Hennessy Catholic College
Preliminary English Study Guide
Critical Study of Text
Li Cunxin’s (pronounced Lee Schwin Sing)
Mao’s Last Dancer
Figure 1http://www.penguin.com.au/covers-jpg/067004024X.jpg
Name__________________________________________
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Study Overview
Li Cunxin’s (pronounced Lee Schwin Sing) autobiography, Mao’s Last Dancer
is written from his own unique cultural context.
The history of China, Li Cunxin’s place in his family as sixth son and his
selection and development into one of the world’s most prominent male lead
ballet dancers presents a range of cultures and subcultures for the student to
explore.
Li, a Chinese born peasant boy, grew up during the Cultural Revolution, a
true believer until the age of 18 of Maoist Cultural Revolutionary policies. His
‘religion’ was Communism; his values were embedded in the principles of
family and honour. This study guide will focus on the period prior to Li
Cunxin’s defection to America, however, will include the effects of his personal
cultural contexts in adjusting to life beyond China.
This study guide will provide students with the opportunity to deconstruct the
text for its cultural and literary value and for evidence of textual integrity. The
study guide has an accompanying website to assist students to develop the
cultural knowledge necessary to deconstruct, understand and value the text.
Students will have the opportunity to study the themes, issues and ideas raised
in the text. Students will then deconstruct the memoir for its social, cultural,
political, historical, religious, gender and intellectual contexts. The study will
then move on to the author’s purpose and audience reception, examining the
literal, metaphorical, metaphysical and philosophical questions relating to the
study of text.
Views of the text from the perspectives of others will be sought to test the
reception by students.
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The Module B brief provided by the Board of Studies states:
Module B: Critical Study of Texts
This module requires students to explore and evaluate a specific text and its
reception in a range of contexts. It develops students’ understanding of
questions of textual integrity.
Each elective in this module requires close study of a single text to be chosen
from a list of prescribed texts.
Students explore the ideas expressed in the text through analysing its
construction, content and language. They examine how particular features of
the text contribute to textual integrity. They research others’ perspectives of
the text and test these against their own understanding and interpretations of
the text. Students discuss and evaluate the ways in which the set work has been
read, received and valued in historical and other contexts. They extrapolate
from this study of a particular text to explore questions of textual integrity and
significance.
Students develop a range of imaginative, interpretive and analytical
compositions that relate to the study of their specific text. These compositions
may be realised in a variety of forms and media.
The Module B Support documents on the Board of studies website states:
Module B is designed to nurture enjoyment and appreciation of significant
texts. The syllabus description of this module specifies that students develop a
deep analytical and critical knowledge and understanding of one prescribed
text, based on close study of that text. A detailed in-class analysis of the
prescribed text in its entirety and how meaning is shaped in that text is central to
the module. The ideas expressed in the text are explored through an analysis of
construction, content and language, and an analysis of how the features of the
text contribute to textual integrity. Discussing and evaluating notions of
context and the perspectives of others amplifies the exploration of the ideas in
the text, enabling a deeper and richer understanding.
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Questions to consider and provide contextual information for both your understanding of
Mao’s Last Dancer and for your narrative.
1. What are the historical dates surrounding the Cultural Revolution – i.e. when did Mao
come to power? When did the first changes to political notions of revolution begin?
2. When did the People’s Republic of China form?
3. Where did Mao’s beliefs in revolution begin and what credibility in terms of leadership
did he have prior to becoming a national leader?
4. How did Mao’s Policy of ‘leaning to one side’ suggest his alliances with the global
environment?
5. What is Marxism and how does it apply to China during the pre-Mao rise to power?
6. What is Communism and how does it apply to China during the pre-Mao rise to power?
7. Discuss the rise of the Red Army and the propaganda surround ding its role and
implementation of the ‘Cultural Revolution’.
8. What was the term ‘Cultural Revolution’ meant to mean under Mao’s initial rule?
9. What period is officially designated as the ‘transition to socialism’ in China?
10. What was ‘The Great Leap Forward’ and who were it’s main protagonists?
11. What is capitalism and why was Mao afraid of it?
12. What was the Little Red Book and why was it an important tool during Mao’s regime?
13. When did Mao’s regime come to an end and why?
You should read widely from the resources provided on the LIFE site. You should look at maps
and use dictionaries and a range of sources to develop your understanding of the period.
Where possible, make links in your responses to information in Mao’s Last Dancer that relates to
these specific historical occurrences to develop your understanding of Li Cunxin’s childhood and
defection.
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Biographical Details of the composer
Full name
Date Born
Place of Birth
First home
Father’s name
Mother’s name
Religion
Siblings
Education
Notes
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Names and naming as a cultural phenomena
Locate the context of names of the characters in the text and write a brief explanation of
each in terms of how the composer relates them to the cultural phenomena of his
upbringing ( clue: the religious, dialectical or historical significance). Evaluate how the
naming confronts the viewer, including them or excluding them from the text and how
these readings may affect the overall textual integrity.
Name
Character and meaning in terms of Cultural
significance
Niang
Dia/Jin Zhi
Li family
Cunsang
Na-na
Cungui/Jing Tring
Sien Yu
Cunfar
Big Uncle
Cunmao
Cuncia/Big Brother
Second Brother/
Cunyuan
Fourth
Brother/Cunsang
Song Ciayang
Chairman Mao
Vice Chairman Lin
Biao
Yang Ping
Chiang Kaishek
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Cultural Markers
The text presents a range of cultural makers that, along with the naming of individual in
the memoir, contributes to the overall textual in integrity of the text. Locate evidence of
each of the following and test to determine how they contribute to the textual integrity of Li
Cunxin’s memoir.
Cultural marker
Quotation
How does this marker
provide insight into
cultural identity?
Marriage rituals
Gender expectations: women
Gender expectations: daughters in
law
Gender expectations – societal –
bound feet
Gender Expectations: men
Religious/spiritual dimensions
Food/rituals
Food/everyday
Clothing/rituals
Clothing/everyday
Clothing/political or social class
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Symbols
Icons
Music
Transport
Family hierarchy
Locality/place
Housing/accommodation
Historical context
Grandparents role in upbringing
of children
Cooking/food preparation
Political context: Great Leap
Forward
Political context: Chairman Mao
Political context: Little Red Book
Political context: Red Guard
Mao’s Cultural Revolution
Communism in China
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Political context: Qingdao
government
Birth rituals
Celebrations/Ritual: Chinese New
Year
Medicines/health
Economic constraints/ peasants
Work – nature of work – agrarian
culture
Family relation ships and
responsibilities
Values
Reference to specific culturally
significant native flowers and
plants
Superstitions
Names and naming/ cultural
practices for identifying siblings
Barefoot doctor – political
context/health/peasantry/economic
identities
Education
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Chapter Questions
A Wedding: Qingdao, 1946 (pages ix to xv)
1. How does Cunxin denote time, place and setting in his use of language in the opening
lines of the text?
2. How old is Li Cunxin’s Mother when she sets out for her wedding? Why does Cunxin use
the modifying adverb ‘only’?
3. What abstract nouns are used to convey the bride’s emotions?
4. What does Cunxin’s exploration of the cultural concept of ‘marriage introducers’ and his
exploration of some of the consequences of arranged unions suggest about marriage in
Chinese culture?
5. How does the use of language impact on the reader through the prayers of the bride?
6. Anadiplosis (the repetition of one word or phrase at the end of a sentence that is repeated
as the opening word or phrase of the next sentence) is used to highlight the cultural
marker of ‘bound feet’ in Chinese culture. What cultural inferences and explanations are
provided by Cunxin that provides reasons why the bride be would be worried about this
aspect of her physical appearance?
7. How old is her groom?
8. How many strong young men are needed to carry the sedan chairs?
9. How does Cunxin use setting - in terms of time of day and time spent traveling - to
suggest implications for the impending marriage?
10. What points of the compass are mentioned and what does the symbolism suggest?
11. What do the family glue on the walls and what is the purpose of the symbolic gesture?
12. What state is the bride in when the groom arrives?
13. What is served to the groom and his entourage?
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14. What does the bride do while they eat?
15. What is the ‘news from heaven’ the bride receives from her second brother?
16. How many mouthfuls of rice does the bride have to eat and what does she have to do with
the last mouthful?
17. What do the carriers shout out at the halfway point?
18. What is a ‘doo’?
19. What adjectives and abstract nouns are used to describe the husband from the wife’s
perspective?
20. In the context of your critical study, to what extent does your response to the opening
chapter of Li Cunxin’s memoir inform your judgement of this novel in terms of its textual
integrity?
21. ‘Li Cunxin’s Mao’s Last Dancer engages readers through its narrative treatment of isolation
and uncertainty.’ In the light of your critical study, does this statement resonate with your
own interpretation of the opening chapter? In your response, make detailed reference to the
chapter.
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Part One: ‘My Childhood’
Chapter 1: ‘Home’
1. What verbs are used by Li Cunxin to suggest his personal and cultural identity are tied to
family hierarchy? ( page 3)
2. Why does Li Cunxin denote the gender differentiation in paragraph 2?
3. What were the roles of women and men in China during the period Li Cunxin is referring
to?
4. How does the introduction of family names challenge or exclude the reader from the
cultural knowledge innate to Li Cunxin’s experience?
Complete the following sentences.
(a) Li Cunxin’s purpose in defining gender roles of men and women is to highlight….
(b) The adjectives ‘meticulous’ and ‘efficient’ are used to create [psychological,
physical/emotional/ethical, personal] insight into….
(c) The effectiveness of Li Cunxin’s descriptive language lies in his ability to….
(d) The reference to the cultural practice of ‘bound feet’ presents opportunities for the reader to…
(e) The discussion of ancestors presents insight into familial respect as integral to cultural
identity. Li Cunxin highlights the complex roles of daughters-in-law as opposed to sons to…
(f) The introduction of ‘Mao’s official revolutionary doctrines’ into the text informs the reader
of…
(g) The significance of the parentage of sons presents opportunities to develop an understanding
of…
(h) Li Cunxin’s sizing of the property using the hyphenated adjectives ‘eight-foot square’ and
‘ten-foot-square’ denote the limitations of …
(i) References to cooking implements including [---------] and [---------] present opportunities to
understand the concept of food in the text as contributing to the overall textual integrity of the
memoir. Li Cunxin effectively presents the reader with…
(j) The concept of living in a ‘village’ presents identity as …
(k) The reference to the ‘shit-man’ creates an opportunity to understand the concept of cultural
identity as bound in …
(l) Li Cunxin’s descriptive commentary [----------] uses the concept of the ‘commune’ to
highlight and sustain …
(m) Explicit reference to ‘Chinese custom’ in relation to childbirth develops insight into….
