Free Essay Example. The Experiences of Li Zhi

The passage highlights the experiences of Li Zhi, a man facing threats of deportation for engaging in unusual behaviors with women. Zhi's correspondence with gentry women, including the daughter of Mei Guozhen, a high-ranking official created a scandal that almost led to his deportation. According to the local authorities, it was necessary to deport Zhi to his hometown to stop the erosion of local traditions. However, Zhi believes his deportation is unjustified since he is an older adult who cannot harm the local traditions. The author, in this way, achieved the desired outcomes by using Zhi to empathize with the essence of local customs and the need to uphold morality and self-discipline in society.

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Zhi narrates his experiences using a somber tone and thus supports the author's motive to caution people against violating social norms. The author has used this voice to communicate the experiences that Zhi is going through for violating rules that regulate people's conduct in society. Throughout the passage, the speaker used a somber tone and a first-person point of view to enable the readers to understand the experiences that Zhi was facing. The author used this approach to create awareness that it is essential to follow the local customs and norms that govern behaviors in society. The experiences Zhi is going through enable the readers to understand the consequences underlying the violation of social norms. The entire passage talks about Zhi's experiences in Cloister and thus supports the author's primary motive to educate the readers about social norms.

The author has used figurative language to elicit emotions and enable the readers to form mental images. In the second paragraph of the passage, the author used the phrase "my diction shakes heaven and earth" to add an amusing effect to the text. This literary device is hyperbole since it involves the use of figurate language to express an idea intensely. Hyperbole enabled the author to describe Zhi's emotions and bitterness towards the authorities. In the last paragraph, the phrase "my shadow free from dust" is an exaggerated statement that emphasizes a belief that Zhi had not committed any transgression.

Another language is the use of literary dialect, to empathize some of the most critical concepts in the passage. For instance, there is the use of the word li, a Chinese unit for measuring distance. In the fourth paragraph, the author used the statement "ten thousand li from home" to emphasize the distance between Zhi's home and Cloister's. The repetition of this word is intended to make the readers imagine how a seventy-year-old man could travel thousands of kilometers looking for lodging. Whereas the author used a modern language with high formality, there is a use of archaic and old-fashioned words such as "monk."

The author believes that all people should comply with social norms and local traditions. In the last paragraph, the speaker said, "Discipline is strict and flawless" to express his perspective that the community should discipline anyone for violating local customs. By using Zhi, a monk as a speaker, the author tries to convince religious people, the old and the youth that they should have self-discipline regardless of who they are in society.

In conclusion, the passage educates the readers on the need to maintain self-discipline in society. Compliance with local customs and social norms is critical in maintaining self-discipline. The author used a somber tone to elicit emotions besides the feeling that anyone can experience for not upholding self-discipline and social customs. Also, the author used figurative language to create mental pictures of specific ideas presented in the passage.