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| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What frightens Jing-mei the most is that _______________________________.
2. Ying-Ying feels that both she and her grown daughter are ______________.
3. How did Ying-Ying end up in the water?
4. The mother's superstitions may have been confirmed when ___________________________.
5. The pregnant servant girl became convinced that she ____________________________.
Short Essay Questions
1. An-Mei has an interesting way of storing her Bible. Discuss where the Bible is kept, and why.
2. Waverly's unusual talent becomes a reason to pamper and spoil her. Does she appreciate this treatment? How does it affect her?
3. Discuss Waverly's mother's response to Waverly's success. Why might a daughter of Lindo Jong be seen as special? Why would Lindo want to brag and grandstand her daughter?
4. Does the little girl fall from the bicycle because her mother is right, or because she is afraid her mother is right, or is it just a chance circumstance?
5. Discuss Ying-Ying's mental state and some of its origins.
6. What might Ying Ying have been planning to ask the Moon Lady for if she had not become lost?
7. This parable is loaded with symbolism. Since the old woman paid a "foolish sum" for the swan, and then loses it, what might this symbolize?
8. Why is Waverly disrespectful of her mother?
9. What is the difference between the little girl's response to her mother's admonishment about riding the bicycle, and the response that one of these older women might have had to their mothers' warnings years ago?
10. Discuss the unusual circumstances under which Lena lives.
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
On page 22 of The Joy Luck Club, Suyuan Woo describes the effects of war on the town of Kweilin. In effect, people from all walks of life became more equal in the midst of a disaster. Write an expository essay about events that tend to "level the playing field" in our society, whether as a whole or in groups or sectors. Consider natural disasters, economic disasters, political and other events.
Essay Topic 2
Do a thorough re-read of The Joy Luck Club and scan for recurring devices that make the story come alive. They are subtle, but you will notice that Amy Tan meticulously plants them in the right places to give her story consistency and to give her readers a real sense of her culture. One example is how she uses "smells" throughout the story - the smells from the sewer in Kweilin, Lindo learning to smell the toilets to be sure they were clean and being able to detect the amount of salt in a soup by its smell, the cat putting a stink on Suyuan's door, the smelly crab -- these are just a few instances.
Essay Topic 3
Many Chinese people settled in San Francisco during the 1800s. What was it about San Francisco that drew them during that particular period of time? Write an essay and describe the impetus for coming to California. Did the Chinese generally stay and make homes here? Were they readily accepted in the U.S. What were their particular challenges here?
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This section contains 1,045 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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