The British School of Bahrain Department of English
Year Nine Novel Study
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Worksheet 1: Chapter One
AIM: TO ANALYSE THE PERSPECTIVE
Read pages 3 to ‘I was seventeen’ on page 6.
Don’t forget to offer proof from the text when you answer!
1
Describe what happens and where the action takes place,
in no more than three lines.
PERSPECTIVE: the point
of view of a passage. To
think about perspective,
ask:
Who is speaking and
how do I know?
Is there a listener?
2
From whose point of view is the story told?
3
What can the reader work out about the narrator? Be a
detective!
4
Take a look at the first paragraph. What is the reader
supposed think that the villagers are like? Give evidence for
your answer!
5
Make a list of the features of the headman: his
appearance, his words and his actions. What is the reader
supposed to think of him?
6
What details show that the narrator is tense and nervous
on pages 4 and 5?
7
Why is he afraid?
What does the narrator
think of the people,
place, incident, situation
that are being
described? How can we
tell?
What is the mood of the
description? Is it funny?
Critical? Bitter? Angry?
Matter of fact?
What does the writer
want the reader to think
of the people and events
that are being
described?
What does the writer
want us to think of the
narrator?
How can we tell?
8
What do we discover about Luo’s character?
9
Write a paragraph explaining the use of humour in this section. Don’t forget to
use quotations as examples to prove that you are right!
The British School of Bahrain Department of English
Year Nine Novel Study
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
AIM: TO WORK OUT THE WRITER’S VIEWS
Worksheet 2: Chapter One
Read from ‘A Few words about re-education’ (page 6) to the end of Chapter One.
1
Explain what happened to the narrator and his friend Luo during The Cultural
Revolution.
2
In the first paragraph of this section, why are the words ‘young intellectuals’, ‘reeducated by the poor peasants’ and ‘to the countryside’ in inverted commas?
3
What do you think the violin symbolises?
4
How can we tell that the narrator thinks that The Cultural
Revolution is ridiculous and ineffective? Try to give five reasons,
with quotations to prove your points.
5
Look at the second and third paragraph on page 9. How can we tell that the
narrator and Luo are close?
6
How can we tell that Luo’s father has suffered at the hands of the government
before? Why do you think that this might be the case?
7
How does the writer hint that Luo’s father’s confession is untrue?
8
Why does Luo hit the narrator? Do you think that the narrator blames Luo for
this? Explain.
9
What do you think the writer thinks of The Cultural Revolution? Explain carefully.
SYMBOL: an
object or person
that represents
an idea.
Your Writing
A
Write Luo’s father’s diary entry after his public confession.
B
Write the article that will appear in the local (communist) newspaper.
The British School of Bahrain Department of English
Year Nine Novel Study
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Worksheet 3: Chapter Two
AIMS: TO ANALYSE THE LANGUAGE
WORK OUT MEANINGS OF UNFAMILIAR WORDS
Page 11
1
2
3
In the first paragraph, which word shows that the narrator thinks that his reeducation is a punishment?
Why is the mountain called ‘Phoenix of the Sky’? Give the two reasons from the
text.
Which other details tell us that the place is primitive and remote?
Page 12
4
Using a dictionary, look up the following words and write down what they mean:
 eunuch
 coolie
 minting
 pannier
 vertiginous
 bandit
5
Replace each of the following words from the second paragraph (‘The Phoenix of
the Sky comprised...’) with another of a similar meaning. Try first to do this
without a dictionary.
 comprised
 serpentine
 summit
 plump
 makeshift
Page 13-14
6
7
8
The alarm clock is a symbol. What idea does it symbolise?
What idea do the ‘buckets of shit’ symbolise? On page 14, find two more words
that mean something similar to ‘shit’.
It always seems to be raining. What is the writer’s purpose here?
Page 15
9
10
Make a list of all of the adjectives in the paragraph that begins, ‘It rained often on
Phoenix mountain.’ Make sure that you know their meanings.
Put three of these adjectives into sentences of your own, showing that you know
what each one means.
