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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. Why did Yue Daiyun's sister-in-law insist that the family separate during meals?

2. Whose suspected crimes as an American spy caused Yue Daiyun to be questioned about their friendship?

3. What was Yue Daiyun's assignment during the Four Clean-Ups?

4. What did the commune at Zhaitang produce for income?

5. How many people was Yue Daiyun required to identify as rightists?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does it mean to "draw a line" between yourself and another person?

2. Why weren't the peasants reassured by the harsh treatment of their former landlords?

3. Why did Yue Dainyun feel worse on returning from the countryside in 1966 than she had when returning in 1960?

4. How were the landlords treated by the local Communist Party committee?

5. How was Yue Daiyun used during the Four Clean-Ups campaign in 1965?

6. In 1976, what did the students do to Yue Daiyun's home?

7. Why was Yue Daiyun unworried about the criticism she was to face?

8. What did Yue Daiyun see in Old Uncle that she had never seen among the intellectuals?

9. What was the job of the sent-down cadres in the countryside?

10. What is the message of Yue Daiyun's poem "To the Storm"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

During Yue Daiyun's time as a professor of literature during the Cultural Revolution, it was criminal to glorify "middle characters" in fiction. Middle characters are ordinary people with flaws as well as good characteristics. Analyze and evaluate the purpose for this decision and its effect on readers, according to Yue Daiyun.

Essay Topic 2

Yue Daiyun describes her opinion about Stalin and her feelings at his death. In your essay, compare and contrast her thoughts about him with the opinion of Western civilization. Why is there such a difference?

Essay Topic 3

At several points in the story, Yue Daiyun and others felt it necessary to "draw a line" between themselves and others. Explain what it means to draw a line. Give examples of how and why this procedure was implemented. Do you think such a procedure is unique to Chinese society during the cultural revolution?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 807 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample