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The rebellion nature of character Chiu in Ha Jin’s “Saboteur”
Ha Jin’s short story “Saboteur” is mainly based on a storyline of an awful encounter with the policemen. The author successfully displays how injustice, discrimination, and brutality by the police department and corrupt government in Muji society setting negatively impact the protagonist. In this text, the protagonist is a newly married man, Chiu, who suffers injustice by the police in his bride’s presence at a train station leading him to become rebellious. The incident follows his immediate arrest and two-day detention with allegations of disrupting public order and violating the police’s regulations and warnings. Chiu’s detention also portrays the humiliations and heinous brutality faced in the hands of the police department. Besides, the policemen also torture an innocent lawyer who shows up to rescue Chiu at the police station. Chiu displays deviant behavior of rebellion throughout his struggle with the police. The story ends with both a release of Chiu and his former student Fenjin and the tragic sabotage of the deliberate disease spreading. The protagonist’s rebellion was caused by the corrupt government, injustice, and discrimination he encountered with the police.
The rebellious nature of Chiu is evident in various incidences in the text especially in his encounter with the police. The character trait is not by choice since it is stirred up by anger and bitterness due to the pain endured by the protagonist. The agony he faces is unbearable for instance; when he gets accused of misconduct against the police at the train station, yet, on the contrary, the police officer invades his peace by pouring some tea on Chiu’s and his wife’s sandals. The encounter causes rebellion and anger since he is about to board a train with his wife and head home and how the police handle him during the arrest. In this context, the author depicts how a person’s emotions or feelings and rebellion are directly influenced by an individual’s experiences. Chiu’s rebelliously addresses the police at the station, “Anger flared up in Mr. Chiu. Your police station owes me an apology. My train ticket has expired, my new leather sandals are ruined, and I am late for a provincial capital conference. You must compensate me for the damage and losses” (Jin 412). From the statement, it is clear that Chiu doesn’t submit right away to the police orders he tries to resist arrest because of the unjust accusation. The injustice police system is the main reason for Chiu’s deviant behavior since he even complains during the arrest claiming that they even owe him an apology. According to research by Meldrum et al in examining the similarities and distinctions in self-control between police officers and the offenders the idea of ego can be understood well. The findings showed that mishandling of the offenders could trigger deviant behaviors such as rebellion and resentment (Meldrum et al.168). The source supports that Chiu’s behavior was a result of police injustice towards him.
Moreover, not only false accusations but also blackmail is another form of police injustice that evoked Chiu’s rebellion trait. After Chiu’s arrest, the police continued to harass him in jail, involving the entire department, the chairman inclusive. He is blackmailed to attest to a crime he did not commit, which is a social injustice of the highest order. Khattak et al. claim that social injustice at a workplace elicits negative impact behaviors and emotions, leading to strain responses such as rebellion or outrage. An injustice form of authority in any environment causes deviant behaviors as a response to the injustice (Khattak et al. 202). Chiu, therefore, lacks any other choice but to admit that he had violated the law since the police officers blackmail Chiu of torturing Fenjin if he fails to comply with admitting the alleged crime. The author writes, “No, we are not, not even on TV. What else can you do? We are not afraid of any story you make up. We call it fiction. What we do care is that you cooperate with us; that’s to say, you must admit your crime.” “What if I refuse to cooperate?” “Then your lawyer will continue his education in the sunshine” (Jin 417). The police acknowledge that Chiu can’t persevere watching Fenjin being humiliated. The protagonist at first rebels against signing the declaration papers whereby he even fearlessly asks them “what if I refuse to cooperate” until he has to be assured that Fenjin will be released with him. Prejudice is also evident in the context whereby the police torture Fenjin since he is a low classified lawyer and they, therefore, look down upon his capability of using them. The blackmail situation is very demoralizing and unjust and therefore it justifies Chiu’s deviant behavior of rebellion.
Nonetheless, the government system in this context is a very corrupt one hence influencing Chiu’s rebellion behavior. After the arrest of Chiu, he is surprised at the interrogation Bureau where finds that there is a folder of the case in such a small span of time and being his first time in Muji. The incident shows that the police had filed false information on Chiu which is a form of corruption. The entire government is corrupt since they don’t have to be afraid of being exposed to their injustice. The author demonstrates the extent of corrupt governance in Muji by narrating; “Mr. Chiu was dazed to see the different handwritings, which all stated that he had shouted in the square to attract attention and refused to obey the police. One of the witnesses had identified herself as a purchasing agent from a shipyard in Shanghai…” (Jin 413). The police must have forced people to sign or even paid them to testify against Chiu on paper. That is a clear indication of a corrupt government. According to Cordero et al, a case study on “Is a corrupt government totally acceptable? This shows that a corrupt government has a lot of negative impact on the people it serves. People are like to develop deviant behavior as a way of resistance to corrupt governance (Cordero et al.650). Therefore, Chiu’s rebellion is influenced by the impact of a corrupt government
From a contrary point of view, it is also reasonable to argue that Chiu’s deviant behavior cannot be justified by his awful encounter with the police officers. Chiu’s rebellion might have caused by other factors such as pride and recklessness. Considering his education level as a lecturer he might have developed some ego which caused his deviant behavior. Chiu needed to humble himself and respond respectively to those in authority despite their injustice behavior. His rebel attitude is linked to his urge for revenge. Although it is a complex phenomenon to explain the relationship between ego and rebellion, Chiu’s sophistication contributed to the egocentric behavior of rebelling against the police.
Finally, social injustices, corrupt government, and prejudice can lead to deviant behaviors among the victimized group according to the context. Rebellion is the bizarre behavior in which Chiu portrays as a way of fighting back the injustice served to him by the police. He. By going against their orders and responding to them he tends to feel contented by offending them even more. This text demonstrates the influence of corrupt governance and injustices to people especially in developing deviant behaviors such as rebellion.
Works Cited
Cordero, Guillermo, and André Blais. “Is a corrupt government totally unacceptable?.” West
European politics 40.4 (2017): 645-662.
Jin, Ha. “Saboteur.” The Antioch Review 54.4 (1996): 409-419.
Khattak, Mohammad Nisar et al. “The Underlying Mechanism Between Perceived Organizational Injustice And Deviant Workplace Behaviors: Moderating Role Of Personality Traits.” Asia Pacific Management Review, vol 24, no. 3, 2019, pp. 201-211. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.apmrv.2018.05.001.
Meldrum, Ryan C., et al. “Assessing similarities and differences in self-control between police officers and offenders.” American journal of criminal justice 45.2 (2020): 167-189.