Sunday, February 10, 2008
Saboteur Post!
I enjoyed this little story. I cannot say that I like Mr. Chiu ultimate decision to sign the false statement the police offered, but were I in his position I couldn't say I would not have done the exact same thing. I think he chose wisely to "go with the flow" so to speak, because had he continued to argue his case Mr. Chiu probably would have died in that jail cell. What a hard choice to make. Choosing freedom over truth and justice. I think he is a brave man for even putting up the fight he did. I especially like the ending, where Mr. Chiu and the lawyer friend got away happy ever after leaving the poor town of Muji with a terrible hepatitis epidemic going on. I have not figured out what underlying meaning the author, Ha Jin, had planned while writing Saboteur but i am thinking a possiblity of something like karma? or maybe payback is hell?
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1 comment:
I thought 'Saboteur' was an interesting story, too, and an excellent example of irony. However, I think the most ironic thing is the fact that Mr. Chiu doesn't start out as a saboteur, but certainly ends the story as such, spreading his hepatitis all over the town of Muji. Ha Jin leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not this was an acceptable revenge. In truly modern fashion, he doesn't tell us what to make of the outcome.
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