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Today I would like to share the work "Two Little Lots" by German writer Erich Kastner.
Castner was Germany's greatest writer of children's literature after the Berlin Brothers. He was awarded the most important Büchner Prize in Germany in 1957 and the International Hans Christian Andersen Prize in 1960. Castner is known as the father of German children's literature after World War II. He is not only a household name in Germany, but also occupies a very important position in the minds of young readers around the world.
"The Flying Classroom" and "The Tale of the Emil Thief" are both his works, and he has learned how he persisted in creating under the oppression of the Nazis and forged a deep friendship with the little reader Hans.
As a prolific writer with a creative career of 40 years, Castner's life as a writer can be described as full of legends. He lived through two world wars, the Great Depression and the disintegration of East and West Germany after the collapse of the Third Reich.
Therefore, his creative career took the end of "World War II" as a watershed, and was clearly divided into two stages. "The Flying Classroom" and "Emile The Thief" are representative works of the first stage, and the "Two Little Lots" shared today are important creations of the writer's second stage.
Two Little Lots was published in 1949, four years after World War II ended, after witnessing a series of Nazi-made tragedies such as the persecution of friends to death, the sending of children to the front, and so on. Castner bravely dispelled the haze in his heart and regained his unwavering faith in courage, friendship, and success. A new creation began, and in his pen, the child's world returned to joy and peace.
Just like the summer camp for little girls on the shores of Lake Pohl in "Two Little Lots", the sun is shining, the mountains and waters are clear, and the children are free to play and play, and in this beautiful paradise, a twist and turn, a comedy of Zhang Guan Li Dai has occurred. The girl Louis meets Lott, a girl who looks exactly like herself. Not only did they look alike, but they were even born at the same time and place of birth. Are they the reincarnations of mortal beings under twin stars?
No, they were a pair of split twins, but they didn't know each other's existence. Why is that?
They both pondered and finally found the answer, it must be that their parents broke up and broke them up, no wonder neither of them had a mother, and one did not have a father. Now that they have finally met, the tragic past of a single-parent family is about to become history. The two of them decided to exchange identities and find the right time to let their parents break through the situation and reunite.
This story is fascinating. Readers simply can't stop reading until the end, and the story touches on the hidden desires of many people.1 Have you ever dreamed of one day suddenly discovering that there is another self in the world, either far away or near? He has skills you wouldn't have, and your strengths are just his weaknesses. With each other's assists, you can become omnipotent and perfect people, and you can exchange identities at will and experience different lives. And no one else can see through it. It's really exciting to think about.
Some children said that this is not such a story as "The Prince and the Poor Child". The prince and the little beggar exchanged identities, and the little beggar turned out to be a ming jun, and the prince also understood the suffering of the world in the course of experience, and the ending was very happy. The prince and the poor boy exchanged their lives. You have me, I have you. Enrich the life experience and understand the meaning of suffering.
And in the summer camp for little girls, the two little lots that met were also like this. Their meeting has made each other more mature and more complete people. In the novel, although Louis and Lott are twins, they can have their own temper and disposition, their own tastes and hobbies, and their own advantages and disadvantages. After reading the beginning of the story, we will all feel that the twins, except for the exact same looks, there is nothing similar. Their upbringings, personalities, and tastes are all very different. The contrast between the resemblance of appearance and behavior brings a lot of hilarious jokes to the novel.
Originally, Louis was held in the palm of his hand by his rich father since he was a child, and his personality was domineering. Lot suffered with his mother, who had no money, and had an introverted and well-behaved personality. However, after exchanging identities, people who do not know the truth find that the steady and self-disciplined Lot has lost his ability to do housework, his academic performance has declined, and he is still beating up his classmates at school. When the teacher saw her ugly handwriting, he decided that she was on the verge of physical and mental collapse. However, this new "Lott" is not useless, her personality has become lively and confident, and the whole person has become more clear. No wonder, because her real identity is Louis.
The real Lote appears at her father's house instead of Louis, which is like a savior coming, her academic performance soars, her management of the housework is orderly, the lazy and greedy housekeeper obeys her own words, and she also fights with miss Qianjin who pursues her father.
As the story progresses, the twins' family and friends are puzzled by their changes. And those of us who are bystanders are surprised to discover another fact. In fact, the differences between these twins with very different personalities are not as big as we initially thought. The differences between Louis and Lott have innate factors, but they are more determined by their different upbringings and family environments.
