Meaning of the Title The Crazed

Mean of the title The Crazed

Amanda Sobczak

 

            At one point in Ha Jin’s novel, The Crazed, Jian describes his professor’s post stroke ramblings as crazed. Indeed, Professor Yang made several nonsensical rants throughout the novel.  However, the title The Crazed seems to refer to an entire population of people, rather than simply referring to Professor Yang’s behavior in the hospital. 

There are several instances of rather crazed behavior in this novel.  Yuman Tan’s cheerful behavior at the end of the novel could be considered crazed (although he claims it is an act) after the tragedies that have occurred in the book.  Mantao’s obsession with the People’s Army (for example, on page 286, when Mantao’s spits on the floor and says, “You folks are disgusting!  The People’s Army’s tanks have rolled into Beijing ready to attack the students, but you’re still going to hold the dance party this evening.”). Finally, it could also refer to Jian’s increasingly erratic behavior throughout the novel, which leads to him losing his temper at the slightest provocation and changing his mind again and again about his life path, despite years of studying.

            Of course, the title could also refer to the political climate during the time. From Wikipedia: “Following Mao’s death in 1976, a power struggle between CPC General Secretary Hua Guofeng and Deng Xiaoping erupted. Deng won the struggle, and became the CPC paramount leader. Deng, alongside Chen Yun and Li Xiannian, spearheaded the Reform and opening policy, and introduced the ideological concept of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In reversing some of Mao’s “extreme-leftist” policies, Deng argued that a socialist state could use the market economy without itself being capitalist. While asserting the political power of the Party, the change in policy generated significant economic growth. The new ideology, however, was contested on both sides of the spectrum, by Maoists as well as by those supporting political liberalization. With other social factors, the conflicts culminated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests. Deng’s vision on economics prevailed, and by the early 1990s the concept a socialist market economy had been introduced. In 1997, Deng’s beliefs, referred to as Deng Xiaoping Theory, were embedded in the CPC constitution.”

            Certainly Ha Jin provides us with examples of the crazed behavior of the People’s Army. On page 308, he described the beating of a little boy who pleaded to the soldiers to stop.   No one was prepared for the People Army’s crazed behavior during the Tiananmen Square massacre, as evidenced when the nurse stated that they had barely any medical supplies for serious injuries.  Finally, the actions of the University at the end of the novel could be considered crazed. Yuan Tan says “Yesterday afternoon Ying Peng assigned me to prepare all the material about you. I overheard her telling the police on the phone this morning that if you hadn’t lost your mind, you must be counterrevolutionary.  It’s a hopeless case.  She’s made up her mind to either to prison or to a mental hospital.  The police are coming for early this afternoon.  You’d better go now.”  The paranoia and erratic behavior of the characters, the university, and the government all combine to make the title of the novel, The Crazed, make sense.