63 pages • 2 hours read
To Live
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Character Analysis
Fugui
Content Warning: The source material and this guide contain references to suicide, domestic abuse, child abuse, child death, and wartime violence.
The protagonist of the novel, Fugui is a dynamic character who shifts from the beginning to the end. In the beginning, he is the spoiled son of a wealthy, self-made landlord. He is cruel to his wife and disrespectful to his father. He ends up squandering the family’s wealth due to his gambling and sex addictions and forces his family to become poor farmers. After this change in circumstance, Fugui begins to change. He is no longer the gluttonous boy wasting his time in the city and instead spends his days devoted to his wife and children. He works tirelessly in the fields to support his family and continually sacrifices his health and safety to ensure that they have enough food to eat and enough money to send his son to school; his story embodies the theme of Perseverance in the Face of Hardship. By the end of the novel, and from his nostalgic reminiscing of his past, it’s clear that the time he spent with his family was the most meaningful part of his life.
Jiazhen
Jiazhen is Fugui’s wife. The daughter of a shop owner, Jiazhen comes from wealth, and when she marries Fugui he is also wealthy. However, she is far from spoiled. Once Fugui’s family descends into poverty, Jiazhen stays by his side and never complains despite the cruel way he treated her in their youth. She is a diligent worker. Even when she gets sick, she continues to toil in the fields to ensure that her family is taken care of and that she’s not a burden to them. Above all, she truly loves Fugui. She is by his side until her death, always encouraging him and helping him work.
Fengxia
Fengxia is Fugui and Jiazhen’s daughter, and she’s a hard worker just like her mother. Each day, she is out in the fields by Fugui’s side, helping him with whatever work needs to be done. She is also beautiful, just like her mother. The narrative describes Fengxia as deaf and mute, and though Fugui lists these disabilities as reasons for Fengxia remaining single, she marries. She’s also a quick learner; after marriage, she learns how to knit a sweater in a day and is highly sought after for her skills. She dies giving birth to her son, Kugen.
Youqing
Fugui’s only son, Youqing is an energetic child. He is the only one in the family who attends school, and although he isn’t that studious, he is the fastest runner at his school. He and Fugui often disagree, but he is fiercely loyal to his family. He always does his chores, helps in the fields, and manages to make it to school every day. While he doesn’t have much, he does take care of the family lambs as if they are his own. Youqing dies due to medical negligence. His death is symbolic: He is the youth who took care of lambs and didn’t want to see them slaughtered. Due to his disenfranchised status, he’s literally bled to death so that a wealthy patient might live, meaning he was a symbolic lamb to the slaughter.
Chunsheng
Chunsheng and Fugui meet during the war between the Nationalists and the Communists. Both Chunsheng and Fugui are forced into the Nationalist Army, and they form a deep bond while surviving together in abandoned tunnels. While Fugui goes home after being freed from the Nationalist Army, Chunsheng goes on to become a hero in the Liberation Army. During the time that he and Fugui lose touch, Chunsheng moves his way up to become magistrate of the town. However, after the Chinese Revolution, the Communists turn on many of the people who helped them win the Civil War. Chunsheng is brutally beaten daily, and he eventually dies by suicide as a result.
The Narrator
While not much is known about the narrator, he serves as a vehicle for Fugui to tell his story. Throughout the novel, the narrator is looking back on his younger days and recalling his encounter with Fugui. From what the narrator divulges, it’s clear that 10 years have passed since he first met Fugui, and that, even in the present, he is still deeply moved by Fugui’s story of perseverance in the face of tragedy.
Long Er
Fugui loses his family’s wealth to Long Er. Long Er becomes the landlord of Fugui’s family’s former land, but he is often kind, allowing Fugui to rent five mus of the best land. However, after the Civil War, Long Er is executed for being a landlord, and Fugui realizes that Long Er could have been him, once upon a time.
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