"A sincere heart can make a stone blossom."

1) How is the power of imagination a major theme of the story?

Imagination, which leads to storytelling, are the fuel of the narrator and Luo's fire. To escape the never ending troubles of living on the "Phoenix of the Sky", these two boys tell of better places and easier days, leaving behind the troubling jobs they carry, "Each basketful that we managed to haul all the way from the end of the tunnel became a game of Russian roulette," (Sijie 30). But not only does the storytelling heal the mental troubles but also heal actual dangers.

Early on in the book, Luo and the narrator are sent out of the village to watch a movie in the city and "relate the film from beginning to end to the headman and everyone else," (Sijie 19). Giving the boys a vacation because of their storytelling abilities, proves that their imagination got them out of a lot of poo (pun intended!). But also, letting Luo home his storytelling abilities put the entire story in swing. After the narrator receives Ursule Mirouet by Balzac, he falls into the book, leaving food and sleep behind. "In spite of my complete ignorance of that distant land called France...I was feeling quite at home in Nemours, imagining myself posted by the smoking hearth of her parlour..."(Sijie 57). His falling, but not helplessly, is important for self-preservation. Taking part in these experiences leaves another moment of potential self-pity at waste, and their dreams alive. "We accepted this infernal ordeal, because we were determined to stay in the race at all costs, even though our chances of returning to the city were no more than the infinitesimal three in a thousand."

Everyone is affected by these two boys active imaginations, most of the time ending well for them. The little seamstress, in particular, is greatly affected by their imagination. Her entire outlook on life is different when books and imagination are introduced to her. She takes escape to the next level, when she leaves her mountain seclusion for the city lifestyle. Both the boys took her for granted saying,"...I was angry with the Little Seamstress. Although I was fully aware of my role as spectator, I felt just as betrayed as Luo, not by her decision to leave the mountain, but by the fact that she had not thought to tell me about it," (Sijie 183). But what the narrator does not see is that for her to leave and take the final step in growing, she needed not to tell them of her departure. The final line of the book sums up her growth; "She said she had learnt one thing from Balzac: that a woman's beauty is a treasure beyond price,"(Sijie 184)

Who know being good could end so bad.

Close your eyes. There's an empty field. In the middle, a tree in all it's large, magnificently trusting glory. The branches reach up to the sky in praise of the pure.
Then lightning strikes the caring branches, bringing fire to all that surrounds this support system. This once majestic structure, now crumbles and is weak, succumbing to the fire as it engulfs all that ever was. This tree is Othello. Trusting in those around him except for the ones to be trusted, such as Desdemona,"...Of one not that loved not wisely but too well"(Act 5, Scene 2). Ironically, Othello stops trusting everyone's intentions around him, minus that of Iago, and everyone's eventual downfall begins. This downfall is what creates a tragic hero; a character has a flaw in judgment that leads to a dramatic change in his/her life. Usually paired with extreme use of dramatic irony.

Iago's "lightning" spreads pestilence like a wildfire through dry bush. He strikes hard saying, "Look to your wife; observe her well with Cassio; Wear your eye thus, not jealous nor secure..."(Act 3, Scene 3). And immediately thereafter, Othello starts to doubt Desdemona. As the story continues, Othello falls, slowly at first and then more rapidly towards the last act, towards the untruth and deceit created by Iago. Even through Othello's doubt and weak proof, Iago convinces him of everyone else's deceit. As in the play, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is deceived by his own fate and arrogance while Othello is deceived by Iago, a representation of his fate in human form. Iago plays fate, a cruel reality but one that is necessary for a tragic vision. In Oedipus Rex, fate is an invisible character that plays the part as the "conductor", much like Iago.

Desdemona, Cassio, Rodrigo, and Emilia's love is also the "conductor" and the victims of Othello. Because of their innocent, blind love the tragic vision is pushed on. The love is ignorant but not in the traditional sense. The love is blind to all the judgments, even the wise ones. A trait that others might find desirable, but Shakespeare makes them at fault because of. Desdemona's love for Othello keeps her blind to what Othello sees in her, even after his much reiteration. "Upon my knees, what doth your speech import? I understand a fury in your words. But not the words," (Act 4, Scene 2). But Desdemona's love is so strong that even after Othello kills her, she defends his action saying "Nobody; I myself [has done this deed]." Cassio's love is much like Desdemona's in that he hopes for Othello's appreciation but once lost, he never regains. His love for his reputation and for Othello's love, blinds him to how Iago uses this love against him. Rodrigo's love is blind to the manipulation of Iago. Even after his money is taken and his life is used in Iago's plots, he does not realize that he is the catalyst of this tragic vision. But so is Emilia. What Rodrigo is subconsciously, Emilia is consciously. Emilia knows deep down that Iago is plotting. But her love blinds her to question her instincts. Even after Iago brushes her off showing affection for the handkerchief more than her self, Emilia turns a blind eye to his plotting saying "...what he will do with it, Heaven knows, not I; I nothing but to please his fantasy,"(Act 3, Scene 3). The irony blooms in this statement showing that Emilia, no matter the circumstances, would do anything for love; a desperation Iago feeds off of. This blind motif, also a motif in Oedipus, causes a similar but necessary ending for any tragedy, death and banishment.

The tragic characters in Othello all play their own strange twisted roles in this play. They all loved blindly and without the use of foreshadowing and risk management. But because of that, they all loved hard and fell hard. Iago's intentions were in some strange way, natural. The character is not hated by the reader for his actions because they are understood emotions, jealousy and vengeance. Desdemona, Othello, Cassio, Emilia, and Rodrigo's love is what is desired. Their love makes them the perfect characters in a tragedy because they have so much to lose. Iago states this, "He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly,"(Act 5, Scene 1). But Emilia, the most insightful blind character, sums up the entire play at the end of Act 4, "...is't frailty that thus errs? It is so too."