Applications of Diary of a Madman in Our Society Essay -- Diary Madman

Applications of â€Å"Diary of a Madman" in Our Society Like any piece of good literature, â€Å"Diary of a Madman† does not just apply to the time it was written. It can also be seen as a critique on the world today. However, the relation between the story and the modern world is not easily visible on the surface. One must dig deeper in order to see the parallels. Once one examines the symbolism that is used, it is clear that the story is relevant to today’s world just as much as it was to the world in which Lu Xun wrote it. There are many parallels between the story and our society, so many that this story could just as easily be a critique of our society as a critique of China in 1918. On the surface, â€Å"Diary of a Madman† is about a crazy man and his belief that everyone around him is a cannibal. Not only this, but he believes that they intend to eat him. This causes him to become paranoid and he does not trust anyone, even the animals. By the end of the story, he is resigned to the fact that he will be a victim of cannibalism, and he knows that there is nothing that he can do to protect himself. His only hope is that somewhere there are children who have not yet become cannibals and that these children can somehow be saved from what appears to be their fate. Although this is the literal reading of the text, when one looks deeper one is able to see that this is not all that Lu Xun intended to say with his story. Cannibalism is used simply because it is the most blatant way of taking advantage of other people, which is what it symbolizes. Unfortunately, the madman is the only one who notices that other people are constantly being taken advantage of. He is the only one who can see what is really going on in his societ... ...There are many similarities between the society that Lu Xun wrote his â€Å"Diary of a Madman† for and the society that we live in today. Both societies practice cannibalism through their blatant disregard of others. Both societies are guilty of relatively the same crimes, and the cure for both societies is the same. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that a change will ever be made in either society, because the only people who could bring this change about, the children, will be indoctrinated into the culture before they are old enough to make a difference. Works Cited: Voltaire, Candide, Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, ed. Maynard Mack, Expanded Edition (New York: W. W. Norton, 1995), pp. 548-554. Xun, Lu, â€Å"Diary of a Madman,† Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, ed. Maynard Mack, Expanded Edition (New York: W. W. Norton, 1995), pp. 1684-1693.