Please choose a short quote from "The Confidence in the Game" (include page numbers), and analyze its significance in contributing to the story's popularity in 1920s' Shanghai.
From what you've learned reading the first chapter of Guo Jingming's Tiny Times 2 and his many interviews, and visiting the Amy Cheung websites, what elements from the 1920s' story might still be prominent in today's popular romances? Due Wednesday Feb. 19 by 10 pm, comments to two other responses due by 11:59 pm the same day. I look forward to reading your responses!
“But he did not place any bets; he was waiting for the right time… taking advantage of the downturn, Sanxin threw down five dollars worth on the upper tile, which showed a washout for all the bettors when it was turned over… more success followed until he was up fifty… deciding to beat a retreat, he cashed in his chips”
ReplyDeleteI think the part in the story where Sanxin is gambling and makes off with a lot of earnings by leaving the game early is very significant in the popularity of this story. It establishes Sanxin’s “confidence in the game” and illustrates his resourcefulness. The beginning of the story goes into detail about his extravagant dress and diamond ring but says his actual wealth is only just enough to have enough food. This implies that his luxurious way of life, rubbing elbows with high society in fancy hotels, was obtained through other means than hard work and coming from a wealthy family. Everybody craves to live luxurious lifestyles and wear fancy clothes but not everybody has the means and the opportunity to achieve this, so naturally they are curious to know how somebody could obtain this rich life. This part in the story provides the answer: through cleverness and resourcefulness. Sanxin might be materialistic and superficial, but he is clever and he becomes likeable in this way. Readers want to know what other ideas he can come up with to make it out on top of other situations.
Elements that I find are still prominent from the 1920’s stories to the modern works of Guo Jingming are materialism, emphasis on vivid descriptions of clothing, and disillusionment. In both the “Confidence in the Game” and the first chapter of Tiny Times there is an emphasis on clothing. The authors describe characters from what they are wearing rather than actual personal traits. There was a lot of brand name dropping in Tiny Times, which directly echoed the elaborate description of clothing in “The Confidence in the Game.” The characters in Tiny Times were very focused on materialistic aims just like Sanxin: concerned with clothing and partying. Whenever I hear the 1920’s I think of disillusionment, this sense of comfort that comes from being shallow and materialistic. People become overwhelmed with the problems of the world and materialistic products, such as popular fiction, provide the escape by being easy to consume and focusing solely on simple pleasures. The author of “The Confidence in the Game” and Guo Jingming both make fun of this materialism in small ways, but neither are writing these stories to expose and denounce it. They take comfort in it as well and it is from furthering this materialistic disillusionment that they obtain their fortunes.
The point you make in the first pargraph is interesting and I wonder just how similar Guo Jingming and Sanxin and many of us may be. Many times we scoff at materialism all the while living up to our own materialistic desires.
DeleteI like your point of view. Although not everybody is materialistic and superficial, most of people are curious about the how real living condition of rich is.
DeleteI also agree with your quote and analysis. Sometimes the "game" is believed to be won by being the first to finish. In reality it is knowing when to play your cards or throwing in the towel that allows you to come out on top.
DeleteI agree with you that the prominent elements from the 1920’s stories to today’s popular story of Guo Jingming are both of these works emphasis on a mass of description on clothing. These remind me of an interesting thought of Zhu Shouju’s “here in Shanghai, what’s on the surface remains of paramount value.” It seems like that Shanghai makes this “culture”…
DeleteIn the story of “The Confidence Game”, the author states, “Here in Shanghai what's on the surface remains of paramount value.” (p6) The story takes place and was writing during the roaring twenties, a time when many people had great wealth and exuberantly spent it on various items of luxury. The story follows the exploits of a conartist who abuses the wealthy patrons of the time and who embodies the hollow nature of the celebration of wealth. The story has an airy tone and doesn’t make any explicit moral judgements. Therefore, a reader of the time could have identified with the subject matter and found entertainment from a story that they could very well have taken part in themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe personal narrative without social commentary and the celebration of wealth are prominent elements in today’s popular romances. The chapter from “Tiny Times 2” and Amy Chueng’s website both have the common theme of celebrating wealth or success and both have the light tone that does not deal with any social critique. Instead they focus on the self and personal relationships. The Tiny Times series name drops expensive designer brands and the series focuses on the relationships of four college girls and their personal growth over the years. Amy Chueng’s stories also contain elements of pursuing success and finding a wealthy partner. Her
website and blog offer advice on finding true love and discuss the nature of love from a personal perspective.
