River Town 375-400

This last section of River Town was probably one of the best sections that I’ve ever read of this story. When the students were performing Don Quixote, it was very predictable for me to see that the performance itself was a situation. It was a shame to see that happen, especially since they worked so hard on it. I guess it goes to show that politics are everywhere now a days. There is nothing we can really do about it. Even after the revival of the performance, the students still couldn’t present the same way they did before. Hessler felt very guilty about it. He also felt guilty when it got cancelled in the first place. He never meant for any of that to happen. Reading this section of River Town definitely had me thinking. I could understand why one would be frustrated because of things like politics. We have to understand though that our actions can affect others around us. Like canceling Don Quixote for example. Those students worked so hard to perform, and to have their performance cancelled, all because of something like politics, that’s not the answer. Sometimes we should just give things a chance and solve them, rather than ruining it to others and bringing them down to the point where they can’t even have confidence in themselves. It makes me feel sad that in today’s world, nothing can just be left alone without others giving judgment that is uncalled for. Overall, River Town was an excellent book to read. What I enjoyed about this book was everything Hessler wrote and talked about. From beginning to end, he was truthful to not only to the people in Fuling, but also to us (the readers) as well.

325-350

When Hessler’s father first came to visit him, I noticed that it wasn’t exactly the kind of visit that he expected. For starters, the hotel. When Hessler and his father were sleeping, the people at the hotel came barging in and causing some situations regarding passports. I felt that the members of the hotel didn’t show any common courtesy or respect towards Peter and father, especially since they were guests.  Another thing was when Hessler’s father had gotten sick. It’s never a good thing to get sick while on a visit to a loved one. By time his father got better, he unfortunately had to leave. Overall though, I feel that Hessler deserved to spend more time with his father, even with the situations they had to deal with. When Adam’s parents came to visit, I noticed that things were a little easier. Things were a little more enjoyable and a lot less stressful with Adam and his parents compared to Hessler and his father. Another interesting thing about this section was the lecture that Adam had with his students. Even though it was cancelled, they still showed up. I guess what Hessler was trying to show is that Fuling is full of people. Some that are nice and some that are mean. In other words, even if you are dealing with issues that are not so great, you will always find something else that shows the positive. 

300-325

I believe that the incident with the shoe shiner and Hessler shows a lot about. Through out my course of reading this story, I never thought I’d see this side of Hessler, because usually he has tolerance and patience. Although I could see why Hessler had his reasons, I believe that maybe he could’ve handled it a little more differently. The Shoeshine man had no right to attack Hessler like that. Insulting him about his work was uncalled for. I feel sorry for Hessler, mainly because the shoeshine man got to him. This just shoes us, the readers, that Hessler is like everyone else. He’s only human and not perfect. He’s tolerant, but not perfect. As for the identity of the shoeshine man, I view him as an ignorant, disrespectful man who has nothing nice to say to people like Hessler, who are trying to make a difference. When it comes to me being in similar situations like Hesslers, I try my best not to be the one who argues back. Instead, I decide to be the mature one and just walk away. I believe that it’s not worth my time dealing with people like the shoeshine man because in the end I’m no better than they are.

275-300 (Sorry)

The points that Hessler made about women in China were very interesting. As he states, women in China are very well educated. However, he also gets into detail on how they have emotional issues. Issues that involve being depressed, and most likely committing suicide. Now regards to being a male who lives in the U.S., I can't really say I know how women are or how they act. However, it seems to me that woman in China (Fuling) have more personal problems in their life rather than the men do. Hessler even goes into detail on how women in Fuling make up things in their head and believe what comes to mind. I suppose that due to the lack of respect that women in China have compared to men, I could see why some of them are like that. Hessler also talks about how the fantasies made up in women’s heads helps them look like they’re not depressed. My thoughts are that women if China should have a little more respect just like men. I believe that them being depressed and committing suicide is helpful at all. Them just pretending and making up things only makes matters much worse. I believe that maybe China should work on these things at take some tips from Hessler’s book in order to fix this problem. I believe that by doing that, things will work better.

Response 375-400

Anna Levy

 

There was a lot going on in this last section of River Town.  When the students were preforming Don Quixote, Hessler explains that part of the crowd seemed to say: “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”  He continued to say that he felt the same way.  He was worry about what the Party Secretary Zhang was thinking.  Even though he was smiling, there was still a sense of negative judgment.  After the show was canceled, the students were very upset.  Of course there are always going to be political issues with everything in life whether it is a play or an actual debate.  Politics are everywhere.  Hessler felt guilty, even though it was Adam’s class.  He felt guilty that the department canceled the show because they had a strong influence on the play that was produced.  His intention was never to get the students into trouble.  I could imagine how frustrating that would be considering that I am a performer myself.  If a show that I was dancing in was canceled due to politics, I would be so upset.  Sometimes, I think people need to just take a step back and relax because these plays and other forms of art that target politics don’t come from thin air.  We need to be able to look at our problems and deal with them rather than just cancelling the hard work of students and others that put works together. 

My Response

It was not very shocking to me that the play Don Quixote was an issue; everything that the students decide to do becomes an issue some way somehow, but it was still disturbing. In plays or in real life in general, politics are everywhere, it’s nothing you can really do about it, but accept it. The students were pretty upset, and me as a Musical Theatre major I would have been as well. To work so hard on a performance and then have the department basically tell the students it’s all in vain would have crushed me. You work so hard during the process with allowing yourself to be free in your chosen character just to lose it all. Hessler was also fed up about how the department was so caught up in the politics and twisting history to make everyone believe it is something wrong with everything they do.  After the commotion was settled and the department came to their senses, the play was allowed to be performed again.  It is understood that both Adam and Hessler had a great influence on the students, but there is no way I would have felt bad for that the way they did. The students ended up not performing as well as they did the first time. This wasn't a surprise for me; I probably would have felt the same way. They were discouraged too badly so their confidence has been lowered. Reading this part of Hessler really saddened me; only because I can relate in so many ways.

375-400 in Hessler

 Choose one of these topics and respond in 250-350 words:

In this last section of River Town, there are quite a few feelings/emotions that Peter Hessler describes, both his own and those of other people.  Choose some of these and describe them in your own words, and then describe how reading about them makes you feel yourself. 

or

Choose one "example" that Peter Hessler develops from his experience, in this section of the book.  Explain what the example is and describe the way in which Hessler develops analysis and thought about that example.  How is his method similar to and different from your own way of developing your own essay?