Ultimately, Candy is a story about freedom. Mian Mian’s protagonist, Hong, is the main character and narrator of the novel. At a basic level, it is Hong’s search for personal freedom that is central to this story, but as it unravels, it becomes apparent that her freedom forms a ‘prison’ – where she is trapped by love, sex, rock and roll, and drugs.
Hong lives however she may please. She drops out of school, spends her father’s and Saining’s money wastefully, moves back and forth between Shanghai and Shenzhen, parties, drinks, sleeps with strangers, does drugs, and even tries to kill herself a number of times – she is free to make all of these choices.
Yet, the consequences of all these choices actually tear her freedom away from her – by dropping out of school she is has few job opportunities and is forced to sing at a bar and live among prostitutes, gamblers, junkies, and musicians. By falling in love with Saining, her life is forever changed. She is consumed by her love for him, and as a consequence, she succumbs to the allure of drugs and alcoholism. Even when Saining cheats on her multiple times, Hong takes him back over and over again, unable to let herself escape this kind of lifestyle. She becomes addicted to him.
Addiction soon controls her life, and she willingly allows this. This is largely because she cannot take control over her own life, so she needs someone or something to do it for her. Everything around her keeps her tightly bound. The constant swarm of prostitutes and johns, rock & roll and drugs, and crime becomes her world – she knows little else. Her pain and prison are reflected in the lives and stories of those around her.
The ‘prison’ she lives in throughout this novel reflects an even larger one in the real world. Mian Mian writes this story as a semi-mirror of her own life. Through writing it, she is able to free herself from her own prison of a heroin addiction. Mian Mian tells it how it is – what she writes about in Candy is what she sees in the real world of Shanghai and Shenzhen. There is something to be said about Chinese society from all of this – perhaps the economic reform of Deng Xiaoping left the Chinese vulnerable to this lifestyle that Hong and Mian Mian are a part of. Whatever it may be, it seems to be that Mian Mian and Hong were able to overcome their ‘prisons’ by understanding the world they live in – a world that is responsible for these ‘prisons’.
Mian Mian is able to achieve personal freedom through her writing – and not only writing itself, but being able to share it with others. In response to the looming threat of her future works being censored or banned, she says “If they change what I want to say, I’ll just put everything on the Net.” For her, this freedom is worth fighting for – a message clearly reflected in Candy.
I really appreciate the way Charlie tied in the ending of the novel with Mian Mian's life. He worded it so perfectly. When I was reading the end of the book, I was so confused, but at the same time I was thinking the same thing that Charlie so nicely typed out (although my thoughts were not as concise and well put as Charlie's review). I really like how you blended it together with Hong breaking out of her 'prison' and at the same time Mian Mian achieving her personal freedom. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with Charlie that this book surely represents freedom and the lack thereof. In all of the freedoms that Hong chose, all came with consequences. Her freedom to chose who she loves leads her to a relationship where she is continuously emotionally abused. Her involvement in drugs leads to the loss of her singing ability, friends, money, and of course her own individuality. The freedom of choice is beyond any doubt the most prevalent theme in this book.
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