(n) Reference to cultural celebrations such as ‘Chinese New Year’ allows readers to…
(o) The nomenclature ‘dia’ and ‘niang’ creates verisimilitude and presents readers with…
(p) Cultural markers including medicines and forms of medical treatment are used by Li Cunxin
to…
(q) Li Cunxin’s revelations about ‘dried yams’ presents opportunities to understand the hardship
of growing up as a peasant boy. Li further develops his anecdotal narrative structure when he
presents the story of searching for peanuts. The use of the punctuation
[-----] and [----] creates….
(r) The use of the adverbs ‘casually’ and ‘innocently’ creates a [-----] highlighting the sacrifices
Li’s parents made for their children in China.
(s) Using the repetition of ‘zhi, zhi, zhi’ Li Cunxin suggests the importance of language to his
identity. His memoir is effectively highlighting….
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(t) The use of the adjective ‘ecstatic’ to describe Li’s ‘niang’ when she shops for pork suggests…
(u) Li’s descriptive writing about the ‘delicious fragrance’ of ‘sizzling pork’ establishes…
(v) Social class and hierarchy is established in Li Cunxin’s’ reference to’ government officials
and their ability to eat out in the ‘one restaurant in our area…’ . The mention in his memoir is
used to contrast ….
(w) Li Cunxin ends this chapter by establishing his family values of [--------------]. [-------------]
and [------------]. Family name is presented through the verb [-----------] and suggests the
significance of naming to [-------------------] [-----------------]. Li effectively creates….
(x) Li Cunxin’s niang’s emphatic declaration ‘The gods in heaven won’t hear us…’ develops an
opportunity to examine religion and superstition as notions integral to cultural identity. The use
of the adjective ‘hopeless’ accompanying the abstract noun ‘fate’ establishes…
(y) The use of capitalisation in Li Cunxin’s relating of the memory of his father’s emphasis on
family ‘PRIDE’ is integral to his notions of identity, both ethical and cultural. Li Cunxin
insightfully presents the reader with the opportunity to…
(z) The first chapter has been effective in presenting notions of cultural identity by challenging
the reader to…
Study focus: Narrative Techniques
1. List the first sentence used at the beginning of each chapter and provide an analysis as to why
the composer has chosen the specific language and sentence structure to engage the responder.
2. Identify any immediate cultural limitations placed on the responder that needs to be identified
and overcome before engaging fully with the narrative.
3. Identify, provide examples and explain the effectiveness of a range of narrative devices
(language forms, features and structures of texts) the composer has used to present you with
opportunities to recognise the cultural context of the text. See the list of narrative techniques
checklist to assist with your evaluation.
4. Select five different techniques that you have found to be personally challenging and effective
in exposing the cultural context of this text.
5. Identify any philosophical concerns raised in your initial reading that may impact on your
reception of this text in its cultural context.
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Part One: ‘My Childhood’
Chapter 2: ‘My Niang and Dia’
This chapter focuses on the characterisation of Li Cunxin’s mother and father, his ‘Niang’
and ‘Dia’.
1. Make a list of the adjectives, verbs, adverbs and abstract nouns used to describe Li Cunxin’s
parents, himself or his brothers. Make a table to list each language device.
2. Make a list of figurative language features (allusion, allegory, alliteration, irony, satire,
metaphor, simile etc) used to describe Li Cunxin’s parents, himself or his brothers. Make a table
to list each language device.
3. Make a list of any narrative elements present in this chapter (see below for list of narrative
elements) that provide opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of Li Cunxin’s memoir as a
narrative of his life.
Narrative Elements:
Setting
Characterisation
Plot
Flashback
Foreshadowing
Tense
Style
Perspective
Tone
Symbolism
The Narrative Elements of Memoir
The Narrative Elements of Memoir
First, some definitions. Memoir (or autobiography) contains stories about one’s life, usually on a
very particular focus—a pivotal year after college; an affair and its aftermath; a relationship
between mother and daughter. It’s impossible to write one’s whole life story; instead writers find
a focus and then tell stories about people, events, or phases within that focus. Narrative refers to
telling a story, the temporal sequence of how events are related to one another in time. Pacing is
the technique by which we vary the passage of time, that is how slow or how fast we make the
time pass dependent on the particular element of narrative writing we use, page by page.
In Autobiography: A Reader for Writers, Robert Lyons says that autobiographers and memoir
writers choose from a spectrum of possible ways to represent the passage of time when writing
about experience. The spectrum has two poles which are far removed from each other:
"narratives that comment extensively on experience and narratives that present experience
directly." This is a good definition for our purposes here in discussing memoir and narrative time.
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It says basically that all memoir writers in order to tell about their experience must use narrative
but they can use it in different ways.
The poles of the spectrum (shown below) represent two different methods for telling our stories:
one pole refers to an author’s direct presentation or showing of experience and the other pole
refers to an author’s extensive comments about experience. These extremes will also involve
varying speeds of time. Around the first pole we will group the faster elements; around the other
pole we will group the slower elements. Try to think of narrative time as a spectrum of rates of
flow—from a quick-flowing mountain stream to a lazy and meandering delta river. A good story
does not move either fast or slow; it finds ways to vary the movement from fast to slow, from
slow to fast, and everywhere in-between, sometimes on one page.
1.
We oppose the faster elements of showing with the slower elements of telling:
Time moves faster:
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immediacy
drama
direct experience
action
participant
emphasis on narrating
the past
actual time
Time moves slower:
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reflection
meditation
summarised experience
commentary
observer
emphasis on
understanding the past
psychological time
When narrative moves faster the writer is emphasizing action, drama, immediate experience; the
time that passes is more like actual time, not exactly clock time, but an approximate time in
which single events occur. When narrative moves slower (or stops altogether), the writer is
emphasizing commentary, summary, and observation about people, events or ideas: the time that
passes is more like psychological time, in which time is exaggerated.
To further refine narrative time, I like the terms scene and summary. Scene is usually rendered
with faster-paced narrative techniques and summary is usually rendered with slower-paced
narrative techniques. A scene, says Janet Burroway, "deals with a relatively short period of time
at length." A summary "covers a relatively long period of time in relatively short compass."
Interesting! When you want to show how long a short period of time has taken you need to write
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a scene. And when you want to show how short a long period of time has taken you need to write
summary.
Burroway continues. "Summary is a useful and often necessary device: to give information, fill in
a character’s background, let us understand a motive, alter pace, create a transition, leap moments
or years. Scene is always necessary . . . . A confrontation, a turning point, or a crisis occur at
given moments that take on significance as moments and cannot be summarized." Telling the
stories of our lives in memoir requires scenes. Summary is also important but too much of it
sounds like our lives were more thought about than actually lived.
To write a scene we use: specific narrative action, emphasizing the action with verbs and with
sentence rhythm, short sentences or parallelism; and dialogue, both between characters and
within an individual character.
To write summary we use: summarized action and reported thoughts and feelings, which includes
the commentary we receive from an author’s critical examination of an idea or analysis of fact
and the description we receive from an author’s detailed observation of people, places, and
feelings.
2.
SCENE:
Specific Narrative Action
Snow fell fast that evening. My mother went into labor. Her weeping and writhing scared the
younger children. I was scared, too, but I didn’t cry. My father told me to watch the kids while he
went out to see if there was a hospital close (there was no phone in the room, only some kind of
buzzer that the office could use if a call was coming in). When he opened the door I glimpsed, in
yellow-bulb light through wind-whipped swarms of snow dust, white mounds where cars had
been. I told the kids to lie on the floor. I spread a blanket over them to muffle their whimpering.
My mother seemed foreign and terrible. I didn’t dare approach the bed. I turned on the TV. She
screamed louder, making noises I’d never heard. I turned the volume as loud as it would go,
draped a sheet over the cabinet, and squatted under the glowing tent. The noises my mother made
were drowned out by a roaring laugh-track, but the screams weren’t. I ran into the bathroom,
locked the door, turned out the light, put the seat down on the toilet and pressed my cheek to the
seat, mumbling please, please . . . .
The Republic of Burma Shave Richard Katrovas
Verbs:
In this example Katrovas uses a cannon-full of verbs and verbals (a verb used as a noun, an
adjective, an adverb, or verbs used as infinitives, participles, and gerunds). There are only small
bits of information given but a lot of action is rendered. The action runs from the child’s
admission of feeling scared to the actual showing of it in the last sentences with verbs like
"squatted," "drowned," "roaring," "locked," "pressed," and "mumbling." These verbs identify his
actions. Also notice the phrases that are shaped by action words: "when he opened the door I
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glimpsed"; "wind-whipped swarms"; "to muffle their whimpering." Verbs and verbals give
language an immediacy that draws us in and keeps us reading and wanting more.
Sentence Rhythm:
In the beginning Katrovas creates a series of short sentences to emphasize quickness: the first
three are simple sentences, the fourth, compound, or a joining of two simple sentences. This
shortness makes us recognize the subject-verb-object pattern and fairly sweep through them as if
we are skating on ice. The author also shows parallelism (grammatically equal elements that
correspond in a sentence). "Yellow-bulb light" and "wind-whipped swarms" are parallel. So are
the verb constructions he uses: "I turned . . . , draped . . . , and squatted. . . ." "Foreign and
terrible"; "weeping and writhing." These devices make the sentences flow smoothly and they
emphasize the importance of what is being shown, namely the boy’s growing fear.
3.
Dialogue
Here Maxine Hong Kingston’s mother tells her to go and demand candy as payment from a
druggist who wrongly has medicine delivered to their home. The family has just refused the
medicine and sent the delivery boy away.
"Aha!" she yelled. "You! The biggest." She was pointing at me. "You go to the drugstore."
"What do you want me to buy, Mother?" I said.
"Buy nothing. Don’t bring one cent. Go and make them stop the curse."
"I don’t want to go. I don’t know how to do that. There are no such things as curses. They’ll think
I’m crazy."
"If you don’t go, I’m holding you responsible for bringing a plague on this family."
"What am I supposed to do when I get there?" I said, sullen, trapped. "Do I say, ‘Your delivery
boy made a wrong delivery’?"
"They know he made a wrong delivery. I want you to make them rectify their crime."
I felt sick already. She’d make me swing stinky censers around the counter, at the druggist, at the
customers. Throw dog blood on the druggist. I couldn’t stand her plans.
"You get reparation candy," she said. "You say, ‘You have tainted my house with sick medicine
and must remove the curse with sweetness.’ He’ll understand."
