Literary Devices
What was the Chinese ¨saying¨ Lena´s mother would repeat and what literary device is being used?
¨If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold¨
What is this quote trying to symbolize about Ying Ying? “They gather fire in the day. At night they shine golden”
Ying Ying's tiger eyes
What is the main theme of Rice Husband?
Needing balance
and
Too much balance
Which animal was Ying Ying’s Chinese zodiac?
Tiger
What is the zodiac sign that connects Ying-Ying and Lena?
They are both Tigers
what is the literary device that is being used?
¨And I remember wondering why it is that eating something good could make me feel so terrible, while vomiting something terrible could make me feel so good.¨
Chiasmus
What did the table represent?
What is the main theme of Waiting Between the Trees?
Fill in the blank:
“But to Chinese ways of thinking, the (blank) bedroom is the best bedroom, where she and her husband sleep. I do not tell her this.”
guest
What did Lena warn Ying Ying about?
The table with the vase was unsteady
What quote is being said by Ying-Ying that uses imagery to compare how beautiful she used to be in her past to how her daughter sees her now?
¨And my poor feet, once so small and pretty! Now they are swollen, callused, and cracked at the heels. My eyes, so bright and flashy at sixteen, are now yellow-stained, clouded.¨
What is Ying Ying trying to symbolize and express by saying this? “Her eyes will see nothing in the darkness, where I am waiting between the trees”
How Ying Ying wants to unleash the inner tiger/fighter inside of her daughter, Lena
What is the reasoning behind the theme of "Finding Identity" in the Waiting Between the Trees vignette?
Even though Ying-Ying is a tiger, she tries to hide that quality, but at the end of the day she needs to accept that her trait of being a tiger will always be a part of her, Lena also is about to go on her own journey throughout this vignette.
Fill in both blanks:
“Or that maybe it was because when you’re Chinese you’re supposed to accept everything, (blank) with the Tao and not make (blank)s.”
flow & waves
What event overlaps the two vignettes?
Ying-Ying breaking vase
Why does Ying-Ying make this comparison about her daughter?
¨But when she was born, she sprang to me like a slippery fish, and has been swimming away ever since.¨
Ying-Ying resents the way her daughter pulls away from her and their cultural way of thinking
What was the purpose of the rice in the Rice Husband vignette?
Showing why Lena believes her mom can see things before they happen.
What is the reasoning behind the theme "balance" in the Rice Husband vignette?
balance is being repeated multiple times to implement that Ying-Ying believed bad things would happen without balance.
Or
Too much balance shown between the relationship of Harold and Lena.
Whatś the saying that Ying-Ying would say to Lena in Chinese.
Chunwang Chihan
What similar life choice did they both make?
They both married bad men
What literary device is being used in this quote?
¨She thinks the guest room where she will be staying- which is really a former hayloft shaped by a sloped roof- has ¨two lopsides.¨
Syntax
What did the watermelon with the knife push represent? (hint: euphemism)
It was a sexual remark towards Ying Ying; shows how her husband was a bad guy & had no respect
How does the themes in both vignettes connect to the whole book?
The themes are interwoven in Chinese culture specifically within mother-daughter relationships.
What is the wedding tradition Ying-Ying did every night before the night her husband ¨planted the baby¨?
She brushed her hair ninety-nine times a night to bring luck to their marital bed.
What happens at the end of Waiting Between the Trees that overlaps the two vignettes?
Ying Ying has a conversation with Lena about releasing the inner Tiger