The book I read this week entittled the Red and the Black, which is undoubtedly among the best liturature works. As a person who haven’t had much knowledge in literature, any comments on this work seem to be rather naive and even sort of reckless. But this is the only book I have access to recently. With much deliberation, I would like to write down following words.
The book mainly tells a story about a man named Julien, who came from a carpenter’s family and got a shrewd father and two elder brothers characterized by huge size and rudeness. Though he wasn’t quite athletic, he got talent with his memory. He could recite the whole contents of the Bible, which made him admired by people around him and win him a job as a family teacher. And this is the part where our story begins. Under his gorgeous face, there exists a relentless lust for fortune, power and status, all of which derive from his persuit of happiness, dignity and freedom and finally contributed to his downfall. He worshiped Nepolen the most, and he is willing to die a thousand times to win his success. He desires for love, yet sometimes he used it as a tool to obtain his status and power. However, he had never given up showing his sympathy for the poor and contempt to the Noble. His pureness blended together with ambition and felt self-abased and conceited at the same time. As a young man, he ignored what’s really important for him—being loved. And he just realized this until death was around the corner. The story is a tragedy, for he hasn’t got what he wanted in the end and he sacrificed too much for his contemporary fame and fortune. At the last few hours of his life, those happy times he spent with his loved ones gave him courage to face death penalty with calm . when he realized that he didn’t have to tolerate the world filled with fakeness or put a mask on his face, he died with ease.
Julien stands for the group of people coming from the low class in the society and hope to achieve success with their own efforts. These people usually don’t have the necessary conditions to become successful, but they will by no means stop trying or let God tells them what their lives should be like, instead, they are willing to sacrifice anything to realize their dreams and earn their dignity. For these people, no matter what the consequences their struggle may be, I should forever pay my tribute to them. To some extent, they are the makers of the world.
