Do historical fictions, like The Question of Hu help us study the past? In this case, they help us gain a better knowledge of the way of life in that century, but we are not taught much about the history of Jesuit recruitment in Asian countries such as China. Jonathan Spence presents a contrast between the European and Asian cultures through a Chinese gatekeeper and local Europeans. We notice a cultural and language barrier between these two groups as Spence clearly provides many examples throughout the text. Since The Question of Hu is a historical fiction novel, there are many factual details that are included to give a better understanding of the time period to assist us in understanding the plot. This book could be read more as a fictional story rather than a historical story. Historical fiction gives us a background for historical events but does not teach us enough about the event itself. It only provides insight for the setting behind each …show more content…
As Hu partakes in all of these wild events we only read about the reactions from the local Europeans. Hu’s thought process is never considered in the story unless there was a Chinese translator in that scene. Although the mannerism from the Europeans and the Chinese were different, one thing that puzzled me was the fact that Hu would refuse hospitality and care from the local Europeans. People tried to dress him in wealthy clothes and feed him wholesome meals but he would run away from them all. It costed these caretakers a hefty sum in order to watch over Hu as they would pay for his coach ticket only for Hu to throw a child like tantrum and refuse to board. This lead to many wasted tickets and many destroyed articles of clothing. If we had more input on Hu’s opinion the argument on whether he was mad or not would have changed greatly to justify why he did not deserve to be put into a mental