3. The imagery that Tan uses in this chapter when she describes the day of the Moon Festival is incredible. In the scene of the preperation of the Moon Festival, I thought the occasion of the Moon Festival must have been very important because they dressed Ying-Ying in thick silk clothing when it was already boiling outside. Amah also spent a lot fo time and effort on Ying-Ying's hair to make it pretty. The day seemed very significant if Ying-Ying had to go through so much just to get ready for it. It was really sad to know that Ying-Ying only thought of her amah as equal to a fan in the summer, or a heater in the winter. I thought that if someone is going to treat her so well and spend so much time and effort just to prepare her and dress her for the Moon Festival, then she should love her and appreciate her a lot more than what she shows. I thought the way the boys caught fish was sad for the bird because it was being used as a tool and had the fish yanked out of its' mouth when it thought it was going to eat it. Although it was sad for the bird, that was a very smart idea for the boys. It seemed a lot less time consuming than fishing with a pole and waiting for them to bite. I didn't understand why Ying-Ying's amah was scolding about when Ying-Ying came to her after she covered her clothes in blood. I thought it might be because her amah thought that she killed something or someone and that's why she was covered. Not only did the reason why amah was scolding confused me, but the story of the Moon lady confused me as well. All I could understand was that the lady was sad because she would be forever seperated from her husband.
4. The relationship that Ying-Ying had with her amah is like one that a babysitter or a grandmother would have. Ying-Ying is spoiled by the way her amah treats her. Her amah gives her everything she wants and never taught Ying-Ying how to respect her. Ying-Ying only appreciates when she's not around when she's needed. The only time she wants her amah is when she was drowning in the water and no one was around to help her. Amah loves Ying-Ying, because she worked so hard to make her hair pretty for the Moon Festival. Amah spoiled Ying-Ying to the point where she won't ever see any love or respect from her until Ying-Ying grows up and matures.
5. A writing technique Tan uses well in this chapter is imagery. I could feel and understand what Ying-Ying was going through. The hot day was described in amazing detail and all the family members were described as well. It helped me really feel the story because it made me feel like I was there with Ying-Ying instead of being told the story. I think that imagery could be one of Tan's strengths because in each of these chapters, everything was described amazingly and all the details seemed the fit the story perfectly.
6. Something I learned about Chinese culture was that the Chinese liked to dress extravagently when there was a big celebration. The poor Chinese worked very hard, even on festival days. The Chinese also believed in spirits like the Moon Lady and the Master Archer. Silk was also considered very important and high-class in Chinese culture. A coiled braid was considered pretty and was worn on festival days. They also believed that rubbing vigorously will stop a foot from being sore. Rabbit moon-cakes were filled with either sweetfilling or egg yolk and were delicious. Boys were allowed to run around and chase things, but the girls were expected to stay still and behave themselves. A long list of foods were also mentioned in the chapter. During Moon Festivals the Chinese ate sticky rice with lotus leaves, roasted ham, sweet lotus seeds, tea, apples, pomegrantes, pears, meats, and boxes of mooncakes.
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