"He didn’t do it on purpose. And no, he won’t, Mother. They don’t understand stuff like that. I
won’t be able to say it right. He’ll call us beggars."
"You just translate." She searched me to make sure I wasn’t hiding any money. I was sneaky and
bad enough to buy the candy and come back pretending it was a free gift.
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"Mymotherseztagimmesomecandy," I said to the druggist. Be cute and small. No one hurts the
cute and small.
"What? Speak up. Speak English," he said, big in his white druggist coat.
"Tatatagimme somecandy."
The druggist leaned way over the counter and frowned. "Some free candy," I said. "Sample
candy."
"We don’t give sample candy, young lady," he said.
"My mother said you have to give us candy. She said that is the way the Chinese do it."
"What?"
"That is the way the Chinese do it."
"Do what?"
"Do things." I felt the weight and immensity of things impossible to explain to the druggist.
"Can I give you some money?" he asked.
"No, we want candy."
He reached into a jar and gave me a handful of lollipops.
The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston
Dialogue Between Characters:
There is much to say about Kingston’s skilled dialogue. First, notice that she uses the word "said"
to indicate that fact 99% of the time. No need to use adverbs—"he said gleefully": Let the words
spoken be gleeful; "Good Golly Miss Molly." Good dialogue is direct; people are speaking to
each other. They aren’t giving loads of information or pontificating in some elevated language.
You can write poetry; but no one speaks it. When people speak directly to one another, they often
struggle a bit with each other. Not life-and-death, but an exchange of differences. Try it. Write a
conversation between a child and a parent and I bet you that some conflict ensues. Remember:
make a person’s voice sound like his or her unique voice and make your voice (depending on
your age) sound like you. By the way, no one expects you to remember what you said "back
then," so it is OK to make it up, but make it up authentically. Refrain from writing dialogue in
dialect; it draws too much attention to itself and it’s too hard to read. Excellently written dialogue
shows us a character’s personality and motives. Emphasize these things. In the above example we
know after hearing only a few choice phrases from Mrs. Kingston that she is opinionated,
demanding, and unfair to children.
4.
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Internal Monologue:
The internal monologue (words "spoken" to yourself so only you hear them inside) is italicized in
this next section but doesn’t have to be. It should be obvious where the writer is thinking (writers
often say, "I thought") with words, telling himself how he really feels or, in this example, how he
really wants to be seen.
Big-mouth Tony just swung out, and I swung back. . . . My fist hit Tony smack dead in the
mouth. He was so mad he threw a fist at me from about three feet away. I faked and jabbed and
did fancy dance steps. Big-mouth put a stop to all that with a punch in my mouth. I heard the
home cheers of "Yea, yea, bust that spic wide open!" Then I bloodied Tony’s nose. He blinked
and sniffed without putting his hands to his nose, and I remembered Poppa telling me, "Son, if
you’re ever fighting somebody an’ you punch him in the nose, and he just blinks an’ sniffs
without holding his nose, you can do one of two things: fight like hell or run like hell—’cause
that cat’s a fighter."
Big-mouth came at me and we grabbed each other and pushed and pulled and shoved. Poppa, I
thought, I ain’t gonna cop out. I’m a fighter, too. I pulled away from Tony and blew my fist into
his belly. He puffed and butted my nose with his head. I sniffed back. Poppa, I didn’t put my
hands to my nose. I hit Tony again in that same weak spot. He bent over in the middle and went
down to his knees.
Down These Mean Streets Piri Thomas
Thomas’s use of internal monologue effectively changes the pace of the fast-moving action in
this scene. If the writer does not overindulge the technique, internal monologue usually slows the
movement just a bit and makes the action pause or breathe because the author is reflecting
momentarily on experience. Why do this? To reveal an inner reality, an actual motive, an
unvoiced truth. As a slowing device this technique is perhaps closer to the next category, the
slower-paced summary.
5.
SUMMARY:
Summarized Action
I succeeded in getting a considerable distance on my way to the woods, when Covey discovered
me, and called after me to come back, threatening what he would do if I did not come. I
disregarded both his calls and his threats, and made my way to the woods as fast as my feeble
state would allow; and thinking I might be overhauled by him if I kept the road. I walked through
the woods, keeping far enough from the road to avoid detection, and near enough to prevent
losing my way. I had not gone far before my little strength again failed me. I could go no farther.
I fell down, and lay for a considerable time. The blood was yet oozing from the wound on my
head. For a time I thought I should bleed to death; and think now that I should have done so, but
that the blood so matted my hair as to stop the wound. After lying there about three quarters of an
hour, I nerved myself up again, and started on my way, through bogs and briers, barefooted and
bareheaded, tearing my feet sometimes at nearly every step; and after a journey of about seven
miles, occupying some five hours to perform it, I arrived at master’s store.
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
**
In this paragraph Douglass is summarizing the action of his escape from the slave-breaker, Mr.
Covey. (Good summarized action can move along and seem like specific narrative action; it
really moves at a medium pace, neither fast nor slow.) Notice that because Douglass is narrating
a long period of time "in relatively short compass" the emphasis is on time words that state how
long the time passing is. Words and phrases that name time periods are: "a considerable distance
on my way," "made my way to the woods as fast as my feeble state would allow," "lay for a
considerable time," "for a time," "after lying there about three quarters of an hour," and "a
journey of seven miles, occupying some five hours." There is a bit of action, such as when he
says his feet were torn by the briers "at nearly every step." But Douglass is not giving us the
details of action, the verbs and the verbals. Instead, he is summarizing his flight from Covey so as
to build the suspense (that is, to build the fear in us, his readers) that Covey will be even more
eager to break him when they meet again. This scene, a few days later in the story, is dynamically
narrated and takes several pages to tell. In it Douglass battles Covey for two hours and beats the
slave-driver into submission. Though still enslaved, Douglass is never whipped again.
6.
Reported Thoughts and Feelings
Commentary:
It is curious, but till that moment I had never realised what it means to destroy a healthy,
conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the
unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide. This man was not dying, he
was alive just as we were alive. All the organs of his body were working—bowels, digesting
food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming—all toiling away in solemn foolery.
His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air
with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain
still remembered, foresaw, reasoned—reasoned even about puddles. He and we were a party of
men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two
minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone—one mind less, one world less.
"A Hanging" George Orwell
Commentary, particularly in short essays, is effective only in small doses. No one disapproves of
what you want to say about your experience. As Orwell shows us, the difference between life and
death is at times as poignant as who is powerful and who is powerless. But the fact that you are
commenting on what has happened or about to happen means it is no longer happening or has not
yet begun to happen. Such commentary, by its nature, slows the story down. Note that this is the
only time in the essay that Orwell comments on the action and thus the only time that it really
slows down. (An analysis of this paragraph reveals that Orwell does make the summary move
along briskly by emphasizing the man’s activity, both his march to the gallows and the fate which
awaits him.) Indeed, we remember his essay not because of the comment but because of the
horrific scene that Orwell dramatizes for us: the hanging—from the time the prisoner is marched
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to the gallows up to an awkward moment among his hangmen afterwards—occurs in about eight
minutes, roughly the time it takes to read the essay.
7.
Description
Our Little Store rose right up from the sidewalk; standing in a street of family houses, it alone
hadn’t any yard in front, any tree or flowerbed. It was a plain frame building covered over with
brick. Above the door, a little railed porch ran across on an upstairs level and four windows with
shades were looking out. But I didn’t catch on to those.
Running in out of the sun, you met what seemed total obscurity inside. There were almost
tangible smells—licorice recently sucked in a child’s cheek, dill-pickle brine that had leaked
through a paper sack in a fresh trail across the wooden floor, ammonia-loaded ice that had been
hoisted from wet croker sacks and slammed into the icebox with its sweet butter at the door, and
perhaps the smell of still-untrapped mice.
. . . Shelves climbed to high reach all the way around, set out with not too much of any one thing
but a lot of things—lard, molasses, vinegar, starch, matches, kerosene, Octagon soap (about a
year’s worth of octagon-shaped coupons cut out and saved brought a signet ring addressed to you
in the mail. Furthermore, when the postman arrived at your door, he blew a whistle). It was up to
you to remember what you came for, while your eye traveled from cans of sardines to ice cream
salt to harmonicas to flypaper. . . .
"The Little Store" Eudora Welty
Three elements are important in writing description: naming, detailing, and an appeal to
the senses.
Naming: Note the many things that Welty shows us on the shelves. These are not generalized
packages of food and kitchen ware; they are real items: "lard, molasses, vinegar, starch, matches,
Octagon soap" and so on. Each paragraph is full of specific things named, some common, some
uncommon. Things are recognizable when they are specified. Welty even distinguishes the
building by that which is not a part of it—no yard, no tree, no flowerbed, i.e. no outer distinction.
Detailing: Welty shows us that some things she names have particular characteristics which need
further identification. The mice are "still-untrapped"; the porch has "a little railing"; the building
is "plain frame"; the smells are "almost tangible"; the obscurity inside is seemingly "total." Welty
does not lay on the detail as some writers do, drowning the reader with an old, polyester, leatherstrapped, chemically-treated orange life preserver (though such a description is possible in the
right context).
Here’s some advice. Don’t linger too long on a particular focus unless it is necessary; otherwise
we’ll never get to go wherever it is you’re taking us. The old axiom states that details should be
significant. Details that matter convey an idea or a judgment or both. Welty’s details for the
outside of the building are sparse; for the inside of the store they are vivid. This says—without
her telling us so—that she was attracted more by what the store actually stocked and sold than by
how the store looked outside. She was especially attracted to the smells.
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Appeal to the Senses: Details come into us, literally, through our senses; we say they are concrete
when they appeal to our senses—not only the eye, but the ear, the tongue, the fingertips, and the
nose. Welty is ecstatic about the smells of the store. "Licorice recently sucked," "dill-pickle brine
that leaked," "ammonia-loaded ice . . . that slammed into the icebox," "still-untrapped mice"—all
appeal to her (and our) sense of smell, smells released and kept inside the store. She tells us the
smells are almost tangible then delights in naming and detailing them for us, so we can smell
them, too.
8.
The most interesting memoirists combine these techniques in creative and unexpected ways. But,
much of the time, they also employ a clear and direct prose style with which to tell their stories.
All writers should try for originality. But no writer will hold a reader’s interest unless she
regularly uses clearly shown action, dialogue, summary, and description—for no other reason
than to let us recognize the elements of narrative and, thus, follow the contours of the story.
