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Three Kingdoms or Outlaws of Marsh
Introduction
The novel, Three Kingdoms or Outlaws of Marsh, is a masterpiece; this makes it popular among many readers in both the western countries and the Asian countries/nations. The author of this book used suspense as a tool, feature while creating this masterpiece since once an individual commence reading the book it is difficult for him, or her to stop until he, or she is done with the entire book. This work is consisted of both critical and favorable review of the book. The analysis or the evaluationis deployed in many ways considering different factors portrayed in the book/ novel. These factors are as follows; the novels relation to the actual events taking place in the society, use of symbolic features, and the quality of the book`s translation to English language. Other factors put into consideration in the review include the setting, the books reception in the market, and analysis of the main characters depicted in the novel. This also gives a quick preview on the content of the novel.
Analysis/ review of the novel
British audiences or readers refer to this novel as `the water margin’, and it is one of the greatest masterpieces written by the Chinese. It is a folk- tale written in a novel form, this approach makes many readers grab a copy and read throughout the book. Since folk tales are only common in children, writing the book in form of a novel ensured that it received a larger audience base than folk tales, which are only common among children. The novel revolves around a group of bandits who joined hands to resisting and opposing the cruelty practiced by the GaoQiureign in the Chinese territory. This cruelty was being practiced during the reign of the song regime where the poor and the poorwere oppressed by the ruling dynasty. Women and girls are the most affected characters during such period since there is widespread violence against women throughout the novel(Ye et al, pg. 200).
Critics have argued that the writers of this book were not gender sensitive since women are oppressed. Women suffer in the hands of the ruling regime and even other men who abuse them both physically and sexually. The novel depicts women as helpless creatures who only live or exists at the mercy of men and the rulers of the Chinese kingdom during the ancient times. From these events, the authors only try to portray the happenings in the society where women and children are always the most endangered creatures during calamities such as wars, droughts, and floods. The harsh treatment is just the right picture of the misfortunate happenings, which befall women and girls in the society. This indicates that the authors are relevant and intent on the events, which takes place in society. They do not cover up by depicting that women are treated with respect in the society. Research also indicates that women whether in the ancient or modern societies are the most negatively affected creatures after children during any natural or fabricatedcatastrophe(Ye et al, pg. 209).
Any group or community, which has a governing body, must have or face opposition or resistance from people with differing views on the way of governance practiced by such governing body. This is the same situationas depicted in the novel, where the ruling dynasty, the Song Dynasty, faces opposition from the bandits. The bandits join hands to fight the cruelty of the ruling family and rescue people from oppression. In the modern societies, mostly in Asia and Africa, various governing bodies face opposition and resistance from militants and other civil society groups. A good example of such a situationwas witnessed in Egypt where the citizens revolted against the government citing corruption and other malicious vices practiced by the government. From these events, it is obvious that the authors of this book had experiential information on the happenings in the kingdoms and dynasties around the world. They had the capacity, which dictates that under oppression, human beings tend to stand up and fight back the oppression(Luo, pg. 100).
The translation of the novel to English language is,however, not pleasing to the western audience and other readers of American origin. This results from the fact that the novel is not entirely translated to English making it difficult for western readers to understand some sections. Some sections of the novel are written in Chinese language hence they require readers who understand the Chinese language in order to understand them.This may lead to western readers missing the meaning of vital areas in the novel. This calls for the translation of the entire novel into English language for all readers to understand all the contents without much difficulty or hustle(Luo, pg. 122).
The authors of this novel used a different setting in terms of moral background from that of the western literature. This novelwas mainly designed to be a television series script as it revolves around rebellion against injustice and oppression of the poor and the weak in the society. The reason for resistance also varies from one scene to another in this novel. For instance, sometimes people resist because of oppression, others to revenge or show loyalty while others just go along with the events taking place within the society. This is not the same case as in the American literature where authors keenly follow a certain way of writing books or novels. They followa regularbasis when writing books, making their workrevolve around one main theme, which is consistent throughout the piece. This shows that it is not compulsory for all authors to follow the moral background highlighted by the western culture. Any author has the freedom of adventure and research in order to come up with a creative and effectivepiece in the literature world. It also indicates that one can still make an impact in the literary field if he or she uses other moralbackground apart from the western culture. The writer or the authors of this novel wereopen-minded and ready to try out new ideas. This made them make a name in the literature field andbring out something new and unique. This made the novelreceive a massive reception throughout the whole world(Ye et al, pg. 221).
The authors of this novel also deploy the use of poetic features in the work to make their audienceor readers to enjoy reading and understand its contents. Some of the poetic features used in the novel include metaphors, symbolism, imagery, and suspense among other features. Suspense; the authors deploy the use of metaphors at the end of each chapter keeping readers glued to the piece as they yearn to discover the following events in the new chapters. Suspense is one of the vital tools used by poets and other writers to capture the attention of the audiences continuously, this makes this book not only a novel but also a poetic piece. The authors succeeded in capturing the attention of then readers or audience. They also used imagery to make the readers have a clear picture of the events taking place in the piece. For instance, when they talk about the oppression of the poor and the plights of women in the Chinese community one tries to picture such scenes in his or her mind. This helps the readers to have a better understanding of all the events taking place in the society depicted in this reading. They also deploy the use of symbolism, for instance, bandits symbolizeopposition factors in the society who are in a constant battle with the ruling party in order to restore the dignity of the citizens and stopoppression of the weak. They also use metaphors in a number of ways in this masterpiece, for instance, the title of the book is a metaphor since it shows that this book is about a society experiencing battles of three different opposing forces. These forces include the bandits, the ruling dynasty, and the oppressed women. From these arguments, it is evident that the authors were exemplary writers who had knowledge in poetry and literature world. They use poetic devices in a calculatedmanner making this work a masterpiece(Luo, pg. 99).
These writing techniques made the novelreceive a warm reception across the entire world after its release into the market.
Work cited
Ye, Lang, ZhenggangFei, and Tianyou Wang.China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization. Kowloon, Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press, 2007. Print.
Luo, Guanzhong. Romance of the Three Kingdoms: 2. Boston: Tuttle Publ, 2004. Print.