"please come here by yourself for the matinee tomorrow. If you are not interested then don't bother. Otherwise do not miss the appointment under any circumstances" (page 18)
ReplyDeleteI liked this quote because it subtly encapsulates the atmosphere of that time. Everything about this quote alludes to the pleasurable and leisurely circumstances of 1920's shanghai. Furthermore, this quote has the quality of being exciting and tense, while simultaneously being relaxed and carefree. Thus, I feel that this story was popular during that time period in shanghai because it was a dynamic period in shanghai's history where many major developments were going on. Thus, in such tumultuous times, people tend to place a premium on simple relaxation and play.
I feel that the most obvious elements from the 1920s stories that are still present in Guo Jingming's tiny times 2 and also the amy cheung website is that there is an marked emphasis on materialism, and living a fun, fast paced, life with hardly a dull moment, where there is always some new, fascinating intrigue or scandal right around the corner.
I think the tiny times depiction of things, is not all the reality things of the Chinese. Or i want tosay, not everyone can live like them in tiny times.
DeleteI'm curious though as to what was happening within Shang hai and China in general at this time because the characters in this story and in the Sunglasses Society do not seem to be involved.
DeleteI think that living a fun, fast paced life may arise from the fact that the people depicted don't have to worry about the things that most citizens have to worry about, ie. money, food, shelter. This leaves them with boredom, causing them to seek thrills by any means necessary.
DeleteThe quote that I decided to analyze was the opening quote that the author used in The Confidence in the Game is "On your finger, a diamond really is the tiniest of objects. But its demonic power is beyond all imagination." (page 6) I chose this quote after reading the story because it summarizes how items and material objects provoke the most evilest of actions and certainty for being socially classed and judged. This quote's underlying message is how we place feelings for individuals based on the accessories they choose to place on their neck, wrists, and fingers. During the 1920's, Shanghai was known as "The Paris of the East, the New York of the West," as Shanghai was the most inhabited city in the world. Shanghai was heavily influenced by the fashion movements create by Paris and New York and the high fashioned clothes and high priced jewelry defined the status of men and women (mostly women) and how they will be placed socially in society. Throughout the story we only read about the protagonists wealth and accessories without really getting an in depth description as to what the protagonists really embodied characteristically. Maybe this implies that we only see the accessories and not the person wearing them.
ReplyDeleteThis quote shows how consumed we are as to what this person is wearing or how much did they spend on their house. The ring has become the face of people we encounter everyday. This is why I feel Guo Mingjing and his work is still relevant because as a group, we have not evolved from the rich consumption of the faceless jewelry. We see a nice watch and we assume they are wealthy. If they wear baggy clothes we assume they stole the nice bracelet when they really saved their money. The culture of material consumerism is still a strong issue that we face today. So many material objects have been glamorized that we try to hide it from those less fortunate because we don't won't to feed the evil desires to have the most glamorous things. The people wearing the jewelry may change but the price tag will keep on rising. That is why I feel the people with high priced jewelry are never the focus because this has existed for the longest time. Material objects is what drives most of us to achieve our dreams because we would rather be seen with those material objects than classified as someone who cannot afford them (the unseen).
I think that the era of rich people in Shanghai, only think of money as entertainment tools.
Deletea lot of people know a person from where does he live or what does he wear, we have to look inside to make true friends
DeleteI thought the part about the ring and how it changes how a person is perceived was really interesting too, although I wondered to what extent the ring could change perceptions, surely there must be some limit.
DeleteI like where you mentioned that we have not evolved past being so materialistic. Could not agree more.
