5 Questions
The story “Feathers from a Thousand Li Away” is divided into 4 paragraphs. There is a beginning, middle and ending.
Paragraph One:
The old woman remembered a swan she had bought many years ago in Shanghai for a foolish sum. This bird, boasted the market vendor, was once a duck that stretched its neck in hopes of becoming a goose, and now look!—it is too beautiful to eat.
- In one sentences and in your own words write what you think the author is telling the readers.
Paragraph two:
Then the woman and the swan sailed across an ocean many thousands of li wide, stretching their necks toward America. On her journey she cooed to the swan: “In America I will have a daughter just like me. But over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch. Over there nobody will look down on her, because I will make her speak only perfect American English. And over there she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow! She will know my meaning, because I will give her this swan—a creature that became more than what was hoped for.”
- At the end of paragraph one the duck stretched its neck because it hoped to become a goose. The second paragraph begins with the woman and the swan (that had been the duck) “stretching their necks toward America”. The rest of the paragraph describes the woman’s hopes for her future in America. What does she hope for first?
- “But over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch.” This is the woman’s first hope for her future daughter in America. In some cultures, a burp (belch) is a sign that the food or meal is good. This line suggests that women in the country (China) from where the woman and swan are leaving, women are dependent on their husbands. This idea suggests a more traditional way of thinking. Therefore, what does the woman hope for for her future daughter in America?
- “Over there nobody will look down on her, because I will make her speak only perfect American English.” Why do you think the woman will make sure that her daughter speak “perfect English”?
- “And over there she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow!” to be “too full” means not to be hungry or needing anything else, to be satisfied. “Swallow any sorrow” means to keep sadness to one’s self. Therefore, what does the woman hope for her daughter?
- “I will give her this swan—a creature that became more than what was hoped for.” Why would the woman give her daughter the swan?