Story of a country boy who quits school by lao hsiang?

Answer 1

"A Story of a Country Boy" by Lao Hsiang is the story of a family who sends a young boy to school and seems only to have bad results.

Summary of the story:

The story starts out by saying that in the country a nine-year old boy is at least half as useful as an adult because he can help with several chores, so the family didn't want to send him to school. However, there was a proclamation that stated that any boy over six years old had to go or a family member would have to go to jail.

The boy goes to school and he brings books back, which the teacher has told him cost money. The family is concerned because they will have to go without to raise enough money for the books, and they are already losing work from sending the boy to school. They tell him that he will have to work very hard. He goes to school the next day before dawn to work hard, and finds that the school is not open yet. He is told to go home. He does, and his family is angry at him for not working hard. He goes on a Sunday and is told that they don't have school on Sunday, and they don't understand why that is either.

The pictures in the book aren't anything that they can relate to, and the text of the book says "this is my mama" and "this is my papa" with pictures that are definitely not anyone they know. The boy is sent to ask the teacher whose mama this is. The book also says things like "the ox tends the fire," and the boy learns later that they are learning about things that are made up.

The boys read about a tea party and want to have one, so they agree to each contribute twenty cents so that they can send away for Oranges and other exotic foods it mentions, and all of their families condemn them as selfish because they are asking for money for a frivolity.

The last straw comes when they boy is reading in his book "In my family I have a papa, a mama, a brother, and a sister." He is studying hard and repeating his reading often, and the grandmother gets really upset because she is not included in the family. The boy's father tells her not to be angry anymore, and that he would rather go to jail than to let him read this type of book anymore.

You can also read it for yourself at this link:

https://www.academia.edu/4400554/english_curriculum_HS

It is at the very end of the document, pages 78-82.

Answer 2

A Country Boy Quits SchoolLao Hsiang(Translated by Chi-Chen Wang)Maybe it is the teacher's mama."Arriving at school, the boy found that it was Sunday and that there would be no school. The boy toldMother the circumstances, which made her curse the institution of Sunday.The teacher answered even more gently than before. "It is the mama of anyone who happens to read the book, do you understand now?""No," the boy said. "Baldy is also reading this, but his mama is not like this lady," the boysaid. A few days later, the boy learned two new sentences: "The ox tends the fire; the horse eatsnoodles." Perhaps the book is talking about such horses and oxen." The boy took his father'sinstructions to heart and set out for school the next day at dawn. The teacher is asleep and the classroomisn't unlocked. Grandfather was sweeping the yard when he suddenly caught sight of the boy.When the boy went to school again after breakfast, the teacher was already on the platform and washolding forth on the subject of being late to school. Luckily his father happened to see the other boys alsocoming home from school and the teaching laking a stroll with his ³dog stick," and concluded that his sonwas not playing truant. He kept wondering, however, about the strange ways of these foreign schools.It couldn't be said that the boy was not diligent He reviewed his lesson every day after school, readingover and over again "This is Mama," until dusk. Thinking that his mother was really eager to learn, the boy pointed to the accompanying picture and said, This is Mama- the lady with leather shoes, bobbedhair, and long dress." One glance at the picture and Mother burst out crying. ³Where did the boy get thatvampire-like mama?"Grandmother, however, did not agree with father's explanation. The following day, the boyasked his teacher "Is this ox that can tend the fire a foreign ox ?"The teacher laughed and said, "You are too literal! The explanation cleared up at onestroke many things in the book that had puzzled the boy. One day, the boy and his school mates decided that they would play tea party as they had read about it in their reading. Our boy knew, of course,that he would be only inviting a beating to ask money for buying sweetmeats. Grandfather asked.We want to hold a tea party," the boy said."It means to get together and eat things and drink tea," the boy said. "It is in the book No wonder the boys have become lazy and choosy about their food since they went to school"Grandmother said.Grandfather said."Remember, son, to bring back some orange peels for your grandfather's cough," said Mother."Where did you get the money to buy oranges?" asked Father.The boy's father aimed a kick at him, but fortunately the table intervened. Everyday after school, he read without stopping until it was dark. ³Don't be angry any more!" the boy's father said. "We won't lethim read this kind of book any longer.