Notes

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Click here to read Ha Jin's short story "A Decade" from a collection called Under the Red Flag.

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As you analyze the themes in this short story, think about how he expresses his point of view about life in rural Northeast China during the Cultural Revolution.

Theme and Tone in "A Decade"
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The narrator's elementary-school teacher, Zhu Wenli, becomes a victim of the violence and suppression that characterized China during the Cultural Revolution. Zhu Wenli is different from her students. She "came from a capitalist family," the very people the Communist government wanted to destroy during this period.

What's worse, the young teacher's political beliefs contradict those of the government. She's a nonconformist who sings folk songs instead of songs praising Chairman Mao. Government suppression of nonconformity is another theme developed in the story.

As you read what happens after her students report the young teacher and her boyfriend to the school authorities, think about the details the author includes. What kind of world is he describing?

In three days our school was covered with big-character posters exposing and condemning Miao Jian and Zhu Wenli. Many articles appeared on the walls and billboards, such as "Root Out the Bourgeois Lifestyle." (p. 202)

Eventually Zhu Wenli is sent to the countryside "to be reformed through labor in the fields." Again, the author uses a matter-of-fact tone that emphasizes his themes. He's showing that the violence and victimization of innocent people doesn't matter because individuals are unimportant in a repressive society.

Besides, there were so many people being reformed through labor that Wenli's leaving was almost a natural thing. (p. 204)

Readers realize the full effect of this victimization and repression only at the end of the story. In the final scene, Zhu Wenli, who is now much older, has been transformed from a victim to someone who's prepared to violently attack someone else.

All the tenderness and innocence which had marked that face was now replaced by a numb, stony look. (p. 207)

This change is emphasized by the image of "a numb, stony look."

The author's tone changes, too. Instead of being matter-of-fact, the tone is now one of regret and sadness. He is deeply aware of what government suppression can do to a society. After all, he lived through it. Now he wants his readers to understand it, too.th others. Click here ...