Delete"The ring has become the face of the people we see today..." That statement couldn't be more spot-on. Our emphasis on what people are wearing has overtaken not only the emphasis we place on personality, but physical (non-material) appearance as well
DeleteThis is a story about money and the game. In this story we can see in Shanghai in 1920, when people in Shanghai lived a life of luxury. They do not have a clear definition for the money, but they did have a lot of wealth.
ReplyDeleteAt page21 when Sanxiin said " a good guess, even a t four hundred dollars a carat, it would be worth that much.” Through this dialogue we see Sanxiin for money is not so important. Sanxiin doesn't think a carat may not be very expensive. By this we can easily see that person's character. Of course, we can also think of the times. Money is not a luxury, in the period Chinese, money is used to buy luxury goods. We can imagine the people of that time Shanghai's life is happy. They can enjoy the money to bring them happiness, they can also enjoy any money can buy luxury.
this is too short,haha... however I agree with you
DeleteIn my opinion after reading The Confidence in the Game, I think the story talks about a ironic story between two liars. The male character and the female character are all pathetic to me.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, after reading the article, I do not want to talk about the article itself, I would like to share something that is in my mind for a long time, which is how most of Chinese people value one another. just like the first sentence in the Confidence in the Game,"On your finger, a diamond really is the tiniest of objects. But its demonic power is beyond all imagination". Most of the Chinese people always tell what a person is like from the outside appearance, for example, me, 90% of my friends that I have now have said that they did not want to talk to me the first time they looked at me, because they think I look like a bad person. thats how we tell from one's look. Another thing is, a lot of Chinese people make friends only because they THINK the person is rich, and that makes a lot people trying to fake when they are out hanging out with their friends,this explains why there are a lot of fake products in China, because people who cannot afford the high prices want to be recognized by others.
Also, I have watched a lot of CHines films that lead people to a wrong way, for exmple,the Tiny Times, Professor Luo mentioned the movie in class on Tuesday, she said that there are a lot of movies that talk about student lifes in China have unrelistic things in them, one of them is a super rich and successful young man.I understand that are all in movies, however, it give young people bad effections, they would think that money is the first thing to measure a person, like a lot of Chinese students do now.
I would like to say that we cannot let the outside of an objective blinds us, we have to look for what is inside of it to know what the object really is.
I really like your insight on how everyday people in Chinese society act towards and value material wealth. I am always leery of believing stereotypes outside of my own experience and community so I really enjoy being able to see Chinese society through your eyes.
DeleteYour insight really brings perspective to this unit. We can only get so far merely analyzing the text, but your personal experiences and thoughts on how this kind of materialistic products affects younger generations gives us the whole picture beyond the scholastic view.
DeleteI also really like the first hand experience you have and the insight you provided to negate stereotypes. Actually shed a lot of insight outside of just the reading.
DeleteI agree with you that "Most of the Chinese people always tell what a person is like from the outside appearance", but I think not only Chinese people, almost every people judge one person on his outside appearance when first meet him or she....
DeleteIn 1920's "The Confidence in the Game" there wasn't much brand name dropping from the characters but there was constant mention of jewelry and outerwear. The author says "Here in shanghai what's on the surface remains of paramount value. Time and again people who do not have so much as a days worth of food in their house are eager to dress themselves properly, in finery from head to toe." (Pg 6). This story puts the materialism of popular culture on display much like Tiny Times 2 does. In that first chapter the speaker admires her friends Chanel hairpin much more than the real, fragrant flower on her other friend's head. Brand names and physical appearance litter the first chapter.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the popularity of these stories lies in there truth about China's popular culture, or at least the popular desire which are mostly material. At the very least many of us enjoy watching or reading about the shallow thoughts and actions of others while ignoring our own pride in delight of these things. It's interesting though the Guo admits he has no real altruistic motivations for portraying the material and physical greediness of his characters. He himself is set on material abundance and continued growth saying "Tiny Times 1.0 — will chart how materialism destroys idealism. But he admits that he doesn't write to educate or influence readers. "
I found the honesty of Guo Jingming very interesting. His willingness to admit that his writings are shallow and hold no educational value show that he knows just how strong people's greed for material wealth is--even if only to read about it. He could be a character in one of his own works ironically.
