To Live

To Live utilizes two narrative voices, the narrator and Fugui’s, to tell the overall story. What is the purpose of having two narrators? How do these differing styles contribute to your reading of the novel as a whole?

China’s changing historical landscape plays an important role in this novel. Choose a major historical event that happens in the novel and explain the significance of the event in Fugui’s life and the lives of those around him.

Fugui’s character undergoes a drastic change from the beginning of the novel to the end of the novel. How does his character change, and what is the catalyst for this change?

The narrator is working as a folk song collector when he first meets Fugui. What is the significance of the narrator’s job in the novel? Think specifically about the cultural role of folk songs, their relationship to rural life, and the folk song that inspired the novel itself.

The conflict between the Nationalists and Communists is a major theme throughout the novel and reflects a vital change not just in Chinese politics but in Chinese culture as well. How is this shift from a Nationalist-ruled government to a Communist government reflected in Fugui’s personal life?

Fugui quotes an old saying that says, “If you escape a calamity with your life, there is bound to be good fortune to follow” (85). Thinking about Fugui’s life, is this quote ironic or accurate? How so?

While religion is never directly discussed in the novel, what is the importance of the link between the living and their dead ancestors, as seen through the text’s major characters?

Both Fenxia and Youqing die of blood loss. What symbolic role does blood serve in the novel? Where else does it appear?