My Old Home
by Lu Xun
Summary:
The story “My Old Home” takes
place in China, in the narrator’s hometown of a little village. He returns to
his childhood home. Although his hometown has not improved, it is not as sad as
it once was. The major reason he is returning to his previous house is to send
his home a final farewell and to shift his family to another location where he
works. He has many flashbacks to his childhood while he is there. He reflects
on a great bond he had with Runtu that did not endure long. He has fond
memories of Runtu. Runtu was just over ten years old when the narrator first
met him. That year, it was his family’s time to oversee a large ancestral
sacrifice. The sacrificial vessels had to be guarded. Runtu was given the task
of looking after the sacrificial vessels after the narrator’s father granted
permission. He was thrilled because he had known Runtu for a long time and knew
he was around his own age.
The narrator meets Mrs Yang, who
used to spend practically the entire day in the beancurd shop. Everyone used to
refer to her as Beancurd Beauty. Runtu then arrives to see the narrator. He has
grown to twice his former size. He acts as if the narrator is his master and
ranks higher than him. The narrator and his mother come across Runtu, who is
suffering from poverty. Following his departure, his mother suggests that they
should provide him whatever they are not going to take away, allowing him to
choose for himself. He selects two long tables, four chairs, an incense burner
and candlesticks, and one balance that afternoon. He also requests that all of
the ashes from the stove be removed. The narrator, along with his nephew and mother,
departs from his old home at the end of the storey. He learns that all of L
memories, as well as his former home, are being abandoned.
Exercise
Understanding the text
Answer the following
questions.
a. How does the narrator
describe his feeling at the arrival of his old home?
Answer: The narrator
has many exciting and happy feelings regarding his old home before his arrival
but his exciting feelings convert into depressing ones as he sees surroundings
and environment which have no progress as he arrives.
b. What were the three kinds
of servants in China then? What does it indicate about contemporary Chinese
society?
Answer: The then three
kinds of servants in China were:
Yearlongs: Those who work the
whole year long for one family.
Short-timers: Those who work in
the daytime.
Busy-monthers: Those who plough
their own land but work for a specific family just during the holidays or rents
time.It indicates that contemporary Chinese society had a slavery system and
hierarchy.
c. What makes the narrator
nostalgic? What did he do with Runtu in the teenage?
Answer: As the
narrator’s mother asks him to meet Runtu, he becomes nostalgic. He played with
Runtu on the sandy ground among watermelons and stabbing at the Zha in the
teenage.
d. How did Runtu hunt a Zha in
his young age?
Answer: Runtu hunted a
Zha by stabbing at it in his young age.
e. How does the narrator make
a humorous picture of Mrs. Yang?
Answer: The narrator
makes a humorous picture of Mrs Yang by associating her as a bean curd lady who
accuses him of being miserly for he does not want to give away his furniture to
her.
f. According to the narrator,
what were different factors that made Runtu a poor man throughout his life?
Answer: According to
the narrator, the different factors that made Runtu a poor man throughout his
life were the heavy taxes, social responsibilities, famines, bandits,
officials, landed gentry and class differences that he went through.
g. How does the narrator help
Runtu before leaving the old home?
Answer: The narrator
helps Runtu by providing him with two long tables, an incense burner, some candlesticks,
and a set of scales before leaving the old home.
h. How does the author
differentiate two kinds of idols?
Answer: The author
differentiates two kinds of idols saying that a "superstitious idol"
is worshipping for a while for something immediate but "hope" as not
an idol that he wants somewhere far off in the murky distance.
Reference to the Context
a. While reading the
friendship between the narrator and Runtu, Hindu readers remember the
friendship between Krishna and Sudama. Which particular description reminds you
of the mythological example?
Answer: While reading
the friendship between the narrator and Runtu, Hindu readers remember the
friendship between Krishna and Sudama. Following descriptions of the story
"My Old Home" remind us of the mythological connections:
Sudama was Lord Krishna's
classmate and a very intimate friend. Lord Krishna was a King. Sudama was an
impoverished poor Brahmin. The same case is found in the friendship and
relationship between Lu Xun and Runtu the former is from the rich and upper
class as master and the latter one is very poor.
Sudama felt very shy when he
visited Krishna same as Runtu felt ashamed and nervous as he meet his friend
and master Lu Xun
Sudama was helped by Krishna at
the end and in the same way, Runtu was helped by Lu Xun by providing several
kitchen things at the end.
Both of the stories teach us the
message that we should never expect anything free in life and a friend in need
is a friend indeed.
b. How does the story support
the proposition that the relationships of childhood are innocent, impartial and
disinterested?