DeleteI too found guo jingming's honesty refreshing. I feel that far too often prose/media has to be imbued with some sort of moral meaning,However I feel that sometimes entertainment can be purely for the sake of entertainment without having to confer some sense of higher values or something.
DeleteWhile reading about guo jingming, I found myself growing quite jealous of his life, it must be nice to be young, rich and popular in the city of shanghai...
I find it very ironic that even the author himself admits that his work isn't educational at all, yet still, this movie came to be very very successful. Having said that, I found myself quite drawn to it this movie as well, even though I'm really not a fan of shallow movies that talk about rich and good looking college kids in a big city. But, like Chris said, entertainment is just entertainment after all, it doesn't necessarily have to be all educational or anything.
Delete“A four-to-five carat diamond is only slightly larger than a cherry pit, and not nearly the size of an almond. Yet it can actually determine a person’s worth. And to an even greater extent than a man’s, a woman’s appeal is most intimately connected to these jewels (page 4).” One of the reasons this story was so popular in the 1920’s was because it accurately depicted the value placed on material wealth. During the 1920’s Shanghai was heavily influenced by fashion trends around the world. Most people were adjusting to being able to afford more material wealth than previous generations. The higher the social class the more expensive the clothes and jewelry should appear to be. A simple diamond was enough to visually bump up a person’s social class. People wanted to live a fun luxurious life, and for the first time, were actually able to do so.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about Guo Jingming and Amy Cheung, it is very easy to see the common themes they share with “The Confidence in the Game.” Material wealth is still highly desired and is often used to give a character an extra desirable trait. Money is elusive and desirable just like true love. These two authors have intertwined these two themes in order to create romances that people from the 1920’s and 2000’s dream of experiencing themselves. The fast paced, drama filled, luxurious lives lived by these characters allow their audience to live vicariously.
I also saw that materialism was a key element in both the 1920's and 2000's as well as the pursuit of money and luxurious lifestyles.
DeleteI really see a strong correlation in material objects and wealth. Think about how many people lose themselves trying to gain material possessions. I really think there is a greater significance in how we view wealth in today's society and not really the people sporting the wear.
Delete“If a diamond is not gracing that little digit of yours, all you can ever hope to attain is some label like ‘slick young man’. Dress more plainly and you would not likely escape being dubbed a ‘poor fellow’.” I believe the reason this played such a large role not only in Shanghai, but all over, is because of the materialistic era that occurred around the 1920s. Similar to a materialistic novel was that of The Great Gatsby which focused on the accumulation of wealth and the use of it to throw extravagant parties in hopes of finding love. This was a theme of the time and it was extremely relevant in both Chinese and western cultures because of globalization and the spread of ideas. Love stories have always been a popular theme and the added focus on wealth made it relevant to the times. This remains a popular work even in modern times due to the constantly growing desire for wealth. Having extravagant things is a way to show social status and many modern love stories involve wealth in one way or another. Generally the main reason I believe this type of work is popular today is because of the combination of these two.
ReplyDeleteI liked the comparison of this story to the Great Gatsby. Both of these stories are about wealth and material objects the are "suppose" to make us happy.
DeleteIn "The Confidence in the Game", the quote that really resonated with me was the line on page 6, "Because of that ring, Sanxin was able to close a number of deals."
ReplyDeleteThis line illustrates 1920s Shanghai's obsession with consumerism and the universal worship of jewelry. Could this be due to the foreign (Western) occupation of Shanghai? I think it most certainly is. These types of stories could only be entertained by the well educated elite, and this precisely why these heimu stories were so popular.
