Mao And The Little Chinese Seamstress Summary

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
An overview of the book and political propaganda at the time
By Sujatha Changolkar 10-1, Liz Heit 10-2, and Cristelle Fremont 10-2

Main Characters:
The narrator (nameless)
He is a seventeen-year-old violin player, and once is referred to in the novel as "the fiddler. His name in English translates as, “Horse Sword Bell.” In the original version of the book, the narrator goes by the name Ma.
Luo
He is the narrator’s best friend and son of a famous dentist who bragged about fixing Chairman Mao’s teeth. He has a talent for storytelling. The book portrays him as a calm and cool character. He came up with the idea to trade one of Four Eye's book, Balzac, for labor. He reads the novels to the
The narrator describes her as a rare beauty. She has no formal education and does not know how to ead, so Luo and the narrator read to her. Luo takes his time “re-educating” her. She gets impregnated by Luo and gets an abortion. She eventually leaves the mountains to start a whole new life in the city.
Four Eyes
He is the son of a writer and poet. He possesses a suitcase full of banned novels that Luo and the narrator eventually steal. He’s referred to as someone who is used to humiliation. He ends up leaving the mountains when his mom convinces the government to end his re-education. He gets a job at a newspaper company.

Plot Overview:
During the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 1970s, two boys are moved to be re-educated on a mountain known as “Phoenix in the Sky.” They are forced to work in coal mines, as both of their parents were revolutionists, and considered as threats to the government. During one of their trips, they meet the Little Seamstress, the daughter of the only tailor on the mountain. She is described to be the most beautiful lady on the whole mountain. The Little Seamstress is illiterate, as Luo describes her to be “uncivilized” but is captivated by the film plots Luo and the narrator tell her. Though both boys develop feeling for her, Luo is the only one to act on the feelings when he has sex with the Little
The most prominent author is Balzac, and by reading these books, Luo and the narrator become passionate and open about the world around them. Soon, Luo, and the narrator decide to steal all of the books to continue educating the Little Seamstress. Once while reciting the story of The Count of Monte Cristo, the narrator is overheard by the village headman, a strict communist. The headman threatens the narrator that he will be jailed unless Luo fixes his teeth (Luo is the son of a dentist). To punish the headman, they drill very slowly, causing him great pain. He later thanks Luo and grants him a two month leave, to take care of his sick