Those Beautiful Flowers
　　---Book Review: “Camille”
　　I read the Chinese version of “Camille” a few years ago. At that time I was deeply moved by the main character Marguerite Gautier. “Camille” or “The Lady of the Camellias” by Alexandre Dumas, fils, is the story of Marguerite Gautier, a young courtesan, or kept woman, in Paris in the mid 1800's, and how she falls in love with a young man, Armand Duval, and then tries to escape from her questionable past. Unfortunately, it comes back to haunt her and she ends up returning to that life and dies painfully and alone, but with the knowledge that she was a noble woman at heart. When I first began to read the book, I did not care for Marguerite or her attitude or lifestyle, but as I got further into the narrative, I realized that her saucy attitude was a front to cover the lonely woman that she really was. She felt used, abused and unloved, until the gentle Armand Duval came into her life and showed her that he loved her as a person and not for what she could do for him. It must have taken great courage for Marguerite to leave the life she had lived for so long, knowing all along that it was probably too good to be true and would not last indefinitely. And it also showed that Marguerite really loved Armand Duval for she could even change herself for him.
　　However, happiness didn’t last for long. When M. Duval, Armand's father, came to her, pleading for her to leave Armand to save both Armand's reputation and that of his younger innocent sister, Marguerite saw a way to become pure of heart, if not in body. She felt that it was her duty, because she loved Armand so much, to do this even though it meant giving up her own happiness and hurting Armand temporarily. She reluctantly returned to her former life, knowing that some day Armand would forgive her. Sadly, she died in debt and basically alone, except for her one female friend, Julie Duprat, who helped her during her illness. She had her journal sent to Armand after her death, explaining why she had made the choices she had. I think Dumas's last few lines about Marguerite being the exception, not the rule were quite true, and I also agreed with his view that while her lifestyle could not be condoned, we as a society assume that all of these type of women are cold and heartless, while this may not always be the case. A person can make the wrong choices in life when they are young, and try to redeem themselves, but sometimes past situations prevent them from changing their lives, even though they desperately wish to do so. This applies to both men and women in many different types of circumstances: involvement in crime; drug or alcohol abuse; gambling; prostitution; financial problems; poor marriage choices; etc. And this is the fact, which exists in the whole society.
　　As far as the other characters in the book, I think Marguerite was right in saying that no one truly cared about her, but only wanted something from her, the only exceptions being Armand and Julie Duprat. Of course, the Comte de G. and Comte de N. wanted her body and appearance. The Duke needed to “wake up and smell the coffee” and realize that she could never replace his dead daughter. If he truly cared, he could have helped her leave her lifestyle without “keeping” her himself. And lastly, Prudence was a blood-sucking leech who used Marguerite almost worse than the men. I also think she was jealous of the fact that Marguerite had so much more courage than herself and someone truly loved her.
　　Last morning, when tiding my bookshelf, I took this book out of the shelf, and a dried flower flew away from the book. It was pale blue, very transparent, with thin fine veins. a dried flower flew away from the book. It was pale blue, very transparent, with thin fine veins. I held it against the morning light and blew on it. The soft breeze carried it away. Camille is just like the camellia, she could never escape from the destiny of withering. But it wasn’t her fault; it’s because of the evil of Capitalism and the hideousness of that society.
　　Suddenly, I remembered a saying: “Women are like the flowers”. Those pretty women are like those beautiful flowers; their delicate beauty makes people feel they are the miracle of life. However, even the God envies their beauty. It seems that beautiful women always have tragic endings. As we are normal persons, even we can see the hideousness of humanity that results in their fate of withering, we can at most ask quietly in our hearts: Where have those beautiful flowers gone? Where have they gone?

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　　西游记
当我翻开《西游记》时，总有不同的心情。它在四大名著中，是最生动活泼的，小时候的我读起它来总觉得既过瘾又有趣。但今时今日，不变的是那光怪陆离，色彩斑斓的神话世界，我的领悟却变了。
这是一部所有人都爱读的经典大作，每个人都能在解读它时获取不同的感觉和启示，有人喜欢它鲜明的人物个性；有人喜欢它瑰丽的整体形象；有人喜欢它活泼诙谐的对话旁白；有人还研究它的历史背景、社会现象。但在我看来，他那曲折的情节中暗藏着人们渴望而不可及的生活理想和人性追求，那就是——自由。
在经历了日复一日个性受约束的日子，廿一世纪的人们都格外向往自由，向往那个自由的化身：孙悟空。孙悟空破土而出，“不伏麒麟辖，不服凤凰管，又不服人间王位所约束”，闯龙宫，闹冥司，自花果山上目在称王。可以说已经达到人性摆脱一切束缚，彻底自由的状态。孙悟空其实就是自由的化身，他的品质中最突出的就是向往自由，他始终在追求自由，它的一切斗争也是为了争取自由。这样一个鲜活的形象给予了读者一种追求自由，追逐自由的力量和勇气。 然而，每个人都明白， 在现在，即使是将来，完全的自由终究是不可能的，人始终要受到这般那般的约束。尽管包围着我们的是个受约束的世界，但我们可以让内心尽量变得广阔而幽深，让它能够无边无际、包容天地。
然而，目前社会上还有许多人被一些价值不大的东西所束缚，却自得其乐，还觉得很满足。经过几百年的探索和发展，人们对物质需求已不再迫切，但对于精神自由的需求却无端被抹杀了。总之， 我认为现代人最缺乏的就是一种开阔进取， 寻找最大自由的精神。
在厉尽时间锤炼的《西游记》中，竟深深蕴含着新世纪人们最渴望的自由精神……我更明白为什么它能够传承至今了。

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　　人家都说：“母爱是伟大的。”可我却没有见得，知道发生了那件事以后，我才了解了母爱的伟大！ ； 那一天，天灰蒙蒙的，又阴又冷，天下着大雨。我在学校扫地，可没跟妈妈说一声，我有点担心妈妈会在门口等着我。我用最快的速度扫地，可因为同桌有点事，向老师请了假，只有我一个人在那扫地，花了45分钟，我才把地扫好，因为今天有美术课，我那组的同学把不要的纸全扔在了地上，害得我扫了45分钟。当我来到了校门口以后，看妈妈撑着雨伞，焦急而又耐心地等待着我。我连忙跑上前去，妈妈笑着对我说：“你怎么才来，是不是有什么事，害我担心死了。”我回答说：“妈妈，因为今天扫地，没跟你说声，真对不起。”妈妈亲切地说：“没关系，只要下次不要再这样就行了。”我低着头说：“我下次一定不会这样了。”说着说着，我的脸不知不觉地红了起来。我用低沉的声音对妈妈说：“你为什么来接我呀？我自己会回家的。”妈妈听了这句话以后，有点生气了，严肃地说：“那你会淋湿感冒的。感冒不仅会花钱，重要的还是会影响了你的学习。”“这么一点小雨算什么，我自信地说，我是不会感冒。”妈妈的脸上又露出了一丝不满。我看见妈妈的脸，连忙说：“我以后再也不敢淋雨回家了。”这时，妈妈的脸上恢复了和蔼的眼神。我这才化险为夷。我撑着雨伞，一起和妈妈回家了。 ； 这件事还一直留在我心中。在那个傍晚，我感受到了母爱。