Compose conspicuous scenes with dialogue and specific action; stop the action now and then for
a good paragraph of telling description; don’t be afraid to analyze or reflect on what has
happened to you from your perspective now. Use these elements clearly and, on occasion, mix
them up, and you’ll find your story progressing with liveliness and interest.
*****************************************************************************
Definition of Memoir
A memoir is a piece of autobiographical writing, usually shorter in nature than a comprehensive
autobiography. The memoir, especially as it is being used in publishing today, often tries to
capture certain highlights or meaningful moments in one's past, often including a contemplation
of the meaning of that event at the time of the writing of the memoir. The memoir may be more
emotional and concerned with capturing particular scenes, or a series of events, rather than
documenting every fact of a person's life (Zuwiyya, N. 2000).
Characteristics of the Memoir Form







Focus on a brief period of time or series of related events
Narrative structure, including many of the usual elements of storytelling such as setting,
plot development, imagery, conflict, characterisation, foreshadowing and flashback, and
irony and symbolism
The writer's contemplation of the meaning of these events in retrospect
A fictional quality even though the story is true
Higher emotional level
More personal reconstruction of the events and their impact
Therapeutic experience for the memoirist, especially when the memoir is of the crisis or
survival type of memoir
Here's another definition written by Dr. Beth Burch, a professor of education at Binghamton
University. It is from her book, Writing For Your Portfolio (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999).
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Characteristics of the memoir form: another perspective
 explores an event or series of related events that remain lodged in memory
 describes the events and then shows, either directly or indirectly, why they are significant
or in short, why you continue to remember them
 is focused in time; doesn't cover a great span of years (that would be an autobiography)
 centers on a problem or focuses on a conflict and its resolution and on the understanding
of why and how the resolution is significant in your life
Do memoirs tell the truth?
According to J. A. Cuddon, "An autobiography may be largely fictional. Few can recall clear
details of their early life and are therefore dependent on other people's impressions, of necessity
equally unreliable. Morever, everyone tends to remember what he wants to remember.
Disagreeable facts are sometimes glossed over or repressed ...." Cuddon, J. A. The Penguin
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 1991. The English novelist Anthony Powell
said, "Memoirs can never be wholly true, since they cannot include every conceivable
circumstance of what happened. The novel can do that."
******************************************************************************
After reading through and discussing the concept of memoir draw up a list of
characteristics that you can identify in your reading of Chapter 2 of Mao’s Last Dancer.
Place the characteristics in a table similar to that presented below and provide evidence
from your text as to where these elements appear. Keep in mind you are always looking for
evidence that links to the overall concept of textual integrity in texts.
Characteristic
© Pamela Cohen 2012
Evidence from Mao’s
Last Dancer
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Specific links to
‘textual integrity’
concept.
Language analysis of
evidence
3/3/2016
Part One: ‘My Childhood’
Chapter 3: ‘A Commune Childhood’
1. Identify two references Li Cunxin’s presents as evidence to demonstrate how
poverty pervades his memories of childhood in the commune?
2. Identify aspects of the descriptions of landscape that present innate cultural
knowledge?
3. On page 40 Li Cunxin refers to his memories as ‘vivid’. What does he mean and
do you agree that his use of language is ‘vivid’?
4. This chapter explores ideas about medicines and ways of curing infections and
warts including presenting rationales as to how and why they are used. How are
these explanations evidence of Li Cunxin’s ‘cultural identity’?
5. On page 44 Li Cunxin relates his memories of Chinese New Year. List all the
features of food and rituals presented in the text and why these were significant in
developing his understanding of his life and growing up in China.
6. What descriptive language does Li Cunxin use to describe his experiences in this
chapter? Considering your learning from the previous chapter about the use of
language in memoir, how effective is Li Cunxin in drawing you into his world?
7. What references are made in this chapter to gods and ancestors? Why are these
cultural markers?
8. What rituals exist around the notion of ancestors? How do the ancestors establish
and sustain personal identity in Chinese families?
9. How does Li Cunxin relate his memories of extended family in this chapter? What
names are they given? Why has he made these references and how do they add to
our understanding of his sense of personal identity?
10. Li Cunxin relates a specific reference to his father and kite making. Reread this
section and suggest what is being said in terms of the significance of family
relationships within a distinctly cultural context.
11. This chapter contains an intertextual fable, the ‘Frog in the Well’ story (pp 52-53).
How does the use of allegory and symbolism presented in the tale sustain the
cultural context of Li Cunxin’s text?
12. At the end of this chapter Li Cunxin steps out of his chronological memoir and
provides an analysis of the impact his father and childhood had in shaping his
identity as an adult. What metaphors does he present and what life lessons does he
learn?
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Part One: ‘My Childhood’
Chapter 4 ‘The Seven of Us’
1. How does the opening sentence present the context of this chapter?
2. How is the relational aspect of childhood and identity presented as one that drifts across
generations?
3. How do you feel as a reader when you read the sentence ‘out of love and compassion my
parents agreed to let them [fourth uncle and aunt] adopt their ‘[Li Cunxin’s dia and niang]
third son’?
4. How could this action be seen as cultural?
5. What are the implications for Cunmao’s identity?
6. If this relating of events is memoir, then it is assumed it is part of the experiences of Li
Cunxin. How old was Li Cunxin when this event happened? How could his relating of the
conversations of this event be questioned in terms of the veracity of the memoir?
7. List each of the brother’s names and write out the quotes that present their individual
characteristics. How do these characteristics compare and contrast the identities of each
brother?
8. The use of tense is specific in this chapter. Identify a range of verbs that identify the tense.
9. What objects or actions presented in this chapter would be deemed intrinsically Chinese?
10. An allusion is made in this chapter to ‘Chairman Mao’s Red Book’. The actual title was
Quotations from Mao Tse Tung
11. Research the contents of this text online @
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/
12. When was the text written?
13. What was the texts’ purpose?
14. What language – verbs, adverbs and adjectives – surround the references to the text
throughout this chapter and in later chapters?
15. What is the significance of this text in forming Li Cunxin’s early sense of political
identity?
16. On pages 63-66, a range of cultural markers are referred to: Kung Fu, bean curd,
dragonflies, crickets, Mao, the Red Guards and communism and others. List these
references into a table and analyse how the language used to present each suggests Li
Cunxin’s opinions and conveys their importance to his identity.
17. This chapter introduces the political context that impacts significantly on Li Cunxin’s
childhood and growing up. Identify how and what Li Cunxin engages with in terms of
political context and explain its impact on his sense of personal identity?
18. How does the final sentence of the chapter present Li Cinxin’s final analysis of Maos’
regime on his recognition of self and community?
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Part One: ‘My Childhood’
Chapter 5 ‘NA-NA’
1. Read the opening sentence of the chapter and suggest how it hooks the reader in, linking
the last chapter and presents a new aspect of cultural identity.
2. What commentary is being made here about poverty, the role of grandparents, necessity,
childhood responsibility, familial love and responsibility and how each evokes aspects of
cultural identity?
3. Discuss the ritual (and obstacles surrounding them) of Na-Na’s burial. How do the
insights presented by Li Cunxin reveal the importance of tradition and ceremony to a
sense of personal identity? In your response identify the aspects of ritual that are distinctly
cultural.
4. Identify specific language used by Li Cunxin that reveals emotional, psychological and
spiritual notions relating to identity and or culture.
5. Read the final paragraph: how does Li Cunxin relate his adult feelings and emotions?
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Part One: ‘My Childhood’
Chapter 7 ‘Chairman Mao’s Classroom’
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
How do the opening sentences introduce the reader to the context of this chapter?
How old was Li Cunxin when he started ‘compulsory’ schooling?
How do the descriptions of clothing link to the concept of cultural identity?
What values are imparted by Li Cunxin’s niang?
Locate evidence of the size of the school, the descriptions of the building and surrounds
and suggest why Li Cunxin has shared these aspects of his childhood.
How does the teacher’s introductory speech and Li Cunxin’s relating of her discussion of
the political aspects of education present notions of the embedding of cultural identity
through education?
What adjectives, verbs and adverbs suggest the propaganda Li Cunxin is highlighting was
significant in his education. How does the language suggest a commentary on the forcing
of identity on Chinese children in the 1970s?
What symbolism is used in depictions of Chairman Mao?
Research a range of propaganda posters of Chairman Mao and examine the visual
symbols used that support Li Cunxin’s inferred commentary on the way posters were used
to shape identity.
10. Read the ‘tale’ that Li Cunxin’s dia had told him. ( pages 89-90)
11. What is the purpose of using the intertextuality of the fables?
12. What morals are presented in the fable?
13. How does the use of the fable in this chapter contrast with Li Cunxin’s experiences of
education?
14. List any specific cultural references made in this chapter and list evidence in your cultural
markers table.
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Part One: ‘My Childhood’
Chapter 8 ‘Leaving Home’
1. How is Li Cunxin’s personal context established in the opening sentences of this chapter?
2. How are the structural elements of memoir and narrative being established in the opening
paragraph?
3. How is the concept of fear established here?
4. What commentary is Li Cunxin making about Chairman Mao and his influence on
education and personal identity?
5. What aspects of poverty and pride are sustained from earlier chapters that are clearly
suggesting t heir impact on Li Cunxin’s awareness of himself and his identity?
6. What understandings of ballet did Li Cunxin have previously to his audition? What
cultural aspects are suggested by this reference?
7. How is punctuation and emotive language used to convey Li Cunxin’s experience in the
second audition?
8. The text introduces Beijing into the narrative. This city becomes a significant setting
throughout the remainder of the text. Research Beijing and in particular, the Madame
Mao’s influence on Chinese ballet and opera. Research Madame Mao and her influence
on China’s cultural landscape during the Cultural Revolution @
http://www.imow.org/wpp/stories/viewStory?storyId=934 and
http://www.iisg.nl/landsberger/jq.html
9. Identify the references to social class (page 108) and suggest why Li Cunxin has
referenced these aspects of his understanding of the significance of Mao to cultural
identity and knowledge.
10. Read the passage about Li Cunxin’s final meal before leaving his family for Beijing on
page 112. What cultural markers are presented?
11. What gift do Li Cunxin’s classmates provide hi with on his departure? How does this gift
reinforce the significance of politics in determining and shaping cultural identity in Mao’s
China?
12. Read the passages about Li Cunxin’s train journey. What does he see and experience?
13. Identify three grammatical and three figurative language features used by Li Cunxin on
pages 118 and 119 to contrast he new experiences with his old life in Qingdao?
14. Read the final paragraph on page 119 and the final passage on page 120. To what extent is
this section of the narrative effective in forming a conclusion to the opening section?