As for today's popular romances, these themes of materialism, consumerism, and shallow love were all present in the heimu stories of early 20th century China. Much like the early 20th century, China is experiencing a second wave of foreign occupation, due to globalization. The Tiny Times stories remind me of the many shows we have in the United States that are also popular among the youth: The Hills, Pretty Little Liars, etc. All of these represent the shallow consumerism that values money and the appearance of status through expensive clothing. Today's teenagers didn't create these themes, but they are certainly perpetuating them.
The quote you chose was on point. Because of that ring he was also able to give his wife earrings through the bargain of getting the other lady a bigger diamond ring.
DeleteAt the beginning of “The Confidence in the Game”, the author pointed that “On your finger, a diamond is really the tiniest of objects, but its demonic power is beyond all imagination.” (p. 5, Zhu Shouju) He also provided details of how a diamond ring would affect people’s vision on others. I think this is an important beginning to tell this story, and the author also gave the reasons for us. “Here in Shanghai, what’s on the surface remains of paramount value.” (p.6, Zhu Shouju) In my opinion, this sentence is the most important one to light this story and tell the story about Wang Sanxin. After I read this part, the first thing came to my mind is the writing characteristic of Guo Jingming. And the same as Zhu Shouju, Guo Jingming also lives in Shanghai and writes stories about Shanghai. The prominent elements I found from the 1920’s stories to today’s popular story of Guo Jingming are both of these works emphasis on a mass of description on clothing.
ReplyDeleteIn Guo Jingming’s Tiny Times, he always emphasizes the brands of those clothes and jewelries, like Prada, Channel, Longchamp, etc. Those brands had similar function to the diamond ring in “the Confidence in the Game”. Those brands are like “a four-to five carat diamond” and can determine a person’s worth. For me, the Tiny Times is ridiculous and it is bad for the young people in China. I saw a survey about Guo Jingming about two years ago, it shows that most of his readers are young people, especially middle school students. The middle school students are not really sensible and intelligent about the society and have many illusions about the life and future, so they are attracted by Guo Jingming’s work easily. Maybe I am too extreme about him, but I really don’t like him. In Amy Chueng’s stories, she is good at writing about love and women’s psychological description, and I really agree with some of hers perspectives about love. In my opinion, the similarities elements between Amy Cheung’s stories and “the Confidence in the Game”, like pursuing wealth and luxurious life.
I think that the quote "people who do not have so much as a day's worth of food in the house are eager to dress themselves properly, in expensive finery from head to toe. They would rather exchange their winter furs for summer silks at pawnshops, claiming all the while that they are saving themselves the trouble of storage." (Page 6, Stories for Saturdays) played a part in making The Confidence in the Game story popular as it may have been accurately describing the way some people actually lived in the time period that it was written. The emphasis on appearing to be wealthy, as felt throughout the story, was very important to Sanxin, and no doubt, to many people in the real world.
ReplyDeleteElements of the 1920s story such as the wealth (or supposed wealth) of the main characters, and their not so perfect romances, which allow us to relate more to the stories (after all, whose relationships are really "perfect"?) are still prominent in today's popular romance stories.
The story, in a satirical tone, exposed one of the social problem in the 1920s shanghai which is still existing in China now. People can easily associate what in the story with themselves or the people around them.
DeleteI like what you said about how people appear to be one way, when it is not a true depiction of them. This is shown in society today, so many people buy material things they cannot afford to uphold a false standard that is not truly who they are.
DeleteI agree with what you said about the stories being relatable to the audience because of the fact that they weren't "fairy tale" romances.
Delete"On your finger, a diamond is really the tiniest of objects. But its demonic power is beyond all imagination." I think this sentence depicts a lot than it seems. It seems to me that in China, especially big cities like ShangHai, materialism has become a big issue. People no longer live for their goals or dreams, instead, they live for luxurious things like expensive cars and expensive jewelries. Like this sentence says, diamond means a lot more than just an object on your finger, it informs people that they're rich, powerful and have a high social status. A lot of young girls were raised to know that expensive things define them, they pursue expensive brand names. I think this is the issue the author wants to bring out in the article.
