A character analysis on Grandson, from Ha Jin's Under The Red Flag.

Essay by polstallionUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, March 2005

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Grandson

"A moment later Big Hat came to and began crying for help Grandson went over and kicked him in the stomach" (110), a prime example of Grandson's violent nature. Through out the story "Emperor" the reader is shown the violent tendencies of the boys but none being more violent than Grandson. But what makes Grandson so violent? Kids who are violent have many reasons behind their actions. Most of those being negative experiences in their lives. Grandson faced many hardships that fueled his rage, living with an abusive and neglecting uncle, loosing his parents, being betrayed by his friends, and even playing violent war games.

One of the reasons behind Grandson's violent temper may come from loosing his parents at an early age. The reader is not introduced to Grandson's past, but we can conclude that the death of his parents had to be rough on him.

When ever any kid looses his parents their world gets turned upside down. That is what happens to Grandson he looses respect for his life and does not appreciate life or anyone around him.

"I'm ready, Benli. You come close; I'll crush your skull with this. You have your parents at home. I don't have a mother. Let's kill each other and see who will lose more" (105). When Grandson is ready to kill and say who will lose more, it is obvious he is implying that Benli will loose more. Grandson believes that he can not possibly lose anything because he has nothing to lose, leaving him to believe that nothing matters. When someone thinks this way, their nature is mostly violent. The reader can not feel too much anger towards Grandson since he was not raised with a positive sense of direction.

However it is very...