Why did Shen Congwen's novel Border Town end in tragedy?
Shen Congwen's novel Border Town ended in tragedy because the theme and plot of the novel ran through the whole story and finally expressed the theme in the form of tragedy. In the end, Cecelia, the protagonist of the story, did not return to her hometown and was captured by bandits. This plot implied that Cecelia's fate was destined. She was destined to never return to her home or reunite with her lover. This plot also showed the pain of war and the loss of loved ones, making the readers feel the great harm brought by war. The other characters in the novel also had their own fates. The old boatman, Xianglin, lost his boat and his aunt lost her husband and two sons. The fate of these characters had been affected by the war, making them feel pain and helplessness. In the end, the novel reveals the theme of the novel in the form of tragedy. The theme of the story was not only about Cecelia's fate, but also the fate of the entire human race. The story showed the pain of war and the loss of loved ones to express the helplessness of human beings in the face of war and disaster, as well as the unpredictability of human fate. Therefore, the novel ended with a tragic ending to express the deeper meaning of this theme.