The Theme Of Freedom In Land Of Big Numbers

Freedom is a word that many may have to fight for and make sacrifices for. True freedom is when an individual has the right to act without restraint. However, there are a number of sacrifices one has to make in order to obtain true freedom, in the novel Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen. Land of Big Numbers is set in China and explores the complex lives of several characters in a corrupt communist system ruling society. It also depicts the various struggles characters have to overcome in order to gain freedom and also highlights the cultural and political nature of a strongly growing nation and society. Throughout the novel Land of Big Numbers, Chen continues to display the costs of freedom as a main theme point. In the novel Land of Big

Throughout the novel, Land of Big Numbers, there are many instances of characters losing their privacy, which ultimately led to them losing a sense of comfort. Such as, in the chapter “Hotline Girl," while describing Bayi, the speaker mentions she was wearing an identification card and further elaborates, “Anyone entering the city had to wear one. Each card synced with the city’s sensors and recorded the bearer’s activity.” (Chen, 32). This phrase highlights that the Chinese government was monitoring their citizens and the control they had over them. The fact that each person entering the city was required to wear an identification card that records their activity and identity shows how the government has significant control over its citizens' movements and behaviors by tracking aspects of their personal lives that invaded privacy such as location and career work that makeup parts of her identity. Therefore, it can be argued that this loss of privacy would undoubtedly make the citizens feel uncomfortable as they would be restricted in their daily lives/activities and watched constantly. This further highlights the cost of freedom throughout the novel, as the citizens had their freedom revoked as they were not able to move freely or do things of their own will which is a loss of comfort. Furthermore, when the police came

Throughout the novel, Land of Big Numbers, there are many instances where characters are given societal pressure to be the ideal individual within the community, which eventually leads to a loss of comfort. For instance, in the chapter Lulu, when Lulu’s brother's wedding was taking place and Lulu was handing her dad some water, he furiously says, “Do you think what you’ve done is meaningful? … You didn’t even know these people, Whatever their problems might have been, they had no relation to you. … Everything we could we did. You were all our worries, all our hopes.” (Chen, 23). This phrase shows how Lulu’s parents emotionally blackmailed her and rejected her passion which is to expose the government. It also highlights the societal pressure Lulu’s parents put on her to fulfill their expectations and hopes to be the ideal child by rejecting her passion, and emotionally blackmailing her. This pressure to adapt to her parents' expectations to be the ideal child can make her feel that she doesn’t have a choice for herself, and doesn’t have control over her life, which further leads to a sense of discomfort. Therefore, it can be argued that since she was pressured into doing what her parents wanted her to do and was unable to live her life freely, she lost her sense of comfort as she didn’t have control over her own life anymore, and