FIR Reading Blog #11

Title: A Madman's Diary

Author: Lu Xun

Date: September 7, 2010

No. of pages: 7 pages

Time alloted in reading: 30mins.

Summary

'A Madman 's Diary' focused on a single character that yearned for change and experienced it, somehow affecting the people around him. It is the story of the narrator visiting two old friends from his hometown (old home . He learned that one of them fell ill, which prompted him to visit . Upon arriving and greeted by one of them , he was told that his friend is a 'man-eater'. Seeing the people in his village as potential man-eaters, he is gripped by the fear that everyone, including his brother, his venerable doctor and his neighbors are preparing to eat him. It is anti-traditional in the sense that the other characters are portrayed as heartless, bound to tradition, and cannibalistic. The insanity of the narrator is never proven, however, leading the reader to question the seemingly wholesome intentions of those who care for him. Despite the brother's apparent genuine concern, the narrator still regards him as big a threat as any stranger, showing just how distrustful he has become.

Insight

The concept of a “man- eating society” means that the strong devour the weak. The madman could be said that he is a rebel and social critic whose madness is a kind of sanity that aims for progress or reform at both the personal and social levels of his society from the time of his living. His personal claims about his worldview of society reflect the rejection of an oppressive traditionalism, ignorance and conformity. Furthermore, he has deep sense of and feeling for the ironies, false appearances, and deceptions often involved in human social life. The story is a good literature as to how one can expose the evils of the clan system and feudal ethics and wherein the “man- eating” is the one referred to as “evils”. It is an interpretation of societies of the past, present, and future. The story can refer back as far as in the early century to the present times of the society. Meanwhile, as human cruelty is being pinned down in the story, it shows us that the recipient is dehumanized in the eyes of the offender as in the case of the madman. The depiction of the image of the madman projects an illustration of society that stresses submission to authority, and the ultimate compliance of tradition thus; society is constantly being manipulated and controlled by the masses of people who know no better that to follow tradition.