To Live

Throughout the novel, animals symbolize wealth, survival, and friendship. This dynamic link between animals and humans is a constant theme in To Live and is demonstrated through Fugui’s character and the lives of those around him. When Fugui is young and wealthy, he eats meat freely every night. During this same time, Fugui’s father tells him that animals helped bring their family wealth. By raising animals or selling them for money, Fugui’s ancestors built a small fortune. When Fugui loses that fortune, raising lambs and selling them for money helps his family avoid starvation. While it’s clear that animals are an investment and luxury for the wealthy and poor alike, Youqing demonstrates that they can also be companions. He continually befriends the family lambs, wearing out his shoes and running himself ragged just to keep them fed. However, it’s Fugui who ultimately reflects the human-and-animal bond. Although he tells Youqing that animals are just animals and are meant for meat, by the end of the novel Fugui lives alone with an ox that he treats like a human. In fact, he names his ox Fugui, after himself, and the narrator continually comments on how similar Fugui and his ox appear.