The Blue Mountains of China: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Blue Mountains of China: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the lives of multiple individuals within a Mennonite community navigating the complexities of faith, exile, and personal sacrifice. Central to the narrative is Jakob Friesen IV, a deeply troubled man who grapples with guilt after abandoning his son to flee persecution, ultimately reflecting on his disillusionment with both humanity and God. In contrast, his cousin Frieda Friesen emerges as a source of unwavering faith, using her journal to document her resilience and the spiritual solace she provides to those around her amidst the challenges of cultural assimilation.
David Epp, a second-generation Mennonite missionary, embodies the ideal of self-sacrifice, choosing martyrdom to save others during a humanitarian crisis. The characters of Samuel Reimer and his brother John Reimer illustrate contrasting responses to faith and calling; Samuel, after a transformative experience, faces tragic rejection from his family, while John, with youthful idealism, seeks to spread the Gospel in Canada. The interplay between these characters highlights themes of perseverance, the quest for meaning in suffering, and the struggles of belief in a changing world. Overall, the analysis offers a poignant exploration of the delicate balance between faith, identity, and moral duty within a marginalized community.
The Blue Mountains of China: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Rudy Wiebe
First published: 1970
Genre: Novel
Locale: The Ukraine, Siberia, western Canada, and South America
Plot: Historical
Time: 1919–1970
Jakob Friesen IV, a guilt-ridden exile who abandons his son to escape persecution. A brooding, cynical man, Friesen never recovers from his high-handed betrayal of his son (whom he abandoned in Russia), even while living among the Mennonite community with which he emigrates. As a hard-hearted immigrant to western Canada, he spends his life contemplating the paradoxes of the Christian faith and the tenacity it takes to persevere in the midst of suffering and brutality. As one who is losing his faith in humanity and God, Friesen poignantly counsels the younger John Reimer toward the end of the novel, tempering with his introspective realism the wild-eyed, radical idealism of the naïve missionary.
Frieda Friesen, a cousin of Jakob who, with the children of other Mennonite immigrants, attempts to make a new life in western Canada, far away from her parents' native Russia. Her character is revealed solely through the memoirs that help give the novel its thematic structure. Her journal entries burn with a faith that acts as a calming influence on her family and others caught in spiritual turmoil. Her quiet peace in the face of the temptation to be assimilated by a new, worldly culture in the West rests on her boundless perseverance and her unshakable faith in God. Her character exemplifies the core of Mennonite faith, particularly their determination to be faithful until death.
David Epp, a heroic second-generation Mennonite missionary. Epp's spirit is informed by the lofty faith of Frieda Friesen. A warm, unselfish believer, Epp trades his own life, in martyrdom at the Chinese border, for the lives of those who he is helping to emigrate from Russia. Fiercely independent, Epp believes in the impossible; his pioneering, indomitable faith leads him to principle and eternal destiny above earthly comfort and safety. Epp thus becomes a model of missionary fervor to those who immigrate to the West.
Samuel Reimer, an average churchgoer and wheat farmer who suddenly believes he is called by God to be a prophet. After confrontations with the local pastor and his immediate family—who deny that God speaks today—Reimer emerges as a tragicomic figure who defies the more prudent of his family members, who are incredulous at his announced mission to preach peace to war-torn Vietnam. Wounded by their rejection, Samuel dies of a broken heart.
John Reimer, Samuel's brother, a missionary who travels across Canada with a cross on his back. Youthful, naïve, and idealistic, Reimer returns from a missionary training stint in Paraguay intent on taking the Gospel to the secular Canadian culture, with the visual symbol of the cross on his back. His confrontation with the hardened Jakob Friesen IV forms the climax of the novel.
Emily Reimer, Samuel's wife, whose concern for the material prosperity of the household accelerates Samuel's insistence on his own austere prophetic career.
Jakob Friesen V, the only son of Jakob IV. He is abandoned by his father in Russia before he is exiled.
Erna Epp, David Epp's wife and, later, widow.