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 8 ‘Feather in a Whirlwind’
1. Create a table that presents the contrasts between the descriptions of Beijing with those of
Laoshan County.
2. Identify the descriptive writing about the clothing Li Cunxin saw when he went to
Beijing. What is inferred about cultural identity in Li Cunxin’s reference to ‘Mao-style
jackets’?
3. Research and develop a collage of the landmarks Li Cunxin is taken to when he arrives in
Beijing: Tianenmen Square; The Gate of Heavenly Peace and The Peoples’ Congress.
4. How does the taking of these students to these landmarks suggest geography and
landmarks as integral to developing a national cultural identity?
5. When Li Cunxin uses the phrase ‘made my spine shiver’ he is inferring what about his
experience?
6. Li Cunxin provides historical context in this chapter. What is the context? (page 124)
7. Li Cunxin uses the verb ‘etched’ to describe the way the date is inscribed into children’s
memories. What imagery is presented and what is inferred about national identity?
8. How and why does Li Cunxin reveal his ‘sense of insecurity’?
9. How does the use of rhetorical questions suggest veracity – or a lack of – in his recalling
of events?
10. Where was the ballet school?
11. Why does Li Cunxin refer to the concept of ‘Mao’s philosophy’ as significant in
determining his understanding of experience?
12. What tone is established through the language such as
‘compound…officials…overpowering unfamiliar’?
13. In terms of personal identity, how does Li Cunxin reflect on his new found independence?
14. What personal belongings did Li Cunxin bring to the ballet school? How do these objects
affirm his identity?
15. How long does Li Cunxin have to study at the academy?
16. In the introductory speech the students are told that they are ‘lucky…privileged…proud’.
How does this language present cultural aspects in terms of expectations and identity?
17. What other training would students receive whilst at the academy? Why are each of these
areas of study essential to developing a national cultural identity?
18. How is the propaganda of the experience highlighted?
19. Language such as ‘glorious’ is used, in italics and with an exclamation mark. Why does
the author want you, the reader, to understand the way language was used to embed
cultural identity?
20. What is the purpose in L:I Cunxin’s revelation of language surrounding his entrance into
the academy? Provide an analysis of each of the following terms as ways of locating self,
community, family, and national identity: ‘repetition of ‘a billion’;
‘dedicated…crusade’…faithful servant…expectation is enormous’.
21. What cultural expectations are suggested and reinforced in references to ‘a billion eyes’
and ‘a billion other people’?
22. What commentary is Li Cunxin making when he refers to dialect and its impact on
identity, belonging and familiarity?
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23. Why did Li Cunxin have no appetite?
24. Discuss the following language in terms of whether the memories are accurate recordings
of the past or reflective memories reconstructed from an adult perspective:
 ‘cast a sadness’
 ‘distant moon’
 ‘unfamiliar darkness’
25. What does Li Cunxin mean in the phrase ‘fear and growing loneliness’?
26. Explain the effectiveness of the extended metaphor established in language including
‘adrift…life-saving rope…ocean of sadness’.
27. What aspects of identity are highlighted in terms of family and home?
28. What tone is established in the descriptors ‘military-style’?
29. Read the descriptions and recount of dialogue of Chiu Ho. What verbs are used that
establish tone and context about her character?
30. Who was Chen Lueng? Why does he become such a significant figure in Li Cunxin’s
life?
31. Read the description of the studio and Li Cunxin’s first experiences in the ballet school on
page 135 – 137. Analyse how these descriptions and the use of language reflect either the
voice of a child or the voice of an adult.
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 9 ‘The Caged Bird’
1. What metaphor is suggested by the title of the chapter?
2. What cultural markers are presented in the opening paragraphs of the chapter? Provide a
detailed discussion of the objects and aspects of culture and an explanation of why Li
Cunxin provides such a detailed description for his audience.
3. Research the ‘Gang of Four’ are and the influence on Li Cunxin’s experience.
4. Who was Confucius and why did he conflict with Mao’s cause?
5. How does Li Cunxin present the political context of his experience and the influence his
teachers had on forming the identity of students?
6. What emotive language is provided on page 142 that challenges audiences to evaluate if
the memories are those of a child or of an adult’s perspective of childhood?
7. Read Li Cunxin’s ‘self criticism’ on page 144. How does this writing reflect the influence
of politics on Li Cunxin’s identity?
8. Read pages 146-148. What historical context is presented and how does the discussion
provide insight into culture and its influences on the shaping of identity?
9. Read the information about newspapers and propaganda on page 152. What commentary
is Li Cunxin making about those aspects of identity that were inculcated into the lives of
children in China?
10. How does this chapter reflect the metaphor presented by the title?
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 10 ‘That First Lonely Year’
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What simile is presented in paragraph 1?
What metaphor is presented in paragraph 2?
What repetition is used in paragraph 3?
What cultural marker is present in the discussion of sickness on page 155?
What evocative and physical reaction is caused by the reference to bodily emissions on
page 155?
6. What punctuation is used for emphasis and effect on page 156?
7. What adverbs are used to express nervousness on page 156?
8. Discuss the effectiveness of the alliteration in ‘luxury of luxuries’.
9. What political allusions are evident on page 157?
10. What historical and political allusions are evident on page 158?
11. What is ‘euphoria’?
12. Identify the tone and its effectiveness in expressing ideas relating to cultural identity in
the phrase ‘We became nothing more than Chairman Mao’s political puppets?
13. How does the propaganda of being ‘uniquely Chinese’ provide insight into the
construction of a cultural identity?
14. What tone and inference is established in the phrase ‘His golden words…’?( page 159)
15. What do the ‘Learning Three Classes sessions’ infer about individual and cultural identity
under Chairman Mao?
16. What ‘parallels’ are made between Chairman Mao and Hitler?
17. What is a laggard? ( page 164)
18. Discuss the effectiveness of the language and punctuation used by Li Cunxin to describe
the Great Wall.
19. What commentary is Li Cunxin making about the role of examinations in determining
identity?
20. Read the final paragraph of the chapter. How does Li Cunxin feel? How has his identity
been influenced by his grades?
21. Evaluate this chapter overall for its use of language and reference to cultural markers.
How effective is Li Cunxin in evoking a sense of his childhood and how his personal and
cultural identity was formed?
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 11 ‘The Pen’
1. How does reference to economy and currency suggest cultural context?
2. What emotive and descriptive language is used by Li Cunxin to describe his feelings and
emotions about going home?
3. What aspects of culture and identity are intertwined on page 169?
4. What image does Li Cunxin refer to that will remain with him always? What is inferred
by relating this memory?
5. What is inferred in the phrase ‘You don’t want my life and my destiny.’ on page 171.
6. What is suggested about the strength and endurance of family relationships and how they
establish and sustain a sense of personal identity?
7. What cultural markers are references or alluded to that place Li Cunxin’s return home in a
specific cultural context?
8. How did the villagers response to Li Cunxin on his return home? Why has the author
included this material in his text?
9. How do the final paragraphs present insight into the purpose of the title? What is the
author’s purpose in relating this material?
10. What words will echo in Li Cunxin’s mind and why is this important in establishing his
personal and cultural sense of self?
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 12 ‘My Own Voice’
1. What do the opening paragraphs suggest about the power and significance of language to
identity?
2. What is ‘indomitable authority’?
3. What were ‘double flying legs’ and the ‘butterfly’?
4. Who was the ‘Bandit’? What is his purpose in the narrative of this chapter?
5. What traditions are referred to on page 182 and how could these influence Li Cunxin’s
sense of identity?
6. What evocative language is sued to describe Li Cunxin’s experience of becoming a ‘blood
brother’?
7. What purpose is behind Li Cunxin’s intertextual use of the fable on pages 184-185? How
does the use of fables in the text suggest the intrinsic nature of narrative in forming
cultural identity?
8. What commentary is Li Cunxin making about America on page 186? Do you think the
thoughts were his actual reflections at the time or ones made in hindsight?
9. What continued references to the manipulation and construction of identity are made on
pages 186-187?
10. What cultural markers are presented on page 190? How do they extend your
understanding of culture and its influence on identity?
11. Reflect on the dialogue on page 193. Argue whether this is actual, accurate, remembered
dialogue or a construction of dialogue that may have taken place. In your argument refer
to ideas about the way memoir is both truth and narrative.
12. What was the source of conflict between Li Cunxin and his brother? What was the
substance of their ‘talk’? Why is the concern cultural and about identity?
13. How has this chapter challenged your understanding of family in a Chinese context?
14. How could Li Cunxin’s revelation of family conflict align with your won personal
experiences?
15. Would your own experiences have the same cultural resonance?
16. Reflecting back on the title of the chapter, what ‘voice’ is Li Cunxin expressing?
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 13 ‘Teacher Xiao’s Words’
1. When is this chapter set?
2. What cultural references are established from the outset that present Li Cunxin’s sense of
personal and cultural identity?
3. Why was Li Cunxin’s trip ‘beyond his wildest dreams’?
4. How does the commentary provide insight into the success of the propaganda that had
become intrinsic to his personality?
5. Why does Li Cunxin experience ‘a sense of shame’? What does this commentary infer
about identity?
6. What is the impact of the narrative surrounding the ‘nationally publicised demonstration’
in terms of cultural identity?
7. What is inferred by the language ‘seducing us ‘?
8. What lessons are the dancers to learn from the ‘peasants’?
9. What is the most consistent adjective used by Li Cunxin to describe Mao? What is
inferred by this repetition throughout the text?
10. What is Li Cunxin suggesting in his statement ‘This had been my political destiny since
birth’?
11. Who was Deng Xiaoping?
12. What political statements are being made in the references to the changes to the Chinese
ballet?
13. This text is often referred to as ‘inspiring’. What aspects of the writing on page 208
suggest Li Cunxin’s narrative could be inspirational?
14. What causes Li Cunxin’s outburst on page 210?
15. What is the purpose of teacher Xiao’s story?
16. What metaphors are presented?
17. What aspects of the tale are cultural?
18. What influence is this tale meant to have on developing Li Cunxin’s identity?
19. What simile ‘like winning battles in war’ is used to present what insight into identity?
20. Discuss the language surrounding the references to ‘Beijing Dust’. What is poetic about
the language and why would Li Cunxin use such poetic language to present memories?
21. What cultural markers are presented on page 217?
22. Discuss Li Cunxin’s references to the discussion between Teacher Xiao and himself and
his family? How does the use of punctuation present emphasis to the language used?
23. What is the significance of Teacher Xiao to Li Cunxin’s experiences and his developing
personal and cultural identity?
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 14 ‘Turning Points’
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the pun presented by the title?
