Chapter 4 The Application of Contrast Technique in "A Hand of Green"

Since the theme of the book is the comparison between the present and the past, it is not difficult to imagine that the author Bai Xianyong must use a lot of "comparison" techniques.However, there is no article about the use of this technique that is as obvious, direct, and thorough as "A Hand of Green". The use of contrast techniques in "A Handful of Green" covers almost every element that constitutes a novel.Now, I intend to explore how Bai Xianyong uses contrast and contrast to express the central idea of ​​"this is not what it used to be" in terms of characters, background, layout, plot, structure, and narrative viewpoint in "A Hand of Green".

The story of "A Handful of Green" is mainly about a woman named Zhu Qing who fell in love with a young pilot Guo Zhen in Nanjing when she was a girl. He was transferred from Nanjing and died in an accident soon after.After this painful life and death, Zhu Qing after coming to Taiwan was like a different person, her heart was dead, and she lived with a cynical attitude, nothing could hurt her anymore. In order to reflect Zhu Qing's changes, Bai Xianyong used many strong contrasts when describing Zhu Qing's appearance, words and deeds before and after.In the past, Zhu Qing, "when he came to visit, he still wore a half-new and old straight blue cloth gown, with a white silk handkerchief tucked in his lapel. His hair was not permed, and it was neatly pressed down behind his ears. He wore it on his feet. A pair of black leather shoes with straps, and a pair of white ankle socks are clean."The current Zhu Qing is "a woman dressed in extraordinarily flirtatious clothes", "wearing a cheongsam of transparent purple gauze sprinkled with gold flecks,...when she twists it, the golden locks all over her body glisten."She has "a head of hair shaggy like a bird's nest" and "a pair of high heels three inches high" on her feet.Based on appearance alone, Zhu Qing in the past gave us the impression of being natural, pure, simple, and reserved.The current Zhu Qing is pretentious, worldly, gorgeous, and dissolute.

Zhu Qing's appearance, expression, and personality are also very different: when she was in Nanjing, she was "a rather thin girl with yellow flowers in her eighteenth or nineteenth year", "the figure has not yet been well-proportioned, slightly flat, and the skin is still glowing. Qingbai".Her "brows and eyes contain a line of water that makes people forget the world", she is really a beautiful girl. (Perhaps it is because her spirituality is too heavy to develop her fleshy nature, so she is so thin. She is pale and white?) When she meets people, she "lowers her head all the way around, shy and shy, with a kind of cowardice that makes people feel pitiful. state".When people talked to her, "she couldn't quite answer, she just answered vaguely."

But fifteen or twenty years later in Taiwan, Zhu Qing, who had lost her spirituality, developed her physical body: "The waist has become unusually plump and rounded, and the skin color has become more detailed. When the face was painted very human, I was born with a pair of The watery eyes...like revealing a lot of style."She no longer has "the slightest bit of shyness", and actually has "the lazy and sluggish energy of Bai Guang".On the stage, he danced rumba steps, "upside down, twisted quite wildly"; at his home, he treated guests to play cards, flirted with a few air force boys, and talked a lot.In the past, Zhu Qing lived in love, extremely sensitive and worried.The current Zhu Qing is insensitive, playing with the world, and indulging in sensual pleasures, so he always hums pop songs, "smiles", "giggles", and "bends over laughing".She spoke, mostly with a smile.

Although Zhu Qing's change originated from the painful experience of losing her husband in the war, the increase in age is also the basic factor.Things like war and widowhood can be avoided if the environment is changed; but no one can stop the years from gradually eroding the sharpness of our youth.Although the current Zhu Qing "doesn't look like a woman in her thirties at all", although "the years seem to have left no traces on her face", after all, she can no longer be an eighteen or nineteen-year-old woman. Yellow flower girl.Also interacting with the young Air Force, she used to be naive and ignorant, and needed Guo Zhen to take care of her everywhere; now she has to bear the invisible burden of her age, and has to call herself "big sister".

