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Study Guide: The Joy Luck Club

II. Feathers from a Thousand Li Away

A. General Understanding

The Red Candle

As you read this chapter, try to answer these questions:

1. How does Lindo Jong criticize her daughter Waverly? What does she say to her about "keep[ing her] parents' promise" (p. 43)
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2. What happened to Lindo Jong at age 2? Type Here
3. How did Lindo Jong know that all girl babies in China were not "worthless" (p. 44)? What did she look like and smell like?
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4. How were the customs of the Taiyuanese countryside different from the customs in the cities?
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5. What was the name of Lindo Jong's house and who lived there? Why was the name of the house prettier than it actually was?
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6. Where did Lindo Jong first see her future husband? What did she think of him at the time?
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7. What happened to Lindo Jong when she was twelve? Where did her family go and where did she go?
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8. Why was all the heavy furniture and bedding left behind? What did it represent? What gift did her mother put around her neck, and what advice did her mother give her?
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9. What was the Huangs' house like?
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10. How was Lindo Jong received at the house? What kind of life did she first lead? Why did Huang Tatai put her through such training?
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11. How did Tyan-yu behave?
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12. What did Lindo Jong eventually think of her life when she became age 16? Why did she believe she had no choice about getting married? What promise did she make to herself?
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13. What was the wedding ceremony like? Describe the different parts of the ceremony.
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14. At her marriage, what did the red candle represent?
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15. How did the matchmaker’s story differ from the true story?
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16. What were Lindo Jong's feelings for Tyan-yu?
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17. What did Hyang Tatai hope for, and what did she do to Lindo Jong to ensure that this would happen?
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18. What did Lindo Jong do to get out of her marriage? How did she make her mother-in-law realize that she was not her son's "true spiritual wife" (p. 62)?What did her behavior here tell you about Lindo Jong as a person?
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19. What did Lindo Jong receive for her "doomed marriage" (p. 62)?
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