A supporter (Metaphor)
The young comrade felt relieved to meet the four agitators, for he was sure that they had come to help Chinese people in their struggle. The situation was catastrophic: “Scarcity and disorder,” “little bread and much struggle.” The four agitators could help, or so the young comrade believed. He was “the secretary at the last Party Headquarters from the frontier.” “My heart beats for the revolution,” he said, and he meant it. “The sights of injustice” drove him into “the ranks of the fighters.” He stood against “exploitation and ignorance” that reigned everywhere.
A difficult task (Metaphor)
The young comrade suppressed a strong feeling of pity he suffered from every time he saw a poor and exhausted worker. He knew that the poor fellow had to support his family, so he couldn’t just drop out. His kind heart would never let him avert his gaze. He tried to help, but such initiative usually resulted in something rather nasty. Unfortunately, poverty wouldn’t “fall off the roof like a loose tie.” To his dismay, there was nothing he could do about that situation. “Poverty and unhappiness” were “man’s doing.” “Scarcity” was “all the meat in their oven,” and people generally were suffering from hunger.
Ready (Metaphor)
The young comrade didn’t understand how his companions could be so cold-hearted. They didn’t once waver in their decision to stick to the plan. They were not going to initiate the fight or try and put everything at stake in order to help the working class. The young comrade was too inexperienced to understand that he couldn’t “fight tooth and nail” if he wanted to win. They needed weapon and – what was more – supporters who would fight for them. As they had said, “tooth and nail” wouldn’t “suffice.”