ReplyDeleteIn tiny times, the author actually focused a lot on describing how the girls were dressed and how their physical appearances were. One of the girls from the movie is super rich, and so is her boyfriend. But the main character is not as rich, but she works at a nice company and hangs around with people that wear nice, expensive clothes even thought they're just college kids. The truth is not a lot of people are like that in China, even the author himself admitted that his work is shallow, it blows my mind that he admits that his work isn't educational at all but still, tons of people run to see this movie. I think what drives people to see this movie is the idealism in the movie, it depicts everything and everyone so perfectly, and that's exactly what most people are looking for.
Even if Sanxin stared at her, she did not stop shooting glances his way…….The attraction, as they say, was mutual and immediate. (p.9) This paragraph describes the first time the two protagonists meeting each other. The rich and pretty girl at that time, undoubtedly, is the one who is more confident in the game. It is the beginning of the story of love and intrigue which are always popular elements in novels and movies. In 1920’s shanghai, the wealth gap was wide. Most people were struggling for living while wondering how the live of rich was. The same as countless popular classic stories are about the emperor or scholars in China and King or noble in Europe, the story between a clever cheater and a pretty girl from a rich family was appealing to the readers.
ReplyDeleteThe elements from the 1920’s story which are still prominent in today’s popular romance are materialism and intrigue. Both of these two novels elaborate on the clothes and jewelry of the characters rather than their personality at the beginning. It sets up a well decorated background, and builds clear and direct images for the readers to imagine. It seems that only rich persons have the time and energy to fall in love, especially the love full of intrigue, betray and revenge. The materialism in the poplar romance satisfies the need of fantasy and illusion of readers. It allows them escape temporarily from their struggling lives. The target readers are very specific but broad. In the 1920s, probably were the ones working in boring jobs barely making a living. Nowadays, most of Guo’s fans are students in middle school and high school who spend most of their time sitting in the classroom with little entertainment.
“The Confidence in the Game” is a story of a con artist who takes advantage of those that are wealthy and earns everything from that. The 1920s was a very prosperous time, where Shanghai was known for being one of the high fashion, modern cities of the day. “Still, people who were eager to keep up with the latest fads were fond of wearing one. They liked the idea that something so cheap could look so bright and sparkly,” (pg 9). For me it wasn’t about the monetary value of the objects but the value it was given by society that made it worth so much. Sanxin didn’t have more than enough or was able to live the extravagant life but he was able to play the game. “he was waiting for the right time. Taking advantage of the downturn.” His “Confidence in the Game” was what made the story so popular. He didn’t have all the wealth, but he manipulated what he had to get where he wanted to.
ReplyDeleteReading the first chapter of Tiny Times by Guo Jingming I can see the comparison to the American shows, however, I think it related a lot to Gossip Girl. A show depicting the drama and lives of young, some wealthy some average, adults. In Jingming’s interviews he says his work doesn’t focus on politics or things in that nature, but just telling a good story that young people can enjoy because that was ‘lacking’ at the time. However, I think what makes it interesting is that he exaggerates the common situations, not saying that this scenarios do not happen just not very often. What makes readers and viewers so drawn is that they can relate to it, especially the younger generation where fitting in with the ‘it’ crowd and people think of you is so important. “Don’t people always say that if your friends are of high standards, then people will think you’re one of them too?”
I agree with your statement about Shanghai and fashion. Shanghai was closely related to New York in the sense that they kept up with the thriving fashions of the time.
Delete"For me it wasn’t about the monetary value of the objects but the value it was given by society that made it worth so much."
DeleteThis is a prudent quote to me. While the monetary value of diamonds is high, the only reason is because people think they are rare. In the 1800's, massive deposits of them were found, but De Beers, the African diamond monopoly, has fooled the public into believing that diamonds are hard to come by, and so the price goes up.
I wonder if zinc would be seen as high class if it had the proper marketing campaign.
