Remapping Nationalism in Mo Yan's Red Sorghum

Abstract

The narrative representation of nationalistic awakening is the area round which this research moves. The remapping of nationalism in Mo Yan's Red Sorghum is the focal point of this research. The theory of nationalism is mobilized as the basic methodological framework. The time of dire crisis gives rise to the repressed sentiment of nationalism. This is the core finding of this research. When national integrity comes under threat, individuals are likely to forget all types of barriers and parochialisms. Personal differences are forgotten and individuals are likely to get united under the historical urgency to save nation and nation state. This issue is graphically and poignantly represented in Mo Yan's Red Sorghum. Struggle for the integrity of China from foreign invasion and seizure are confronted by a union of opposites. These opposites range from life and death, beauty and ugliness, love and depravity. These conjoined aspects are not just coincident. They both emerge as essential for the understanding of the whole. Humans are deeply and fundamentally flawed. But they are capable of rising above petty quibbles when a dire crisis haunts them. The horrific scenario of war gives everyone a chance to prove one's heroism.