Dai Sijie's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Discussion Questions for Part II

1. What are the similarities and differences between the families of Luo and Ma, on one side, and of Four-Eyes on the other?

2. Why does Balzac become Ba-er-zar-ke when Luo and Ma encounter his work? How does this shift correspond with other translation issues as Luo and Ma read Ursule Mirouët?

3. What does Luo mean when he says he wants to make the little seamstress "more refined, more cultured"?

4. Why does Ma speak Mandarin (poorly) when they visit the old man at the water mill?

5. What is wrong with the authentic folk songs that Ma and Luo bring back to Four-Eyes?

6. Why do the villagers slaughter a buffalo, and why do they make it look like an accident?