WHAT HAPPENED?
What major protest did Marie Lu see as a child in China?
The Tiananmen Square protests.
What is a protest?
An action in which people publicly express disagreement or demand change.
When Marie was younger, what did she believe she should do instead of speaking out?
Stay quiet, keep her head down, and not stand out.
What major event in Chinese history did Marie’s parents survive?
The Cultural Revolution.
Complete Marie’s final statement:
“Survival was never about keeping your head down or not rocking the boat. It was about ______.”
Finding a way.
Where did Marie and her mother first live with her father after coming to the United States?
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Marie’s family faced the challenge of living in a new country. Give one example of something they did to adapt.
Learning English, watching American television, changing some of their cultural practices, working different jobs, or finding ways to live with very little money.
Why was Marie surprised when she saw college students protesting?
She had learned from her experiences in China that speaking out could be dangerous.
Give one example of something Marie’s family did to survive during the Cultural Revolution.
At first, what does Marie believe is the key to survival?
Assimilation—blending in, staying quiet, and avoiding attention.
Give one detail that shows Marie’s family was poor when they first came to America.
Marie says, “Assimilation was the key to survival.” What did assimilation mean to young Marie?
Blending in with American culture and trying not to stand out.
Why did Marie finally sign up for the antiwar protest?
She was curious about what a protest in America would be like.
What lesson did young Marie think her parents had taught her about survival?
Stay quiet, blend in, keep your head down, and don’t stand out.
Why does Marie tell us about both the Tiananmen Square protest and the Iraq War protest?
The two protests help show how her thinking about speaking out changes.
What did Marie’s mother ask her to do each day to help her learn English?
Write down five new English words, learn their meanings, and use them in sentences.
How did Marie’s experiences with protests show her a difference between freedom and restriction?
Sentence stem:
In China, people were restricted because __________. In America, Marie saw that people had the freedom to __________.
In China, speaking out against the government could be extremely dangerous. In America, Marie saw people openly protesting the Iraq War.
How was the antiwar protest different from what Marie remembered about Tiananmen Square?
Sentence stem:
At Tiananmen Square, __________, but at the antiwar protest, __________.
Tiananmen Square involved tanks, soldiers, violence, and danger. At the American protest, people could openly demonstrate without facing that same danger.
What does Marie realize she misunderstood about how her parents survived?
Sentence stem:
Marie used to think her parents survived by __________, but she realizes they actually __________.
She thought they survived simply by staying quiet, but she realizes they also took risks, resisted, adapted, and found ways around obstacles.
At first, Marie wants to hide the fact that she is different. How does her thinking about being “other” change by the end?
Sentence stem:
At first, Marie thinks being “other” is __________. By the end, she realizes __________.
At first, she sees being different as dangerous and something she should hide. By the end, she realizes that being different does not mean she has to remain silent and that her parents themselves chose to be “other.”
What important decision did Marie make in college that went against her old rule of staying quiet?
She signed up for and attended an antiwar protest.
By the end of the essay, how are being “other” and resilience connected?
Sentence stem:
At first, Marie thought being “other” meant __________. Later, she realizes __________.
At first, Marie believed being different was dangerous and that she should blend in. Later, she realizes that her parents showed resilience by accepting risks, being different, and continuing to find ways to survive.
How did attending the protest begin to change Marie’s choices? Give one example.
Sentence stem:
After the protest, Marie became more willing to __________. For example, she __________.
She became more willing to take risks and stand out. She sat in on classes, joined student senate, turned down law school, and eventually chose to work in video games.
Give one example that proves Marie’s parents did more than just stay quiet to survive.
Sentence stem:
Marie’s parents did not just stay quiet. They __________.
Answers may include secretly studying when they weren't allowed to learn or leaving China to build a new life in America.
Give one example from the essay that shows Marie or her parents “finding a way” to survive. Explain your choice.
Sentence stem:
One example is __________. This shows “finding a way” because __________.