Characters
Who is the main character?
Jing-Mei.
What is main setting?
The talent show.
How old is Jing-Mei at the start of the story?
9 years old.
Prodigy
a young person who has great talents.
Generation
all of the people born and living at about the same time.
What is the piano's teacher's name?
Old Chong.
Theme definition.
The moral or the lesson you learn from the story.
Piano
Devastated
emotionally destroyed or upset.
Grounded
(of a parent) refuse to allow (a child) to go out socially as a punishment.
Sensible (having more wisdom or knowledge).
What is the name of the little girl who makes fun of Jing-Mei?
Waverly.
Who is the author?
Amy Tan.
How does Jing-Mei perform at the talent show?
She sounds terribly and only Old Chong claps for her!
Squabbling
to fight noisily over small matters.
Dream
a special aspiration, ambition, or goal to accomplish something.
What is unique (ironic) about the piano teacher?
He is deaf (he cannot hear her play).
How does Jing-Mei hurt her mother's feelings?
She says she wishes she was never her child.
How does the story end?
Jing-Mei's mother dies and she keeps the piano to remember her by.
Reproach
criticism or disapproval.
Disobey
A failure to follow the rules.
How does Jing-Mei and her mother repair their relationship?
An example of a Hyperbole from the story.
"Something inside of me began to die." An exaggeration.
What do we learn is the reasoning behind Jing-Mei's mother's high expectations for her daughter?
Her mother is a Chinese Immigrant and she wants her daughter to achieve the American Dream.
Lamented
expressed regret.
Independence
To be able to function without the help of others.