What is about to change in Cunxin’s relationship with Teacher Xiao?
What is teacher Xiao’s challenge?
How does the challenge present opportunities for Li Cunxin’s identity as an exceptional
ballet dancer to form?
5. What is inferred in Li Cunxin’s description of the ballet The Red Detachment of Women?
6. What odes Li Cunxin’s discussion of the ballet suggest has developed in terms of his
beginnings as a student at the academy and his role as a fourth year student?
7. Examine the images presented in the center of the text. Select five images and locate
references in the text that would elucidate their context and how they present aspects of Li
Cunxin’s identity, both personal and cultural.
8. What new language is introduced into the text on page 225?
9. What is inferred about cultural identity rather than individual identity in the phrase
‘Individualism was firmly discouraged’?
10. How does the language of the text suggest Li Cunxin’s concept of the political context
surrounding ballet beginning to change for one of artistic appreciation?
11. What political and cultural information is provided on page 227? Why does the author
include this material in his narrative?
12. What is symbolic about the ‘tree’ in the ballet described on page 228? Why is this ballet
important for Li Cunxin?
13. What is cultural in the political references to the Communist party and Communist
Youth? Do these references reflect childhood memories or a reflective stance from the
position of adulthood?
14. What is the impact of Mao’s death on Li Cunxin and his classmates? What views and
opinions are expressed?
15. What is the author suggesting about the influence of Mao on the identities of his
generation?
16. What language features are used to express the political influences and indoctrination that
surrounds the training of the students at the ballet school?
17. What does the final sentence suggest about the development of identity and the way ballet
has become integral to Li Cunxin’s experience?
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 15 ‘The Mango’
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What cultural marker is presented in paragraph 2?
What political events are i=occurring at this point in the memoir?
What is the metaphor being presented about the mango?
What ‘bad Western influences’ might students be exposed to?
What does this propaganda and indoctrination suggest about the formation of identity?
What punctuation and language is used to the inculcate a sense of fear of Western society
onto students?
7. How do the videos of Baryshnikov impact on Li Cunxin?
8. How does the simile ‘fly like the beautiful birds and dragonflies’ suggest cultural context?
9. What political references are made in this chapter? How do the political ‘pressures wane’
at this point in Li Cunxin’s narrative?
10. What changes were made in the ballet school after the new policies of Deng Xiaoping
were introduced?
Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 16 ‘Change’
1. What is the time setting of the chapter?
2. What was the ‘Ministry of Culture’?
3. What is inferred in the sentence ‘Years of isolation from Western … had found their
outlet.’?
4. What was Li Cunxin’s reaction to Western movies?
5. How does the reflection of ‘lack of discipline’ infer identity?
6. What was the impact of the ‘London festival Ballet’ coming to visit China?
7. What cultural differences of a physical nature are expressed on page 251?
8. What had happened to all the records on Western Ballets throughout the Cultural
Revolution? What is suggested about the long term impact of the Cultural Revolution on
individuals and groups?
9. What cultural identity aspects are being explored in Li Cunxin’s rhetorical question: ‘But
how could a Chinese peasant boy understand a Western prince’s arrogance, his passion
and his love?’
10. Identify the way language is used to introduce an individual who will have a significant
impact on Li Cunxin’s life and identity beyond China?
11. How does the content of this chapter link to the title of ‘Change’?
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 17 ‘On the Way to the West’
1. How many students were selected to attend Ben Stevenson’s classes?
2. What does the verb ‘exhilarated’ mean? How does the verb compare with the adjective
‘restricted’ used to describe Li Cunxin’s training?
3. What emotive language does Li Cunxin use to describe Stevenson and his teaching? What
does this language suggest about change?
4. What adjective does the author use, accompanied by punctuation, to express his emotions
about the scholarship opportunities?
5. How could these opportunities become a challenge to Li Cunxin’ sense of identity?
6. What rhetorical questions suggest tone in the text? What tone is demonstrated?
7. What does the phrase ‘powerful friends’ mean in the political context of this text?
8. What is a ‘balletomane’?
9. How does the concept of names evoke ideas and issues surrounding identity?
10. What is ‘pinyin’?
11. What do the references to birth days and Chinese calendar suggest about cultural identity?
12. How does the discussion surrounding birth date explore social class and identity?
13. What is ‘Chinglish’?
14. What cultural stereotypes are highlighted on page 260?
15. Read the discussion surrounding Cocoa Cola. What does the author imply by his
referencing of this specific cultural icon?
16. How does the simile ‘feeling like a tiny insect’ relate to personal identity?
17. How does the Bandit’s note provide a link to cultural identity?
18. Li Cunxin has made several references throughout his memoir to ‘ninth heaven. Research
the number nine in the Chinese context and suggest the significance of the euphemism.
19. What changes and transitions between cultures are inferred in this chapter?
20. How do these changes pose a threat to existing ideas about culture and identity?
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 18 ‘The Filthy Capitalist America’
What does the adjective ‘filthy’ mean in the context of Li Cunxin’s experience?
What is capitalism?
What is the conflict in ideology between capitalism and communism?
What is a ‘Paper Tiger’? How does this phrase suggest cultural identity and in particular,
China’s view of America?
5. What aspects of landscape does Li Cunxin recall in his memoir and how does the
landscape contrast with the landscape of China?
6. Why were the boys ‘suspicious’ about the ‘gifts’ they were offered? How does their
suspicion reflect the indoctrination received in China?
7. How is identity and ‘political standing’ connected?
8. What ‘hidden agendas’ did the dancers fear?
9. What political commentary is being made in the discussion of climate?
10. What insights does Li Cunxin present that reflect his self realization about the propaganda
he has been taught in China? Do you think he had this realization at the time or does he
feel m0ore confident to make this analysis in hindsight? If in hindsight, what does the
discussion suggest about the effectiveness of memoir?
11. What lies have the students been told?
12. What humour is used in the rhetorical questions on page 269. What serious connotations
are evoked by the humour?
13. How does the cultural knowledge of Chinese Opera conflict with the description of the
waitress on page 269?
14. What is inferred by the phrase ‘class enemies’?
15. What cultural differences in terms of food are evident on page 270? What economic and
political aspects are being referenced here?
16. Why does Li Cunxin use the simile ‘like a criminal’?
17. Why does the author place the word ‘masses’ in italics?
18. Li Cunxin makes a number of references to currency and economic exchange in this
chapter. Why?
19. What does Li Cunxin fear about his meeting with Barbara Bush? How does his discussion
present ideas about cultural identity?
20. What is the difference in ideologies expressed in the discussion of politicians on page
277?
21. Why is Li Cunxin disappointed when he goes to the White House? What cultural and
political information is being presented here?
22. What realisations does Li Cunxin express about his time in America? How could these
realisations challenge his understanding about his personal and cultural identity?
23. What is the significance of the phrase ‘ I had now tasted freedom…’?
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Part Two: ‘Beijing’
Chapter 19 ‘Goodbye China’
1. What aspects of his American experience does Li Cunxin decide to share with his Chinese
teachers and fellow students?
2. What aspects does Li Cunxin make the decision not to discuss? Why?
3. How does Li Cunxin suggest about individual rights and the impact on his sense of
personal and cultural identity?
4. What simile does Li Cunxin use to describe his reaction against the constraints in China?
How does the simile present concerns about identity?
5. Why does Li Cunxin feel the need to write about ‘rotten capitalist influences’? What does
this discussion suggest about his self realisation? Does his newfound knowledge suggest
challenges to his sense of identity?
6. What is Zhang’s reaction and how does it differ from Li Cunxin’s view of himself and
what he is being asked to do?
7. What does the verb ‘relinquish’ infer?
8. Why is Li Cunxin refused in his request for a passport to return to America?
9. What tone is present in his response?
10. Read the final paragraph on page 287. The author uses a range of language features, both
grammatical and figurative to present his feelings and contrasts between expecttions and
reality. What is effective about the writing?
11. How has Li Cunxin’s attitude changed when he states: “America was real’?
12. What inferences can be drawn from the statement ‘Hugging still wasn’t a communist
thing to do’?
13. On page 290, the author states: ‘my self-doubt resurfaced and I lost all my mental strength
and will.’ How does this statement reflect the intricacies of identity?
14. Explain the effectiveness of the simile used in the sentence: Like a flea trying to
overpower an elephant’.
15. On page 295, Li Cunxin develops a discussion on equality and the irony of communism
and its principles. How have his attitudes presented him with courage to challenge the
origins of his cultural identity?
16. Teacher Xiao returns to his metaphor of the mango. Why?
17. How does poetic language used on page 298 conflict with the structural elements of
memoir?
18. How do the final lines of this chapter suggest reflection as an adult rather than continuing
the chronological structure of the memoir?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 20 ‘Return to the Land of Freedom’
1. What type of exhausting is being inferred by the opening sentence? How does the
sentence hook the reader into the chapter?
2. What was Li Cunxin afraid of?
3. What emotive language is used to express his emotional state?
4. How do the opening two paragraphs suggest a shift in terms of cultural identity?
5. What comparisons are made between Houston and Beijing? Why does the author make
these comparisons and do they have metaphorical as well as literal meaning?
6. What meaning and insight is created in the sentences: ‘I took a deep breath. My spirit felt
free.’
7. How had Li Cunxin’s ‘belief’s been altered? How could a shift in understanding impact
on ideas about identity? Discuss the alliteration used to provide a strong sense of change
in his understanding of self and of China.
8. What does the adjectival phrase ‘relentless pursuit’ suggest about a new identity for Li
Cunxin?
9. How do the references to language acquisition suggest a shift in cultural identity?
10. How does the discussion of Christmas on page 305 contrast culturally with Li Cunxin’s
Chinese understanding of holidays? How does he rationalize Christmas within his own
cultural framework?
11. How does the discussion of economics (page 306) present cultural knowledge and a shift
in understandings of wealth and poverty?
12. How do the descriptions of the Christmas feast present challenges to existing cultural
rituals?
13. Read the things that Li Cunxin states he has to remember on page 309. How does this
passage infer the innate cultural context he has been taught ballet under?
14. How does the popular culture reference to Bruce lee suggest a lack of understanding
between American and Chinese culture?
15. How does Li Cunxin try to impress his date on page 311? What cultural identity ideas are
presented here?
16. How does the language in the final sentence suggest structural concept relating to
memoir?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 21 ‘Elizabeth’
1. The cover of this memoir states: ‘From bitter poverty to the stardom of the West – this is
the extraordinary true story of one boy’s great courage and determination.’ How does the
memory of Teacher Xiao’s ‘mangoes’ reflect the cover statement?
