Chapter 457: Mixed Praise and Criticism
"How did it come out?" When Yu Hua was immersed in the conception of his future works, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.
This is what Mo said.
"Have you finished reading the novel?" Yu Hua asked.
Mo Yan said nothing and nodded.
"How do you feel?"
Mo Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "It's uncomfortable!"
Yu Hua smiled, as long as he wasn't the only one suffering.
"So what do you think of the writing?" he asked again.
Mo Yan pondered and said, "It's well written, even flattery is hard to surpass!"
Yu Hua teased, "Teacher Lin is not here, don't flatter him."
He always felt that the reason why Mo Yan was treated better by Teacher Lin than himself was probably because this kid was good at flattering.
"I'm just speaking objectively. This novel is really well written. Teacher Lin is worthy of being my role model."
"That's right. This dark and cruel style must suit your taste."
Mo Yan had a question mark on his face. How dare you say that to me?
The two are now studying at the National Academy of Arts together. The difference is that Yu Hua is in the writer class jointly organized by the National Academy of Arts and Yenching University, while Mo Yan is in the writer class jointly organized by the National Academy of Arts and Yenching Normal University.
Just by listening to the name, Yu Hua's class is half a head taller than Mo Yan, and he has always been proud of it.
However, Yu Hua will graduate next year, while Mo Yan just enrolled in September this year and will have to stay in the National Academy of Arts for another two years.
This issue of "Contemporary" has just been published. The two of them have long known that Teacher Lin's latest masterpiece will be published in this issue, so they waited at the door of the bookstore early, bought a copy each, returned to the School of Literature, hid in the library, and began to read it impatiently.
Now that the novel was finished, the two could finally communicate smoothly.
Soon a third person started to participate in this communication, and then more and more people joined.
Today, the new issue of "Contemporary" was on the market. After hearing that it contained Lin Weimin's new works, many students were eager to read them.
The discussion at the library entrance was getting louder and louder, disturbing the students who were still reading and writing inside the library.
He came out and pointed at the sign at the door, which had five big words "Library for the People" on it.
"See? In the library, can't you keep your voice down?"
Everyone was so scolded that they lost their temper and had to go to the classroom to discuss the content of "Hunting" enthusiastically.
Everyone agrees that the novel is of excellent quality, but some people disagree with the ideas it conveys.
"This novel is good, but it also has some outstanding problems! It completely treats the people as the enemy."
"This is a literary work, not a model opera. I think it's written very realistically. We grew up together, and there were many people who were ruined by rumors and slander. Have you forgotten the time when you could nail someone to death with just one revelation?"
"But there are always good people in real life. We don't see them in this novel."
"How can you not see it? Your definition of the word good person is too one-sided. The good person we see is determined by what we see ourselves, but is it necessarily the same from the perspective of others?
Let me give you an example. In the movie “The Hunt,” Officer Zhang stood up for Teacher Gao, so he should be considered a good person, right? But is he just being kind-hearted?
No, it’s because he is an old detective and he knows very well that Hu Tao is slandering Teacher Gao. If he is really a good person, what he should do is expose Hu Tao’s lies and give justice to Teacher Gao.
But in fact, he only went to the school privately to explain the situation to the teacher at the request of Teacher Gao.
Can this kind of kindness, which is not completely pure, or kindness that is determined by the circumstances, be considered kindness?
I think it certainly counts.
The greatest strength of the novel "The Hunt" is that it fully describes human nature. We always wishfully believe that human nature is a binary opposition, but in fact human nature is always complex and changeable. There is no absolute good or absolute bad. "
"That's right. Look at Hu Tao's father. If you look at Hu Tao's father from his perspective, he is a very good father. He called the police for his daughter, beat people for his daughter, and caused trouble for his daughter to disrupt Teacher Gao's work. Even from the perspective of an outsider, everyone would think he is a qualified father.
But for Teacher Gao, Hu Tao's father is a devil, because he is the executor of all Hu Tao's evil deeds. "
"Have you read the book The Crowd? I think Mr. Lin must have read it, otherwise he wouldn't be able to capture the general psychology of the masses so accurately in his novels. It's simply terrifying!"
"I admit that what you said is quite right. But I think the biggest problem with this novel is that it conveys to the public the message that good people don't get good rewards. Whether it's Teacher Gao, Zhang Qiang or my cousin, their kindness was not rewarded with kindness."
"What kind of theory is this? Do novels have to convey kindness? Isn't the death of Teacher Gao and Zhang Qiang enough to alert people? After reading this novel, when you see those talkative and self-proclaimed righteous people, won't you feel resentful?
I think that’s what this novel is really about!”
…
The discussion in the National Academy of Literature classroom is just a microcosm of the countless readership groups after the publication of the novel "The Hunt".
