Balzac Test

1) How is the power of imagination a powerful theme in the story

Imagination is a powerful theme because it is what drive the characters to keep going day after day. If it weren't for the books they found, Luo and the narrator would have broken down to the Communist brainwashing long before. The imaginative influence the book has on them lets them continue to carry water on the mountain and give them the audacity to challenge the headman's authority. with out the power of imagination the narrator would have never been able to truly develop his story telling abilities. Also the power of imagination has a strong influence on the tailors clothing,such as after hearing "The Count of Monte Cristo" he begins to make sailor tops for all the villagers. The influence of imagination on the tailors clothes helps transform the world that the narrator and Luo are put into from "tortuous paths" to a place where "you could almost smell the briny Mediterranean air." All of the change in the novel was because of the power of imagination