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Prerana Kiran Mrs.

Sheaffer Honors English 7 14 March 2013 Losing Faith Forbidden City essay Losing faith in someone or something can really shatter you. That is what happens to some people in the novel, Forbidden City by William Bell. The characters Xin-Hua, Lao Xu, and Alex all lost faith in the PLA and this experience changed them drastically. Xin-Hua was one of the most emotional people after her experience. My first example of losing faith is Xin-Hua. She told Alex, When I was a little kid in elementary school, we were taught PLA were heroes. (Bell 164) She goes on to tell about how soldiers came and told them about all the things this army did for china. This quote is important because it shows that Xin-Hua, a devout believer of the PLA, has also lost faith in them as a result of their actions. From this quote, I can infer that this loss has affected her deeply, because she speaks as if she were disbelieving and talking to herself. This made her stronger too, though because she hates the PLA and can express her own rights. However, she has kept strong and believes even more in hers and others rights, as she supports the student demonstration. Lao Xu also had a similar experience. My second example is Lao Xu, who as well lost faith in the PLA. In the story, Lao Xu does this; He stopped pulling on my coat. What are they doing? he screamed. What are they doing? His face was ghostly red from the flames, his eyes wide, unbelieving (Bell 113). This quote is important because it clearly shows how shattered Lao Xu is after the PLA betrayed him and the people, especially because his own dad was in the PLA. It also shows that he is not a

government actor just pretending to be normal, but has real fears and is in shock. This proves to have a great effect on him, as he runs up to protest but pays the ultimate price: his life. Alex too is betrayed, but not to so much of an extent. My third and final example is Alex, who also lost faith in the PLA. He, however, recognizes what has happened when he makes the connection from the Hu Tong story to what is happening now. He says, Cao chuan jie jian, I thought, Straw boat arrows. The government had used the peoples army against the people. (Bell 165). This quote is important because it shows how Alex understands the PLA, making him lose faith. He used to respect them because they were Lao Xus bosses, but now he was disliking them more and more. Since they had killed his best friends and heroes, and had tried to kill him too, he feels betrayed by them and has a wound to prove it. As you can see, many people have lost faith. From reading about these people, one can only conclude that Xin-Hua, Lao Xu, and Alex lost faith and changed dramatically. This changed me because I used to think that losing faith is only in things like religion, but after reading this book, I know that people can also lose faith in government or in people. In the real world, losing faith can affect you dramatically, as it did in the novel. I also learned that lost faith can also help you to make a new beginning, like it did to Xin-Hua and her taking more strong hold on her role in the demonstration.

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