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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. As national chess champion, Waverly is touted as __________________________.

2. Ying Ying was disappointed to find out the Moon Lady in the play _________________________________.

3. An-Mei's brother lost his happiness when _______________________________________-.

4. In her final attempt to find Bing, Rose's mother ___________________________________.

5. When Ying-Ying got dirty with turtle blood, Amah was afraid Ying-Ying's mother would _______________________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What triggers Ying-Ying's early memory of her traumatic fall from the family boat?

2. Jing-Mei Woo's mother has great expectations of her daughter. Why is she like this?

3. 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?

4. An-Mei has an interesting way of storing her Bible. Discuss where the Bible is kept, and why.

5. What might Ying Ying have been planning to ask the Moon Lady for if she had not become lost?

6. 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?

7. The soup An-Mei's mother made for her dying mother was the ultimate show of love for her mother. What does it symbolize?

8. Discuss the reason that An-Mei's mother is considered a "ghost" and does not live with her children.

9. 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?

10. Why is Jing-Mei satisfied to hit the wrong notes on the piano?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Every year people are swept out to sea while vacationing at the beaches on the Pacific coastline. Rose Hsu's younger brother, Bing, got into a particularly precarious position before losing his life in the powerful ocean. Research and write an essay about the several predictable things that people do, or things that they ignore at the coast, that can prove dangerous and sometimes fatal. (This information is readily available from California, Oregon and Washington government agencies.) Why is this such an ongoing problem?

Essay Topic 2

The older Chinese women in this story experienced certain aspects of severe female oppression while in China. At the heart of this story is the message of how our own past is imprinted on our children, regardless of how different their lives are. Write an essay about how the experiences of each of the older Chinese women in the story purposely, or inadvertently, passed on certain attitudes and viewpoints about women and their roles to their American daughters. Discuss the impact on their daughters, as well.

Essay Topic 3

In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan weaves together a series of events from the past and present, as well as a series of characters whose lives have intersected. To help you understand the story more fully, write an essay divided into four parts, describing each mother, and each daughter, their past circumstances, their current situations, and their relationships.

(see the answer keys)

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