HA JIN

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6 April 2010

In Broad Daylight : Message and Moral

After hunger , sex is the most powerful drive in humans . In the event of non-fulfillment of this drive , one may turn to evil ways of life by which is meant resorting to actions not considered right and attendant with unpleasant consequences . Though the story In Broad Daylight ' is not purposely intended to be a story with strong social message , its author , Ha Jin , unwittingly establishes a universal truth that evil begets evil

The term

evil has two connotations , one at purely personal and individual level and the second at collective and societal level . On an individual level , human emotions and desires demand freedom of satisfaction . One does not mind defying customs and systems and wants absolute rights as a human being . Mu Ying , principal character of Ha Jin 's story and a lady past her prime , indulges in prostitution as she has been dissatisfied with the physical aspects of her relationship with her husband Meng Su (Jin 84 . She pleads with other woman to consider her case on human basis (Jin 84 . Physical gratification is a matter of personal choice but it comes into conflict with regulatory aspect of society which to promote a stable system denounces physical gratification outside wedlock and makes it punishable as adultery . The more primitive and backward the society , like China during times of Communist Revolution , the more barbaric the punishment . Mu Ying 's thrashing a red guard for not paying...