TheGenerousNephew

IescortedmyuncletoTsin,
TilltheWeiwecrossedontheway.
ThenIgaveasIleft
Forhiscarriageagift
Foursteeds,andeachsteedwasabay.

IescortedmyuncletoTsin,
AndIthoughtofhimmuchinmyheart.
Pendentstones,andwiththem
Offinejasperagem,
Igave,andthensawhimdepart.

TPCASTTPoemAnalysis

TitleIthinkthatthistitleisfairlystraightforward.Itprobablyjustforeshadowsastoryofaboy
givingupthingsordonatingtohislessfortunateuncle

Paraphrase(Bysentence)
1.IbroughtmyuncletoanareaTsin,andfarmedtheWeithatwepassedwhilegetting
there.
2.WhenIleftmyuncleIgavehimagiftforhiscarriage.Itwasfourhorses,each
reddishbrownwithblackfeatures.
3.IbroughtmyuncletoanareaTsin,andIhadlotsoffeelingsforhim.

4.Igavehimvaluablestonesandgems,andthenIsawhimleaveme.

ConnotationThepoemisassociatedwithapositiveconnotation.Wordslikeescorted,gem,
heart,andsteedsallhavepositiveconnotations.Escortedleavesapositiveringratherthana
wordsuchasbrought.Gemandheartareassociatedwithlove,apositivefeeling.Lastly,steed
isjustabetterwayofsayinghorse.

AttitudeTheauthorusesarelaxedandjoyfultoneinthepoem.Theauthorhasthistone
becauseheexpectstheuncletodowellonhistravels,andishappybecauseheshoweredgifts
upontheuncleandhelpedhim.

ShiftsInthefirstsectionofthepoem,thenarratorreferstohimselfleavingtheuncle.Inthe
otherhalf,theuncledepartsfromthenarrator,showingachangeinhowtheuncledeveloped
overthecourseofthepoem.

TitleLookingback,Iwasfairlyaccuratewhenguessingwhatthetitlecouldbeabout.Thetitle
provesthatnephewshoweredhisunclewithgifts.Therestofthepoemshowshowthesegifts
helpedtheunclegrowanddevelop.
ThemeAnephewsdutytohisuncleistorespecthim,bringgiftstohim,andhelphimtobe
strongintimeswhenheneedsstrength.

JaredKatz
Mrs.Hope
WorldLiteratureandWritersWorkshop
8November2015
TheGenerousNephew
Analysis
TheGenerousNephew,
writtenbyConfucius,isastoryofanephewwhohelpshisuncle
byrespectinghimandshoweringhimwithgifts.Inreturn,theunclefindsstrength,andisableto
leavethenephew,eventhoughtheylovedeachother.Literarydevicesanddiction,mainly
connotationandshiftsmovethismessageacross.Connotationbringsfeelingandemotionto
thepeace.Thenarratorhasarelaxedandjoyfultonebecausetheconnotationinthetextis
positive.Continuing,shiftsshowtheplotofthestory.Ithelpstoprovethattheunclehas
becomestrongerthroughoutthetext.Connotationandshiftsintextideasshowthat
The
GenerousNephew
byConfuciushasathemeofrespectingeldersandgivingthemgiftstohelp
them.
Jubilantconnotationin
TheGenerousNephew
allowsforthenarratortoconveyhisown
emotionsandfeelings.Manyofthewordsinthepoemareassociatedwithhappinessandjoy.
Thisincludeswordslikeescorted,gem,heart,andsteeds.Thesewordsshowthatthenarrator
iscontentwithwhatishappeninginthetext.Escortedleavesapositiveringratherthanaword
suchasbrought.Gemandheartareassociatedwithlove,apositivefeeling.Lastly,steedisjust
abetterwayofsayinghorse.Ifhewasdiscontent,thennegativeconnotationsmightbeused
suchasmutorrock.Thesewordsconnotationprovethethemeofthepoem.Theyshowhow
respectingyoureldersandgivinggiftstothemisapositiveaction.Thetheme,aswellas
Confucianismstressesrespectforyourelders.Therefore,sincetheconnotationshinesa
positivelightonthis,thenitreinforcesthetheme.

Continuing,astheconnotationreinforcesthetheme,shiftsinthetextreinforcetheplot.
Themainshiftthroughoutthetextisshownwhentheuncleleaveshisnephewintheendofthe
text,ratherthanbeforewhenthenephewleavestheuncle.Thisproveshowthenephewhas
affectedtheunclethroughoutthetext.Hegavetheuncleallofthetoolsthatwasneededin
ordertodepartandfendforhimself.Thisincludesfourhorses,whichwillhelphistransportation.
Meanwhile,thegemsandpendantstoneshelpedtheuncletobeemotionallystable,and
allowedhimtoalwaysthinkoftheuncle.Theseshiftshelptoprovehowthenephewhelpedthe
uncleduringthepoemtobeindependent,whichisamainthemethatConfuciusattemptstoget
acrossinthetext.
Inconclusion,Confuciusutilizesconnotationandshiftsin
TheGoodNephew
toportraya
themeofelderlyrespectandadmiration.Connotationshowshowthenephewisjoyouswhen
helpinghiselder,andshowershimthepresentsthatarewellappreciated.Then,theshiftinthe
textbecomesrelevant.Theunclenowdepartsfromthenephew,stillwithapositiveconnotation.
Thisproveshowthenephewhelpedtheunclethroughoutthepiece,whichConfuciusalso
preachesforhisreligion.