2. What issues relating to cultural identity are raised on page 316? Why is Li Cunxin
relating this information to his reader?
3. On page 317, Li Cunxin makes a specific cultural reference to communist China. What is
he suggesting about his cultural positioning and why is this issue significant to
understanding the innate concerns relating to cultural identity?
4. On page 318, Li Cunxin makes the reference ‘Duty towards my motherland…’ How does
this statement and the accompanying text provide insight into the conflict of cultural
identity when presented with new opportunities?
5. What are the potential issues raised when Li Cunxin marries Elizabeth?
6. On page 322, Ben makes the comment: ‘China is where you belong. You are Chinese.’
How have the italics been used to present emphasis and meaning?
7. Read pages 323 and 324 closely. What cultural inferences are made and how does the
language reveal the conflict and concerns of the protagonist?
8. Read the final sentence of the chapter. How has Li Cunxin’s attitude towards China
changed?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 22 ‘Defection’
1. Identify the significant verbs, adverbs, adjectives and abstract nouns used to develop
emotional connections between the reader and the protagonist of the text.
2. On page 327, the statement ‘the atmosphere changed’ is made. Why?
3. How significant is the fear embedded from childhood propaganda presented on page 328?
4. Explain how the conversation: ‘Do you think a foreigner could really love a Chinese?’
presents issues relating to cultural identity?
5. What does the statement ‘You don’t decide what you’re going to do with your life, the
Communist Party does! You are a Chinese citizen.’ suggest about cultural identity and
how it can be a barrier to engaging with new ideas and opportunities?
6. Read page 330. What inferences are being made in relation to Li Cunxin’s family?
7. Why, on page 331, do the Chinese officials attempt to accuse Ben and others of having a
‘political agenda’? What fears are being revealed here by the Chinese?
8. What was the impact of the interrogation, physically, emotionally and psychologically on
Li Cunxin? How did this interrogation make him feel about his identity?
9. What are Sino/Us relations?
10. How could Li Cunxin’s defection affect these relations?
11. How does the statement ‘you are now a man without a country and a people’ impact on Li
Cunxin’s sense of self and identity?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 23 ‘My New Life’
1. How does Li Cunxin’s statement to the press provide insight into the real source of his
personal identity?
2. What are the inferred implications of having to be protected by the FBI?
3. How does the discussion of food on page 342 highlight the enduring qualities of cultural
knowledge?
4. How do Li Cunxin’s memories of his mother on page 3433 suggest the importance of
family to developing and sustaining identity?
5. Why does Li Cunxin feel such ‘sorrow and guilt’?
6. How does Li Cunxin explain the failure of his marriage?
7. How does the failure of the marriage highlight even further the notion of home to having
an identity?
8. What were Li Cunxin’s first thoughts about London?
9. Li Cunxin makes the assertion that the ‘Chinese government would probably have lied’
about England. Why is it important at this point in the narrative that he continues to
highlight the propaganda he has been subjected to in his youth?
10. Read the final paragraph. What language is used to present insights into home, family,
culture and identity?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 24 ‘A Millet Dream Come True’
1. What is the metaphor suggested by the title?
2. How does the reflection on holidays and traditional celebrations suggest shits in Li
Cunxin’s understanding of his cultural identity?
3. What is the ‘huge price’ Li Cunxin has had to pay for his freedom?
4. What does the reflection on not wanting to be like ‘most of the Chinese people living in
Houston’ suggest about changing ideas about identity?
5. What metaphor is presented in the term ‘communist cell’?
6. How do aspects of popular culture impact on Li Cunxin? Provide specific references from
the text.
7. How does the term ‘Chinese defector’ present insight into Li Cunxin’s understanding of
his identity?
8. How does the statement: ‘I had realised the capitalist dream’ contrast with earlier ideas
about America?
9. How does Barbara Bush’s conversation with Ben and Li Cunxin provide insight into the
issues of defection and identity?
10. How does the ‘glory to the Chinese people’ comment by Wang Zicheng contrast with Li
Cunxin’s earlier experience at the Chinese consulate?
11. What hopes did Li Cunxin have for seeing his family again?
12. How does Li Cunxin react when he gets his news that his parents are given permission to
visit him in America?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 25 ‘No more nightmares’
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How do the opening lines of this chapter challenge the genre of memoir?
How does the second sentence challenge your reaction to the first sentence?
What is the purpose of the contradiction?
How effectively does Li Cunxin use language to convey his joy at talking to his family?
What aspects of cultural identity are presented when his Niang asks: ‘Is it really you, my
sixth son…?’
6. What cultural aspects of Japan does Li Cunxin notice and compare with his life in China
and America?
7. How does Li Cunxin present his gifts for his parents as comparisons and reminders of his
life in China?
8. What were the ‘firsts’ Li Cunxin’s parents experience in the first hour of their arrival in
America? Why is Li Cunxin concerned for them?
9. How long has it been since Li Cunxin had seen his parents?
10. How did Li Cunxin’s parents react to his home? Why? What contrasts are inferred?
11. What cultural markers are present on page 374 and how do they effectively present the
context of the text to your Area of Study?
12. How were Li Cunxin’s parents informed of his defection? What is inferred in this section
of the memoir?
13. How did his Niang react? How does her comment present insight into the actions of the
Chinese and the reactions of the peasants and their ability to control their lives?
14. What metaphors are suggested in Niang’s dream?
15. How does the final sentence link to the title of the chapter?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 26 ‘Russia’
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What is the purpose of inserting a letter into the memoir?
Why were Li Cunxin’s parents in ‘constant shock’ whilst staying in America?
What is inferred by the statement ‘fear of reprisal’?
How did Li Cunxin react to Russia?
How does Li Cunxin’s injury impact on his ballet?
How does this chapter add to the narrative of the memoir?
Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 27 ‘Mary’
1. What cultural reference is made on page 392 that demonstrates the ways cultural
knowledge and history is intrinsic to identity?
2. What cultural implications are suggested in the phrase ‘failed the test for a perfect
Chinese wife’? What tone is this phrase stated in?
3. What cultural information about Chinese marriage suggests the respect Li Cunxin has for
his culture?
4. What do the comments by Li Cunxin’s Niang about Li Cunxin having a Chinese wife
suggest about culture and identity?
5. What cultural boundaries is Li Cunxin concerned about and how does this discussion
raise issues about cultural identity?
6. How does Li Cunxin’s reference to the ‘Mao jacket’ continue the idea of cultural
influence on the present?
7. How does the discussion on religion reveal the idea of Communism as a religion and how
does Mary’s Catholicism present the notion of religion as integral to identity?
8. What is the significance of the links between Li Cunxin’s marriage to Mary and the
opening prologue of the memoir?
9. How important was it for Li Cunxin to have the opportunity to return to China? What
language expresses the emotions Li Cunxin experiences at his good news?
10. What is the significance of ‘home’ to cultural identity?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 29 ‘Going Home’
1. What aspects of Chinese tradition are referred to in the opening paragraphs of this
chapter?
2. What cultural correctness did Li Cunxin have to adhere to when he arrived at Beijing
airport?
3. Why were officials waiting to speak to Li Cunxin on his return to China? What tone is
established here and how could the appearance of these individuals present fear for Li
Cunxin?
4. How do the modes of transport used by Mary and Li Cunxin provide insight into culture?
5. What is suggested in the phrase ‘the grim shadow of the Cultural Revolution’? What
metaphor is used and why is it effective?
6. What was a ‘slogan’ used in China? Research the idea of propaganda slogans on the
Hotlinks website and determine the reason why image was used to inculcate morals and
reforms in China?
7. What is Li Cunxin’s reaction to meeting with his teachers again?
8. What memories are evoked?
9. What would the statement: ‘You have done Chinese ballet proud’? suggest about cultural
identity?
10. What does the metaphor in the final sentence suggest about identity, culture and
opportunity?
Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 29 ‘Back in My Village’
1. How do the rhetorical questions that open this chapter express the concerns of loss of
culture and identity?
2. How do names and naming remind you, the reader, of Li Cunxin’s cultural identity?
3. What is the impact of olfactory presences in reminding Li Cunxin of his childhood?
4. What differences are presented in relation to the commune from the descriptions provided
earlier in the text?
5. What government intervention takes place in China that to control the population? What
is suggested about control and authority of individuals by this reference?
6. What commentary is made about girl children in China?
7. How does the ‘frog in the well story’ relate to Cunyuan’s life?
8. What cultural references and traditions are highlighted when Li Cunxin honours his nana’s burial place?
9. How has Cunmao adapted as an adult to his adoption? What ideas about identity are
inferred here?
10. Read page 430. What cultural references are provided and how does the language and
punctuation suggest a tone?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Part Three: ‘The West’
Chapter 30 ‘Another Wedding’
1. List all the cultural markers that surround the traditions and aspects of Jing Tring’s
wedding. How do these rituals and symbols express cultural identity?
2. How does Li Cunxin compare the ceremony with that of his parents?
3. What ‘lucky words’ are used and what do they infer?
4. What commentary is made about the loss of ‘old traditions’?
5. What does the gift of the quilt symbolize?
6. How has language been used to demonstrate Mary’s acceptance into the cultural world of
the Li family?
7. What paradox is presented in the sentences: ‘I was going home. But I was leaving home
too.”?
8. What reflections does Li Cunxin make that demonstrate the intrinsic nature of his
growing up Chinese?
9. What values are presented that demonstrate the intrinsic nature of his growing up
Chinese?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Themes, Issues and Ideas
This section of your study will explore the themes, issues and ideas conveyed in
the text. Use the worksheets to develop a clear outline of the themes, issues and
ideas and the cultural contexts they convey.
Theme
Explication in a cultural context
Identify the theme
and provide
textual evidence to
support your
understanding of
its purpose in the
study of literature
How does the
theme relate to the
cultural context in
which the text was
written?
How has the
composer
highlighted this
theme?
What does the
theme expose
about your
understanding of
the cultural
context in which
the text was
produced?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Issue
Explication in a cultural context
Identify the issue
and provide
textual evidence to
support your
understanding of
its purpose in the
study of literature
How does the issue
relate to the
cultural context in
which the text was
written?
How has the
composer
highlighted this
issue?
What does the
issue expose about
your
understanding of
the cultural
context in which
the text was
produced?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
Page 51
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Issue
Explication in a cultural context
Identify the issue
and provide
textual evidence to
support your
understanding of
its purpose in the
study of literature
How does the issue
relate to the
cultural context in
which the text was
written?
How has the
composer
highlighted this
issue?