Answer: The story
"My Old Home" supports the proposition that relationships of
childhood are innocent, impartial and disinterested. As we go through the
story, we come to know that the narrator, Lu Xun and Runtu had a childhood
friendship when there were no class differences rather an innocent relationship
found between them.
The notion of innocence refers to
children's simplicity, their lack of knowledge, and their purity not yet
spoiled by mundane (boring) affairs. Such innocence is taken as the promise of
a renewal of the world by the children. The same innocence can be realised as
they were children and they used to pass the time together by stabbing Zha,
badger and porcupines. They run here and there in the field of watermelon. They
had a master and part-time worker relationships. They had no any selfishness
behaviour. Their friendship and relation were pure, impartial and
disinterested. The same relations the narrator hopes to see in his nephew and
Runtu's son.
c. After reading the story,
what inferences can you make about contemporary Chinese economic and social
system?
Answer: After reading
the story "My Old Home", we can make the following inferences about
contemporary Chinese economic and social system:
The story portrays the complex
relationships in the peasant community in China’s society at the time.
It mentions about the real
physical sufferings of the peasants resulted from economic exploitation and
exposes the root causes of their miserable lives.
It exposes how miserable the
peasants’ mentality was after they have been long poisoned by feudal ideas.
For instance, Runtu is an
unforgettable and pathetic person who suffered much from hard work and
sub-marginal living.
It makes people clear about the
class system, slavery system and hierarchy in China presenting three kinds of
servants in China such as Yearlongs: those who work the whole year
long for one family, Short-timers: those who work by the day time
and Busy-monthers: those who plough their own land but work for a specific
family just during the holidays or rents time.
Above all, society dictates,
disallowing them to be friend. People from different classes cannot interact
and develop mutual relations. They have to fulfil their roles at certain
positions.
d. What does the story
indicate about the geographical features of the narrator’s hometown?
Answer: Geographically,
the story “My Old Home” has been set in 1911 during the overthrow of the Qing
Dynasty in the hometown of the narrator. It was in the depth of winter when the
story opens and the clouded sky over with the cold wind. The narrator peeps
through the window in a distant horizon, towns and villages under a vast and
greying sky. The area the narrator remembered was far more lovely. His hometown
was probably nothing more than what lay before him. Then, the narrator talks
about his visit to his farm which was under a blue-black sky, beneath it a
stretch of sandy ground planted with emerald green watermelons stretching as
far as the eye could see, and standing in the midst of all those melons and then
about New Year Celebrations. He also talks about collecting shells near the
beach, visiting the seashore just before spring tides and nighttime guarding
the farm along with his father and catching birds and stabbing animals like
badgers, porcupines etc.
Reference beyond the text
a. Human beings are on the
road from time immemorial, always migrating to new places. Write an essay on
The Trend of Migration in Nepal in about 300 words.
Answer:
The Trend of
Migration in Nepal
Nepal is a country where
developments, employments and industrial growth are limited, making land the
most economic asset.
The population in the mountain
regions of Nepal has exceeded the carrying capacity of the land. Therefore,
people are moving to the more arable lands of the Terai. It is estimated that
40% of Nepal's population is concentrated in the hill and mountain regions,
while 60% of farmland is in the Terai
There are basically two factors
for rural to urban migration in Nepal, the Pull factor and the Push factor.
Opportunities for employment, physical facilities, entertainment facilities,
better future, secure life, social respect etc. are the pull factors. On the
other hand, hardships, poverty, unemployment, lack of facilities etc. are the
pull factors.
Besides, survival, resources, demand
and supply, religion, and economy are the factors responsible for intellectual
migration. In the context of Nepal, many people from Himalayan and hilly
regions migrate to Terai for better opportunities, employment, and trades. Some
people leave the for settlement as well. Internal migration is widely found in
the country.
b. Find one of your relatives
or friends, who has migrated to a new place leaving his/her old home. Talk to
him/her and prepare a report on what he/she felt while leaving the old home.
Answer: My Uncle and
Aunt along with her two children and his parents have recently migrated to the
capital city Kathmandu from a remote village as he bought a beautiful house
there.
According to my conversation with
him, the Uncle returned home after ten years from the city. He collected things
necessary and sold the furniture and donated something to his neighbours. Uncle
distributed some kitchen things to his neighbours as well. He had nostalgia for
his villagers. He missed his childhood days enjoyed with his friends and the
places where he had fun with his near and dear ones. He found his relatives
were standing at his gate at the time of departure. They looked sad. They were
looking at Uncle and his family members curiously. All of them said ‘farewell’
to him. He said ‘goodbye’ to all of them and left his old home.
**Disclaimer:
This website is for educational purpose if you find your content then contact
us from contact section. we will remove it from our site.