Text: Xiaowen

As a hit drama series that deeply explores poverty and family plight, "Going North" not only shows the helpless struggle of ordinary people under economic pressure, but also reveals the tenacity and transformation of middle-aged people in the face of life difficulties.

The characters in the play, such as Boss Xie and Ma Siyi, were all ordinary people who were oppressed by poverty, and they experienced many twists and turns on the road of their respective destinies, and finally completed self-redemption.

The experiences of these characters profoundly reveal a social reality that cannot be ignored: when people reach middle age, making money is the greatest dignity of an adult.

In "Going North", Boss Xie's family was originally harmonious, and even when the canal business was at its peak, the family members lived a very happy life.

But with the change of the economic environment and the decline of the canal, the Xie family's business is also in trouble. The former "Water Dragon King" Xie Boss began to become unprofessional, wandering around the river with wine bottles all day long, ruminating the glory of the past.

And his wife Xia Fenghua had to cut her hair short to get a driver's license in order to make a living, and drove a truck like a man to make a living. Behind all these changes is because of poverty.

Once the material foundation that originally supported the family collapsed, not only economic embarrassment ensued, but also rifts within the family.

In the family, Boss Xie is prodigal and does not ask about family affairs, and his wife supports the family's livelihood alone, which is unspeakably miserable.

When she felt lonely and helpless, no one to comfort her, and even more, when she was almost molested, Boss Xie was still showing off, not caring about her safety at all.

At this moment, the wife's anger exploded, and she asked in pain: "You save others, who will save me?" This seemingly simple sentence is full of the helplessness and grievances in his wife's heart.

In life, when poverty becomes the norm, relationships between family members become more and more strained. Without a material foundation, family affection, dignity, and even the beauty of human nature are all consumed.

It's a vicious circle – poverty oppresses people's living space, makes life extremely cramped, stressful, rifts between natural family members widen and tensions become more acute.

Money is the source of trauma for this family.

As Maugham said:

"Money is like the sixth sense, without it, the other five senses are all useless."

If Boss Xie has not come to his senses, his family will surely fall apart step by step.

The oppression of poverty has led many family members to flee and dump the blame, which often makes family relationships strained and fragile.

In "Going North", Ma Siyi's story is a perfect portrayal of this. Her mother left her for remarriage, leaving her to her elderly grandmother.

Over the years, the mother showed up three times, all to ask for money or to make her take on more responsibilities. In this mother-daughter relationship, the mother is the one who ruthlessly throws the pot, but what about Ma Siyi? is shouldering a huge responsibility that should not be shouldered.

Her mother not only asked her to pay for the family's debts, but also asked her to sell the house at her grandmother's funeral, and even on the eve of her college entrance examination, her mother asked her to take care of her younger brother, which made Ma Siyi uneasy during the college entrance examination and finally handed in the blank paper.

When a neighbor asked her why she gave up, Ma Siyi whispered: "If you are admitted to university, who will pay for the tuition?" If you owe a favor, what will you pay back? ”

It's not that she doesn't want to take the college entrance examination and change her fate. It's just that she clearly knows that she can only give up, because she has to take on huge family responsibilities, and her personal needs can only be put aside.

The poorer the family, the more family affection will be oppressed to the bottom, and the trust and understanding between family members will also be torn apart by economic pressure.

Ma Siyi's story allows us to see that in low-level families, many powerful adults are selfish and ruthless, and let many young children bear huge responsibilities far beyond their ability, which is unfair! However, they can only bear it, and they are powerless to resist at all.

Poverty not only deprives the weak of their freedom, but also their rights and dignity.

When the mountain of poverty presses down, those good and capable weak people will rise up, and those selfish and incompetent so-called strong people will hide, and they will run away shamelessly.

But what can this do with the kind weak?

For Mr. Xie's family, poverty brings not only hardship in life, but also the breakdown of the family and the separation of family affection.

The most touching scene in the play is when Xie Wanghe wanted to buy a hardcover version of "The Four Great Classics", but found that his father only had 300 yuan left in his pocket for living expenses.

This scene profoundly shows how financial stress can affect the relationships and emotions of family members.

When the father angrily scolded his son, "Why are you ignorant", Xie Wanghe still did not give up. Eventually, with his own efforts, he saved up money to buy the book and quietly placed it at his father's bedside.

At that moment, Boss Xie looked at the book, tears suddenly welled up, and his heart was full of emotion and guilt.

At this moment, money is no longer a knife that tears family affection, but a thread that heals wounds.

The power of the economy, while not able to buy happiness, can provide more options for family members to remain decent in difficult situations and find balance in mutual support and understanding.

Boss Xie quit drinking, got a truck driver's license, and struggled with his wife to finally pay off his foreign debts and send his son to college.

Years of hard work have finally brought about a change, and their family has gradually regained its warmth because of this change.

Xie Wanghe's accumulated funds through part-time work brought not only material comfort, but also spiritual support to his father.

Because the family worked together to make money, the Xie family did not stop at suffering, and in the end, they changed their fate with their own efforts.

"Going North" uses these stories to show us that poverty does not necessarily completely destroy a family, but it is indeed the last straw that overwhelms family relationships.

Money may not be able to buy happiness, but it can bring more choices and confidence to the family.

When a family is free of financial pressure, family members can repair good relationships on the basis of equality and tolerance, and go hand in hand.

Through the description of poor families, "Going North" profoundly reveals a social reality: when people reach middle age, making money is the greatest dignity of adults.

Under the oppression of poverty, family harmony and the maintenance of family affection are often greatly tested.

With the support of money, family members are able to find more choices and freedom, so as to find their true selves in the difficult situations of life.

For many people, making money is not only necessary for survival, but also the key to supporting family harmony and regaining the dignity of life, so if your family has been quarreling and internal friction, it is better to put your energy together and try to think about how to make money!