Discussion Questions
Please feel free to use the following questions in group discussions to enhance your enjoyment of the novel.
1. Why does Four Eyes keep his collection of novels hidden from Luo and the narrator if they are his only friends?
2. Why does the Little Seamstress enjoy Ma’s storytelling so much if Luo is supposed to be the master storyteller?
3. Honoré de Balzac inspired many writers, like Charles Dickens and Jack Kerouac.How does Balzac inspire the characters in the novel?
4. Why do Luo and Ma burn all of their forbidden books? Does the Little Chinese Seamstress’s final comment change how they feel about the power of literature?
5. What does the novel suggest about attempting to change others in order to fit one’s desires?
6. Luo and Ma commit a crime by stealing the books from Four Eyes. Because they steal in order to educate themselves and the Little Seamstress, is this justified?
7. Balzac wrote that women were “the world’s ornament and the glory of France." How does this theme appear in Dai Sijie’s novel?
8. The Little Chinese Seamstress is never named in the story. Do you think there is a reason for this and if so, what is it?
9. It is mentioned that the headman has three bloodspots in his eye. In numerology, three represents neutrality. When in the novel does the headman remain neutral?
10. Why do you think there is a pair of red shoes on the cover of the book? Who do they belong to and what do they symbolize?
1. Why does Four Eyes keep his collection of novels hidden from Luo and the narrator if they are his only friends?
2. Why does the Little Seamstress enjoy Ma’s storytelling so much if Luo is supposed to be the master storyteller?
3. Honoré de Balzac inspired many writers, like Charles Dickens and Jack Kerouac.How does Balzac inspire the characters in the novel?
4. Why do Luo and Ma burn all of their forbidden books? Does the Little Chinese Seamstress’s final comment change how they feel about the power of literature?
5. What does the novel suggest about attempting to change others in order to fit one’s desires?
6. Luo and Ma commit a crime by stealing the books from Four Eyes. Because they steal in order to educate themselves and the Little Seamstress, is this justified?
7. Balzac wrote that women were “the world’s ornament and the glory of France." How does this theme appear in Dai Sijie’s novel?
8. The Little Chinese Seamstress is never named in the story. Do you think there is a reason for this and if so, what is it?
9. It is mentioned that the headman has three bloodspots in his eye. In numerology, three represents neutrality. When in the novel does the headman remain neutral?
10. Why do you think there is a pair of red shoes on the cover of the book? Who do they belong to and what do they symbolize?