The quote that I think that best summarizes the story of “Confidence in the game” is “A four to five carrot diamond is only slightly larger than a cherry pit, and not nearly the size of almond. Yet it can actually determine a person’s worth. And to an even greater extent than a man’s, a woman’s appeal is most intimately connected to these jewels” (pg. 4). The reason I think that this quote best summarizes the story is because the main character in the story has this very nice and expensive diamond ring. He goes into these fancy hotels and plays gambling games with upper class people, even though he himself is not a very wealthy man. He sees this attractive woman and stalks her for days before getting the chance to go on a date with her. As he is on this date with her, she notices the ring and asks to put it on and he does so. We he takes her home she does not take the ring off and give it back to him. He spends a ton of money on her that he really could not be spending so that she continues to see him. He eventually comes up with a plan and has his ring be replaced with a bigger ring and gives it to the girl. The girl would not give up the diamond ring once she put it on and since the main character didn’t have enough money with him she offered up her earrings and then she got to keep the ring. Towards the end of the story, the main character is with his wife and she wanted the new earring because they were the new thing at the time so the main character used the earring he got from the other lady to give to her. This quote shows that women are intimately connected to jewelry. All that the two women wanted were jewelry. Wealth during this time was a huge importance. The first woman saw the main character as person of wealth because he had on this ring. Women were fancied by jewelry and rich men and men wanted to be rich so they could get the women.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “Confidence in the game” and “Tiny Times 2”, the element that are still prominent in today’s popular romances is the luxurious of people. Both of these stories talk about wealth. People like to see or imagine themselves as being wealthy and having all the goods in life. When people read about these things then it grabs their attention and makes then want to experience this lifestyle as well. These stories remind of the movie “Wolf on Wall Street” that has recently come out. “Wolf on Wall Street” and “Confidence in the game” both focus on the wealth that the individual has and how he uses his wealth to get the woman. They both fancy the woman with material objects like Sanxin using his diamond ring and Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) buying clothes and jewelry to satisfy his wife.
“What was most eye-catching about him, though, was the diamond on the ring finger of his left hand, a stone of perhaps four carats.” (p.6, Shouju). “Confidence in the Game” was a story about materialistic value and money. In the 1920s, Shanghai had more of a representation like New York, being that it was greatly influenced by fashion. Since each person was judged based on the materials they obtained, it was only fitting that the author began the story talking about the materialistic view, and physical appearance of the main character. A flashy symbol, such as a ring is something small that can represent something bigger such as wealth.
ReplyDeleteThis story has importance in China’s popular culture today, because it shows that material objects are of great importance. A ring is a great example in popular romance stories too, being that it is a symbol of love when someone gets engaged, or married. It might be a small object, but it has great value.
I think your last sentence hit the nail on the head. A ring does not just have great value in stories, but in real life as well. Engagement rings perfectly illustrate how the west can equate love with money. How else could you dupe people into spending 3 months salary on something that weighs a fraction of a pound?
DeleteI agree with the reply made by Austin. I think as a society in general we have always been able to place a monetary value on everything. Money can get someone power, can buy nice things, such as engagement rings as stated above, that can equal love.
Delete"These days though, regale yourself as you would with the fanciest of clothes; if a diamond is not gracing that little digit of yours, all you can ever hope to attain is some label like "slick young man" (p.4, Shouju). This is a great example of the excessive consumerism found within this story. China in the 1920's was akin to mainstream hip hop culture of today (and more broadly, American culture in general).
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, the main character invites comparisons to a hip hop persona by coming from a relatively disadvantaged position in life to making wealth and being flashy.
I like the quote that you used to describe the setting and time period that this story was meant to be in.
DeleteI agree with what you say at the end about how he was a bad point in life, but he prospered in the end and became rich.
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ReplyDeleteWhat i got from reading Confidence in the Game was the value and power of possessions. The biggest example of this was from the very beginning of the story where they were talking about the diamond rings. They were referring to the amount of power one feels when someone notices that they are wearing a shiny diamond ring upon their finger. They said that someone like this is labeled with the title of being "classy" or a "slick young man". They also talked about the reverse effect of if you ever wore more plain clothes you would be quickly judged and labeled as a poor man instead.
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