Lu Xun’s “A Madman’s Diary”: Chinese' Struggle for Freedom and Equality

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Lu Xun's "A Madman's Diary" is a short story written in 1918 that is widely regarded as the first piece of modern literature written in the Chinese language. The story is a powerful critique of Chinese society's lack of democracy and egalitarianism. Through the eyes of a madman, Lu Xun paints a vivid portrait of a society in which the people are kept in ignorance and from enjoying the benefits of a democratic and egalitarian society. The story follows a madman, the protagonist, who believes the people around him are all eating babies (Chohan, p 2). Through his exploration of the imaginary world, the protagonist exposes the irrationality of societal conventions and criticizes the lack of democracy and egalitarianism in Chinese society. In "A Madman's Diary," Lu Xun examines the lack of democracy and egalitarianism in Chinese society and presents the protagonist's struggle for freedom and equality as a reflection of the Chinese people's struggle for freedom and equality in the early twentieth century.
In "A Madman's Diary," Lu Xun presents the protagonist's struggle for freedom and equality as a reflection of the Chinese people's struggle for freedom and equality in the early twentieth century. He represents the Chinese people's desire to break free from the oppressive forces that have taken control of their lives. The protagonist's journey can be seen as a metaphor for the Chinese people's attempts to gain freedom and equality. Throughout the story, the protagonist's struggle for freedom and equality is met with opposition from the people around him. This opposition reflects the oppressive nature of Chinese society at the time.
At the story's beginning, the protagonist is shown to be in a state of despair and confusion, as he cannot make sense of the world around him (Lu and Meighan, p 4). He is taken to the hospital, where he is subjected to the oppressive regime of the doctors and nurses. The doctors and nurses are presented as figures of authority who control the protagonist's life and are unwilling to listen to his pleas for freedom and equality. The protagonist is also subjected to the oppressive regime of the other patients in the hospital, who mock and ridicule him for his beliefs. This opposition is symbolic of the lack of democracy and egalitarianism in Chinese society, as the people are not willing to listen to the individual's voice and are instead blindly following the state's authority.
The protagonist in "A Madman's Diary" is a man who is struggling against the restrictive Confucian traditions of his society. He is a madman, confined to his home and unable to leave. He is desperate to break free, and his struggle for freedom is symbolic of the Chinese people's struggle for independence at this time (Tang, p 12). In the story, the protagonist believes that if he can break free of his confinement, he will achieve true freedom and equality. The narrator's fear of being locked up in a dark room also reflects the Chinese people's fear of being oppressed and subjugated by the authoritarian government of the time. He speaks of his fear of being "stripped of the right to speak and think freely" and of being "forced to accept whatever is imposed upon [him]...