Daniel Lopez

6/4/2014
English 12- Childhood Prewrite
Ashram Monastery
The set amount of experiences you can handle, control, and fix, that is what separates childhood
from adulthood. Why for generations children have been given the responsibility to carry the debts of
their predecessors is not a question of how much they can handle, but of the number of years they have
lived so far on earth. By the age of so and so forth a person is left alone to deal with matters of their own,
contrariwise when they behave in an entirely different manner they are given the same responsibility, to
take care of new matters. There is this guarantee that on one day all of the worlds men and women
wouldntve a clue why and how they came to this question, how did they become themselves? What
happens somewhere on someones timeline, specifically during child hood could certainly change how
they feel about their position. Cultivating their experiences, authors Dai Sijie and Marjane Satrapi have
shown an impressive example of how these childhood experiences will shape what person youll likely
become.
Mao Zedongs Cultural Revolution for China has to be one of the most neglecting and
contradictory settings for a child to grow up. For a child in this setting, will no longer be allowed to
further their studies after middle school, rather they will be branded enemies of the country and thrown in
an isolated village be reeducated into ambassadors of a state that ridicules its own citizens. One such
repressive revolution has become a turning point for childhood in Dai Sijies Balzac and The Little
Chinese Seamstress. The story goes that if two boys were to try their hardest to comply with the rules of
reeducation, then they would have a chance to free themselves from Maos grip on their growth as
intellectuals. Unfortunately the chance is relatively thin, 3 in 1000 says Lou, the close friend of the
narrator, this so happens to be because of their potentially dangerous academic scholarly level to the
progression of communism and its the industrialization of China. The revolution had ordered for all
western and old Chinese tradition to be wiped off from all of history, therefore the scarcity of education
had a profound impact on our two friends throughout the revolution and is the main motive for them to
seek out knowledge from a collection of books hidden within a secret suitcase, which upon reading one of
Daniel Lopez
6/4/2014
English 12- Childhood Prewrite
them would take them into an entirely different world where they felt it was right to have ones freedom
for themselves. As they two come to a crossroads as the result of losing their first love, they contemplate
whether it was worth reeducating someone of the village, seeing the power of what they had used to
educate their friend they resoluted to burning a case of the banned literature. At this point in the story the
two characters have truly become something else, they no longer want what they desire but have as well
lost the integrity of their friend the Little Seamstress, admirer of Lou. The suppressing affect the
revolution had on the two, the knowledge that they were forbidden to see, and then in the effort to share
what they have loved suddenly throw them into complete despair must have been the turning point in
their childhood as Communist China had changed the way Lou and his friend sees the power of literature
and its effect on anyone who does not know what it means to have decisions of their own.
The story of Marjane Satrapi as told by herself in Persepolis-The Story of A Childhood, explores
childhood life during another Cultural Revolution taking place in Iran and what effects it had on the
children living there. Marjanes story starts us off when she is of 10 years of age, she has headstrong
characteristics and is always eager to fend for her countrys freedom. The revolution to take the Shah
from power and the Islamic regime to rebuild Iran had all taken a major influence to Marjanes character
and motives to protect the truth of her family. One of these events that had changed the way she looks at
her countries position was when the universities were shut down and the main syllabus at her school
required her to be taught religious practices like the wearing of the veil and having to participate in self-
hurt ceremonies. These new regulations had angered her to fight for her people and most certainly help
those who belonged to a lower social class, what these social classes did was limit what people can do
according to their wealth, for Marjane this was not right, she did not like to be seen in her fathers car
because she was ashamed of not being able to help others of a lower class. Eventually the Shahs
regulations and the revolutionarys war for power had reached as far as to change Marjanes life by losing
close friendships. The most crucial of these close relationships was her uncle Anoosh, who had been the
one to share a great amount of truth of her familys history, he was also considered to be a hero for
Daniel Lopez
6/4/2014
English 12- Childhood Prewrite
Marjane because of his bravery during his years in prison for standing up against the Shah. Marjane had
also experienced firsthand the destruction of war. As these events unrolled Marjane become frustrated
with her God as to blot him out from her life, she hated to see her country undergo such hardship for
peace while her powerful God did absolutely nothing to keep them from harms way. When her parents
felt they could no longer risk her future in Iran, they decided to send her off to Austria where she would
be able to learn at a school where she was forced to subject to the Islamic regime. Marjanes leave from
Iran is an indication of the start of her independence and her ability to adapt to such situation proves that
whatever she had been put through during the Iranian revolution had strengthened her for the better, thus
her experience as an adult would begin as she boarded the plane for she would no longer have the type of
support she had from her parents again.
As for others, the same problems we deal with ourselves are events that help us improve, and not
to demoralize but to change a particular habit from a wrong one to a good one. If ever one was to avoid
that change, that pain or trouble, then there wouldnt be enough strength left for them to pursue their
future. On my part during childhood, it has to be the same thing, whatever has happened during childhood
certainly did change the way I plan to fix things, and it changes how stubborn I am towards better
solutions. Along with those events there have been obstacles that have reinforced both the good and bad
habitual movements I make toward certain destinations. And what matters is how well Im coping with
those consequences, for whatever I had started five years ago will never be finished because of disorderly
conduct. What seemed like failure to hunt down a family out of hate has only turned me into an even
more determined person to find them. It is also very true that people had to die for other occurrences to
happen in your childhood, someones death can influence someone to seek out intangible or tangible
matters to fill up their void. And from the first day I ran to the last day I saw my friends, I have always
had trouble finding out why I love running. An up to sometime this year I have only found out what
running has taught me, that I am an empty person, that I have nothing to give but have lots to gain. It has
taught me that I have never cared for anything, that before I can run any further I have to bring something
Daniel Lopez
6/4/2014
English 12- Childhood Prewrite
to use against the pain that comes with long distances. It helps me understand that I need to be more; like
the two boys from Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress running is what keeps me searching for the
same freedom they found through literature. Running and the failure to search for a family has all shaped
the type of personalities I have whether bad or good as well as the person I am today.
Gathering their experiences, authors Dai Sijie and Marjane Satrapi have shown an impressive
example of how these childhood experiences will shape what person you are today. Childhood follows
you throughout your entire life in fact most of the actions you make toady are the result of the influential
events you experienced as a child. Whatever happens during that period has a resonant effect on your
being, whatever happened to the two boys in Dai Sijies novel or Marjane in Satrapis has helped cultivate
the people they become in the future. What happens somewhere on someones timeline, specifically
during child hood could certainly change the type of person they become.