Ties That Bind, Ties That Break

PROLOGUE-CHAPTER 3

Reading Check

1. Ailin’s high-heeled shoes make it difficult to walk. (Prologue)

2. Because Ailin’s amah’s feet were bound (Chapter 1)

3. “Big Noses” refers to the Caucasian missionaries that teach at Hanwei’s school. (Chapter 1)

4. Sorrow (Chapter 2)

5. What her bound feed look like without shoes (Chapter 2)

6. “Revolution” (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. Ailin sees Hanwei, her former fiancé, in San Francisco at the restaurant of her new husband where she works. She orders him a lavish meal and learns that he studied at the University of Illinois and was going back to China to visit his sick mother. The subject of their failed engagement, which centered on Ailin’s refusal to bind her feet, comes up. (Prologue)

2. When Ailin is five, Mrs. Liu visits the large house in which Ailin’s family lives. As the matriarch, her grandmother receives her guests, where they discuss the women in the family as potential matches. Mrs. Liu is surprised that Ailin’s feet have not been bound; her grandmother says the family has “put it off.” As a result, the conversation becomes awkward, and Mrs. Liu reminds grandmother that with bound feet, Ailin “will stop running around.” (Chapter 1)

3. While the adults engage in conversation, Hanwei and Ailin get acquainted with each other. Hanwei is a seven-year-old boy who attends a local public school where he learns about science and English, while Ailin is a five-year-old girl who studies subjects at home. When Hanwei offers to teach Ailin English, he reveals that he is meant to marry her in the future. (Chapter 1)

4. Ailin overhears her father and Big Uncle discussing politics at dinner. Big Uncle represents a conservative and traditional point of view, as he chides Ailin’s father for sharing opinions that represent foreigners’ perspectives. (Chapter 2)

5. Ailin recalls hearing the words “revolution” and “republic,” ultimately pointing to the fall of the emperor and the establishment of a new political system in China. This coincides with Ailin’s fight against traditional foot binding, as her father, who believes in progress and sees that times are changing, ultimately takes her side. (Chapter 3)

6. Ailin thrashes and refuses to let her mother and governess bind her feet; she runs and hides. Ailin’s mother and grandmother speak to Ailin, reminding her that it is her duty to have her feet bound in order to marry. Ailin begins the process one night, but quickly changes her mind as she experiences the pain of walking. Ultimately, her father allows her to choose to not have her feet bound. (Chapter 3)

CHAPTERS 4-6

Reading Check

1. Foreign (Chapter 4)

2. Walking to school (Chapter 4)

3. Only China (Chapter 4)

4. A handkerchief with the name “Frances Gilbertson” embroidered on it (Chapter 6)

5. The Three Ovens of China (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. Ailin’s father announces that he will enroll her in a public school that is run by American missionaries. Ailin is thrilled with the announcement, but Grandmother is opposed; Ailin assumes this opposition is related to the fact that her daughter died while studying. (Chapter 4)

2. Ailin describes her time at MacIntosh as some of her best memories. She makes friends with Xueyan, another girl with “big feet,” and learns more about the world in her classes. She is even encouraged to become an English teacher, as she is one of the best students in the class. (Chapter 4)

3. As the matriarch of the family is now dead, the power balance of Ailin’s family is greatly changed; there is no clear matriarch to take on managing the household. Furthermore, money has become tighter, as many of the farmers can no longer afford paying their rents, and Ailin’s family must reassess how they spend their money. (Chapter 5)

4. As Ailin and Xueyan discuss the origins of foot binding, they realize that this practice was adopted after the time of Confucius and that it was promoted primarily by the women, as opposed to the men, of the families. They decide it is important to put a stop to this tradition. (Chapter 5)

5. After Ailin’s father’s death, Big Uncle decides to remove Ailin from school. She is distraught with this decision but manages to finish the term. Miss Gilbertson, her English teacher, offers her free private English tutor sessions, where she eventually meets her future employers. (Chapter 6)

CHAPTERS 7-9

Reading Check

1. Nun, wife of a farmer, or a concubine (Chapter 7)

2. Suicide (Chapter 7)

3. Ailin shows them how to create ink and write in the Chinese language. (Chapter 8)

4. Mrs. Warner calls the language “heathen.” (Chapter 8)

5. “[T]he clash of two cultures” (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. The Warners are friends of Miss Gilbertson who are looking for an English speaking amah. After Miss Gilbertson hears of Big Uncle’s choices for Ailin, Miss Gilbertson recommends that Ailin meet the Warner family so she can become their amah. (Chapter 7)

2. Based on her upbringing, Ailin is under the impression that she will only be responsible for caring for the children; however, she learns that she is responsible for teaching the children as well. She struggles overall with adapting to life with the Warners, as she feels caught between the servants who are Chinese and the Warner family’s American world. (Chapter 8)

3. Mr. Warner pulls Ailin aside to tell her that he is concerned about the content that Ailin is teaching the children, particularly Chinese folktales and Confucianism, as he is worried that this will distract them from Western culture and lessons. Ailin tries to explain her position; however, Mr. Warner insists upon his case. (Chapter 8)

4. Ailin realizes that she has secured the trust of her employers when she is left in charge of the children while the parents attend a religious retreat. During the retreat, Billy becomes sick with measles; Ailin tries to find a doctor. When she seeks help from her family, she realizes they consider her to be an outsider. This leaves her confused about her culture and her family. (Chapter 9)

5. The Warners ask Ailin to come back to America with them in order to support their children’s learning there. She is surprised but agrees. Ailin decides to visit her family house one last time, where she gives Big Uncle money for her brother’s education and says goodbye to her mother. (Chapter 9)

CHAPTER 10-EPILOGUE

Reading Check

1. The bag of money that Ailin gave to Big Uncle (Chapter 10)

2. James says they must remain inside. (Chapter 10)

3. Rice (Chapter 11)

4. Ailin uses the phrase “By standing on my two big feet.’’ (Epilogue)

Short Answer

1. Ailin meets a second-class passenger named James, a man from Canton, China who works at his father’s restaurant in San Francisco. James is very impressed with Ailin, finding her actions brave and her background interesting; Ailin is intrigued with James’s background and how he moved to the US. He invites her to come to his restaurant in Chinatown. (Chapter 10)

2. After learning that the Warners do not have a cook at their house in San Francisco, Ailin decides to teach herself how to cook in order to alleviate the tasks. She realizes that she is able to make a significant contribution to the family overall, which goes against the narrative that she was taught as a child that women drain resources of the family. (Chapter 11)

3. While shopping in Chinatown for ingredients, Ailin runs into James, and the two talk about their lives. He tells her that she inspired him to open his own restaurant. After the two begin a relationship, James eventually proposes marriage to Ailin. She agrees, knowing that this would mean giving up her employment to the Warners, staying in America instead of returning to China, and not seeing her family again. (Chapter 11)