The "silent" in the novel "Flowers" seems to be silent, but in fact it is rich in meaning. More than a thousand "silent" quietly shake the reader's heart.
At the end of the novel, Hu Sheng said: "I have always listened to Lingzi say that Ah Bao is weird, he doesn't make a sound all his life, he doesn't get married, he doesn't laugh at his skin, or he talks about jokes, what does Ah Bao think in his heart." Po smiled and asked Husheng what he was thinking. Perhaps, for Po, the role of language is limited, and many times relying on words cannot change the facts at all.
In the novel, Bao's "no sound" actually has many different meanings.
1. "No sound" in the relationship: jealousy, avoidance, helplessness, and depression
In the novel "Flowers", only the northern woman Pan Jing's emotional expression is more enthusiastic, and most of the others are reserved and introverted. As far as Po is concerned, in the process of getting acquainted with Betty, Xiaozhen, Xuezhi, and Li Lee, he often expresses his different emotions through "no sound".
Ah Bao can't take the initiative to Li Li. Often when Li Li has already spoken very thoroughly, Ah Bao is still pretending to be stupid. Li Li said, the man I rejoice in is close in front of me and far away in the sky. Po doesn't make a sound. Li Li said that he is still pretending to be confused, and he really hates it. Po doesn't ring".
Po deliberately mentioned other men who were familiar with Li Li and asked her why she didn't consider marrying her, but in fact he was secretly jealous. Although he was jealous, he still didn't take the initiative, and when Li Li asked him rhetorically, "Women can stare at men", Ah Bao didn't make a sound, and began to avoid it again. When Li Li was jealous, Ah Bao was also reluctant to explain. Until Li Li invited Po to her house, Po was still reserved, looking at the watch on his wrist.
In the novel, when Po and Xuezhi reunite, Xuezhi "looks forward to Shenfei, and seems to follow Po as long as he moves", but Po "doesn't make a sound". Xuezhi contacted Bao, and Bao also made excuses not to talk.
Bao's "avoidance" is not an escape due to timidity. Probably a kind of helplessness. The bottom of the heart is desolate, and he is indifferent to people and things in the outside world. may still be as handsome as young on the outside, but at the bottom of his heart he may be an old man. The affection is deep, but he is unwilling to force it, and he does not want to get too much from the relationship.
Emotional matters are entangled and complicated, and it is good to remember those gentle and accompanying years. When he was with Li Li, Ah Bao closed his eyes tightly and didn't make a sound. He, like Li Lee, is willing to remember the time together forever.
When the past turned to ashes, Po was reluctant to mention it. Both Reiko and Miss Wu had asked Po about the little girl she had in mind, but Po never told them about Betty. Husheng and the Frenchman said that Po once had a girlfriend who was a tram conductor. At that time, Po was silent. After Li Li became a monk, Ah Bao was in a bad mood. Others were joking and noisy, but he was the only one who kept his voice silent.
2. "Silence" when listening: respect, doubt, sadness, and cover-up
Po is one of the more important "listeners" in the novel. Bao's father, little aunt, Shaoxing grandmother, Miss Wang, Li Li, uncle, Xian Xian, Mr. Xu, Yinfeng, Mr. Ouyang, Mr. Li, and uncle on the second floor...... The stories of these people, Ah Bao has heard a lot of people tell them.
When listening, most of Bao's "silence" is a kind of respect for the narrator, indicating that he is listening.
The stories that Po heard were both meat and vegetarian, joys and sorrows. Like the case of Mr. Xu and Miss Wang, although it is a tragedy, it is more of a kind of nonsense of the parties. Po listening to these things is similar to listening to stories in boredom.
When Po is skeptical of the narrator's words, he will also "not make a sound". For example, Miss Wang said that when she and Mr. Xu were in Changshu, they just "ate tea and talked". Po's "no sound" means that he doesn't believe it or expose it.
The stories of others, such as Li Li and Yinfeng, are sad. At this time, Bao's "no sound" is sympathy for the dignity of others. But since the matter has come to this, he can't change anything as a listener, so it's useless to make more comments.
Husheng once said that Xuezhi is cold on the outside and hot on the inside. In fact, the same is true of Po. When he listened to Shuhua talk about Betty and Grandma turning into fish, he didn't make a noise on the surface, but in fact, he thought of the scene in the fairy tale, imagining how Betty and Grandma turned into two fish, were taken by a kitten to the river, and then swam into the water. Although he made up fairy tales to deceive himself, he knew in his heart that this was a fantasy, and the truth was actually tragic.
Ah Bao met Yinfeng by chance, and after learning about Xiaomao and Yinfeng back then, he kept his mouth shut. Husheng said that every time Xiao Mao is mentioned, Bao is always lazy", but Bao still "doesn't make a sound". Xiao Mao invited his old friends Husheng and Ah Bao to dinner, and everyone talked about the uncle on the second floor of the year. Because Xiao Mao didn't know, he still said that the uncle on the second floor was good.
Later, the middle sister talked about how the uncle on the second floor did it, and everyone realized that this person was very bad. But Po still didn't say anything during this period. Xiao Mao is seriously ill, what is the use of saying this? It will only disturb Xiao Mao's state of mind. Until Xiao Mao left, Ah Bao didn't tell him that Xiao Mao got married in a hurry, but it was actually the uncle on the second floor who made it bad.
After listening to those people's stories, it is equivalent to Bao's heart accumulating many people's stories. For example, the friends at the banquet don't know about the uncle on the second floor, but the reader knows Ah Bao's psychology, and from his "no sound", you can read a lot of content other than words.
3. "Silence" in dialogue: specific analysis according to the context
In addition to listening to a large part of the narration, in the novel "Flowers", Po's "not sounding" in other dialogues also has many meanings.
There is a big gap between Xuezhi and Bao's units, Xuezhi doesn't care, Bao's is silent, maybe he knows that he and Xuezhi have a lot of difficulty together. The aunt in room 5 asked about Xuezhi, but Ah Bao didn't make a sound, because she didn't want to explain. The father asked Ah Bao to send his brother and sister-in-law away, "Ah Bao didn't make a sound, and tears fell into his heart." At the urging of his father, Ah Bao did not make a sound, which was reluctant but helpless but unable to disobey.
In the novel, after some "no sound", it is followed by Po's obvious mental activity. When I first saw Xuezhi, I listened to her talk about stamps, "Ah Bao doesn't ring, I don't believe it in my heart, the strange Xuezhi can talk non-stop."
Xue Zhi left with his father, "At this moment, Ah Bao heard Xue Zhi running over and said, Ah Bao, I am not afraid of my father at all, I will follow Ah Bao for the rest of my life, for a lifetime, really." Po didn't try his best to keep Xuezhi, nor did he persuade Xuezhi's father, but how much he hoped that Xuezhi wouldn't leave him.
The meaning of "not ringing" is not fixed. "Bao does not make a sound" in the novel must be understood in combination with the specific context.
Xuezhi broke up with Bao, and Bao didn't make a sound, but he saw Xuezhi wearing beautiful clothes, smelled the camphor smell on the clothes, and saw the letter on the table that had not been opened for 3 months, and he "felt pain in his heart".
Li Li became a monk, and Ah Bao didn't make a sound at first, but it actually felt too sudden and was frightened.
Xiao Mao's condition was serious, but he didn't know it, and told Ah Bao that he was almost well and that he would change to a better place to live in the future. Ah Bao didn't make a sound, maybe he was silently crying for his old friend.
At the end of the drama version of "Flowers", "no sound" was also mentioned. What does "not ringing" mean? Perhaps by reading Po's "no sound" in the novel above, we can have a more specific view on this.
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