Jiang writes this book in part to “do something for the little girl [she] had been” (266). What story would you write to for the child you were? How would your story help to explain the culture and society you grew up in, and what would it be critical about? What would be the main insight you’d want your readers to come away with? What main insight do you think Jiang wants her reader to take from her story?

Using evidence from the text, analyze the school culture of Jiang’s childhood and compare it to your experience with and knowledge of your own society’s school culture. Some possible points of intersection would be testing, student leadership, and bullying.

Why are landlords considered worse than criminals during the Cultural Revolution? What does “landlord” seem to mean in this context? What would be a comparable set of “Five Black Categories” in your own society?