Readers who read the novel for the first time all had a chilling feeling. The human nature described in the novel was too dark, and they didn’t even dare to think about the behavior and words of many characters in the novel.
Readers are all too familiar with those actions and words, because most people do and say those things every day.
"A fly won't bite an egg without cracks."
"Children don't lie, only adults do."
"Why don't they accuse others, but only him?"
"I know you feel wronged, but you are also wrong in this matter after all."
"His reputation has been ruined for life, so what does it matter if you feel wronged?"
"This is a decision made by the organization, and I can't help."
"Comrade, you have to see the big picture!"
…
All readers who have read this novel have a feeling that they are all in this story, as if they are someone on the street.
Talking nonsense, claiming to be righteous, hypocritical...
"The Hunt" is like a whip soaked in salt water, lashing everyone's face hard, making readers feel a deep pain.
Some people don't care at all, some reflect on themselves because of it, and some get angry and embarrassed.
Just one week later, readers' feedback was sent to the editorial department of Contemporary Magazine.
It was pretty much as everyone expected, with mixed reviews.
It is praised that the novel depicts the variability and complexity of human nature, exposes the hypocrisy of bureaucracy, satirizes stupid and backward moral values, and profoundly criticizes the ugliness and herd mentality of human nature.
Critics say that the novel is sensational, that it stands in a condescending position against the masses of the people, and that it attempts to alienate the people's simple class sentiments with fictitious facts.
Lin Weimin read a lot of letters from readers, focusing on those criticizing him. After reading them, he could only shake his head helplessly.
Among these criticisms, almost without exception, he was criticized for blaming Teacher Gao’s tragedy on a certain group.
The bureaucrats who don’t take action, the masses who don’t know the truth, the relatives who help their relatives but don’t care about others, the walnuts who are habitual liars…
But in fact, Lin Weimin did not tend to criticize any one person or group in the novel. In the operation of hunting down Teacher Gao, everyone had their own division of labor and they only had two identities, either the murderer or the accomplice.
Those who attempt to criticize Lin Weimin and the novel from their own perspective are simply hurt by the content of the novel and have a stress reaction.
People who feel guilty always tend to take themselves for granted.
As time went by, the impact of The Hunt became greater and greater, and the feedback was no longer limited to readers' letters, but began to appear in newspapers and literary review magazines.
Compared with the criticism from the cultural community after the publication of "Burning", this time many people in the cultural community praised Lin Weimin to the sky.
On the contrary, the official media and the general public, who had praised Lin Weimin last time, have been criticizing Lin Weimin and "The Hunting" non-stop.
The reason is very simple. The attitude of "Burning" is clearly left-wing, while this time "Hunting" has a clear right tendency.
Therefore, the public opinion after the publication of "Hunting" was almost a complete reversal of the situation after the publication of "Burning".
Many people cannot understand Lin Weimin's repeated and suicidal behavior, or simply call him a fence-sitter who leans towards whichever side the wind blows.
But in fact, Lin Weimin never considers the wind direction when writing books, nor does he simply divide people's thoughts into left and right.
Public opinion from outside continued to spread, but Lin Weimin's life was not affected at all.
On the weekend, Shi Tiesheng and his wife came to Gongjian Hutong to visit Lu Yao, and Lin Weimin also came. Naturally, everyone talked about "The Hunt".
There is more and more discussion about this novel now, with both praise and criticism. The most interesting thing is that the direction of public opinion has just reversed from the last time "Burning" was published, so everyone is very curious about Lin Weimin's current mentality.
“The more some people jump up and down, the more guilty they are. Novels are not daggers or guns. The fact that they can blow these people up only proves that they must have done a lot of bad things in their daily lives.” Lin Weimin said in a teasing tone.
Lu Yao smiled and said, "Weimin's words are right. After reading this novel, my biggest feeling is fear and chills, including the feeling of sympathy for Teacher Gao and Zhang Qiang. If someone's first reaction after reading this novel is that he was scolded, it only proves that this person himself has problems."
Lin Weimin nodded when he heard this. This principle is actually very simple.
Everyone has a perspective when reading. In the third-person writing style, normal readers usually put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist. In "The Hunt", this perspective is naturally that of Teacher Gao. Readers will feel aggrieved, angry, and roar for Teacher Gao.
Under such emotions, readers with certain reading experience and literacy may look at the work from a perspective beyond Teacher Gao's, but they also have more of an overall feeling, such as the fear and chill that Lu Yao mentioned.
Because everyone may encounter unfair treatment, and everyone may be weak in the face of power.
Therefore, those who put themselves in the perspective of the crowd right from the start have problems with their thinking.
Of course, it is not ruled out that there are some experts who always have a bird's-eye view when reading novels. They can always see things that others cannot see in an ordinary literary work.
Faced with such a person, even if you write a poem about the goose, he will still convict you.
(End of this chapter)
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