Leaving Home at Eighteen
Encyclopedia
Leaving at Home at Eighteen (十八岁出门远行, or 十八歲出 門遠行 Shíbā Suì Chūmén Yuǎnxíng) is a short story
by Yu Hua
.
of the story is on a road
traveling by foot, searching for an inn
. The people in the previous hamlet
had told him to keep walking until he found one. But he has been walking for hours and is starting to worry. He thinks about flagging down
a car, but he has not seen one for hours. He thinks he would even flag
one down going the opposite direction. He eventually finds a broken down
apple truck by the side of the road, and after offering the driver a cigarette
, manages to hitch a ride. The truck driver is reluctant at first, but the two become fast friends. But then the truck breaks down again.
Men on bikes arrive not to help but to pilfer
the apples. The narrator tries to stop them, accusing them of robbing
the driver. Instead of listening, the thieves beat him up. The driver does nothing. This happens again when more people come. Eventually, the narrator lies by the side of the road bleeding as he watches the driver scurry off carrying the narrator's own backpack. The story concludes with the narrator finally crawling into the cab of the truck to find warmth as the night settles down. He remembers his father's admonition
to get out and see the world.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Yu Hua
Yu Hua
Yu Hua is a Chinese author, born April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. He practiced dentistry for five years and later turned to fiction writing in 1983 because he didn't like "looking into people’s mouths the whole day." Writing allowed him to be more creative and flexible...
.
Plot
The narratorNarrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
of the story is on a road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
traveling by foot, searching for an inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
. The people in the previous hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
had told him to keep walking until he found one. But he has been walking for hours and is starting to worry. He thinks about flagging down
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
a car, but he has not seen one for hours. He thinks he would even flag
Hitch
Hitch may refer to:* Hitch knot, a knot used to attach a rope to a fixed object* Tow hitch, a construction on a truck or car to attach a trailer* Hitches, fish in the genus Lavinia including Lavinia exilicauda...
one down going the opposite direction. He eventually finds a broken down
Breakdown
Breakdown may refer to:*Breakdown , failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated*Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components...
apple truck by the side of the road, and after offering the driver a cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
, manages to hitch a ride. The truck driver is reluctant at first, but the two become fast friends. But then the truck breaks down again.
Men on bikes arrive not to help but to pilfer
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
the apples. The narrator tries to stop them, accusing them of robbing
Robbing
Robbing is a term used in beekeeping. Bees from one beehive will try to rob honey from another hive. Robbing behavior is especially strong when there is little nectar in the field. Strong colonies with the largest stores are the most apt to prey upon weaker colonies. Some robbing is carried out...
the driver. Instead of listening, the thieves beat him up. The driver does nothing. This happens again when more people come. Eventually, the narrator lies by the side of the road bleeding as he watches the driver scurry off carrying the narrator's own backpack. The story concludes with the narrator finally crawling into the cab of the truck to find warmth as the night settles down. He remembers his father's admonition
Admonition
Admonition is a punishment under Scots law when an offender has been found guilty but is neither imprisoned nor fined but receives verbal discipline and is afterwards set free; the conviction is still recorded...
to get out and see the world.