Summary of My Old Home by Lu Xun
My Old Home by Lu Xun is a story about remembering the past. Xun goes back to his hometown after many years away. He compares his happy memories with what he sees now. The place and the people have changed a lot. The story shows how time and life can break old dreams.
The narrator returns to his hometown after more than twenty years. He travels in the cold winter to bid a final farewell to the place of his childhood because the ancestral house has been sold and the family is about to move away permanently. He is shocked to see how bleak, lifeless, and impoverished his village looks. The reality of the present countryside does not match the beautiful image he had preserved in his memory.
The narrator reunites with his mother and meets his young nephew, Hong’er. During this time, the narrator is reminded of Runtu, a boyhood friend from a peasant family. Memories of Runtu fill the narrator’s mind, especially of their childhood friendship, Runtu’s lively stories about the sea, hunting birds, guarding watermelons, and the wonders of nature.
When Runtu finally visits the narrator after many years, the narrator is deeply disturbed by the change in him. Runtu is now poor, worn down by poverty, heavy taxes, bad harvests, and social oppression. He addresses the narrator respectfully as “Master.” Although they try to talk, their conversation is awkward and hollow, and the warmth of their childhood bond cannot be revived. The narrator also encounters Second Sister Yang, once known as the “Beancurd Beauty.” She has become greedy, sharp-tongued, and opportunistic.
Before leaving, the narrator’s family gives Runtu whatever household goods they can spare. Runtu accepts them humbly and leaves. On the day of departure, the narrator leaves his hometown by boat with his mother and nephew.
In the final moments, the narrator contemplates hope. He realizes that hope is neither imaginary nor guaranteed. Though saddened by the loss of his past and the harsh realities of the present, the narrator ends the story with a fragile but meaningful belief in a new future for the next generation.
Answer the following questions.
a. How does the narrator describe his feeling at the arrival of his old home?
The narrator feels sad and disappointed when he arrives at his old home. The place looks dull, lifeless, and poor. It does not match the beautiful image he had kept in his memory.
b. What were the three kinds of servants in China then? What does it indicate about contemporary Chinese society?
The three kinds of servants were yearlongs (who worked all year for one family), short-timers (who worked by the day), and busy-monthers (who worked only during festivals or special occasions). This shows that Chinese society was strictly divided by class and labor, and poor people depended heavily on rich families.
c. What makes the narrator nostalgic? What did he do with Runtu in his teenage years?
The memory of Runtu makes the narrator nostalgic. In his teenage years, he listened to Runtu’s exciting stories about the sea, birds, shells, and guarding watermelon fields. These experiences filled him with joy and wonder.
d. How did Runtu hunt a zha in his young age?
Runtu hunted a zha by guarding the watermelon field at night. When he heard the sound of the animal eating melons, he quietly approached it and attacked it with a pitchfork.
e. How does the narrator make a humorous picture of Mrs. Yang?
Mrs. Yang stands with her hands on her hips on her tiny bound feet. She looks like a pair of compasses. This exaggerated description makes her appearance humorous.
f. According to the narrator, what were different factors that made Runtu a poor man throughout his life?
Runtu became poor because of heavy taxes, bad harvests, many children, famine, soldiers, bandits, and exploitation by officials and landlords. These factors ruined his life.
g. How does the narrator help Runtu before leaving the old home?
Before leaving, the narrator allows Runtu to take household goods such as tables, an incense burner, candlesticks, scales, and kitchen ashes. This helps Runtu in farming and daily life.
h. How does the author differentiate two kinds of idols?
The author shows that Runtu’s idols are traditional and immediate, like religious objects that give short-term hope. The narrator’s idol is hope for a better future, which is distant and uncertain.
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