There is a strong contrast between the Zhu Qing of the past and the Zhu Qing of today, and there is also a considerable contrast between Guo Zhen and Xiao Gu.Xiao Gu is Zhu Qing's lover in Taipei. At first glance, he looks very similar to Guo Zhen: the same young airman, also decent-looking, and later also crashed and died.But the two are very different in substance.Guo Zhen is "full of heroic spirit" and full of hope for the future, because of "extremely high-mindedness...a bit conceited".He is a young man with sound body and mind, and a little ignorant (for example, when he pursued Zhu Qing, he actually flew a plane over the Jinling Girls' High School to spin the rotor, and was finally demerited).He loves Zhu Qing and wants to protect her and take care of her.As for Xiao Gu, he doesn't have Guo Zhen's boldness at all.He was probably about the same age as Guo Zhen at that time, but because of the gap of ten or twenty years, compared with Zhu Qing, of course he had to be called "the younger brother" to others.Guo Zhen used to take care of Zhu Qing, but now Xiao Gu is taken care of by Zhu Qing.Not only was he not conceited, but he was quite timid, "When Zhu Qing greeted the guests, Xiao Gu followed her all the way, moved the tables and chairs for her, and listened to her instructions."Although he is a pilot and he is strong, he doesn't like outdoor activities, he only likes to play mahjong behind closed doors ("Zhu Qing told me that Xiao Gu doesn't like anything but these few pictures").This closed-off character, combined with the fact that he had relations with older women, indicated that he was not very healthy physically and mentally.No wonder "Liu Sao Bao" said: "Xiao Gu, hurry up and eat more, your eldest sister will make up for you with stewed chicken."

The story background of "A Handful of Green" is also in obvious contrast between the past and the present.The love affair between Zhu Qing and Guo Zhen took place in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.After losing her husband, Zhu Qing lived in Taipei.Here, although the air force family area is also called "Ren'ai East Village" as before; although the recreational activities in the air force "are not as frequent as in Nanjing, Ping opera today, dance tomorrow", Taipei is no better than " The golden capital of the Six Dynasties, with historic sites and prosperity everywhere, has an imperial atmosphere."After the war, Nanjing was dominated by small air forces. They were full of vigor, unrestrained, and arrogant. "A young lady in modest clothes was on her arm, and she was swaying past. Falling in love——every single pilot is talking about it. in love".In Taipei, the Air Force huddled in the Xinsheng Club to listen to popular music, or those "air force boys" like Zhu Qing, who liked to gossip with the opposite sex and play mahjong behind closed doors.In the past in Nanjing, once a war broke out, the pilots were immediately dispatched to the battlefield and died for the country under artillery fire.Today, in Taipei, because "these years have been peaceful and easy to pass", those "little air forcemen in blue uniforms" are useless, so they have to "take cigarette butts and burn those balloons" at the entertainment party. There was a bang, and some women took advantage of the situation to scream."

In terms of background layout, Bai Xianyong's "contrast" technique is of course mainly used in the comparison between Nanjing and Taipei. However, in addition, even in the description of a single set, Bai Xianyong is also very good at combining "emotion" and "scenery". The strong contrast achieves a lamenting ironic effect.A good example is the two descriptions in which when Guo Zhen was transferred from Nanjing, his wife went to visit Zhu Qing.Zhu Qing was heartbroken and fell on the bed, "only choked up", "the face was blue and yellow, the eyes were swollen and narrowed, and he looked more and more thin."However, what she was wearing was a "newly married colorful silk cheongsam" covered by "a silk quilt embroidered with colorful mandarin ducks".At that time, "there were still large trucks and jeeps pulling luggage outside the house, and the sound of iron chains and iron bars hitting was very harsh. People in the village were starting to go on the road one after another. Sometimes women screamed, sometimes children cried, and they seemed very panicked. ".But in contrast to this chaotic situation, it is the happy new house in front of you: newly painted walls, new curtains and curtains, "tables and chairs are full of red, green and green congratulatory gifts (as opposed to the luggage dragged on the street), some bags The box has not been opened yet. There is a flower basket around the table, the buds of the roses and gladiolus are very fresh, and even the ferns are green (contrary to Zhu Qing's blue-yellow complexion). The camphor trees on the wall are also Did not take it away."And the ebony gilt plaque that says "grow old together" is a bitter irony for Zhu Qing, who is about to lose her beloved husband forever after just getting married!

