My Old Home (Story) Grade 12 Summary

My Old Home 

Summary 

Characters

1. Narrator (Lu Xun) - He is the young Master and the narrator. He is considered as a miser in the sense he does not want to give away the furniture to the poor rather wants to sell them.

2. Jun Tu- Childhood friend of the narrator

3. Lu Xun’s father

4. Hong'er (eight-year-old nephew of the narrator)

5. Runtu (Childhood friend of the narrator) He is the former temporary servant of Lu Xun. He is a shy in nature but 'high in spin

6. Sheng- the son of Runtu.

7. Mrs. Yang- She is a neighbour who accuses the narrator of being miserly and people call her the Beancurd Beauty because she sits in a bean curd (milk products) shop opposite to Xun's home

Summary 

"My Old Home" is an autobiographical story which has been written by the Chinese writer Lu Xun. It is a short story which tells the activities and happenings of one’s life from youth to old age. The main narrator of this story is the writer (Lu Xun) himself who has presented the conflict between his childhood memories and present realities. 

‘My Old Home’ is a story about Xun’s memories, from youth to middle age that depicts the conflict between memories and realities. The story describes how Xun feels while being away from home for many years. Upon arriving at his long-past home, his memories are forced to come to confront with the realities. His prior conceptions and understandings of the world come into conflict with his realities. 

The narrator returns his Old Home after twenty years in 1911, during the fall of the Qin Dynasty. He has a deep longing for his old home. He is heartily connected with his hometown. When he comes back to his home, he is greeted by his mother and nephew. He doesn't believe his eyes at first because there are so many changes. 

So many changes have been made but not in positive tracks rather he finds his house in ruined position, twenty years of weather, renovations and other families, Lu Xun reconciles with his relatives including Mrs. Yang, a neighbour who accuses him of being miserly. Xun feels ashamed when the bean curd lady says he is being miserly for he does not want to give away his furniture. When he sees his hometown under the clouds at his arrival, he starts feeling depressed to find its unprogressive, desolate and scattered state. For him, his old home was quite beautiful in the past and many people of his class used to live there. His attitude towards his hometown has changed as he comes to his hometown in an unhappy mood. He returns to his hometown with the sole purpose to say "Goodbye" that time. 

When he arrives at his old home, his mother welcomes him. He sees his nephew Hong'er for the first time. He informs his mother about a rented house in his working place where they are going to migrate sooner. He wants to sell old furniture items of the house to buy some items for his rented house. His mother informs him about Runtu and his curiosity to meet him. 

His prier conceptions come into conflicts as he faces the realities of his Old Home town. He comes to know that his old childhood friend Runtu will be reuniting with Lu at the home. He recalls his brief relationship with his childhood friend and a part time labour boy. Their friendship has been lively, positive and brother-like. Mrs. Yang is the one who is so talkative lady. The narrator describes her quite humorously. He describes her as a compass of a geometry box. Mrs. Yang surprises the narrator with her act. She holds the narrator with her arms. The narrator remembers about her later on. In his childhood, Mrs. Yang used to sit in her bean curd shop powdering herself and was quite famous by her name "A Beancurd Beauty”, Mrs. Yang expresses her words related to miserliness when she knows the narrator's intention of selling his old home's furniture. 

The narrator meets Runtu after many years. He doesn't feel good to hear the word "Master" from his mouth. Both, the narrator and his mother notice about Runtu's poverty and hardships in his life along with many children. Runtu has been squeezed by various factors as responsibilities, bandits, government officials, landed gentry, social differences etc. These various factors push him to poverty throughout his life. The narrator and his mother plan to help Runtu by providing him with some old items of the house of his need so they provide some goods to Runtu. Runtu selects few items from the old house.

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