Man\'s Fate Historical Criticism: Man\'s

Man's Fate

Historical criticism: Man's Fate

In La Condition humaine (Man's Fate), Malraux discusses an important political episode in 1927 Shanghai. This was the time of Chinese revolution which was instigated by the communists and actively opposed by the nationalist forces of General Tchang-Kai-Shek. Originally published as a report, the book was based on facts but was still largely a work of fiction. George Manue, a friend of Malraux's, supplied the much-needed material for the book in the form of newspaper clippings. He was a reporter covering the communist uprising and helped Malraux write this book which covered a great deal more than the episode itself. "La Condition Humaine (1933) [was] assumed to be a faithful rendering of the spirit of the Chinese Revolution, in which Malraux was known to have been engaged as a propagandist." (Cruickshank: 55)

In this book, Malraux was focusing on three important aspects of the revolution: a) the condition of politics and people in the developing world which give rise to such uprisings, b) assessment of impact that such events have on lives of the people involved and c) man's eternal conflict with the destiny. But before we discuss the novel, however briefly, it is important to understand the historical background of this highly acclaimed book of its time. (Dye, 1999)

By historical criticism, it means that we would be analyzing the novel and its various characters to see if the novel was based on real events and people or was it just a fictional work. We shall also discuss the times in which it was written along with the historical background of this revolution. The book was set in a politically and socially tumultuous period in the history of China. China had suffered from political instability since the turn of century and 20th century brought with it numerous political challenges. Regional warlords who had been ruling China in 1900s were mainly products of a despotic system. (People's: Warlords). A people's republic was simply unheard of and after the failure of the revolution of 1911, a wave of resentment swept over China's communist sections. Those who found the warlord oppressive, joined forces in 1921 and established Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and within a short span of time, this party turned into a force to reckon with (Green 76). Chiang, on the other hand, was a nationalist leader and together with the CCP, he tried to overthrow the warlords in 1927. The victory however proved more beneficial to Chiang than his communist Allies as he went on to establish a new Chinese Nationalist Republic in 1927 (People's: Warlords).

However Communists were not to stay silent and shortly after the victory of nationalist party, the conflict between two factions gripped the nation. This civil war lasted a whole decade in which communist party was repeatedly suppressed with the help of United States that had reportedly invested $3 billion to strengthen nationalist party and stem the growth of communist elements in the region (Stoley: 117). Chiang tried to establish a nationalist government based on constitutional laws (Duiker 211) and wanted to incorporate the tradition principles of accountability, decency and moral uprightness (Duiker 214). However years of political instability and internal conflicts had left the social and political infrastructure in tatters. People were no longer interested in traditional principles since they had hitherto failed to solve their problems. Such conditions at home combined with foreign threat led to growing problems for Chiang government. Repressive strategies were developed to curtail free speech and to suppress political rights of people. The economic conditions of the country were also deplorable. Growth of industries was measured at below 1% per annum while wealth was concentrated in four rich families of the country (Duiker 190).

Government would use military budget to suppress communist forces in the country and hence very little was ever utilized for social and economic uplift (Duiker 192). Great Depression added to the miseries of people and communist elements gained strength and popularity in the country. The condition in the country had reached a point where people were eagerly awaiting change. People did not want Chiang government at any cost but were scared to launch a full-fledge aggression against the nationalist forces. Communists were meanwhile gathering support for their cause and had won the sympathies of large majority. China being a pre-dominantly agrarian economy, the peasants were looking forward to some land reforms which were never fully implemented under Chiang government. At this precise time, a young communist named Mao Zedong popularized the idea of land reforms and focused his attention on the issue of poverty among peasant class. He convinced his fellow communists that the only solution to all problems lied in strengthening the agricultural sector by introducing land reforms. He worked ceaselessly for the peasants but his party was driven to remote corners of North China during the Long March. This action, taken by Chiang government, was a clear indication of the paranoia and insecurity that were building in nationalist forces (Peoples: Rise). Mao continued to fight government's oppressive rule even while in exile and this lasted till 1937 at which point, Japan invaded China and the nationalist-communist conflict came to an end.

In 1920s, Malraux was present in China and observed the political dynamics of the country. The oppression and communist popularity affected his deeply and 1927 revolution thus served as an inspiration for his novel, Man's Fate. As mentioned earlier, Malraux did not focus on the revolution alone but tried to discuss other related issues as well. He wanted his readers to understand how these political forces worked and the impact they had on human condition. The novel focuses on the oppressive nature of Fate and man's repeated struggles to fight destiny and create some hope for himself. This theme runs throughout the novel where we see few important characters fighting for what they believed in- not to create a new political system but to create a better future for themselves. We come across Ch'en, a terrorist, Kyo Gisors, a communist supporter, Katov and Kyo's father, Old Gisors. Man's Fate is not one person's view on the episode; instead it's an impartial third person narrative. The protagonist Kyo supports communism because he is genuinely concerned about the well-being of Chinese peasants who were mistreated and exploited by the pre-revolt Chinese regimes. He believed that communism could save the poor since Nationalist group had simply destroyed the country. On one occasion, he looks at the destruction of the city of Hankow and wonders, "Was it possible that Hankow, the city to which the Communists of the entire world were looking to save China, was on strike? [...] if Hankow was not what everyone believed it was, all his people were already condemned to death. May too. And himself" (139) Kyo sides with communism because he wants to restore the peasant's sense of self-respect and dignity. But he is more intensely involved with Chinese politics. Kyo is an Asian with genuinely concern for the poor and he was "not restless. His life had a meaning, and he knew what it was: to give to each of these men whom famine, at this very moment, was killing off like a slow plague, the sense of his own dignity. He belonged with them: they had the same enemies. A half-breed, an outcast, despised by the white men and even more by the white women, Kyo had not tried to win them: he had sought and had found his own kind." (65)