There are quite a few things that can be compared and compared with the plot development of "A Handful of Green".In the first and second sections of the whole novel, Bai Xianyong arranges some similar scenes or events, and Laiqing's performance and reaction are very different before and after, to set off the difference between her past and present.For example, when she was in Nanjing, she met Zhu Qing for the first time, eating and talking together, and the two of them reunited in Taipei, eating and talking together for the first time, which was very different.Zhu Qing in her teenage years was almost like a mute due to excessive shyness: "After a meal, no matter how I tease her, she can hardly answer."She was so shy that she was at a loss, and Guo Zhen had to be by her side "to pick up the vegetables for her, and to pour tea for her".However, after the reunion in Taiwan, she invited her mother-in-law to her home for dinner for the first time. On the spot, she messed around with a few air force boys, calling him "Liu Sao Bao", "Chicken and King" and other rude nicknames, saying, "Teach you to lose so that you can be sure." Leave" and other slang words.During the meal, Zhu Qing brought out a pot of "a big fat hen steaming hot", and after Liu said something naughty, Zhu Qing "took up a boat-shaped military cap on the coffee table, and walked towards Liu's pocket head. beat, the surnamed Liu fled around the table with his head in his arms."The surname Wang also joined in the joke, Zhu Qing "bent down laughing", gritted his teeth and said bitterly:

"The two underdogs stole the eldest sister's chicken soup, and even ate the eldest sister's tofu!" Before this scene, although there was a scene where Zhu Qing sang pop songs in the Xinsheng Club, the narrator and readers were prepared for the fact that Zhu Qing had changed, but Zhu Qing’s words and actions during the meal were the first time he met and had dinner with Nanjing. Compared with the scene at that time, it was still very shocking.But Zhu Qing said with a smile: "If the teacher's wife wasn't here today, I would have said good things." It implies that her nonsense today is quite well-behaved!

