Chinese History in the Twentieth Century China’s two thousand years of imperial rule by various dynasties, the last of which was the Qing dynasty, ended in 1912 when the army overthrew the dynasty and established a short-lived republic. This change in power was followed by a ten-year period of fragmentation in which various “warlords,” provincial…
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Immortality by Yiyun Li – Literary Devices
Point of View and Setting The point of view from which the story is told is an unusual one, since the narrator is not an individual voice but a collective one: the members of the town stretching over a period spanning many generations. This point of view effectively conveys a sense of community; the town…
Immortality by Yiyun Li – Themes
Mind Control The story shows some of the negative consequences of a totalitarian system, in which the government controls every aspect of people’s lives, including how they behave and what they think. The minds of the townspeople are controlled by the Communist Party, which is their only authority for what is happening both in their…
Immortality by Yiyun Li – Characters
Dictator The dictator is not named and does not appear directly in the story, but his presence is felt everywhere. His photograph appears all the time in the newspapers during the 1950s; at that time, he is “the only superstar in the media,” and the townspeople refer to him as “Our Father, Our Savior, the…
Immortality by Yiyun Li – Summary
“Immortality” is told in the first person plural by a narrator who represents an entire Chinese town over the course of the twentieth century. The narrator begins by going back to the time of the Chinese imperial dynasties, when members of the imperial family were served by eunuchs who attended to their every need. Eunuchs…
Great Day by David Malouf – Analysis
Dream Stuff earned Malouf overwhelming critical praise, and “Great Day” is often singled out as the finest story in the collection. Paul Sharrad, in his article on Malouf’s short prose, insists that Malouf is “Australia’s leading producer of ‘poetic prose.’” He finds that “the shorter work . . . relies for its impact on musical…
Great Day by David Malouf – Setting
Australian History The story is set on a warm day during the Australian summer. No date is mentioned, but it is most likely in January, which is Australia’s hottest month. During this month, Australians celebrate two historical events: Australia’s Independence Day on January 1, which honors the day the country won its independence from Great…
Great Day by David Malouf – Literary Devices
Imagery The dominant image in the story is fire, which appears in the beginning as Ned watches a group on the beach build a bonfire and, at the end, when the museum is set ablaze. The fires provide an ironic tension in the story as they suggest both destruction and positive change. Both the bonfire…
Great Day by David Malouf – Themes
Dreams The thematic focus on dreams in the story is announced by the title of the collection, Dream Stuff , an allusion to Shakespeare’s The Tempest (4.1.156–58). Prospero, the central character in the play, notes the temporal nature of human life in his claim, “We are such stuff / As dreams are made on; and…
Great Day by David Malouf – Characters
Cedric Pohl After some of them return to the house, Clem feels that something needs to be said on the occasion. He gives a disjointed speech about how everyone in the universe is connected and that “nothing ever gets .” Even though Fran had already left with a group that included Cedric, Clem feels satisfied…