the book " the girl with the seven names"

The book offers remarkable insights into life in one of the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorships. It tells the story of one woman's battle to escape capture while still leading her kin to freedom. Given the way it was organized, the book is fine. It is divided into three sections: The Strongest Country on Earth, To the Heart of the Dragon, and Journey into Death (Lee). Each section has its own arc and there is genuine doubt about the girl's survival. And if the book does not seem to be interesting in terms of voice and style, the material is interesting and touching to the viewer or readers. It provides a deeper understanding of life, and that should be the main role of literary works. Kim II-Sung, in his article In our Revolution, said that “Lee’s book is a perfect exemplar of what the Great Leader thought literature should be: true, committed, unvarnished, and honest.” (Kelly)
The Korean People
The author introduces the readers to the life in the North Korea through providing an overview of the everyday life of the people. Most of them feel that their lives and way of living is normal, hence, they never feel that they are being oppressed. The society is classless with the hierarchy of the “songbun”, dividing the people into hostile, wavering, and loyal (Lee). The society depicted a materialist world in which the kids are required to paint the pictures of the miraculous birth of the Kim Jong-il. It shows, lack of values in the society since the children should be treated well and shown the best ways of conducting themselves in the society. In addition, Korea is a place where primary school involves “life purification time”; at the same time, it is a place where your uncle gives you opium to act as remedy. These statements show the life challenging issues which were facing the Korean people in their respective societies.
The majority of the North Korean people were not aware of the outside world, other than their country, North Korea. Most of them, such as Lee, has nothing to envy since they are proud of their country. The citizens love their country since they have no other country and they have been made to believe their country is the best. The majority of the people are poor, the situation is worsened by the North Korean famine. It is this famine which changed the life of the people, many people died because no one was willing to help or assist the poor and the weak in the society (Lee). This shows the level of selfishness depicted by the rich and well-off members of the society.
Difference Between North Korea and the United States
The book depicts North Korea as a different country compared to the other countries, such as the United States and China. The difference is seen politically, socially, and economically. With the dictatorial regime that has been installed in North Korea by Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-il, the life of the people has been changed completely. For instance, people are not in a position to know what is going on outside North Korea, that is because of the fact that individuals have no access to information, they have been brainwashed to believe all the information supplied by the dictatorial regime (Lee). On the other hand, the Americans have full access to the information regarding how the country is managed, besides, they are able to get information from other parts of the world. The North Korean have no freedom of expression, they are living in fear since anybody who tries to talk ill of the state or the president is arrested and jailed or even killed. The Americans have a right to expression, they can present their opinion on how the state should be run or managed. Nobody would be jailed without fair trial in the court of law.
The other difference between North Korea and the United States is the living standards of the people. As a result of poor governance in the North Korea, the majority of the citizens are languishing in poverty, the situation is even worsened by the famine which hits the country hard. A lot of people died because of hunger, sickness, and torture. In one instance, Lee said that at the railway station one could see dead bodies scattered everywhere, most of them had died as a result of hunger and sickness. In addition, she recounts public betrayals, executions, and famine with a very grim clarity (Lee). On the other hand, the living standards of the majority of the American citizens are well off. The government has put in place strategies aimed at ensuring that the citizens are able to access basic amenities, such as food, clothing, and shelter.
Relevance of the Book to the Political Science Topics
The book is very important in that it provides an overview of the dictatorial regime witnessed in the North Korea, and this can be compared with other political regimes in the other parts of the world. The way in which the accounts are reported in the book is very important for the political science students since it describes vividly how the dictatorial government of North Korea is using their powers to infringe the rights of its citizens (Lee). It is from these scenarios that political science theories and philosophies are understood better by the studies since they are using North Korea as a case example. With these case examples, the students are able to understand better the topics and their contents.
Conclusion
The book is very good given the way in which its chapters are organized. Each and every section of the book provides a vivid description of how the girl managed to survive the different situations. In addition, it shows how the North Korean people are not exposed to the outside world, they believe their country is the best country in the world politically, socially, and economically. This has been made possible through the dictatorial regime which has instill fear and tension among the people through torture, betrayal, and public executions (Lee). The book also shows that North Korea is different from other countries, such as the United States, China and other countries in the world, politically, economically, and socially. In addition, the book is important to the political science students since it provides a vivid description of the dictatorial regimes in North Korea and can be compared with other regimes in other parts of the world.








Works Cited
Kelly, Stuart. Book review: The Girl with Seven Names, by Hyeonseo Lee. 30 August 2015. 12 April 2017 .
Lee, Hyeonseo. The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Limited, 2015.