Sobateur

Saboteur, written by Ha Jin exposes a difficult period of China: the Cultural Revolution and its consequences on people’s life. Through the author’s skillful use of setting, symbolism and the main character’s dynamism, the reader is able to understand the theme of the story that is revenge. In Saboteur, the story takes place in communist China as witnessed by the concrete statue of Chairman Mao in the middle of the square. During this period, the communist leader Mao Zedong was ruling with authority and transforming the society based on a Marxist model. The author states that “the Cultural Revolution was over already and recently the party had been propagating the idea that all citizens are equal”(179). The setting and period of time is extremely important to the stories meaning. The point of view is third person limited. We only get to see Mr. Chiu’s thoughts and feelings. There aren’t many characters in this story that really make a difference in the story. The main characters are Mr. Chiu, his bride, the stout policeman, the Chief of the Bureau, and Fenjin. Mr. Chiu is definitely the protagonist of the story. He is described as being a well educated and polite man. We don’t find out much about the bride or Fenjin. The only characteristics we find out about the stout policeman is that he is the one that started the fight. In turn we get the understanding that he is ignorant. The author gives us the same feeling towards the chief as the policeman.