Point of View

Mo Yan tells his novel, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, from two points of view: the third-person omniscient narrative, and the first-person omniscient retrospective perspective of main character Jintong. Telling the novel from the third-person omniscient perspective allows the reader to learn about events that occur before Jintong's birth which Jintong may or may not have become aware of himself over time. Because the majority of the novel deals with Jintong's life experiences, it is fitting that he should tell his own story. This allows the reader a degree of identification with Jintong, and the ability to relate to certain experiences he has.

Setting

Mo Yan sets his novel, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, in twentieth-century China, between the year 1900 and the 1990s. The setting works perfectly for the novel, as China confronts modernity, Communism, war, invasion, civil war, and change. This mirrors the unhappy lives...