In the novel Balzac and the Little Chinese Dressmaker the two main characters, Luo and the narrator, use books to educate an uneducated little dressmaker. Later in the story, their plan fails because the little seamstress discovers that the woman's beauty is a priceless gift. At first, although it seemed like it left a horrible crisis in the characters of the book; ultimately led to a positive impact on each of their lives. One of the most important people the book impacted was the main narrator. At the beginning of the book, the narrator was depicted as a boy forced to work in coal mines and rice farms. For him nothing existed beyond the world he lived in then, which was not a life at all. The narrator and Luo were basically guinea pigs using my Mao to achieve his personal goal. (Pg 7) “We were not the first to be used as guinea pigs in this great human experiment, nor would we be the last.” Toward the end of the story, however, the narrator did not have this attitude. When the narrator began reading the books, he experienced new emotions and understandings about the outside world that he might otherwise never have gained. Eventually, he learns to make decisions on his own as an independent individual. When the narrator reads one of Jean-Christophe's books; he states “without him I would never have understood the splendor of performing free and independent actions as an individual”. (Page 110)Although the narrator and Luo have been exposed to things like sex, woman, and love through those books as well, they are all part of life and it is better to be aware of them than not to be aware of them at all. Overall, the books have had a positive impact on the narrator's life. Another major character that the books had an impact on… is paper medium… but he and Lou couldn't do that because they were trapped in the harsh world of Emperor Mao. These books almost provided him with an “open mind” to the outside world. While Ma may never be able to physically abandon his culture, these books in a sense provided him with the individual freedom to do so mentally. In conclusion, exposure to Western books has definitely had an impact on the lives of children and young semesters. It opened the kids' minds and served as a key to the “other world” that they may never have been able to physically reach. For the little seamstress, books led her to have a natural pride and desire for herself. Perhaps if the boys and the little seamstress had never been exposed to books, their lives would be calmer but they would certainly not be more developed and proactive. Works Cited Novel Balzac and the Little Chinese Dressmaker