In the plot of "A Hand of Green", the most important comparison is of course Zhu Qing's different reactions to the fact that Guo Zhen and Xiao Gu died in the plane crash.First of all, I would like to mention that as far as the two plane crashes themselves are concerned, they seem to be exactly the same two things, but there is a big difference in essence: Guo Zhen's flight crash happened in a war, and he did it for The country died.Xiao Gu's flight crash, which happened at Taoyuan Airport, was just an accident, an accident without any historical tragic meaning. When Zhu Qing got the news that Guo Zhen had an accident in Xuzhou, she "took a set of Guo Zhen's uniform and ran out of the village, howling as she ran, and kept saying that she wanted to find Guo Zhen. When someone stopped her, she kicked As soon as he ran out of the village, he bumped his head against an iron electric pole, and hit a big hole on his forehead."When the wife poured ginger soup for her, "Her face was like a cut fish belly, one part was white, the other part was red, bloody and sweaty. Her eyes were wide open, but her gaze was scattered. She didn't cry. , but the two blue lips kept opening and closing, and the larynx kept making shrill sounds, like a blind mouse screaming when someone tramples on it."Afterwards, she was ill in bed for a long time. If it wasn't for the kind wife who took care of her, she probably wouldn't be able to live in the world.With Guo Zhen's death, her soul also died, and what was left was just a meaningless shell.No wonder she trembled and struggled and said with a sneer, "...he was fine, he disappeared with a bang—I died too," but I was still conscious. For Xiao Gu's death in an accident, Zhu Qing's reaction was completely different. The teacher heard the news from the proprietress of Yipinxiang. When the two came to visit Zhu Qing's house together in a tricycle, "I rang the bell for a long time, but no one came to answer the door." After reading this, although we know that Zhu Qing has changed, we still can't help thinking: Is it the same as before, committing suicide again?But, after a while, they heard Zhu Qing calling them in through the window. We pushed open the door and walked into her living room, only to see that Zhu Qing was sitting on the window sill, wearing a pink silk pajamas, pulling up the trouser legs and kicking up her feet, painting Kou Dan on her toenails, and curling her hair. Without taking it off, she raised her head and smiled when she saw us: "I've seen you two a long time ago, the nail polish is not dry, it's hard to put on your shoes and go out to open the door, telling you to wait--you came just in time, I just stewed a big pot of sweet and sour hoofs at noon, and I was worried that no one would come Eat. Turning around, Grandma Yu came to return the knitting needles, and the four of us happened to make a mahjong table." Then she went to the kitchen, busy cooking and making food, ready for everyone to eat quickly, "There are at least 24 laps to rub".She also mentioned the death of Xiao Gu to her mistress, and said that she had transported his ashes to Bitan Cemetery for burial.But she said it so plainly, as if she was describing a daily trivia. Immediately afterwards, there was a description of Zhu Qing's appearance: "Still unusually young and bright... Her cheeks have plumped up, and her skin has become smoother."This is really far away from Guo Zhen's death when she was "so thin that only a handful of bones remained, her face was ashen, and her eyes were sunken into two big holes".Back then, because of mourning and illness, "Zhu Qing slept on the bed all day, neither talking nor eating. I forced her to drink some soup every day."But now, after Xiao Gu just died, she can curl her hair and apply Kodan according to her daily habits; The implied meaning of the name of the dish), eat by yourself, and invite others to eat.In the past, it was blood and tears, the pain that crushed the soul; now it is laughter and eating, and it is insensitive pleasure.In the last scene where Mrs. Shi and Yipinxiang’s proprietress came to visit Zhu Qing, Zhu Qing was indeed smiling (“She raised her head and smiled when she saw us”, “Said with a smile”, “Zhu Qing smiled”, “Zhu Qing kept smiling"). In the past, after Guo Zhen was transferred out of Nanjing with the team, in order to enlighten Zhu Qing and make her realize the risks that Mrs. Air Force must bear, she told her the life experiences of some friends in the family area: Mrs. Zhou had been married four times, The four husbands all belonged to the same team, and if one died, the other would be entrusted to them.Mrs. Xu's husband was originally her uncle. When her elder brother died, her younger brother took his place. "But they were talking and laughing while watching," Zhu Qing looked at me with doubts on his face. "My girl," I said with a smile, "won't it make them cry if they don't laugh? If they want to cry, they won't wait until now." At that time, she was so in love with Guo Zhen, we only need to see her wash the window with her feet up, "grab a big rag and wave it around, as if exerting all her strength", and look forward to seeing Guo Zhen again. Just by looking at her face, one can feel the sincerity of her heart and intention.Such Zhu Qing, of course, could not understand the "enlightenment" of his wife.However, Zhu Qing, who has experienced the tragedy of losing her husband, and Zhu Qing who has grown a lot of age, finally