Chinese 503 (OSU)

Yu Hua

-one of the young generation of avant-garde writers in China today
-began writing in the mid-80s, still active today
-reading Kafka at the time of the writing of this story, and the influence is clear

"On the Road at Eighteen"

Questions

1. How do you react to this story? What is odd about it? In what ways would you say the story is characteristic of the avant-garde?

2. Why do we feel we want to read the story as an allegory of something?

3. Of what do you think the story is an allegory?