As a philosopher said, people's personalities are written in advance, but the experience of the day after tomorrow marks the chapter with key symbols. The introverted and stable Lote is twilight because of the pressure of life, but when he comes to a rich and relaxed environment, he shows a bold and firm side. She found that the housekeeper was deducting her father's living expenses and immediately called her for questioning. A little girl forced the adults to blush and had nothing to say.
This fierce and vigorous action simply has the style of Jia Tanchun's assistant Grand View Garden. Not to mention that in the face of Miss Irena, who threatens their family's reunion, she shows a cleverness and does not give in, so that miss Irena, who is scheming, is a bit overwhelmed.
After Louis came to her financially strapped mother's house, she gradually changed from a wayward big lady to a gentle little housekeeper. In order to support her mother, she learned to cook and learn to do housework, and she felt anxious and blamed herself for her clumsiness. But she finally learned a lot, and she couldn't dream of the skills she could master. As written in the novel, Louise felt like she was becoming Lot. Lot also felt that he was becoming Louis, and they both became half of themselves and half of each other's newcomers.
Maybe it's about growing! Makes you less and less like you, and also makes you more and more like you. However, in Castner's novel, it is not only children who need to grow up, parents and adults also have to experience growth, constantly reflecting on and running their own lives. For example, the parents in the book, they got married and had children at a young age, but the two of them were still not more troublesome, and their hearts only thought about themselves. Dad only thinks about career, does not pay for the family at all, mother feels that she is ignored, she is angry and asks for divorce, without considering the child's situation. Their breakup was like a child's play. However, this child's play not only changed their lives forever, but also changed the direction of the twin daughter's life.
Castner uses this to throw a serious question to the adult world: "Adults always want to educate their children, but they forget to reflect on themselves; when teaching children not to be selfish, parents selfishly affect the trajectory of their children's lives." Parents always emphasize how much they have given and how much they have given up for their children, but they rarely realize how much love the child has given himself and how much flaws he has unconditionally tolerated."
Whether adults or children, everyone living in the world is imperfect and makes mistakes. Children can make mistakes, and adults can make mistakes. And adult mistakes can sometimes lead to very serious consequences. Still, Castner tells us in the story of "Two Little Lots" that many serious mistakes can be repaired.
For example, the mistake of the little Lot family, although it was made many years ago, by his parents because of their youth and sloppiness. However, there is still a chance that this mistake will be corrected. After all, parents, like children, grow up in mistakes. In the words of the book, "Lost happiness is like a delayed homework, and it can be made up."
In "Two Little Lots", the twins exchange identities, Zhang Guan Li Dai, the process of threading needles. In fact, it is helping parents complete the homework they have been delayed for nine years because of separation. In fact, Mom and Dad regretted it after breaking up, just didn't know how to make up for it. Although Dad became famous, he never wrote a happy song after his divorce. Mothers live a life of stretching, and even taking their children out to play has become a luxury.
Nine years of time not only made the twins grow from babies to girls. It also made my parents change subtly in loneliness and bitterness. Perhaps this is why after the parents finally reunited under the ingenious arrangement of the twins, they no longer quarreled, but only lamented each other's wasted youth. They clearly saw the sloppiness of choosing separation in those years, and they also re-felt the value of each other.
Mom thought Dad looked like a real husband, and Dad marveled that Mom was still so young and beautiful, and they all clearly realized that the separation was wrong. Perhaps, it is still too late to correct the error. With the joint efforts of a family of four, the family that was once divided is reunited. Dad didn't use the excuse of "work" to avoid family responsibilities and invested more time and energy into the family. Mom also stopped thinking about gains and losses, and gave Dad more tolerance and understanding.
Therefore, "Two Little Lots" seems to be a farce led by two children, but it is actually a serious story of a family in the same boat, growing up together, and bridging the rift in life. This may be the reason why "Two Little Lots" has endured.
From the time this work was published until now, almost every ten years, it has been remade into a movie. The film's backdrop has evolved over the years from Germany in the 1940s to the United States in the early 21st century. However, the core of the story has not changed, and this family has experienced separation, growth, and time and time again to repair the mistakes in life and obtain a happy ending.
This is a story that people can't get tired of watching, and it is also a story that makes us light up with infinite hope.
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Zhao Zijun, an article a day, recording work life, reading and learning. Be a seed that spreads love.
Public number: Zhao Jun. Writing is not just about recording, it is evoking some beautiful hearts that are sleeping.