What does the
issue expose about
your
understanding of
the cultural
context in which
the text was
produced?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Idea
Explication in a cultural context
Identify the idea
and provide
textual evidence to
support your
understanding of
its purpose in the
study of literature
How does the idea
relate to the
cultural context in
which the text was
written?
How has the
composer
highlighted this
idea?
What does the idea
expose about your
understanding of
the cultural
context in which
the text was
produced?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
Page 53
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Idea
Explication in a cultural context
Identify the idea
and provide
textual evidence to
support your
understanding of
its purpose in the
study of literature
How does the idea
relate to the
cultural context in
which the text was
written?
How has the
composer
highlighted this
idea?
What does the idea
expose about your
understanding of
the cultural
context in which
the text was
produced?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
Page 54
3/3/2016
Social Context Notes Worksheet
What is the composer’s social
context? (Level of education
attained; type of work; family
relationships and friendships professional or personal; mode
of home; transport experienced
etc.)
How does the composer’s social
context impact on the text?
Does the composer’s social
context conflict with any of the
events or characters in the
text? How? Why?
How does your social context
affect your response to the
text?
What specific language
features or structures of the
text convey the social context?
Copy out any quotes (and their
provenance) that you may need
to use in your final work that
suggest or provide evidence of
social context?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Cultural Context Notes Worksheet
What is the composer’s specific
cultural context?
Does the text explore any
subcultures within the
overarching cultural context?
Does the composer’s cultural
context conflict with any of the
events or characters in the
text? How? Why?
How does your cultural context
affect your response to the
text?
What specific language
features or structures of the
text convey the cultural
context?
Copy out any quotes (and their
provenance) that you may need
to use in your final work that
suggest or provide evidence of
cultural context?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Political Context Notes Worksheet
What is the composer’s
political context?
Does the composer’s political
context change? If so how and
why?
Does the composer’s political
context conflict with any of the
events or characters in the
text? How? Why?
How does your political context
affect your response to the
text?
What specific language
features or structures of the
text convey the political
context?
Copy out any quotes (and their
provenance) that you may need
to use in your final work that
suggest or provide evidence of
political context?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Historical Context Notes Worksheet
What is the composer’s specific
historical context?
How does the composer’s
historical context impact on
his/her writing of the text?
Does the composer’s historical
context conflict with any of the
events or characters in the
text? How? Why?
How does your historical
context affect your response to
the text?
What specific language feature
or structures of the text convey
the historical context?
Copy out any quotes (and their
provenance) that you may need
to use in your final work that
suggest or provide evidence of
historical context?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Gender Context Notes Worksheet
What is the composer’s gender
context?
How does the composer’s
gender context impact on the
text?
Does the composer’s gender
context conflict with any of the
events or characters in the
text? How? Why?
How does your gender context
affect your response to the
text?
What specific language
features or structures of the
text convey the gender context?
Copy out any quotes (and their
provenance) that you may need
to use in your final work that
suggest or provide evidence of
gender context?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Religious Context Notes Worksheet
What is the composer’s
religious context?
How does the composer’s
religious context impact on the
text?
Does the composer’s religious
context conflict with any of the
events or characters in the
text? How? Why?
How does your religious
context affect your response to
the text?
What specific language
features or structures of the
text convey the religious
context?
Copy out any quotes (and their
provenance) that you may need
to use in your final work that
suggest or provide evidence of
religious context?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Intellectual Context Notes Worksheet
What is the composer’s
intellectual context?
How does the composer’s
intellectual context impact on
the text?
Does the composer’s
intellectual context conflict
with any of the events or
characters in the text? How?
Why?
How does your intellectual
context affect your response to
the text?
What specific language
features or structures of the
text convey the intellectual
context?
Copy out any quotes (and their
provenance) that you may need
to use in your final work that
suggest or provide evidence of
intellectual context?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Conceptual Worksheet
Literal: What is literally
obvious about the text –what
does the composer want you to
understand about his/her
cultural context?
Metaphorical: What are the
metaphorical meanings behind
the text? Are there an
allegories or allusions present?
What meaning does the
composer want you to gain
from the events, characters,
themes, issues or ideas
conveyed in the text?
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Metaphysical:
What meaning is implicit –
what deeper level meaninghow does this text affect you?
Is there a message for
humanity in the text? How do
the events, character settings
etc impact on the human
spirit?
What impact does the text have
on you?
Philosophical:
What questions does this text
raise? How does the text
suggest knowledge is
constructed? Who is
constructing the knowledge?
What purpose does the
creation of the text have for the
audience?
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Values
Values are the ideas we have about what is good and what is bad, and how things should be. We
have values about family relationships (regarding, for instance, the role of the husband with
respect to the wife), about work relationships (regarding, for instance, how employers should
treat employees) and about other personal and relationships issues (regarding, for example, how
children should behave towards adults, or how people should follow particular religious beliefs).
www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/glossary.htm
The dimensions or objectives we choose with which to measure the system and those variables
we attempt to optimise in deriving fitness. Due to neural associations, the dualism between 'fact'
and 'value' is invalid, thus values can form a part of our scientific worldview.
www.calresco.org/glossary.htm
Set of beliefs or standards that the organization (i.e., organizational values) and its stakeholders
(i.e., personal values) believe in and operate from. Organizational values are utilized to guide the
day-to-day operations, serving as a linkage between Mission (i.e., present operations) and Vision
(i.e., intended direction). Personal values are utilized to allow organizational members to
understand how their own beliefs fit into the organizational values and its intended operations
and direction.
www.eglin.af.mil/46tw/StrategicPlan/glossary.htm
Filters we use to evaluate the content of incoming information about ourselves and the world in
general, sorting our perceptions into good and bad, worthwhile and worthless, and so on. Our
values are usually closely related to our beliefs.
www3.mistral.co.uk/bradburyac/gloss3.html
http://www.nyfolklore.org/resource/what.html
Use the lists over the page to assist you with identifying values in texts.
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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List of Values
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Accomplishment
Accountability
Accuracy
Act on things
Adventure
All for One; One for
All
Athletics/Sports,
Competitive
Attitude, Right
Authority
Behavior, ProperBeauty (of
environment, art,
people, etc.)
Benefits to All
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Calm, Quietude
Celebrity-Worship
Challenge
Change
Charity
Chastity, Purity
Children, Nurturing
of
Civic Duty
Civic Pride
Civil Rights
Cleanliness,
Orderliness
Collaboration
Collective, Needs of
the
Commitment
Common Purpose
Communication
Community
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Compassion
Competence
Competition,
Competitiveness
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Discovery
Diversity
Duty
Education (Right to,
need of, value in)
Efficiency
Empowerment of
Individual
Entertainment
Essential Services,
right to
Equal Opportunity
Excellence
Fairness
Family
Family Valueshonor parents,
Nurture children,
etc.
Fate
Fitness
Flair
Flexibility
Force
Fraternity
Freedom
Free Will
Friendliness
Friendship
Fun
Generosity
Genius
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Global View
Goodness
Government Power
Gratitude
Grievances, Right
to express
Happiness, Pursuit
of
Hard Work
Page 65
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Leadership
Learning
Loyalty
Environmental,
Concern for
Equal Opportunity
Equality
Factual
Faith
Lifestyle, a certain
Love (Romance,
other forms of)
Knowledge
Majority Rule
Mannered, WellMaximum
utilization
(of time, resources)
Meaning
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Merit
Minority Rights
Money, Wealth
Nation's Status (in
World)
Nutrition
Neighborliness
Openness, Openmindedness
Orderliness
Organization,
Systemization
Outer Directedness
Participation
(e.g. in democracy,
decisions)
Patriotism, Country
Peace, Non-Violence
Perfection
Perseverance
("never give up")
Personal Growth
(human potential)
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Resourcefulness
Rule of, Respect for
Law
Respect for Others
(individuals, cultures,
races)
Respect for the
Individual
Respect for Elders
Responsibility,
TakingResponsiveness
Results-oriented
Right to Bear Arms
Romance of Life
Ritual
Rule of Law, Legality
Sacrifice
Safety
Safety Net (for
elderly, unemployed,
etc.)
Security
Self-givingness
Self-Improvement
Self-Reliance
Self-Respect, SelfWorth
Seriousness
Service (to others,
society)
Simplicity
Sincerity
Skill
Solitude
Speed
Spirituality, Spirit
Stability
Status (individual,
social, collective,
nation's, etc.)
Standardization
3/3/2016
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Concern for Others
Conformity
Consensus
Consumer Rights
Content Over Form
Continuity (from past)
Continuous
Improvement
Cooperation
Coordination,
Integration
Courage
Courtesy
Creativity
Culture (art, etc.)
Decisiveness
Democracy
(representative
government)
Determination
Diplomacy (over
confrontation)
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Harmony, Unity,
Oneness
Health & WellBeing
Helpfulness
Hero-worship
Heroism
Honesty,
Truthfulness
Honor
Hospitality
Human Rights
Individuality
Inner Directedness
Informed, BeingInnovation
Integration of
People Types
Intelligence
Integrity
Justice
Knowledge
Direction,
Purposefulness
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Philosophy, a certain
Pioneer Individual
Pleasure
Popular Will
(deferring to)
Power
Practicality
Preservation
Privacy
Progress,
Improvement
Prosperity
Protection (of law,
etc.)
Public Access
Punctuality
Quality (of work,
service etc.)
Rationality
Reason
Regularity
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Strength (physical,
psychological, power,
force)
Subtlety (beyond the
seen)
Success, Achievement
Teamwork
Thinking, Thought
Timeliness
Tolerance
Tradition
Tranquility
Truth, Seeking the
underlyingTrust
Valuing Values
Variety
Wealth
Wisdom
Women's Rights
World Unity
Regulation &
Control
Religious Life
Discipline
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Purpose
What is the composer’s purpose in creating this text?
To identify To challenge To highlight To entertain To expose To determine To illuminate To create –
To convey –
To inform –
To provoke –
To educateSelect three of the above and provide a paragraph on authorial purpose in terms of
the cultural context of your text.
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© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Fable Analysis Worksheets
Fable
Language forms
and features used
Metaphor:
Identify any
examples of these
language forms
and features usedand how each
shapes meaning
for the responder
Simile:
Alteration:
Assonance:
Allegory:
Allusion:
Onomatopoeia:
Personification:
Repetition:
Rhythm:
Rhyme:
Metonymy:
Symbolism:
Imagery:
© Pamela Cohen 2012
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Why has the composer used fables in his text?
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What impact do the fables have on the composer?
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How effectively do the fables add to the narrative?
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Do the fables have distinct cultural contexts or are they universal?
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© Pamela Cohen 2012
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