Identification of the country The definition of Country

Identification of the country The definition of “Country” “country” →”mother country” →”home” “落葉歸根” →example: 林義夫 The definition of “ Immigration” →principle: race His parents: the first generation of immigration His brother & 長白山: the second generation of immigration Himself: immigration in a special way

The background The Chinese immigrated to Malaysia Reasons: -The bad condition of Chinese politics -Chinese people have the courage to adventure -They would have the chance to be the rich Those Chinese people divided into two parts. -The rural-poor sector -The urban-commercial sector -“Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army” →”Malayan Communist Party”

Second generation’s country identification Three kinds of people v. s. China - have great expectation and affection ex: “長白山”. “大哥” ⊙the sons and daughters of revolution ⊙the young dragon of foreign land - try to escape from the historic burden ex: “他” - tonally indifferent ex: some immigrants

Brother “大哥” * Impression: - rebellious, mysterious, ambitious * Events: - rebel against parents - concentrate on a pile of papers - go out at midnight secretly - brother’s disappearance * Quotations from “長白山” of brother’s image - one hundred percent revolutionist

Classmate “長白山” * Characteristics - considerate, warm-hearted, extroverted, capable * Events - organize many organizations - provide him lots of books - tell him the history of China - try to give him a mission of being one of the members of the children of China - mention his brother - be arrested by the police and be deported to China * Position in “他”‘s mind - the extension and substation of his brother

Church’s Influences * Instill him the image of China - distant, old continent - has long history - images of Great Wall, Yellow River, wild grassland * Teach him Chinese - his own name, family name, “中國, ” etc. * Assign him the mission - be proud of being a Chinese

Influences on the main character “他” * Before: - go back to the ancient, great land - carve the name on the stone of the mother land * After: - contradictory psychology → love playing the turtle shell → escape, be indifferent to his hometown, dislike social contacts with others - China: the curse that led to the death of his brother and many other Chinese sons and daughters - enclose the previous memories → the best way for living in this unstable time → avoid arousing all the disputes

Lost of self, and national identity Immediate Causes The influences that parents give him: p. 276 take away his chance to pursue national identity, but offer no identity for him to follow. Swimming-the desire to enter the depth of the wetland (after brother’s missing) p. 275 Dreaming -p. 259 fear of darkness -p. 272 desire of coldness

Leaving sperms - p. 272 -3 # Oedipus Complex (father, country) # “chicken shit”-his subconscious of desire - p. 275 his expression of desire toward his brother a symbol of strong and clear national, identity, belongingness

Subsequence Result: 逃犯的心理: →Characteristics found in Immigration: - Placelessness－marginalization. -「殺龜得版」－有去無回. - Mimicry. - Attitude toward family & politics. - Experiment on killing the turtle.

Symbolic Meaning Turtle * The connection - Between the narrator and his past - With china (the foundation of Chinese culture) * Metaphor meaning (indication of turtle as himself) * An exit to his physical and mental desire * Concrete signifier a. 中國 抽象符號 b. 龜腹甲 實質符號

Symbolic Meaning Fishbone - Representative meaning of a “bone” - The bridge a. The skull and the body b. The mind/belief and the physical statement c. The lies and the truth - The conflict between the turtle and the fish

Symbolic Meaning Oak tree A. Representing China Visual images (Green leaves) as its territory Invisible signified (root beneath earth) as its influences B. Implication