I couldn't sleep anyway. I read it carefully in the middle of the night, only to see the words through the cracks. The word cannibalism was written all over the book! There are so many words written in the book, and the tenant said so many words, but they all looked at me with a strange smile.

This sentence comes from A Madman's Diary in Lu Xun's anthology Scream. Diary of a Madman reveals the "cannibalism" essence of feudal ethics through the image of the persecuted "madman" and the self-described description of "madman", and shows the author's resistance to China feudal culture with feudal ethics as the main connotation; It also shows the author's profound sense of repentance. From the standpoint of radical "revolutionary democracy", the author deeply reflected on China's culture, and at the same time expressed deep concern and indignation about China and even the future of mankind.

Character introduction

A madman is a persecutor, and a typical image of an enlightener created by Lu Xun. In the novel, the madman's extraordinary characteristics of thought and behavior lead to his exclusion and hostility in his living environment, and he is considered "sick". The madman's strange words and deeds are thorough and pure. The environment described by the madman in his diary lacks realism, but it hits home the social essence of "cannibalism" in China feudal society for thousands of years.

The madman in the work is actually a symbolic image. Lu Xun's description of madness in Ming Dynasty is actually the heartstrings of readers thinking about the times, society and the true meaning of life. Madman is not a typical character, he is symbolic, and is the artistic symbol of the pioneer's angry thoughts in the whole May 4th era.