however be observed that although both Chang and Hsun use simple sentences in their writings, the overall lengths of their stories is quite different. Hsun’s stories are generally shorter compared to Chang’s. in general, Hsun’s stories cover an average of thirteen pages compared to Chang’s stories which cover more than fifty pages. Secondly, sound devices can be used to analyze the style employed by a writer. Some of these devices include alliteration, onomatopoeia and repetition among others. This is one aspect in which the two authors differ in their styles. In Hsun’s stories, unlike Chang’s, the author appears to use onomatopoeia as a major sound device. For instance, in the story Tomorrow, the author uses the sound ‘Bah’ (Hsun, 25) to describe the growling sound produced by Old Kung after he was punched. Other sounds described in this story include “Um…”, “Ummm…” and “Ma” (Hsun, 28) among others. Another sound device used by Hsun is alliteration. This refers to the repetition of the initial consonant sounds of neighboring words. For instance, in the story Medicine, the author describes the grass by stating that the “grass stood stiff and straight …” (Hsun, 24). Here, the‘s’ sound has been repeated. These are the two major sound devices commonly employed in Hsun’s stories. By using these devices, Hsun enables readers to identify with the story by eliciting emotional reactions from the readers. In Chang’s writings, the author does not use sound devices. Thirdly, the use of sensory details and figurative language is another aspect of writing style that can be used to compare and contrast two or more authors. In general, both writers employ literally devices that appeal to the senses of the reader. Both writers extensively use similes in their writings. In Chang’s Lust Caution, examples of similes used include: “…through the glass doors like a sea dragon” (Chang, 28), “what sounded like Hindi upstairs” (Chang, 28) and “a nose squalled like a lion’s muzzle” (Chang, 30) among others. In Hsun’s Medicine, some of the similes used include “the man’s eyes shone…. like a famished persons at the sight of food” (Hsun, 19) and “… stiff and straight as copper wires” (Hsun, 24). Secondly, both writers employ personification to appeal to the senses of the readers. This involves giving human attributes to inanimate things. For example, in Chang’s Love in a Fallen City the author states that “ravines opened up… to reveal dense green forest…” and “…the cliffs and trees grew gentler and more inviting…”(Chang, 131). Clearly, the author is human qualities and attributes on inanimate things to enhance the reader’s imagination. In Hsun’s Tomorrow, the author writes that “This overlarge room hemmed her in…” (Hsun, 28) and “…the dark was journeying on in the silence” (Hsun, 29). Throughout her stories, Hsun uses personification extensively. Through personification, the authors are able to describe various events and objects to the reader in a way that helps the reader get a clearer picture of what was happening at a given scene. Finally, both Chang and Hsun make use of hyperbole to appeal to the audience. This is the deliberate exaggeration used by authors with the aim of driving a point home. For example, in Chang’s Love in a Fallen City, the author describes as woman’s lips being “so pink and full they looked swollen” (Chang, 136). In Hsun’s A Madman’s Diary, the author writes that “I have not seen it (moon) for over thirty years” (Hsun, 7). The author uses this statement simply to show that she had not seen the moon for quite some time. In Hsun’s King I-Chi, the author writes that “…if it(gown) had not been washed or mended for over ten years” (Hsun, 15). Hyperbole has thus been used by the authors to create emphasis, especially when describing scenes, characters and objects. This helps the authors create a clear picture in the minds of the readers of h object or scene being described. By using the sensory details listed above, the authors are able to make their stories appealing and engaging. Another similarity between these two authors can be found in the choice of words or diction. Throughout their stories, the two authors use simple words that are easy to understand. This makes their stories readable even to younger audiences who might not be fluent in English language. This reduces the likelihood that the writings of these two authors will be misinterpreted. When it comes to formal and informal words, both authors employ words that are not common or used in the English language. For example, in Chang’s Love in a Fallen City, the author uses words such as huqin and ligne du ciel. In Hsun’s A Madman’s Diary, words such as Ku Chiu, Li Shih-chen and Yi Ya are used. Comparing the two however, it is clear that Hsun uses more informal words in her writings compared to Chang. The use of such non-English words may affect the reader’s ability to understand the story and the message being communicated. Although both authors employ such words, their usage throughout their writings is somewhat