The British School of Bahrain Department of English
Year Nine Novel Study
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Worksheet 4: Luo
AIMS: TO ANALYSE THE LANGUAGE, CHARACTERS AND THEME
Page 18-19 Read from ‘Phoenix Mountain was so remote...’ to the end of Chapter Two.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
What special mission are the boys sent on?
Why do you think that these two are chosen for this job? (Think about the
entertainment facilities that are available in the village).
How do we know that the boys enjoy this task?
What evidence is there that even the village at Yong Jing has no permanent
cinema? Which word conveys this?
When the boys return to their village, the villagers are hungry to be entertained.
Which word conveys their eagerness?
Which details tell the reader that Luo is a natural entertainer?
What is the headman’s reaction to the boys’ performance?
What message does this section convey about the importance of the arts
(language, drama and music) in the lives of human beings?
Remember back on page 6?
‘The peasants’ faces, so grim a moment before, softened under the influence
of Mozart’s limpid music like parched earth under a shower...’
The man that hath no music in
himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of
sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and
spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as
night
And his affections dark as Erebus:
Let no such man be trusted.
The Merchant of Venice Act 5 Scene 1
Erebus –Hell/the Underworld
What simile is used here?
What does this description of the peasants’ faces
suggest about people’s need for music?
Extension: To the left are some lines from a play
by Shakespeare. What ideas do Shakespeare and
Dai Sijie share?
The British School of Bahrain Department of English
Year Nine Novel Study
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Worksheet 5: The Little Seamstress
AIMS: TO ANALYSE THE LANGUAGE, CHARACTERS AND THEME
Page 23
1
Read the narrator’s description of the little seamstress. How can we tell what he
thinks of her? Pick five details and comment on them.
Page 24
2
3
How can the boys tell that the little seamstress likes their company?
Luo tries to convince the little seamstress that they have something in common.
What is it? Is this similarity a real one? Take off your shoes and socks and check!
Read the account of Luo’s illness on pages 29, (from ‘At the end of the sixth week Luo fell
ill...’) to the end of the chapter.
4
What details show the harshness of the people and the place? Choose three
details.
5
Describe the local traditional treatment of malaria. What does the men’s
treatment for malaria tell us about the people of the village?
6
Do you think that Dai Sijie respects this aspect of the local culture? Support your
opinion with one o two quotations from the text.
7
Look at the narrator’s comments about the little seamstress’s letter and her
handwriting. What does the letter convey about her character? Choose three
details and comment on them.
8
Why does the little seamstress want Luo to come to her village?
9
Homework: who was Scheherazade? Find out and write a paragraph about her.
Cite your source. Do you think that the characters of Luo and Scheherazade might
have anything in common? Explain.
The British School of Bahrain Department of English
Year Nine Novel Study
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Worksheet 6: The Little Flower Seller
AIMS: TO ANALYSE THE SENTENCES, LANGUAGE AND THEME
Read from page 33 to the end of the chapter.
1 What problem does the little seamstress solve, and how does she do it?
Page 35
2 What hint is there that neighbours reported each other to the
authorities?
3 The little seamstress thinks that the narrator is afraid that she might
report him. What crime has she committed?
4 What details remind the reader that the little seamstress is ignorant
and uneducated?
Writing for Impact: Irony
5 Why is this idea that religion is forbidden by communism ironic
(remember the way that the miners tried to cure malaria)?
IRONY: in this
case, the reality is
the opposite of
what is supposed
to be the case.
Humour is also
used to make the
ideas of
communism seem
ineffective and
rather ridiculous.
Page 36
6 Read the description of the sorceresses. Why is their presence ironic? How
successfully have communist ideas about the dangers of religion been
learned by these rural Chinese villagers?
Page 37
7
8
Read the first paragraph. What is humorous about this situation?
In the second paragraph, how can we tell that the narrator is successful?
Writing for Impact: Focus on Sentence Structure
In the third paragraph, find and copy a sentence that is short for impact.
9 Find and copy a complex sentence that has a number of clauses to build up tension.
10 Write out the sentence in the fourth paragraph and underline and label the main
clause and the subordinate clause.
11 Copy a detail that hints that the narrator likes the little seamstress.
12 Why is the ending of the chapter amusing?