Summary Of Rae Yang's Book 'Spider Eaters'

Twentieth century China witnessed several events that shaped the country. Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party since 1949 dominated the political system in its entirety. During the 1960’s, a new movement emerged that impacted many people who were living in China and is still felt today. The Cultural Revolution exemplified Mao Zendong’s ideology in transforming the country into his vision. Rae Yang’s book, Spider Eaters: A Memoir with a New Preface, details her life experiences during the Cultural Revolution. By using authentic sources and utilizing Spider Eaters, it will be achievable to see how the individuals in favor of the Cultural Revolution experienced the movement. The author of the personal account, Rae Yang, begins the book by

This is something that she constantly thinks of during her life. Yang eventually joined the Red Guards where a youth movement consisting of students was established. The Communists during this time were trying to figure out methods to deal with the counterrevolutionaries within the party and China. These people were highlighting the things that Mao Zendong and the government were doing wrong, especially the famine that caused the lives of millions of people before the revolution. The Red Guards sought to assist in ending ideas, cultures, customs, and habits that the counterrevolutionaries possessed. The Red Guards were also violent when confronting enemies. Eventually, Rae Yang left her family to gain revolutionary experience that Mao Zedong believed would benefit. She volunteered to travel to the Northern Wilderness to work with peasants. Here she was able to experience the peasants' way of life on a daily basis. Yang was overwhelmed and ultimately returned home, where she started to question herself. Yang had many mixed feelings about the revolution and her personal life. This memoir relates to many people who lived in China during the

If you were an individual who was accepted into elite schools, you had high expectations placed on you. Yang put large amounts of pressure on herself. She felt that she could not let her family down by not becoming a successful person later in life. China placed stress on those who wanted to be involved in revolutionary experience. An unfortunate aspect of the Cultural Revolution in China is the fact that it consisted of plenty of violence between groups. Mao Zedong and the party wanted to target individuals who were known as counterrevolutionaries. “... they targeted the bad classes as potential class enemies, and they encouraged people to establish their revolutionary credentials by victimizing them”. A faction that was created was called the Red Guards, where they transpired Zedong’s desires. The members of the factions were from schools and universities. The people violently attacked teachers, classmates, and other people who did not believe in following and accepting the revolution. Since Yang was exposed to various types of Chinese propaganda promoting the revolution, she and some of her classmates joined the Red Guard