achieved what she thought was impossible.And I did it more thoroughly than anyone else, and I "talked and laughed" better than anyone else (really, I don't have to wait until now to cry).No wonder the teacher felt that "although I am much older than Zhu Qing, I can't think of anything to enlighten her". In Nanjing, Shi Niang tried to enlighten Zhu Qing, teaching her to cook and knit sweaters.He also taught her how to play a few mahjong tiles: "This thing is a panacea," I said with a smile to her, "If you have something on your mind, sit on the table, mix it with the whiteboard, and forget everything." These teachings didn't take effect at the time, and they didn't relieve her thoughts of Guo Zhen at all.But more than ten years later, Zhu Qing, who lives in Taipei, turned out to be the best: she became very good at cooking and entertaining guests.She mentioned that "Mrs. Yu came to return the knitting needle", which shows that she is also very good at knitting.But the most noticeable thing is that every time Zhu Qing invites his wife to her home, he never mentions the past, "We are always busy playing mahjong when we meet."Playing mahjong is really a "panacea": Zhu Qing, who just buried Xiao Gu, smiled non-stop at the chips piled up to the tip of his nose in front of him, happy that he was "so lucky", and said with a smile: "Today My limelight is coming again." The contrast between this kind of meaningless joy on the surface and the tragic fact of the numbness and death of the soul is a deplorable irony!And Zhu Qing, on the mahjong table, habitually hummed "Dongshan A Green" repeatedly: Ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai Lang, you have to pick flowers early—— Although it is just a vulgar pop song, it reflects Zhu Qing's life attitude of "being happy and happy" today, as well as the current social mood in Taiwan from the author's perspective.But there is one thing, if it is not the author's intention, it is also a kind of irony to the author: even though the lyrics are vulgar, they still contain the author's own ultimate intention of "time passes and never returns". The novel "A Handful of Green" is written in the first person from the perspective of the teacher.Although the main function of the role of Shi Niang is to narrate Zhu Qing's story, we cannot ignore her position in the plot of the novel.She is both a sympathetic bystander and one of the key people driving the story.The author uses her eyes to watch, but her tone of voice narrates. On the one hand, it conveys the intimacy that first-person novels are more likely to arouse, and on the other hand, it maintains the distance between the author and the characters in the novel without losing objectivity. Shi Niang and Zhu Qing are also a good comparison.First of all, we noticed that there are many similarities in the backgrounds of these two people: both are wives of the Air Force, both of them have lost their husbands, and both lived first in Nanjing and then in Taipei.However, Zhu Qing was a different person before and after, and Shi Niang, although she had "sprinkled her head with frost" for more than ten years, in essence, her personality was consistent from beginning to end, and did not change at all.She has been a kind-hearted, humane, and compassionate ordinary woman from the beginning. She has long recognized the risks that the Air Force wife must take, and learned to "defense" by playing mahjong and knitting sweaters, so she was able to avoid serious injuries to accept the blow of fate.Her kindness and warmth can be seen from the details of how she took care of Guo Zhen and Zhu Qing back then, and how she took the Li family's daughter to participate in the entertainment party of the Xinsheng Club today.She lacked the sensitivity that Zhu Qing had in the past, but she also didn't have the numbness that Zhu Qing displayed today.Comparing Zhu Qing to Shi Niang is to compare "change" with "unchanged" and "extreme" with "moderate".Relying on the consistent view of the teacher's wife, the author carefully observes Zhu Qing who is very different before and after, and the effect is greatly enhanced by comparison.And because the background encounters of these two people are very similar, it highlights the tragedy of Zhu Qing's story. Finally, let us see how Bai Xianyong uses the technique of comparison in the skeleton structure of the full text.Although each article in the book has a central theme of comparison between the past and the present, none of the articles is clearly divided into two sections like "A Handful of Green"; the first section describes the past in Nanjing, and the next section describes the present. Things in Taipei.Mainly due to the obvious division in the structure of the full text, the comparison between the present and the past (individual, painter, and social aspects) in this novel is particularly clear and straightforward, without ambiguity or obliqueness.Because of this, "A Handful of Green" is one of the chapters that is easier to understand. Another point, I also mention in passing.Bai Xianyong divided "A Handful of Green" into two sections, before and after. Why not "one" and "two" but "up" and "down"?Up and down, the two words are opposite.Up, reminding people of going up a hill, step by step is difficult.Down, it reminds people of going down a hill, it's very easy.But this may be just a coincidence, not necessarily the intention of the author, so I will not go into it after a while.