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Wai Cailing lives in a normal industrial city, but she wants to become an opera artist singing in the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. And Katherine Watson, from Oakland State, gets the opportunity to teach "History of Art" in the conservative women's private Wellesley College and want to occupy some place there. Based on the pursue of extraordinary life，the two women infected me strongly. Actually, few people wants to have a normal life and live in a normal town, but people who want a different, meaningful life will have a difficult in realizing it.

Wang Cailing is not only represents her own personal experience, but also other Chinese who like arts and want to have an art related career.

In the1980s and 1990s, most jobs in China were assigned by the state and lasted for the whole life. China was still lagging behind then, had experienced the Cultural Revolution and the long-term poverty when food and clothing had always been the most important issue, only several big cities have advanced notion, especially Beijing.

In industrial cities, most of the residents work in factories, Wang has the talent to sing and became a schoolteacher. However, lack of culture life, people living in the drab city don’t have the ability to appreciate western civilization and art, thus several people who understand her also suffer criticism.

The life of the small city is very flat. The most successful life is to enter the university through the college entrance examination and get a nice work. Very few people engaged in the arts and they are often not treated properly. Arts, such as operas, ballet and oil paintings, are introduced from the West and not popular with the most people.

The only way to change her situation is to go to Beijing, where she will not be laughed at and have the chance to show her talent. However, China has a strict household registration system, and where you born is a such an important thing that it is accompanied by everyone from birth. Wang wants a permanent residence status in Beijing, but it is impossible to realize.

There are also other things that are controlled by our government, and there is no strict boundary between the public and private sectors. The power of police will reach out to residents’ normal life. People do not have much freedom at all, and pornographic things are generally classified as illegal. When Wang was volunteering to be a nude model, the security officer came to knock her door and gave her a warning. It seems to be the logical scope of the police.

It’s a tradition to handle every relationship, task, and circumstance accompanied with some gifts like cigarette and wine. Those who want to study singing give pineapple to Wang, and when Wang want to buy a Beijing residence status, she sends special local products to the liar.

Like Zhang Ailing once said: life is a gorgeous gown, crawling with lice. Wang’s dream is distant from her position, opera makes her life coloreful but she could only realize it in her mind, and pretend singing in where she desires. What she can not come true is a real regret and no one can save it.

In the Mona Lisa Smile, women have the right to pursue their own happiness. As long as they are willing to, they can be independent, such as Watson. She comes to Wellesley with a strong desire, and finally she can leave easily and go to Europe for her exploration of continuing life. She said: I came to Wellesley because I wanted to make a difference, but to change to others is lie to yourself. Women’s social status is not high enough in that times. Most educated women choose to be housewives after graduation. Watson encourages these girls not only to be one’s wife, they can do more.

One of Waston’s student evaluates that she is the woman who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, and beyond the image. While Wang is a normal music teacher, she doesn’t have the advanced thoughts, what she has is her love for opera and it will take a long time to influence other’s shallow opinion.

Women’s status has improved a lot throughout the world since 21th century, and more people will have the right to pursue what they dream about.

Xiangling,

I thought you did an excellent job providing the reader with a lot of background information on Wang Cailing. You included background information that could not simply be drawn from the movie, which allowed the reader to understand what society was like in those times and why it was so difficult for ms. Wang to pursue her career goals. However, I would try to balance that out with some more information on Mona Lisa Smile. Including more examples of how she overcame obstacles and relating it to ms. Wang's experience would really strengthen your essay. Finally, I think you should include more opinion in this essay. What do you make of the decisions made by ms. Wang and Watson? Why was it necessary for them to act in the ways that they did, etc.? Including your opinion is going to help the reader fully understand your argument and your position in this essay. Some minor grammatical changes could be made, but other than that, you did a great job!

Xiangling,

I really enjoyed reading your essay and think that you included a lot of great detail. I think that you did a good job at connecting the themes of the two movies by concluding that both women strive to live extraordinary lives and that both pursue individualistic methods to get there. I agree with Nadia and think that the essay could be made stronger if you include more of your opinion regarding the hopes and eventual fate of the women in the two movies. I think that including a stronger conclusion and wrap-up of the main points would help to enhance the essay as well. All in all, I think that your essay has a lot of strong points and is interesting to read!

Long Hard Road for Women



Wai Cailing lives in a normal industrial city, but she wants to become an opera artist singing in the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. And Katherine Watson, from Oakland State, gets the opportunity to teach "History of Art" in the conservative women's private Wellesley College and want to occupy some place there. Based on the pursue of extraordinary life，the two women infected me strongly. Actually, few people wants to have a normal life and live in a normal town, but people who want a different, meaningful life will have a difficult in realizing it.

Wang Cailing is not only represents her own personal experience, but also other Chinese who like arts and want to have an art related career. Although Wang is obsessed with opera, her talents are limited. She is obviously disdainful about teaching in a small city but she cannot easily achieve her goals. Other young people from a small city are always the same situation.

Opera, oil paintings, and ballet are still not appreciated by common people even today, let alone small cities in the early 1990s. Lack of culture life, people living in the drab city don’t have the ability to appreciate western civilization and art, thus the three young people suffer criticism and the coldness of the people around them, and their talents also determine that they cannot go further in their respective fields. Under such circumstances, they still choose to pursue art unremittingly. Art becomes a spiritually support.

Like Zhang Ailing once said: life is a gorgeous gown, crawling with lice. Wang’s dream is distant from her position, opera makes her life coloreful but she could only realize it in her mind, and pretend singing in where she desires. What she can not come true is a real regret and no one can save it.

As for Mona Lisa Smile, it widely discussed various issues concerning women’s choices. Catherine, a young female teacher, came to Wellesley with a strong desire, hoping to contribute her own strength to the liberation of women’s thoughts and help students pursue more independent and complete personalities, and finally she left easily and went to Europe for her exploration of continuing life. As Watson once said: I came to Wellesley because I wanted to make a difference, but to change to others is lie to yourself. Most educated women choose to be housewives after graduation. Watson encourages these girls not only to be one’s wife, they can do more.

It explores the issue of women's position. It did not shout that women should be allowed to walk out of the kitchen, and the major Watson just gently expressed the view that women can fully be respected from both family and career. Although Joah in the film chose to have a marriage instead of going to Yale Law School, and her views are so clear. But it is what she chose and it is her right. The meaning of feminism is that women have the right to choose what they want. It is not the content of choice but the right of free choice that matters.

When freedom and marriage fight on women, only independence and love can make the peace. Women’s pursuit of freedom and equality will never stop. However, returning to the primitive society, the difference in physiological structure between women and men means that women will bear more pressure and responsibilities on their families. Women’s status has improved a lot throughout the world since 21th century, and more people will have the right to pursue what they dream about.