Balzac & the Little Chinese Seamstress Pt II

Where is Four-Eyes being reeducated?

• same village as the protagonist and Luo

• lower on the mountain than the protagonist & Luo

• in Beijing

• in a prison in Shanghai

How was Four-Eye's suitcase discovered?

• He braggingly told them about it, then got cagey when they started to show an interest.

• Luo found it while he was doing a performative re-telling of his courtship of the little Chinese seamstress.

• Tthe protagonist found it while he was searching for blankets for Luo.

• The seamstress' dog found it when she was visiting them.

What does Four-Eyes do after the protagonist & Luo guess that the suitcase has books in it?

• padlocks his house & moves the suitcase from under the bed to hide it

• threatens to kill them if they tell anyone

• bribes them that he can get them out of reeducation if they keep his secret

• throws all the books off a cliff in the dead of night except the one Balzac book

What kinds of books were allowed during the Chinese cultural revolution?

• books written by Mao & his cronies or purely scientific books

• trick question--no books at all were allowed for 4 years until the schools & universities reopened

• classic canonical Chinese literature (including Journey to the West)

• children's books that were communist / Chinese propoganda

Why does Luo think Four-Eyes parents would have taken the risk of giving him books?

• His parents were uneducated and wanted him to have more opportunities than they had.

• His mother is a teacher and values education highly.

• His parents are both writers and want him to be one as well.

• They're pushovers and can't say no to anything Four-Eyes asks of them.

Why does Four-Eyes loan them the Balzac book?

• as a part of a deal where they promise to keep his secret as long as he lets them read his books

• to thank them for helping him pick up & transport rice in the snow when his glasses were broken

• He doesn't--they steal it from him.

• they have some connections to get out of reeducation, and they can smuggle him out as well

Which of the following describes the Balzac book they read?

• set in Nemours, France. About money/ inheritance. A character sleepwalks.

• Set in Paris, France. About romantic love / polyamory. A character has muscular dystrophy.

• Set in New York City, USA. About breaking away from parental expectations & pursuing dreams. A character uses a wheelchair.

• Set in London, England. About class inequality & education. A character is blind.

How does the protagonist feel when Luo goes off to tell the Little Seamstress the plot of the Balzac book?

• lonely; he misses Luo and doesn't like being alone

• jealous; he also likes the Little Seamstress

• relieved to have some free time where he can do what he wants and not have to look after Luo

• paranoid that Luo might escape the mountain and go back to the city without him

What does Luo show the protagonist when he gets back?

• a handkerchief with the Seamstress' blood from losing her virginity

• a coat that had belonged to her father that was tailered for Luo and made him look like a general

• a Jane Austen book that the Seamstress had hidden away even though she could barely read

• a promise ring that the Seamstress gave him that had belonged to her grandfather

Why does Luo wish he had read the Balzac book verbatim to the Little Seamstress?

• He thinks it would have made her more cultured.

• He thinks it would make her want a real relationship with him.

• It would have been a fun way for him to memorize the story.

• He thinks it might have inspired her to want to learn to read.