Introduction
The concept of a misalliance – an unequal marriage – was of great importance in China and warned individuals of the bourgeois estates against rash decisions. However, some representatives still decided to marry for love. For example, the hero of the story Too Late by Ha Jin ignores his civic duty as a soldier who is forbidden to enter into a love relationship. He violates the norms, suggesting that citizens should marry representatives of their class. The other must be forsaken whenever one type of love is chosen above another.
Short Story Analysis
The meaning of the work is revealed to the reader rapidly from the very first pages: a person’s life can be complete only when he has a choice. The theme of love, which permeates the entire work, is revealed in various ways: diametrically opposite types of love are shown (Decker 101). Instructor Pan demonstrates love for the Motherland – China, with the help of impeccable compliance with the prescribed rules: “the rule that allows no soldier to have an affair” and not to cross the class line (Jin 171).
At the same time, Kong admits that he understands the consequences of threatening him for violating these rules as “it would bring shame to the family” (Jin 173). However, he chooses to lose party membership and all the benefits of being with Mali. Thus, in Too Late, love for the state is demonstrated through fulfilling duty, and romantic love is contrasted.
However, despite the opposition between the two types of love, the essence of the concept of feeling in the author is similar to love for the motherland and a woman. The work aims to affirm the human right to free choice in love. One needs to fight for one’s feelings, as this is the meaning of human life (Decker 101). Both the heroes – Instructor Pan and Kong – sacrifice for the sake of their love and fight for it. Instructor Pan renounces family happiness “to be an officer and command troops” (Jin 173).
On the other hand, Kong chooses to favor the joyful family while refusing to live in prosperity and material benefits acquired by his family. In a picture sent by Kong to Instructor Pang, he and his wife “both looked like peasants” (Jin 175). Thus, choosing their love for the motherland or a person, each hero has to make certain sacrifices.
The individualism of the actions of the heroes of the runaway couple in love, who transgress the purpose of their duty as soldiers and family obligations to the bourgeois family, is overcome. The story’s hero, Instructor Pang, does not commit such a crime since he initially has an obvious deindividualization mindset. He follows the ancient tradition of a person’s duty to the state and the motherland (Andriotis 244).
The ratio of human rights and the state corresponds to the norms of traditional society: “We are all human beings and have emotions, but there are things more important, beyond love” (Jin 173). As the reader can see, for the hero, the state is an instrument for realizing the people’s interests, and the interests of the people are more important than the interests of an individual. Citizens who inhabit the state with the duty to protect them should be as loyal to it as possible and tolerant of interference in private life, such as a ban on a love life for soldiers.
However, for Kong, the individual’s rights to love prevail unconditionally. He strives for individualism, recognizing the individual as the primary and main power source, and his rights as an individual take precedence over the state’s laws (Decker 102). Even though at various levels, he suffers condemnation that affects not only his social role as a citizen but also his dignity as a man: “A real man must never put a woman between his career” (Jin 173). However, Kong puts his feelings higher than traditional social norms and rules. He chooses to do so in favor of his own needs rather than the needs of society and his duty to the state.
Conclusion
Thus, the question of the origin and termination of love gives rise to many other questions, among which the question of sacrifice in the name of love is fundamental. Both main characters of the story show the ability and the need to sacrifice important parts of life in the interest of a significant value. Love is always accompanied by sacrifice and is impossible without sacrifice as a way of showing love. The size and other parameters of the victim have different meanings; however, when choosing in favor of one value, it is necessary to abandon the other. The author leaves the reader to conclude the significance of this choice and its reasonableness.
Works Cited
Andriotis, Konstantinos. “Heritage Destination Love.” Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 24, no. 2, 2021, pp. 240–259. Web.
Decker, Todd. “I’m an American Soldier”: Country Music’s Envoicing of Military Men and Families after 9/11.” Journal of Musicological Research, vol. 38, no. 1, 2019, pp. 88–107. Web.
Jin, Ha. Too Late. Vinatge, 2001.