is limited and hence does not affect the understanding of their stories. Fifth, local color is often used by writers to depict the peculiar features and practices of a given region. Both Chang and Hsun offer detailed descriptions that help the reader understand the peculiar features of a given place. In Chang’s Love in a Fallen City for instance the author begins by stating that the cloaks in Shanghai were set “an hour ahead” in order to help save daylight. By giving this description, the author helps readers understand the nature of day/night periods in Shanghai at the time- the days are longer than the nights. In addition, in describing Xu’s family move to Repulse Bay, the author describes how they saw “cliffs of yellow-and-red soil” and “… dense green forest” (Chang, 131). Through such descriptions, the reader is able to get a clear picture of the areas the author is talking about. In Hsun’s The New Year’s Sacrifice, the author describes how the end of year is celebrated in Luchen, her native place. For instance, she says that during this ceremony, the people of Luchen “reverently welcome the God of Fortune” (Hsun, 82). She describes how the people kill chicken and buy pork during this ceremony. Therefore, through these descriptions, the authors successfully tell the readers of the different cultural, religious and social activities peculiar to their regions. In addition, the authors successfully paint a picture of the regions being described in terms of the location and geographical features. Sixth, the point of view is another element that can be used to compare two or more writers. Point of view refers to the perspective taken by the author in telling a story. This is mainly done in either first person or third person, although second person may also be used. Chang and Hsun differ on this aspect. In her writing, Chang uses the omniscient third person. In this case, the author is all knowing and can easily switch from one scene to another. For example, in Love in a Fallen City, the author begins by offering a description of the Bai family- what they do and the activities that take place in their home. Throughout Chang’s story, words such as ‘him’, ‘they’, ‘he’ and ‘her’ dominate. This shows that the writer is not part of the plot but only takes an inactive role in the story. The main duty of the writer is to report what happened. This allows the author to offer descriptions and information about other characters and scenes by taking a bird’s eye view. The point of view taken in Hsun’s stories is different. The stories are told from person, enabling the writer to be part of the story. For instance, in A Madman’s Diary, the author starts by describing how she decided to visit two brothers who were her good friends in high school. In The New Year’s Sacrifice, the author describes her experience when she visited native land Luchen. Throughout this story and other stories, the words ‘I’ and ‘we’ dominate. By taking this approach, the author is able to take an active part in the story. However, this limits the information she offers to the reader since all the descriptions and information given are based on the scenes she is part of. Finally, both Hsun and Chang extensively use dialogue in their writing. Dialogue is usually used by authors to give voice to the characters in the story and create realism. In addition, the two authors use dialogue to define their characters and show how they relate to one another. For example, in the story Storm in a Teacup by Hsun, the author uses the dialogue between the scholars and Mrs. Ninepounder to reveal more information about the characters. For instance, she says that, “Ive lived to seventy-nine, thats long enough” (Hsun, 31). Through this statement, readers are able to know Mrs. Ninepounder’s age. Similarly, in Chang’s Love in a Fallen City, the author uses dialogue to reveal more about the characters. For instance, in the conversation among members of the Bai family, Old Mrs. says that “… Baolu is twenty-four now …” (Chang, 116). This help the readers know more about Baolu, who is another character in the story. Through the use of dialogue, both Chang and Hsun are able to make their stories real and engaging. In conclusion, the above analysis has revealed that Lu Hsun and Eileen Chang have many similarities in their style of writing. Both authors use simple sentence structures, simple words, dialogue, sensory devices, personification and local color. However, the biggest difference is in the point of view where Hsun’s stories are based on a first person perspective compared to Chang’s third point of view. In addition, Hsun, unlike Chang, appears to employ sound devices. Overall, the two authors share many aspects in common, and this makes their writings comparable. Works Cited Chang, Eileen. Love in a Fallen City. Trans. Kingsbury, Karen and Chang, Eileen. New York: New York Review Books, 2007. Hsun, Lu . Selected stories of Lu Hsun. Trans. Hsien-Yi, Yang and Yang, Gladys. Peking: Foreign Languages Press, [1924] 1960. Read More