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Disguises By Jean Fong Kwok
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Pop Quiz! (Answer in a 1-word response)

1. Where did the story take place?
2. What was the main characters name?
3. What did the main character wear for protection?
4. What type of Chinese did the main character
   speak?
5. What did the main character do for a job?

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Vocabulary

• Lurched
• To sway suddenly
• Rancid
• Stinky
• Compassion
• Pity
• Desolate
• Lonely
• Insistently
• In a demeaning manner

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Literary Terms

• Exposition
• Mrs. Chen is on the subway in Chinatown, heading
  home.
• Rising Action
• Mrs. Chen dozes off and begins to dream about the
  past.
• Climax
• Mrs. Chen wakes up and has missed her stop she
  is lost.
• Falling Action
• Mrs. Chen finds help from a Chinese student.
• Resolution
• Mrs. Chen gets home safely.

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Literary Terms

• What was the conflict of Disguises?
• Mrs. Chen is lost in Chinatown and speaks little
  English.
• What point of view was the story told in?
• 3rd Person limited
• What is the setting of Disguises?
• Chinatown at night.
• Give an example of a flashback in the story?
• When Mrs. Chen thinks about her mother praying or
  her bosss reaction to the skirt she sewed at
  work.
• What is Mrs. Chens characterization?
• Little, curly hair, flowered skirt, Cantonese

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Reading Questions

• Why do you think Mrs. Chen dreams of her past
  while on the subway?
• Shes looking for some comfort while shes in a
  foreign land.
• What contributes to Mrs. Chens fear when she
  discovers she is lost?
• She was recently mugged.
• How does Mrs. Chen find her way home?
• A Chinese student helps her.
• How does the setting contribute to Mrs. Chens
  challenges of being lost?
• No one speaks her language (Cantonese).

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Reading Questions

• At the end of the story, Mrs. Chen is back at
  home, sewing her torn skirt. What does this
  action reveal about her life or character?
• Shes hardworking and determined.
• What is the significance of the story being
  titled Disguises?
• People often feel disguised when theyre in a
  confusing or unfamiliar situation they want
  protection.
• I invite the goddess Juan Yin
• As Mrs. Chen prays, she feels a hand close to her
  ear trying to reach for the amulet as though it
  were trying to take it before she could finish
  her prayer. Mrs. Chen freaks out and runs away to
  the steps of the station where she sees the
  Chinese student.
• What does this scenario suggest? What about in
  terms of disguises?