Ah Q Sparknotes

“The story of Ah Q” by Lu Xun is a historical fiction written during the period of the Xin Hai Revolution. Sun Zhong Shan and other knowledgeable people trying to save China from corruption. The protagonist Ah Q is a peasant who possessed the lowest social status in Qing dynasty. The low social status deprived his name despite the fact that Ah Q is a “good worker”. Ah Q wants to be one of the revolutionaries to revenge the Chao’s family who had the greatest power in Weichuang village. However, the dream did not come true, before he truly understood the meaning of being a revolutionary, he was executed as a scapegoat. Ah Q’s life reflected workers’ true lives in Qing dynasty. In the novel, the protagonist Ah Q mirrors the feudal China. Lu Xun’s
As the story continues, some Chinese traditions have come alone. Confucianism, filial piety, and women status are expressed more or less. The story is taking place in this newly republic china, when China is still struggling on the road to be republic. Lu Xun doesn’t blame foreigners but rather Chinese people, the ignorant masses, corrupt officials, the self-indulgent, and the lack of compassion at every level. China doesn’t even know it is breaking apart. In this era, people’s life was worthless. Lu Xun is one of the revolutionaries, he used writings as his armour, hoping to wake people’s consciousness. There were no human rights under the rule of Manchus. Farm laborers as Ah Q have the lowest social status. He had no land, no house, the place he lived is in a temple. Being at the bottom of the social structure, Ah Q could not write nor read. He does not even know he was assigned death penalty until on the way to the execution
The public was used to the old society, anyone who wants to change were seemed as rebellions. According to his thought, rebellions were bad, terrible, but power was gained through this way. H wanted to revenge the Chao’s family who punished him before and all the other people who treated him badly before. The incentive was ridiculous, like a child whose toy was stolen and wants revenge the people who took it from him. After coming back from the town, Ah Q illustrated the execution of the revolutionary vividly. Lamentably, he did not know the revolutionaries were killed because they want to liberate the poor from oppression, to provide them a better environment of living. Ah Q was proud to see the execution scene. It was miserable that the revolution idea cannot be understood by common people, those who lived at the lowest make fun of the execution. At the end, Ah Q was executed as a revolutionary although he was not. Lu Xun’s intention of writing this novel is hoping to wake people up from ignorance, to let more people understand the point of revolutionary. All the hard working revolutionaries had done will loose meaning if people don’t know what it is. People don’t know they were being saved, they don’t know these actions are related to their own lives. How tragic it is.
“The story of Ah Q” reveals the reality of society in Qing dynasty