The Wicked Witch of China

2. Magpies

3. This chapter was really long, but I enjoyed it all the same. I couldn’t believe all the drama that happened in the household. Perhaps this is what happens when men are allowed to have more than one wife. I couldn’t’ believe how evil Second Wife was. Despite her wicked personality, she is very clever. It was very smart of her to try to trick An-Mei into coming to her and betray her own mother. I was relieved when An-Mei’s mother saw past what Second Wife was doing and kept An-Mei her on her side. Second Wife must indeed be awful if she tries to turn a girl against her own mother. Second Wife reminded me of an evil witch who knew everyone’s weaknesses and how to exploit them. The way Second Wife held and talked to An-Mei’s brother was extremely cruel on An-Mei’s mother’s part.
I also loved how An-Mei’s mother planned her suicide to perfectly. It was proof that she was able to outsmart Second Wife, the clever witch. Second Wife definitely got what she deserved the day An-Mei’s mother died.

4. The relationship between Second Wife and the rest of the household was one that a tyrant might have over a country. Even though she wasn’t technically the leader of the house, she stole power, and had more than anyone. I was frightened because of how powerful she was, and how she could use that to harm others. Wu Tsng and First Wife were under her control and she could manipulate them to do whatever she wanted. She received no consequences when she did evil things and could come and go as she pleased.

5. The entire story was told in the form of a flashback. I thought this helped enhance it. This is because with a combination of a tragic event that was happening, and a story that was told to make that event sound like nothing, the message that An-Mei was trying to send got through. If An-Mei had just gone and told us the theme, it wouldn’t have been as powerful as a whole story to explain and illustrate it.

6. What I learned about Chinese culture was all the traditions that the Chinese followed. Men were allowed to have more than one wife. The first wife held all the power; except for the case of this story, where Second Wife held all the power. I also learned that a girl is taught to swallow other people’s misery and eat her own bitterness. That a girl is to remain quiet , even when the world is crashing around her shoulders.